Crafty Kids: Fun Summer Projects

Try these simple ideas that will keep your kids -- and you -- happy!

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• Craft Projects

Button Flower Garden

With the kids out of school for the summer, this is the perfect season to keep them busy with crafting projects.

Her Flower Beds Grow Buttons
With help from her grandmother, Jan Payne, creative youngster Carrie Bishop dresses up odds and ends into crafts.

"Whenever I visit Grandma, I do projects," tells this Highfalls, Georgia girl. "She helps me find supplies around her house to use. Last time, she gave me a box of buttons to look through. I picked out colorful ones and created flowers."

Has Carrie's idea grown on you? Then just follow the instructions here!

You Will Need
Pattern
Tracing paper
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Six two-hole or shank buttons measuring from 5/8 to 7/8 inch across in colors of your choice (Carrie used four shank and two two-hole buttons)
12-inch-long chenille stems (pipe cleaners), two green and one orange
One sheet or scraps of green craft foam
2 x 5-inch piece of 1-inch-high green Styrofoam (or a piece of white packing foam painted green)
Black felt-tip marker


What to Do
1. For the flower stems, cut six 3-inch-long pieces of green chenille stem.

2. To make the flowers, add either a shank button or two-hole button to one end of each flower stem in the following way:

• To add a shank button, pull one end of a stem through the opening in back of the button and bend the end down to hold the button in place.


• To add a two-hole button, pull one end of a stem from back to front through one hole of the button. Pull the same end from front to back through the second hole to hold the button in place.

3. Trace the leaves pattern onto tracing paper and cut out. Lay this pattern onto the green craft foam and trace around its shape with pencil. Trace five more sets of leaves in the same way. Cut out the leaves.

4. Poke the bottom end of a stem through the center of a pair of leaves. Pull the leaves up so they are about 1/4 inch below the button flower. Add leaves to each stem in same way.
Worm: Cut one 2-inch-long piece of orange chenille stem. To form the worm's head, bend down the first 1/4 inch, then curl this same end down another 1/4 inch.

5. Use the black felt-tip marker to draw a dot on each side of the head for eyes.

6. Referring to the photo for position, push the flower stems and worm into the 2- x 5-inch block of green foam, pushing some pieces deeper so they appear to be shorter. Place drops of red and yellow food coloring randomly over frosting. With a spatula, blend colors randomly over frosting.

Leaves Pattern
Trace 1 -- tracing paper
Cut 6 -- green craft foam

Finished size: Button flower garden is 4 1/4 inches high x 5 inches long x 2 inches wide.

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