Crafty Kids: Fun Summer Projects

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

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.

Butterfly Window Trim

Country youngster Randal Graves, who hails from Bethel Springs, Tennessee, likes to let his imagination soar... with creatively crafty results. This time, he lit on a bright idea fit for summer trimming.

"I saw a butterfly in our yard and thought it would be fun to make one," Randal relays. "First, I drew a butterfly shape on paper, then my mom helped me cut it out of an aluminum pie pan. I colored it with markers and hung it up in the kitchen window."

Ready to raise your own? It's easy! Follow the simple instructions here.

You Will Need
Pattern
Tracing paper
Pencil
Ballpoint pen
Disposable aluminum pie pan
Tape
Scissors
Old magazine or stack of newspapers
Metal kitchen spoon
Permanent markers (see note below) -- blue, red and yellow or the colors of your choice
1/4-inch round hole punch
5-inch length of red metallic trim or narrow ribbon for hanger


What to Do
1. Trace the pattern onto a piece of tracing paper with a pencil. Lay an old magazine or a stack of newspapers on top of the kitchen table, then place the disposable pie pan on top of the magazine or newspapers.

2. Tape the pattern to the inside of the pan and retrace the lines with a ballpoint pen, pressing hard as you trace over the pattern so that the pattern lines are clearly indented into the aluminum.

3. Remove the pattern from the pie pan and use a pair of scissors to carefully cut out the butterfly shape. (Be careful: The edges of the butterfly will likely be sharp.)

4. To smooth any rough edges, lay the butterfly on the magazine or stack of newspapers and rub the sharp edges with the back of a metal kitchen spoon.

5. Color both the front and back of the butterfly with permanent markers, using blue, red and yellow as shown on the pattern or any colors that you like.

6. Use the hole punch to make a hole at the top of the butterfly's head. Pull a piece of metallic trim or narrow ribbon through the hole and tie the ends together to make a hanger. Hang the finished butterfly in a window, from the handle on a cupboard door or anywhere you like.

Butterfly Trim Pattern
Trace 1—tracing paper

Note: Children's washable, nontoxic markers will bead and rub off of the aluminum when applied. Permanent markers are required for this project. Young children will need adult supervision. Finished size: The butterfly is about 2 1/4 inches high x 3 3/4 inches wide.