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26 Oct 2009 Christmas Crafts Ideas for Kids
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Bell ornaments are a lot of fun to make, and they will last for years to come. We feel that small terra cotta pots are the best to use. Have the children paint the pot green, and allow it to dry. Once the pot is completely dry, attach fake jewels or beads to it with glitter glue. Then thread a small bell with some ribbon, and pull the ribbon up through the hole in the pot. Tie a knot in the ribbon so the bell stays secure, and add any other final touches you might like.

With the holiday season soon upon us, it’s time to think about some fun crafts you can do with your children in preparation of Christmas. My kids love doing holiday crafts, and I’m sure yours will too! It has always been challenging to find age-appropriate crafts that all of the children will enjoy making. My children each have a few years between them, so we have amassed quite a collection of crafts and craft ideas.

Bead garlands are one of my all-time favorite crafts. They are fun to make, extremely colorful, and great for children of all ages. You will need some string or plastic cord, a whole lot of beads, some scissors, and some glue. Cut the string or cord to the desired length, and thread it through the first bead. Tie a knot around that bead, and add some glue to keep it secure. Now add the rest of your beads.

Pine cone ornaments have also become classics in our Christmas craft repertoire. They are appropriate for children of any age, and keep very well in storage. You will need to spend some time collecting the pine cones. We collect them when we are out walking the dog. We simply paint them with silver or gold paint, and cover them with glitter. Let them dry somewhere safe, and tie them to your tree with a piece of ribbon.

19 Oct 2009 Balinese Arts and Crafts

Shopping for Bali art and craft is supposed to be fun and Bali is one the best places in the world to find something cute and beautiful for yourself or somebody that you love. Traditional Balinese woodcarving has always been of religious subjects. In the 1930’s though a new type of carving developed in Mas near Ubud catering to the tourist market. Today, the best Balinese carving galleries are still there. Another important area for wood carving is on the road up to Sebatu.

There are also numerous other Balinese standards like wooden banana trees, wooden flowers, Bali wooden masks and the type of things that might often be found at cheaper prices. Wood handicrafts for souvenir like wooden boxes, wooden nameplate, key chains, dreamcatcher, wind chimes, and many alternative types assorted of color and form can be found easily in most art shops in Bali.

Silver and Gold smiths
The village of Celuk is now lined with galleries all selling silver ware. They are typical Balinese work using granulation and a process of attaching gold to the surface of silver. Today the industry is very sophisticated and includes everything from traditional pieces to contemporary designs.

Stone Carving
There are numerous types of stone carving such as traditional Balinese sculpture, hyper-realist animals, modern style, etc. The preferred material for stone carving is known as volcanic tuff that resembles the colour of cement when it is newly carved. Many visitors to Bali assume that they are cast, not handmade.

Other arts and crafts
These include paintings, basket weavers, wood puppets, shadow puppets, Bali dried flower, terracotta figurines, ceramics, wooden chess boards, Balinese musical instruments, textiles, costumes, furniture, large pots from Lombok, leather works from Java, primitive statues from the eastern islands, brass bowls, bronze statues and other decorative items.

08 Sep 2009 Quick Halloween Craft Idea

Children could create monster hands. Use cream or brown card and square off the fingers of the handprints before cutting out. Use black pen to draw veins and lots of spiky black hair in the center of the hand and knuckles! Ghostly hands can be made out of white card. Stretch your handprints out a little to give particularly long, thin fingers. Make fingernails out of grey or silver scraps and decorate with silver glitter. Use pencil or grey pen to draw on veins. It is an easy craft to do with a crowd of children and the results are great for decorating the house or classroom.

You will need:

Green card or paper
Scraps of black, red or purple card, paper, felt, tissue paper etc
Pencils and pens
White glue

Instructions:

Draw around the children’s hands onto the green card. Older children can pair up and draw round each other’s hands. Cut out carefully.

Use the scraps of paper or card to cut pointed oval shapes for long, spiky finger nails and stick them on - embellishing, if you like, with glitter or stickers.

Draw some spidery veins onto the hands, using your own hands as inspiration.

Make them by scrunching tissue paper into a tiny ball and sticking onto the hands with white glue.

Use the hands to decorate a notice-board, the fridge, or the Halloween table (place them on either side of a plate for a humorous effect). If you attach them to the edge of doors with sticky-tack it looks as if someone spooky could be hiding on the other side!