Paper Art Crafts for Kids

People who can't get around much, such as the elderly or sick, often find reading to be a cheerful escape. You can add an extra spark of warmth to their reading with this Bookmarks the Spot Paper Art Craft.

What You'll Need:

How to make paper bookmarks: Step 1: Cut 2x5-inch strips of card stock. Step 2: Decorate the strips with colorful designs or inspirational sayings cut out from magazines or greeting cards and lots of bright bits and pieces you find around the house. Ask your local senior center or home for the elderly to pass them out to folks who might need a little lift -- or ask permission to go to the center and hand them out yourself. The personal touch may really touch some seniors' lives.On the next page, learn to create a custom calendar. You'll never forget the date again!For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

How to make paper bookmarks: Step 1: Cut 2x5-inch strips of card stock. Step 2: Decorate the strips with colorful designs or inspirational sayings cut out from magazines or greeting cards and lots of bright bits and pieces you find around the house. Ask your local senior center or home for the elderly to pass them out to folks who might need a little lift -- or ask permission to go to the center and hand them out yourself. The personal touch may really touch some seniors' lives.On the next page, learn to create a custom calendar. You'll never forget the date again!For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

So many things happen in one year. With the custom calendar paper art craft you can enjoy a special memory every month.

What You'll Need:

How to make a custom calendar:Step 1: Set all 13 sheets of construction paper together. Punch three to five holes along one long edge. Step 2: Thread a piece of yarn through the holes. Tie the ends together in a knot and trim any extra yarn. Step 3: Punch one hole at the center of the opposite end. With the holes at the top, decorate the calendar cover. Step 4: Think about the types of activities your family or friends take part in each month. Have your child draw a picture for each month, depicting these activities as well as the seasons. Use a different coloring tool for each month. To start, flip the first page. The page at the top (the back of the cover) is January. Decorate the page. Draw the actual calendar on the bottom sheet, copying from another calendar for the dates. Flip the page and do the same for February and the remaining months. Don't forget to write in special dates.Next, learn how to spruce up the dining table.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

How to make a custom calendar:Step 1: Set all 13 sheets of construction paper together. Punch three to five holes along one long edge. Step 2: Thread a piece of yarn through the holes. Tie the ends together in a knot and trim any extra yarn. Step 3: Punch one hole at the center of the opposite end. With the holes at the top, decorate the calendar cover. Step 4: Think about the types of activities your family or friends take part in each month. Have your child draw a picture for each month, depicting these activities as well as the seasons. Use a different coloring tool for each month. To start, flip the first page. The page at the top (the back of the cover) is January. Decorate the page. Draw the actual calendar on the bottom sheet, copying from another calendar for the dates. Flip the page and do the same for February and the remaining months. Don't forget to write in special dates.Next, learn how to spruce up the dining table.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

Add some color to the dinner table with the handmade special tablecloths paper art craft.

What You'll Need:

How to make a special tablecloth:Step 1: Color a paper tablecloth with markers. Have your child decorate it with his or her favorite foods such as pizza, ice cream cones, or fried chicken. For a Fourth of July picnic, find out what's on the menu. Draw a border of corn-on-the-cob, hamburgers and hot dogs, or watermelon slices. Step 2: Cut a special design in the edges with scissors or pinking shears. Step 3: If you want, place the tablecloth over a bright-colored tablecloth to show off the decorative edge.Keep reading for more neat paper art crafts, like clothesline basketry.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

How to make a special tablecloth:Step 1: Color a paper tablecloth with markers. Have your child decorate it with his or her favorite foods such as pizza, ice cream cones, or fried chicken. For a Fourth of July picnic, find out what's on the menu. Draw a border of corn-on-the-cob, hamburgers and hot dogs, or watermelon slices. Step 2: Cut a special design in the edges with scissors or pinking shears. Step 3: If you want, place the tablecloth over a bright-colored tablecloth to show off the decorative edge.Keep reading for more neat paper art crafts, like clothesline basketry.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

Colors swirl and coil around to create a soft basket that is perfect for

holding all of your child's secret treasures in the clothesline basketry paper art craft.

What You'll Need:

How to make clothesline basketry:Step 1: The first thing you need to do is dye the clothesline. It's best to do this outside. Cover the work surface with newspaper. To dye the clothesline, add food coloring to water using a different bowl for each color. Dip the clothesline in the bowls. Let the clothesline dry in the sun.Step 2: Begin by coiling the clothesline at one end. Tie four long pieces of yarn to the first coil.Step 3: As you continue wrapping the clothesline around the coil, overlap the yarn. Weave the yarn pieces over and under the coils to secure them in place. As you coil the clothesline up, place it in a large bowl to give your basket some form. This will also make it easier to coil the clothesline. Once you've coiled about six circles, add four more yarn ties to the clothesline. Continue to circle the coil and weave the yarn over and under the clothesline.Step 4: When you get to the end of the clothesline, trim any excess to make the last row of coil even with the rest. Tie the ends of the yarn pieces in a knot and trim the excess yarn. Thread a long piece of yarn through a needlepoint needle. Stitch the yarn around the last two coils of clothesline.You'll find plenty of fun with the craft you'll learn about next, Cornucopia Copies.

How to make clothesline basketry:Step 1: The first thing you need to do is dye the clothesline. It's best to do this outside. Cover the work surface with newspaper. To dye the clothesline, add food coloring to water using a different bowl for each color. Dip the clothesline in the bowls. Let the clothesline dry in the sun.Step 2: Begin by coiling the clothesline at one end. Tie four long pieces of yarn to the first coil.Step 3: As you continue wrapping the clothesline around the coil, overlap the yarn. Weave the yarn pieces over and under the coils to secure them in place. As you coil the clothesline up, place it in a large bowl to give your basket some form. This will also make it easier to coil the clothesline. Once you've coiled about six circles, add four more yarn ties to the clothesline. Continue to circle the coil and weave the yarn over and under the clothesline.Step 4: When you get to the end of the clothesline, trim any excess to make the last row of coil even with the rest. Tie the ends of the yarn pieces in a knot and trim the excess yarn. Thread a long piece of yarn through a needlepoint needle. Stitch the yarn around the last two coils of clothesline.You'll find plenty of fun with the craft you'll learn about next, Cornucopia Copies.

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A cornucopia is a horn of plenty. Encourage your child's to overflow with fruit and flowers, plus plenty of color and texture, by following the instructions in the cornucopia copies paper art craft.

What You'll Need:

How to make cornucopia copies:

Step 1: Draw a horn shape on a piece of corrugated cardboard. Draw fruit shapes such as a pear, a banana, grapes, and apples on cardboard.

Step 2: Carefully peel a layer of paper off the side of the cardboard you have not drawn on to expose the inside ridges. Cut out the shapes. Glue the horn on a piece of poster board. Glue the fruit shapes on the poster board in front of the horn. Let the glue set.

Step 3: Cover your work surface with newspaper. Place poster paint on a palette or paint tray. Roll the brayer in the paint, then roll it over the cardboard shapes.

Step 4: Place a piece of paper over the painted surface. Gently rub the paper with your hands. Remove the paper and let the paint dry.

Show off your silly side with the paper art craft you'll learn about next.

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Help your child create his or her own crazy optical illusions by making body-size bib puppet outfits they can stand behind, just like those fun wooden screens at amusement parks where you slip your head through a hole and appear as if you've become a cowboy.

What You'll Need:

How to make a bib puppet:

Step 1: Draw a headless animal or space alien outfit on a large piece of butcher paper. Craft it as crazy as you like -- create something that will make everyone laugh.

Step 2: Cut out your creation, and paint it.

Step 3: When the paint is dry, suspend the bib puppet with pieces of string so your child can peek his head over the top.

Take a picture or videotape your child. For more fun, turn the pictures into postcards to send to grandparents.

The next craft is extra hot.

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Make this colorful Ristra paper art craft with your child, and hang it in your doorway as a good luck charm and welcome sign.

What You'll Need:

How to make a paper Ristra:Step 1: Cut out about 24 peppers in small (2-1/2 inches long), medium (4-1/4 inches long), and large (5-1/4 inches long) shapes. Make some peppers yellow, some red, some green, and others orange -- be sure you have a good variety of colors and sizes. Step 2: Punch a hole in each pepper through the stem. Fold the twine in half, leave a loop at the top, and make a knot. Step 3: String on the peppers, alternating colors and sizes. Knot the twine after every two or three peppers. When you're done tying on all the peppers, hang the good luck charm on your child's bedroom door to welcome friends. Put on your smock and get out your paintbrushes to make the next craft.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

How to make a paper Ristra:Step 1: Cut out about 24 peppers in small (2-1/2 inches long), medium (4-1/4 inches long), and large (5-1/4 inches long) shapes. Make some peppers yellow, some red, some green, and others orange -- be sure you have a good variety of colors and sizes. Step 2: Punch a hole in each pepper through the stem. Fold the twine in half, leave a loop at the top, and make a knot. Step 3: String on the peppers, alternating colors and sizes. Knot the twine after every two or three peppers. When you're done tying on all the peppers, hang the good luck charm on your child's bedroom door to welcome friends. Put on your smock and get out your paintbrushes to make the next craft.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

Make this easy artist's easel paper art craft to display your child's artwork -- you can help them create their own art gallery.

What You'll Need:

How to make an easy artist's easel: Step 1: Find a sturdy cardboard box, and tape it shut. Step 2: On opposite sides, draw a line from the bottom corner to the opposite top corner. Cut along the diagonals and then across the top and bottom to cut the box in half (see illustration). Step 3: Cut two small slits at the top of the easel. Attach your child's artwork by clipping it to the box with the clothespins. They could also use the easel to paint their artwork -- just like artists do.Keep reading for more fun and easy paper art crafts. For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

How to make an easy artist's easel: Step 1: Find a sturdy cardboard box, and tape it shut. Step 2: On opposite sides, draw a line from the bottom corner to the opposite top corner. Cut along the diagonals and then across the top and bottom to cut the box in half (see illustration). Step 3: Cut two small slits at the top of the easel. Attach your child's artwork by clipping it to the box with the clothespins. They could also use the easel to paint their artwork -- just like artists do.Keep reading for more fun and easy paper art crafts. For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

The boxes and baskets paper art craft hold all sorts of lightweight holiday treats for Easter, Christmas, or birthday parties.

What You'll Need:

How to make paper baskets and boxes:

Step 1: Copy a 4x6" rectangle on a piece of poster board. Use a ruler to measure 1" for the base and sides. Cut the pattern out.

Step 2: Have your child use markers to decorate the box before you fold it. Draw a design on the sides that will be facing out. Score along the dotted lines. (See Paper Scoring for the scoring technique.)

Step 3: Fold the poster board on the scored lines and staple it into a box.

Step 4: To make a handle for a basket, cut a 2×7-inch strip of poster board. Staple across the top of the box.

Step 5: To make a lid for a box, make another box slightly larger than the first, adding about 3/8-inch to the rectangle on each side. Place the lid on the box.

See the next craft to have fun with numbers.

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The artful numbers paper art craft is a colorful collage of numbers cut out from magazine pictures.

What You'll Need:

How to make an artful number collage:Step 1: To start, look through old magazines with your child and cut out bright and colorful numbers you find in pictures and ads. Find a variety of numbers in different colors and sizes. Step 2: Design and arrange the cutout numbers on a piece of construction paper, and glue them in place. One collage can include a random assortment of numbers, or it could have a theme, such as multiples of four. You can also use the numbers as graphic elements to create figures and objects.Continue to the next page for a solution to your holiday wrapping dilemmas.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

How to make an artful number collage:Step 1: To start, look through old magazines with your child and cut out bright and colorful numbers you find in pictures and ads. Find a variety of numbers in different colors and sizes. Step 2: Design and arrange the cutout numbers on a piece of construction paper, and glue them in place. One collage can include a random assortment of numbers, or it could have a theme, such as multiples of four. You can also use the numbers as graphic elements to create figures and objects.Continue to the next page for a solution to your holiday wrapping dilemmas.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

If you have an odd-shaped gift that makes traditional wrapping difficult -- just make the Bag-It wrapping paper art craft with your child.

What You'll Need:

How to make a gift bag:

Step 1: Sponge-print a design on paper bags for gifts. Cut sponges into shapes such as a star, a birthday candle, or geometric figures. Cover your work surface with newspaper. Place some poster paints on paper plates. Dampen one sponge slightly and dip it in the paint. Press the sponge on the paper bag to print your design. Let the paint dry.

Step 2: To make a handle, fold a piece of construction paper in thirds lengthwise. Staple it to the bag.

Step 3: Now make a matching note card. Fold a piece of construction paper in half, and sponge on the same design. Cut a slit in the fold of the note card, and slip it over the handle to close the bag.

Your child will be the coolest pen pal around with the envelopes on the next page.

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Make the fancy envelopes paper art craft and your child can send letters or artwork to friends and family.

What You'll Need:

How to make fancy envelopes:Step 1: Draw the envelope pattern shown here on a piece of cardboard. Cut out the pattern. Step 2: Trace the pattern on a piece of medium-weight paper. Cut out the envelope pattern and fold it along the lines indicated on the illustration. Step 3: Glue all edges except for the top flap. Place your letter or picture in the envelope and seal the top flap. Now you're ready to send your letter.For envelopes using a magazine picture or your own artwork: Step 1: Trace the envelope pattern on the back side of the magazine picture or your artwork.

Step 2: Fold and glue your fancy envelope as described above.

Step 3: Stick on two white mailing labels for the return and the sender addresses, and it's ready to go. Once you get the hang of this, you can design your own pattern for specialty envelopes of a different size.

Next, learn how to make your own postcards.

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Instead of writing a letter, why not help your child send a "hello" to friends and relatives with the personal postcards paper art craft?

What You'll Need:

How to make personal postcards:Step 1: Cut a 4x6-inch piece from cardstock or use a blank index card. Step 2: On one side of the cardstock, create the back of a postcard. Using a ruler, draw a straight line down the center of the card to divide one half for the address and the other half for the greeting. On the half for the address (the right side), use a ruler to draw three straight horizontal lines on the lower half of the card. Step 3: On the front side of the card, create the front of a postcard. Draw anything you'd like. The only limitation is your imagination! Color the picture with colored pencils or markers.Decorate the fridge with the awesome magnets on the next page.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

How to make personal postcards:Step 1: Cut a 4x6-inch piece from cardstock or use a blank index card. Step 2: On one side of the cardstock, create the back of a postcard. Using a ruler, draw a straight line down the center of the card to divide one half for the address and the other half for the greeting. On the half for the address (the right side), use a ruler to draw three straight horizontal lines on the lower half of the card. Step 3: On the front side of the card, create the front of a postcard. Draw anything you'd like. The only limitation is your imagination! Color the picture with colored pencils or markers.Decorate the fridge with the awesome magnets on the next page.For more creative crafts for kids, check out:

Make headlines that inspire and delight with the word wonder magnets paper art craft.

What You'll Need:

How to make Word Wonder Magnets:

Step 1: Go through a stack of old magazines or newspapers with your child until you see a word or headline that reminds him or her to do their best work, try a new sport, be a friend to someone who needs one, or do some other worthy activity.

Step 2: Cut out the word or words, and glue them to the cardboard.

Step 3: After the glue dries, cut away the excess cardboard and attach a small piece of magnet strip to the back. Hang them up where they will remind your child to always do their best.

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