On Saturday we had our best buddies over (Amy's boys) to play for a few hours. I grabbed a craft/art book and perused it while the kids were playing outside to see if we could do a quick project before lunch. I found one I knew they'd like, and we began.
We made Clay Porcupines, an idea I found in this book:
I actually don't use art books much, as I generally make up my own ideas, but this is a fun book in a pinch.
We had everything on hand and it only took a few minutes to get ready. The mess was minimal, and they all thoroughly enjoyed the process. (All important factors in being crafty with kids!) As you can see, they were very focused.
Here's the finished product:
Cute, huh? If you're so inclined, here's what you need to make these:
-Salt clay (recipe below)
-Uncooked spaghetti
-Popsicle sticks
Self-hardening Salt Clay
1 1/2 cups salt
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. alum (as a preservative if the clay isn't baked)
Mix dry ingredients together in a plastic bowl; then add water gradually. When the dough forms a ball around the spoon, knead the dough well, adding water if it's too crumbly.
This clay can also be baked. Set the oven to 300 degrees and bake small shapes for 30-40 minutes or until hard.
*We didn't bake our porcupines.
I made one batch and divided it between 6 children (yes, even the little guys participated!) and that was plenty. If you're only going to do it with a couple of children, I'd halve the recipe.
The best part for the kids was breaking up the spaghetti noodles and poking them in. While I made the dough (3 min), I had them start breaking the noodles. They spent about 20 minutes poking in all the porcupine's quills and then I broke the popsicle sticks and stuck the little legs on. And drew the faces. (By copying the picture in the book).
And wouldn't an art/craft book be another good idea for a Christmas gift? You could purchase a book and then the materials needed for a craft or two within the book. That'd be fun for little ones, doncha' think?
Later this week I'll post on one of my own craft ideas.
~Stacy | 
