Simple Art and Craft Projects for Kids (16)

It's been a long while since I last posted about craft projects of my kids. That is because last school year, most of their art projects were done in school. So, I don't get the chance to take pictures of what they made.

The school art projects below are those which I failed to post last year.

1. Pencil stand made of popsicle sticks and used cans

Pencil stand set made of Popsicle Sticks and Used Cans

This is Angel's project in her Grade 2 art class using recycled materials. She looked for 3 different sizes of empty cans. Then she cut the popsicle sticks to size and used a glue gun to attach them around the cans. When dry, she decorated the pencil stands with red ribbons, butterfly and star stickers, flowers and some decorative paper. This is a nice project for recycling cans.

2. Bamboo Coin Bank Decorating

My second son did a project like this before. He decorated a bamboo coin bank using the technique called decoupage. You can see his bamboo coin bank project here. So when the two girls were given their own bamboo coin bank to decorate, they looked for other ways to decorate their piece.

The coin bank on the left side in the picture below is Janel's project. She painted her bamboo coin bank after adding some embossed designs. She used the glue gun to draw flowers and some lettering spelling her name. Afterward, she used acrylic paint to paint the bamboo.

The coin bank on the right is Kristel's. On one-half of the bamboo, she made a stencil of her name and a heart out of paper, used scotch tape to stick them on the bamboo and painted the background with acrylic paint. When she removed the paper stencil, the design revealed her name and heart. On the other half of the bamboo, she used different colors of paint to draw patterns (lines and zigzags).

The techniques used in designing the bamboo coin banks may be used in other recyclable items, too. You can decorate used wine bottles, jars and cans so they become beautiful decorative pieces.

Bamboo coin bank with embossed design and Bamboo coin bank decorated with stencil and patterns

3. Candle Projects - Candle Carving and Recycled Candle

These are projects of Emmuel for Grade 8, I think. The photo on the left is a pawn (chess) made by carving or sculpting a candle. It may look easy to make but it's not at all. You need to be careful in using the cutter to take away parts of the candle to reveal the desired shape.

The photo on the right is a recycled candle. Emmuel took some melted candles from the cemetery when we went there one All Saint's Day. The materials needed for this project include an empty Pringles or Picnic canister, cotton string as a candle wick, pieces of crayon - 3 colors, an empty used can, a bamboo stick

Here's the procedure for making the recycled candle (if I remember it right - I just watched him do it).

1. Melt the candle in an empty can.
2. Tie a string in the center of a bamboo stick, then place the stick over the mouth of the Pringles canister and suspend the string at the center. Make sure the string reaches the bottom of the canister.
3. Add pieces of crayon of one color to the melted candle until they melt. Stir the mixture.
4. Pour the melted candle into the canister.
5. Let it cool. 
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 but use a different color of crayon. Do this 3 times or as many times as you want.
7. When you're done and the candle is cool, remove the Pringles canister by cutting and tearing it.

4. Recycled CD Box

This is Kristel's school project. The instruction was to use recyclable materials. In order to make this decorative box, the materials include an old plastic container (she used a container of Galaxy chocolates), old CDs, a glue gun, and embellishments, such as beads, buttons, etc.

Here's the procedure for making this project:

1. Cut the CD into pieces with irregular shapes. Be careful as the CDs can have sharp edges.
2. Use the glue gun to attach the CD pieces all around the container making something like a mosaic. The reflective side should be facing up.
3. Embellish the container as desired.

This decorative box is perfect as a receptacle for jewelry pieces and watches or hair accessories. It looks nice doesn't it.

Decorative CD Box

I hope I can post other art and craft projects next time. I will if my kids bring home some more projects from school.