Welcome to Pagan Children Crafts! Here you will find a wonderful grouping of Crafts and Activities for you and your little Witchlets. Check back often as we will be adding a great deal more to this section!
Do you have a craft that you do with your child? Would you like to see it posted here? Please use the "Comment Us" link and the top of the page to send us the Game or Activity. Please be sure to include your name so proper credit can be given!
Violets are edible and very high in Vitamin A. A good way to serve violets is to make them into candy and serve them on white cake.
What you will need:
violets (about twenty per cake)
a cake
white icing
egg whites
paint brush
fine granulated sugar
Bake a cake and put white icing on the cake. Make sure that the violets have been rinsed and let sit to dry a few minutes on paper towels. Beat the egg whites until they are light and fluffy. Using the paintbrush, CAREFULLY paint egg white on each of the flowers. Sprinkle fine granulated sugar over the flowers until they are covered. Decorate the cake with the flowers, serve, and enjoy!
Pressed Flowers
Gather flowers from outside on a nice day. If the flowers are wet, you will have to let them air dry just a little before you press them. Press the flowers by placing them between the pages of heavy books. Old phone books are perfect for this. Make sure you place paper markers in the pages that have flowers so you will not have to go looking for them when you are done. Be sure not to use nice books or books that you are fond of as the flowers will often stain the pages. Once the flowers are in the books, stack the books on top of each other and place in an out-of-the-way spot. Check the flowers in one week. If they are not completely dry, leave them for another week. Flowers usually take about two weeks to dry. When the flowers are done you can make things with them such as bookmarks, stationery and cards. To glue the flowers down, use a mixture of 1/2 glue and 1/2 water. Paint the backs of the flowers and glue them down. Then use some of the glue mixture to coat the flowers. You can make clear bookmarks by pressing the flowers between two pieces of laminate paper.
Candle Cans
Imbolc is a time to light many candles in celebration of the lighting of the world and the new warmth. Candle cans are a wonderful and safe way to decorate for this holiday.
You will need:
tin can
water
hammer
nail
paper
scissors
pencil or crayon
Save tin soup cans or other tall metal cans to use as candle holders. Fill the cans almost to the top with water and freeze them in the freezer. Cut a piece of paper to fit exactly around the tin can so that it covers the entire can. Have the child draw a picture on the paper the way that they want it to look on the can using dots as if it you were making a dot-to-dot picture.. (example: stars, flowers, suns, moons, etc.) Once the picture is finished, wrap the paper around the frozen can. Take a nail (adults will need to do this for smaller children) and hammer it lightly over each dot on the picture, so that it will be transferred to the can. When finished, remove the paper and let the ice melt. Put tea lites inside of the tin can through the opening in the top so that they sit on the bottom of the can. The pictures drawn in dots on the can will glow with the light of the flame and will be projected onto the walls of a dark room
Pine Cone Candle Holder
A very simple pine cone wreath can be made by gluing pine cones onto a wreath form cut from heavy corrugated cardboard. Use a small wreath form and small pine cones with a pillar candle placed in the middle for an attractive table decoration. Stick a little evergreen or holly in between the pine cones.
Winter Treats for Birds
If your yard has that dreary winter look, cheer it up with a tree decorated for the birds! String popcorn and cranberries. Hang scooped out orange halves filled with peanut butter and birdseed. Make suet balls and hang them in the mesh bags in which oranges and onions are packaged. Cut attractive shapes from paper plates, spread them with peanut butter and bird seed and hang them on your tree. Don't forget to put out some fresh water for the birds, also. Or put together a feeding station for the squirrels so that you can watch their antics through a window.
One of the most lovely crafts you can make before Ostara is baskets with real grass in them. This is easy for both children and adults to do.
What you will need:
Round basket
plastic disposable plant water catching dish as close to the size of the basket as you can find
dirt
grass seed
Place the dish inside of the basket. The closer the dish is to the size of the inside of the basket, the better. Fill the dish up to the top with potting soil. Sprinkle grass seed over the top of the soil and water. You will need to water the grass every now and then to keep the seeds moist. make sure to use lots of seed so that the grass grows thick and keep in a sunny location. When Ostara comes, you will have a wonderful grass-filled basket to put the eggs you find in. The basket can be kept with grass all year long as a window decoration, or the grass and soil can be tossed into the yard.
Ostara Egg Baskets
wooden strawberry baskets (1 quart size)
pastel poster paints in many different Easter Colors
paint brushes 1 for each child
LOTS of rinse water!!!!!!!
small kitchen sized garbage bags
Easter grass in many colors
The garbage bags make great paint smocks when your in a pinch. Simply cut a slit in the top large enough for the child's head, measure where their arms would be and cut two slits for the arm holes and HEY! You have instant paint smocks!! We saved ours, but you can toss yours its up to you.
Give each child a basket, and a paint brush. Scatter the paint colours and the rinse water cups around the table to encourage sharing and conversation.
The kids had a ball painting the baskets any way they wanted. They were so expressive with their ideas!! It was a wonderful art experience for them.
They were very proud of their work and were so excited when they saw how each basket was different from the rest.
Give each child some Easter grass to line their baskets. If you wish you might give each child a few Easter Eggs for their baskets.
Greet the May Day spirit with this 'growing green basket'.
An ideal green gift to surprise with!
Supplies:
Empty Milk Cartons
lump of potting soil
Grass Seed (fast growing if you have it)
a stapler
a roll of string and some wire
freshly picked herb sprigs,
flower heads (orchids, lilies, or others)
plant foliages( like ivy)
Take empty milk cartons, cut down to 4-5" high.
Cover the basket with construction paper and decorate.
Fill around 2/3 full with potting soil.
Then generously sprinkle grass and some weed seeds.
Have it watered daily. Grass should grow in about 4-7 days.
With the remaining cartons, cut a handle out and staple it to the basket.
Do not add other greens till the last moment. Wire some herb sprigs and flower heads such as orchids, lilies, foliages of ivy or the likes, in separate bunches. Add them to the basket before taking it out to be hooked on the door knob of your dear ones.
Flowery Beltane Hat
A flowery May Day hat An elegant summer hat draped with fresh flower. Isn't this a great idea to celebrate the May Day. The real green way!
Supplies:
Poster board
a marker pen
one soft pencil
a pair of compasses (one of those found in the geometry box)
a ruler
scissors
glue
transparent tape
twisted paper for decoration
Steps:
1.) Before getting started, fix up the size of the hat roughly.
Tips: Place a ruler flat on the top of the wearer's head. Mark the two ends that hold the length of the wearer's head with a bright colored marker pen. Read the length. Place the ruler on a paper and mark these two marked-ends along the ruler with two dots.
2.) Now, use a pair of compasses to draw a circle on colored poster board. Fix up the pencil from the needle of the compass at a length equal to the one read by the ruler.
3.) For a better design, add some 5cm or 2 inches above the length you fix up. Now complete drawing the circle. When the first circle is finished, draw a second circle 2.5 cm or 1 inch inside the first one.
4.) Make even cuts up to that 2.5 cm/1 inch deep from the edge of the paper to the penciled inner circle. Cut out the paper around the outer circle. This will help you to bend the posterboard along the line of the drawn circle. Fold the cut flaps of paper straight way up. (as shown in the picture)
5.) For the sides of the hat, cut a strip of paper 7.5 cm/3 inches wide and long enough to fit around the folded-up edge of the paper circle. Then draw a line lengthways down the middle of the paper.
6.) Make even cuts in the same way as before along the drawn line on the paper strip. Spread glue along the outer uncut side.
7.) Stick the glued side of the paper band around the edge of the paper circle, ensuring that all the cut strips are neatly attached to it.
8.) Cut a larger circle of card of contrasting color for the brim. Ideally it should be 7.5 cm/ 3 inches wider all around than the crown.
9.) Cut out a circle from the center of the brim that measures the same diameter as the crown. Place the crown right way up on a surface, with the cut strips around the sides of the hat folded outwards. Then slide the brim into position. When you know it fits neatly, turn the hat over. And glue the cut strips in place on the brim. Secure them with transparent tape and leave to dry.
10.) Add finishing touches with wide ribbons, bows and flowers.
Paper Flowers
-by AmberSkyfire
You will Need:
colored construction paper or tissue paper
glue
scissors
craft sticks or popsicle sticks
crayons
Draw flowers on the colored construction paper. You can use each color for different flowers or only one color. Use your imagination when making flowers. You can trace objects like your hand or a toy or use stencils. Color the flowers with the crayons and paste the flower parts together.
Glue the flowers onto the sticks and then add leaves that you have cut from green construction paper.
Paper flowers can be placed anywhere for decoration and look great in baskets. You can stick them in a flower pot of dirt or crumpled paper for lovely potted flowers that will never die. These flowers also make great gifts for loved ones.
Each ice cube space in the ice tray will be one popsicle. Fill the ice tray with juice. You can use as many juices as you want and mix them or keep the flavors seperate. Once the tray is full, Place a piece of plastic (or foil) wrap over the top. Make sure that the edges are pulled tight. Stick a toothpick in each cube through the plastic wrap so that it sticks out. Place the popsicles in the freezer. Wait until they are frozen and then enjoy, but make sure not to eat the toothpick. (adults may just want to give small children the ice cube without the stick, though it might be a little messy.) This project is really wonderful because the popsicles are made mostly of juice instead of sugar and are good for children and save money.
Hairy Harry
What you need:
Styrofoam cup or paper cup (recycle)
scissors
construction paper
markers
glue
buttons (or cut them out of paper for young children)
potting soil
rye grass seed
Steps:
1.) Have the children cut eyes, ears, mouths, nose, etc...out of construction paper and glue in place on their cup. Let them also use markers to color on the cup. Let them use buttons to embellish or anything else you may have lying around.
2.) Have the children fill their cups about 2/3 full of potting soil. Then plant the rye grass seeds in the soil. Place the cups in a sunny place and water regularly.
3.) Hairy Harry will begin to grow "hair" in about seven days.
Wind Socks
You will need:
Styrofoam cup large one works great
crepe paper streamers 6 colors
yarn
glue
sharp pencil
Take the cup and poke 6 holes in the end of the cup.... Cut strips of streamers about 15 ins long. Roll the end to make a pointed tip.. Poke throw hole and put glue on tip and stick to inside of cup. Do this will all six color strips. Poke a hole on the side to cup and put another hole opposite to that. Take some extra crepe paper and glue on outside cup-- doesn't matter what it looks like... tie yarn through holes on side and fly cup when dry!!
Go for a "nature walk", and collect various leaves, seedpods, and small sticks. Take one piece of wax paper (any size you want), and place the items on this piece. Take another piece of wax paper, same size, and lay this carefully over the first piece. Iron the two pieces together. (Adult supervision required!) These clear placemats also look nice hung in windows.
Harvest Napkin Rings
-by AmberSkyfire
You Will Need:
construction paper
scisors
pencil
glue
napkins (paper or cloth)
ruler (optional)
hole punch (optional)
Cut out strips of paper about 1 inch wide and long enough to fit around your napkins when they are rolled up (about 5 inches long should do it).
Using the pencil, draw harvest designs in colored construction paper and cut them out. You can make pumpkins using orange paper for the pumpkin and green for the stem or corn cobs using different colors punched out with a hole punch and string for the cornsilk. Once you have made as many harvest pictures as you will need, glue each picture into the center of the strips that you cut at the beginning. Wrap the ends of the ring around the napkin and glue in place.
Harvest Corn Cob
Make a Thanksgiving corn decoration out of paper and popcorn! An easy group craft to make.
What You Need
Scissors
Glue
Popcorn kernels
Popped popcorn
Yellow and green construction paper or printed pattern and crayons to color it
Making your Corn Collage
Step 1 - Make the Corn Picture
Cut out a corn cob shape from yellow construction paper and cut out some leaves from green construction paper. You might find it easiest to cut out the corn cob, then lay it on the green paper, then draw the leaves, then cut them out. You can glue the finished shape to thin cardboard if you want to make it sturdier.
Step 2 - Attach the corn
Put glue all over the corn cob section, the glue unpopped or popped corn (or both) to the cob.
I love handprint crafts! I save each one in a special binder and peek at them every so often. It's fun to compare and see how they've grown.
Materials:
glue
scissors
yellow, orange, and red paint or construction paper.
There are two ways to do this craft. One is to trace the child's hand onto paper and cut out the prints. The second is to make paint handprints on the paper and cut those out.
Make nine handprints (3 of each color).
Cut out the prints and glue to form a wreath.
You can decorate the wreath further with pictures (like leaves, pumpkins or corn).
Supplies:
Leaves
Paint ("fall" colors)
Black Construction Paper
Lots of Newspaper
Put down lots of newspaper! Paint one side of each leaf (not too thick). Carefully arrange leaves in one layer, paint side up, on clean newspaper. Place a piece of black construction paper over the top of the leaves and press gently! A little messy, but very fun.
Wrap the tissue around the lolly and tie its neck with yarn around the base of the candy part.
Draw scary eyes on the tissue with the felt pen.
Present your ghostly lolly to the ghoul of your choice.
Makes the perfect Halloween Party Favor. These are also great decorations. Make a ghost mobile to hang in the house or on the porch!
Wiggley Spider
Supplies Needed:
Black Paint
Orange construction paper
Black Yarn
White Chalk
Scissors
Glue
Paintbrushes
Hands
Instructions:
Make sure to spread out newspaper over the work area.
Paint inside of palm and fingers, excluding the thumb, with black paint.
With fingers slightly spread, press palm on orange construction paper so that fingers are pointing to the right side of the paper. Make an identical print with fingers pointing to the left side of the paper, overlapping the palm prints completely.
Glue a piece of black yard to the paper, extending from the top of the spider's body to the top of the page. You may also draw a string.
Draw a face in the spider with chalk or white paint.
Creepy Spider Bracelets
What You Need
Black construction paper
Wiggle eyes
White paper (for "fangs")
Paper fastener
Stapler and staples
Scissors
White crayon
Glue
Pencil
How To Make It:
1.) Fold black construction paper in half.
2.) Along folded edge, lay child's hand palm down (midway through palm) and trace fingers with white crayon.
3.) Cut out the outline of the fingers.
4.) Unfold and you have a complete image of a spider with eight legs. Now turn the spider over and with the pencil, roll the legs around the pencil...this makes the legs curl under and gives a more creepy, crawly effect.
5.) Cut a 1" strip of black paper from the remaining scraps, and form it into a circle for the bracelet part. At the appropriate length, staple the ends together.
6.) Attach the bracelet to the underside center of the spider using the paper fastener.
7.) Glue on the wiggle eyes and the "fangs" that you design and cut from the white paper to the spider's head.
8.) The child puts his/her fingers or wrist through the bracelet...the kids can make their spiders creep and crawl with a back & forth rocking motion of their wrists. The paper fastener allows the spider to turn back and forth or 360 degrees, too!
Goopy Slime
2 Cups Water
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
Food Coloring
Boil 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Add cornstarch while stirring. After that is mixed well, add food coloring and stir. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Make sure they play with it on a plastic covered surface.
- by Edain McCoy
You can easily make a prosperity talisman to give away by using items found in you own backyard, or with old coins from the bottom of your change purse. Anything which speaks to you of prosperity is appropriate. You will also need a single dollar bill (real or fake), a 3 1/2" x 5" rectangle of poster board, a pen, a pair of scissors, and some decorative items like glitter or paint. Leaving the four corners of the card blank, decorate the rest of its face with glitter, ribbons, magical symbols, herbs, or any other items linked with the attributes of prosperity. Next, take the dollar bill and cut off the four corners. Glue the bill's triangular corners to the four corners of your card. This is sympathetic magic-one must have money to attract money. Then, either on the back of the card, or on a separate piece of paper, write out instructions for using the talisman: This is a talisman of prosperity. Place this card someplace where you will see it every day, preferably in a bedroom. At least once a day hold the card to your breast and spend several minutes reciting the chant: Talisman of prosperity, all good things now come to me. Be sure to strongly visualize the success of the talisman as you are constructing it. When blessed, decorated, and wrapped, this simple card becomes a cherished and functional gift.
Making Pomanders
These are great at yule. All you need are whole cloves and oranges. Just stick cloves into the skins of oranges. The cloves will draw the juice out of the orange allowing it to dry and release a spicy orange scent that will last for weeks. Cover the orange with cloves leaving about 1/4 inch spaces between the cloves. Turn the pomander every few days to allow it to dry evenly. These will make the house smell wonderful. You can even put one in the car as an air freshener. It will last longer than the little cardboard ones you find in the store, and smell better.
Dehydrated Orange Slices
These are also excellent at yule because they represent sun symbols. All you will need for this craft are oranges. Choose only small oranges with a thin smooth peel. The large, fleshy oranges tend to go bad before they are dry. Cut off the two ends. Cut the oranges into slices no more than ¼ inch thick. Place the slices in an oven at 200F and leave the door ajar. Turn them every 10 - 15 minutes. It will take about two to five hours. When you are done, you will be left with thin, clear, dry orange slices. These can be used in potpourri, hung in windows or made into wreaths and garlands.
Yule Snowflakes
Celebrate the season of winter by making these perfect six sided snowflakes. Use them to decorate your windows.
What you need:
Paper
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil
Plate or cereal bowl
Glitter and glue - optional
Crayons or markers - optional
What you do:
1.) Lay the plate or bowl upside down on the paper. Trace around the rim. Remove the plate or bowl and cut out the circle you made.
2.) Fold the circle in half.
3.) Fold the outsides in as shown in diagram.
4.) Fold the paper in half.
5.) You are now ready to begin cutting out the design of your snowflake. Do not cut away all folds or the snowflake will fall apart.
6.) Gently unfold the snowflake and see what kind of design you have created.
7.) Optional: put dabs of glue on the snowflake and sprinkle with glitter or color them.
Yule Log
by AmberSkyfire
When Yule comes around, celebrate by creating a Yule log. Take a walk in the park or near your home if you live in a rural area. Look for the perfect log to burn in your fireplace. Remember to try and choose a log that has already fallen instead of cutting one from a living tree. Driftwood is also good to use. Collect items to decorate your log with. These can be:
holly leaves and/or berries
oak leaves
winter flowers
pine cones
pine needles
corn or corn husks
mistletoe
evergreen sprigs
gold string or bows
apple cider
Decorate the Yule log in the fireplace before starting the fire. Traditionally, the Yule log was supposed to burn for 12 days. Today, however, few people are able to have a fireplace or log to size. Save a piece of the log to use to light the next year's log.
Snowflake Stickers
These stickers are great for Yule and are fun to stick around the house.
You will need:
glitter
thick dimensional white or silver fabric paint
clear plastic sandwich bag
snowflake patterns
Place the pattern inside the plastic bag and make sure the plastic lies perfectly flat. Trace over the pattern with the fabric paint making sure to keep the paint thick. While it is still wet, sprinkle glitter over the snowflake. Wait a few hours until it dries and then peel the snowflake off of the plastic. Stick them wherever you like! They come off easily and don't leave any residue behind.
You can make these out of old crayons and glass votive candle holders which can be found for about 50 cents at a local craft store or Wal-Mart. Using a potato peeler, slice pieces of wax from the crayons. You can use as many colors as you want to. Find some Cotton string to use as the wick. You may have to braid pieces together to make them the desired width. Place the wick in the votive holder and press the wax pieces in around it. You can make bands of colors or just use one color. If you are really creative, you can even make pictures out of the wax. Build the candle up as high as you like. It is okay if there are air bubbles in the candle, you do not have to press that hard. When you are finished, you can burn your candle. Once the candle burns out, you can make another one using the same glass votive holder.
WARNING: Non-Edible
Mix together well. Set on trays for play, or use waxed paper. Can be used as the commercial Silly Putty is. Store in an airtight container.
Blank books are one of my favorite things to make. They are fun to fill, make wonderful books of shadows, and are also wonderful gifts to give on any occasion.
You will need:
Paper - any amount and type of paper that you want for your pages will work
Two pieces of Corrugated Cardboard cut slightly (about 1/8 inch) larger than the pages
a hole punch
glue
dried, pressed flowers and leaves
2 pieces of colored cloth or paper cut two inches larger all around than the cardboard
twine or string for the binding and a needle large enough to thread it
2 pieces of clear laminate paper cut the same size and shape as the cloth
an awl, icepick, or a sharp pencil
Begin by punching holes into the paper. You can have as many holes as you like. Four or five holes are probably best. Punch the holes in one sheet of paper. Punch the other sheets by laying this sheet on top of the others and using the holes as guides. When you are finished, take the two pieces of cloth and the pieces of cardboard. Lay one piece of cardboard directly in the center of the cloth. Pull the sides of the cloth up around the cardboard and glue them down all around the edges. Do this with the other cardboard sheet and piece of cloth. Determine which of the two will serve as the front cover of the book. Decorate the front with flowers and leaves by gluing them lightly to the fabric or paper. Next, lay the decorated board face down on the laminate paper, taking care not to allow any bubbles or creases to form in the laminate. Cut the corners of the paper square just to the corners of the cardboard. Fold the sides over and press them down. Do the same with the back cover.
Next, lay the top cover over the pad of papers and lay the bottom cover under the papers. Straighten them so that they lay exactly above and below one another. Punch the awl or pencil through the top cover where the holes in the paper are punched. Using the needle and twine, thread through the holes tightly to bind the book together. Once the book is bound, open the covers and glue the first and last page of the book to the front and back covers to cover the cardboard and the edges of the cloth and laminate paper.
Brown packing tape (or any kind of tape you can paint on)
tempera paint
Toothpicks
white glue
rice
For small children, you can pre-poke holes (a lot of holes) in the tube before the kids start to work on it. Bigger kids can poke their own holes through both sides of the tube. Either way, once the holes are done, cover one end of the roll with tape. Use tape you can paint on so it can be decorated later.
Paint the stick with brown tempera paint. Let the paints dry, then stick toothpicks so they go through one hole and out another. Glue both ends of the toothpick to the tube. The whole idea is to have the toothpicks going in at different angles to make the required sound. Have an adult cut off any protruding ends of the toothpicks.
Then fill the stick with rice. Let the child decide on their own how much to use; just have them put the rice in a little at a time and have them flip it back and forth so they can hear the "rain" sound until they have it just the way they want. It won't take a lot of rice.
Tape up the other end with paintable tape, and, there you have it, a rain stick!
These are especially great for making Day of the Dead decorations.
1/2 cup salt
3/4 cup hot water
2 cups flour (do not use self-rising flour)
Stir the salt and water for about one minute. Add the flour. Work the dough with your hands until it is soft and pliable. The dough should have the consistency of modeling clay. Place a wet cloth over the dough to keep it moist while you’re working on your creations. Dip your fingers in the water if the dough feels dry and crumbly. If your dough still seems too dry, add a little more water.
Create skulls and bones. You can make flat, cookie-like ornaments, or rounded three-dimensional forms. For a skull, make a ball, then use a knife or your fingers to give it features. Bones are easy. Think of a cartoon dog’s bone. If you intend to hang your finished ornaments, make a hole with a nail or toothpick before baking. Remember the hole will get smaller as the ornament bakes.
Put the ornaments on a cookie sheet and bake fond of as the flowers will often stain the half. The ornaments are easier to remove if you cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Let the ornaments cool completely then decorate them with acrylic craft paint. Add the flowers, vines, insects, and other animals that give them their special charm. It’s not necessary, but if you want to protect the finished ornaments, coat them with clear varnish or spray them with an acrylic sealer. These ornaments are not edible!
Wind chimes are very easy to make and calm any room they are hung in. And what parent doesn't appreciate a little calm?
For this project, you can experiment with materials a little bit, and see what makes the best sound. For outdoor chimes, you can go to hardware stores and get hollow metal rods. Have the store cut the rod in to different sizes for a beautiful array of notes. For indoor chimes, you can use metal trinkets, ceramic figurines, or anything your imagination can dream up. Terra cotta tiles are easy and sound great, but you can also use rods, pieces of porcelain tile, sea shells, bits of slate or stones, jewelry, glass, old toys, and so on.
For starters, you will need an embroidery hoop, some fishing line and chimes to attach. Any sharp edges on any chimes need to be supervised for small children. You may simply want to get some sandpaper to deal with the sharp edges. Or for a safe and purely decorative chime for small children, try dipping macaroni onto water color and using those.
To make the chimes, tie the fishing line across your embroidery hoop and then tie the other side to create a cross. From this you will attach your chimes. Tie a hanging loop on the hoop and hang the hoop on the back of a chair. This will make it easier to attach your chimes and evenly distribute the weight.
Using the materials you have chosen, tie or hot glue the objects onto the fishing line, then tie around the hoop. Keep doing this at different lengths until you have chimes hanging from all around the hoop. Take care to spread the objects evenly, and to make them hang at lengths where they will come in contact with one another as they move in the wind or at the hands of your child.
Finally, attach some chimes in the center of the hoop where you first created a cross. Make sure your chimes are evenly balanced n weight and add a few more where necessary before hanging. Hang the chimes, and with your children, be sure to take time to enjoy the product of your own labor.
Place several newspapers on the table to protect it. Separate the crayons by color. Use a knife or a potato peeler to make shavings out of them. A pencil sharpener also works well, but crayons will dull the pencil sharpener.
On the white paper, draw several Pagan symbols (pentagram, tree, chalice, etc.). You can also use printed pictures as long as they are very simple. Choose a symbol that has special meaning to you. Then place one piece of wax paper wax side up over your picture, and sprinkle the wax shaving in the colors you like in the form of the chosen symbol. Be sure you leave a one-inch border around all the edges. The final step is to place the other sheet of wax paper, wax side down, in top and seal it with a warm iron. The crayons will melt and crate a stained glass symbol. You can frame it or just put a hole through the top of the wax paper and hang it in the window for a sun catcher or a house blessing.
This is a perfect way to play winter in the summer or to create privacy, as in a bathroom window. Make sure you start by cleaning your windows completely.
Dissolve 4 heaping tablespoons of Epsom salts in 1 cup of beer. This mixture will foam, so be sure you do it in an area that you can easily clean up afterward. Let the beer mixture set for at least 30 minutes. The salt crystals will partially dissolve. After the time has elapsed, apply the mixture to your window. This can be done with a cheap two-inch paint brush from any hardware store, but for a nicer effect, you can dip a facial tissue or terry cloth in the liquid and wipe over the window as if you were washing it. Smeary is better in this case, so let the child go to it!! Then while the window is still wet go back and dab and pat at the glass with the wet tissue to create patterns. The mixture will dry to form beautiful crystals. It will look even better the next day, and lasts quite a long time. In time, the mixture can be washed off with water and a cloth, and it is easily reapplied. So you can do it over and over until you've got it just the way you want it.
Find smooth round stones from your yard or from a riverbed. You can create gifts and talismans with just a little acrylic paint. Paint on totem animals, symbols of luck or runes of protection. Just have fun with it.
A pentacle dream catcher is not difficult to make. It requires a circular ring; even a large curtain ring will do. You will also need some thread, string, or heavy crocheting thread to weave the design upon this ring. If you really want to be decorative, you can string tiny beads on the thread and attach little feathers where the string is wound around the ring.
To begin, tie one end of the thread to the ring. Wind the thread around the opposite side of the ring three times at a slight angle from the original attachment, pulling it tight. This will be part of the left leg of the pentacle. Each time you attach the thread to the ring, wind it three times.
Now wind the thread about the ring a short distance from the 1st tying. Your design should look like an inverted V-shape. Pulling the string to the let side of the ring, wind it about the ring a little more than half-way up the side. Adjust it until it looks like the lower angle of the cross-arm of teh pentacle. Now stretch the thread across to the opposite side and wind it about the ring. For the finishing angle, pull the thread back to the point of the beginning.
If you carefully check the angle of the thread each time you prepare to wind it at another point on the ring, you can adjust the design. Make a small loop for hanging at the top of the pentacle.
If you want to string beads on the thread, do it on each section before you wind the thread around the ring. I've seen one pentacle dream catcher decorated with a Samhain artificial cobweb and a tiny spider in the center.
Dream catchers do work. They are symbols of personal control over dreams. And the subconscious mind which creates dreams only understands symbols.
Besides bees that nest in hives of thousands, some bees prefer to live alone. Bumble bees and carpenter bees are just two examples of bees which love to nest in holes. You can help these wonderful pollinating creatures by building an easy bee house.
You will need:
block of wood 6x6x6 inches
a drilll with a 3/16 inch bit
an eye screw
some string
You will need an adult to help you with the drilling. Drill about 12 holes in random places on one side of the block 5 inches deep. These will be the individual bee houses. Be sure that the holes are drilled at just a slight upward angle to prevent the rain from coming in. Screw the eye screw into the very center of the top of the bee house and tie a piece of short heavy string to it. Hang your bee house in a tree where you think the bees would be safe from the elements. As the wood ages it will turn a nice gray color and blend in with the surroundings. Your bees will return again and again to visit your house and stay around to pollinate your gardens.
Everyone has a glove or two lying around the house that will never be used. Remember that glove that lost its mate last winter? Put it to some good use instead of throwing it away.
You will need:
a glove
scissors
markers
different colored felt
wiggly eyes
colored pipe cleaners
acrylic craft paint (all colors)
yarn
elmer's school glue
Begin by snipping each finger off of the glove at the base. One glove will make 5 finger puppets. You may want to create puppets for characters from a story or you can create a story for them after you have created the characters. All sorts of people, plants and animals can be made from fingers of gloves. For example, if you want a bat, just cut some wings and tiny round ears from black felt and glue them to the finger piece. Glue on some wiggly eyes and you have a bat. If the glove is not black, you can paint it with some acrylic craft paint before you glue on the parts. For a cat, just cut some pointy ears, yarn whiskers and a little yarn tail. Butterflies, bees and even people are easy to make. For people, you can just glue on yarn for hair. Cut clothes out of the felt and glue them onto the front of the finger. When you are finished it is easy to make a little stage for your characters. Just use a shoe box. Turn the box on its side and cut a rectangle out of the bottom of the box leaving about 1/2 inch all around the sides and 1 1/2 inches on the bottom. This will be what you hide your hands behind. Cut the top off and make curtains from red cloth or felt. You can even paint the sides of the box to look like a background and make props such as trees or furniture out of colored paper. Mount them on popsicle sticks to use in your performance!
