Focus On: Children's Projects

School is out for the summer in most places around the Northern Hemisphere. Here in the US, the days are getting longer and warmer. And while we all love having our children home, pretty soon, they start complaining about getting bored... You know how that goes.

No problem! Lily Bee design team to the rescue. Three of our team members are here to share four easy crafts you can create with your kids!

Project 1 by Kim Arnold:
(Kim lives in Australia, so the temps are dropping over there. But hey, these projects are good for Winter breaks too.)

Benson and I sat down and made some simple paper pinwheels together using some of the lovely Lily Bee double sided papers.  I let Benson pick the patterned paper that he wanted to use – nice big polka dots with a great contrasting patterned on the other side.  He also picked the brads that we used to put the pinwheels together.

I cut the paper down to 4x4 inches and then lightly drew pencil lines diagonally from corner to corner, marking where to stop cutting in the centre.  Benson then cut along the lines for me. 

I used a Crop-a-dile to punch holes in the paddle pop stick that we mounted the pin wheels on and the corners and centre of the pinwheels.  We then put the pinwheels together using a brad through the middle. 

Benson loved this simple craft and now he has a couple of pretty pinwheels to give to his teachers!

Lily Bee supplies:

This & That Patterned paper: Linens

Thanks Kim and Benson!

Project 2 by Kay Rogers:

One of the toughest things for me to do is to come up with projects that Jenna and I can do together in the summer. On this rainy day, she and I decided to make a canvas using the Happily Lost Collection from Lily Bee.

I had these 11x14 canvases that I got on sale at Michaels. First, I cut strips of paper in random widths to cover the frame, and centered a square in the middle. Jenna used a glue stick and placed the strips on the canvas.

  After all the strips were in place, the next step was to Mod Podge the entire canvas. It was by far Jenna's favorite part! I drew little stitch marks on the papers with a black pen because we wanted it to look somewhat like a quilt.

As the canvas dried, we went to work on a flower for the center. I had a Tim Holtz die for a flower, so we used it with some paper scraps. Jenna ran it though the die cutter to cut, then added texture to the petals. She then inked the edges.

Jenna then attached a brad to the center of the flower.

Here is the final canvas

And a closeup of the flower detail:

Lily Bee supplies:

Happily Lost patterned papers:

• Good Book
• Amazing Views
• Hammock
• Villa
• Stroll
• Sunsoaked

Thank you, Kay and Jenna!

Project 3 by Virginia Tillery:

Lobster Prints:

(Choose whichever steps you feel like your kids can do themselves- then you do the other parts!) 

1. Punch out circles from strips of blue shades of Lily Bee Patterned paper (I used This & That- Milk Bottle, Picket Fence- Veranda, Stationery- Slushie). Do them off of the edge, so that they create whimsical waves. Adhere them to a piece of kraft cardstock. 

2. Paint the bottom of one foot with red acrylic paint. WARNING: this is likely to be giggle inducing. Stamp it "upside down" on the page, on top of the waves, Keep lots of wipes handy to clean it off when you're done "stamping" with their foot. 

3. Paint hands with red paint and press them down on the page too. Paint on "arms" to attach the hands to the foot. 

4. Have your kiddos draw lines along the body, and glue on black punched circles and googly eyes. A fun beachy craft!

Project 4 by Virginia Tillery:

Summer Reading Bookmark Monster:

1. Cut a rectangle out of patterned paper (the Lily Bee Stationery line is perfect for this!). Fold into a triangle, and flip over. 

2. Decorate as you desire- we created "Monsters," but you can make a pretty one for yourself, too! 

3. Googly eyes make everything cuter. Trust me. 

4. Tuck on the corner of a favorite book and enjoy!

 

Lily Bee supplies used for bookmarks: 

Stationery: Pear, Slushie, Tangerine, Cotton Candy

This & That: Pretty Fabric

Happily Lost Mixed Cardstock Stickers

 

Thank you, Virginia, Emerson, Atticus, Sabriel, and Ariana!

Aren't you seriously in love with all of these? I am. I can't wait for my kids to get out of school later this week, so we can work on these projects together.

Have a great and fun week!