This is a fun project for both indoor and outdoor fun. Paper boats are always fun to make and watch. This is a twist on the original activity. You use cardboard and not paper and it propels itself.

This little boat really will travel in the tub or at the beach. Use a coping saw to cut your boat out of a thin piece of wood. You can use the lid of a wooden cigar box or a wooden shingle, or else a piece of plywood.

The boat is 10 inches long and 3 ½ inches wide. Curve one end of the boat as shown in figure 48. At the other end cut out a rectangular piece 3 ½ inches long and 2 ½ inches wide. This will leave a ½ inch strut on each side of the end of the boat.

The rectangular piece you have cut out is your paddle. Whittle or saw 1.2 inch off the side and the end of the paddle, so that it is 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. Next make a small notch in the middle of each side of the paddle and on the middle of the outside edges of the struts.

Put a rubber band around the struts, looping it in place in the notches. Insert the paddle in the space between the struts and the rubber band and wind the rubber band by turning the paddle around a number of times. Lay the boat in the water and let go of the paddle. The rubber band will unwind, turning the paddle and sending your boat away in a stream of spray.

Button yo-yo

With two large buttons, such as the ones used on a man’s overcoat, and you can make a yo-yo. Sew the two buttons together with the undersides of the buttons facing each other. To make space between the buttons for your string, put a match between the buttons while you are sewing them together. Then remove the match and wind the thread around the lose threads connecting the buttons to form a stiff shank. Sew through the shank several times and cut off the thread. Next tie a three-foot piece of string to the shank between the buttons, and wind the string around the shank. Tie a loop on the free end of the string and slip your middle finger through the loop. Now try to make the yo-yo wind and unwind by swinging your hand up and down.

A clown, a dragon, a pumpkin, or a pirate. You can be any of these things by making yourself a paper-mache mask.
Model a face out of clay. If you’d like a clown mask, give your clay face a large nose and big ears. Then make a pan of homemade paste by mixing together ¼ cup of flour and 1 cup of water. Cook the mixture over low heat for a few minutes, or until the paste becomes glossy. If you are going to use the paste right away, leave it in the pan. Otherwise put it in a jar and store it in the refrigerator so that it won’t spoil. A teaspoon of alum also helps to keep the paste from spoiling, but you wont need it if you make the mask right away.

Next, tear sheets of newspaper into strips about an inch wide and several inches long. Soak the strips in a bowl of water. Then cover the entire clay face with overlapping strips of wet paper. For the other layers, dip each piece of newspaper into the pan of paste before putting it onto the mask. Cover the entire mask with about six layers of newspaper. Be sure that you have put the strips of paper in different directions so that the layers are criss-crossed, and that you have given the entire mask its full six layers. If you miss any area, your mask will have a thin spot that may tear. Allow the mask to dry for several days and then lift it off the clay model.

Cut the eyeholes with a sharp knife. You can also cut a little hole for breathing. And a slit in the mouth if you wish. After removing the mask, allow the inside layers to dry for another day or two. Then paint the mask with poster paints. If you want the mask to have a shiny surface, paint or spray it with clear shellac.

Make some thumbprint art!

Kids will love making their thumbprints, and what’s more, they can make little creatures with them, like a spider, a ladybug, frog, caterpillar, etc! They will love it. There are tons of things you can do with thumbprints.

What you need:

Washable stamp pads – they come in a wide variety of colors, get them at a craft store
Markers, thin permanent markers will work best
Wipes for your Child’s thumb, so that the print does not get everywhere.

You can make many different things, but we will show you how to make a spider, a butterfly, and a ladybug

Start off with the black ink pad, and place the child’s thumb onto the pad. Then place the print onto the paper. Use the marker to make the leg come out from the sides of the print. You should make four legs from each side. Now, most spiders have eight eyes, but for this spider we shall make two eyes. Then we shall add a smile. You can also make a line coming out of the spider for a web.

Butterfly

Take some pink inkpads, or orange, or whichever you choose. Place your thumb onto the inkpad, and them place it onto the sheet. Then use your pinky, and place it onto the inkpad. Then make 2 wings on each side with the pinky. Then use the marker to make some antenna. Use the marker to make eyes and a big goofy smile. Also use the marker to decorate the wings. You can then sue the marker to make some dotted lines below the butterfly to show where it has been flying.

Now for a ladybug

Take the red inkpads, and use your thumb to place the print onto the paper. Then draw the feet with the marker. Make three on each side. Then draw a straight line across from where the first food is. Then from the middle of that line, draw a straight line down. Then draw the ladybug dots in the two wings you have just made, they are symmetrical dots. Then draw the antenna, and some eyes and a smile.

Pin piano

Different lengths of metal or string vibrate at different speeds. One of the reasons a piano has high and low tones is because the strings are of different lengths. A long string vibrates slowly, producing a low note, while a short string moves quickly and produces a high pitched sound. You can demonstrate this by making a pin piano. Take a little block of wood, such as a scrap of pine, and get nine straight pins. With a hammer, carefully drive the first pin a short distance into one end of the block. Drive each of seven other pins a little farther into the black so that you have a slanting row of pins. It’s kind of like the bars on a cell phone. One is a little bit bigger than the other. Use the extra pin to pluck the piano. See if you can play different songs on it.

Soda straw clarinet

An ordinary soda straw can be used to make a musical note as well as the funny noises you here when you suck the last drop out of soda from a glass. Here, we will make a great musical clarinet! Flatten about half an inch of the end of a paper drinking straw. Then cut a point in the flattened end. Put the flattened end into your mouth, and be careful not to tough the points with your lips, and blow hard. The points will vibrate rapidly and you will produce a musical note. If you cut pieces of straws at various lengths, you can make many different notes, because the tone is changed by the amount of air vibrating inside the straw.

Ringing spoon

Sound travels through other things besides air. It travels through string, and if you tie a kitchen spoon to the middle of a five foot length of string you will find this out for your self. Place the one end of a string in each ear and let the spoon swing so that it hits a leg of the kitchen table. The sound will be large like a large bell, because the sound waves have traveled directly through the string to your ears instead of spreading out into the air.

Predict the future for your friends! This is a very fun activity that may allow for hours of enjoyment and fun.

You will need

• 1 square piece of paper

1. Fold each corner to the middle of the paper.
2. Turn the paper over and again fold the corners to the middle of the paper
3. Turn the paper over again so that you are looking a four flaps of paper. Color each flap a different color or write the name of a different color on each flap
4. Turn over the fortune-teller again and write a number on each of the eight triangles on the four flaps.
5. Lift each flap and write a fortune for each triangle

How to use you fortune teller

1. Fold your fortune-teller in half, as shown, and insert your fingers. The flaps with the colors should appear on top. Pinch you index finger and thumb together on each hand and pull to open your fortune-teller one way. Press your two index fingers together and your thumbs together and push them apart to open your fortune teller the other way
2. Ask a friend to pick a color. Spell the color out loud, opening your fortune-teller in alternating directions with each letter
3. On the last letter, leave your fingers together so that the fortune-teller is open. Ask your friend to pick one of the numbers shown. Count to that number opening your fortune-teller in alternating directions with each number.
4. On the last number, leave your fortune-teller open and ask your friend to pick another number that is shown. Lift up the flap and your friends fortune will be revealed.

Potato printing – how to make your own handmade stamps

You will need:

• Several small dishes
• Paper towels
• Ink tempera paint or food coloring
• Potato
• Knife
• Paper

1. First you will need to make the ink pads for your stamp. Line the bottoms of several small dishes with a few layers of paper towels, trimming the parts of the towels that hang over the edge
2. Soak the towels with ink, tempera pain t, or food coloring, using a different dish for each color you want to use.
3. To make your stamps, cut a potato in half and carve a design into the flat end of the potato. You will need to cut away the parts you don’t want to print, and you will need to carve letters backwards.
4. Press your design into one of the colored inks and stamp the potato onto gift wrap, stationary, book jackets, greeting cards, shelf paper, or anything that you think deserves your special stamp.

How to make a boomerang

You will need:

• Tracing paper or thin white paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Stiff cardboard
• 2 books

1. Carefully copy the boomerang shape shown here onto tracing paper and cut it out. Transfer the shape onto the cardboard by tracing around this thin paper pattern. Cut out your boomerang from the cardboard.
2. 
3. To launch your boomerang, put it on the back of your hand with the long end hanging over the edge. Snap it sharply with your index finger, and it should curve away from you and then return.
4. If you have trouble with this method, create a launching pad with two books. Put your boomerang on one end of the books with the long end hanging over the edge. Lift up the end of the book opposite to the boomerang and put the second book underneath this end. The book on top should form a ramp that slopes gently toward the boomerang. Snap the boomerang off the book by flicking its tip with the eraser end of a pencil.

Everyone loves messing around with play dough! It’s so fun to create interesting looking sculptures. Moreover, its even more fun if its homemade play dough!

Here we have both a non-edible version of play dough and an edible version! Do not confuse the two.

Nonedible play dough

You will need:

• Bowl
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• ¾ cups water
• Food coloring

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl
2. Add the oil and a few drops of the food coloring to the water
3. Pour the water mixture slowly into the flour mixture, kneading with your hands until it becomes soft and doughy
4. Make anything you want with your play dough! Use this time to make some fun projects with family and friends
5. You can dry your projects in a 250 degree oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Or you can let them air dry. When the play dough is dry, decorate the clay with poster or acrylic paints.

Edible Play dough

Who wouldn’t want to have their cake and eat it too. In this case, you can make a fun and cool looking play dough sculpture and then eat it!

You will need:

• Bowl
• 2 cups powdered dry milk
• 2 cups sooth peanut butter
• 1 cup homey

1. mix the ingredients together in a bowl and stir until well blended.
2. make projects for your family and friends or create interesting edible party favors
3. projects can be decorated with raisons, shredded coconut, or other treats. These projects cannot be saved. They are made to be eaten! So don’t get to attached to the creation

A simple way to make hundreds of craft projects.

You will need:

• Rectangle of thick cardboard, 9×12 inches
• Scissors
• Safety pin
• Strips of cloth, ¼ to ½ inch thick

1. Cut notches ¼ inch apart into the 9-inch sides of the cardboard. Tie a strip of cloth to one corner of the cardboard, and then wrap it back and forth between the notches. Tie the other end of the strip at the corner of the rectangle that is diagonally across from the one you began with. You have now made you loom
2. Attach another strip of cloth to the safety pin and close the pin. Begin weaving by threading the pin under the first strip at the top of your loom. Push the pin over the next strip, then under the one after it. Continue in this way, over and under, all the way across the loom
3. When you reach the end of your loom, weave back the way you came, looping the cloth strips. This time, however, go under each strip you went over the first time, and over each strip you went under
4. Continue this for each row you want to weave, pulling the cloth strip over and under the loom. Make sure not to pull the strip too tight, or the edges of your final product will not be even
5. Once you have woven few rows, push the rows snugly together. If you come to the end of a strip of your weaving material and want to keep weaving, tie on a new strip with a strong double knot.
6. When you have finished weaving, be sure you are at the end of a row. Tie each end of your cloth to the loom strip next to it and lift both strip ends off the loom. To remove your work from the loom, bend down the tabs between the notches and slide the loom out.
7. You can also break the loom by cutting it in half and removing the pieces.

Some fun ideas for weaving projects:

Pot holder: weave 2 squares of the same size out of a candle wicking. Sew the two squares together and tie a loop to one corner of your pot holder so that it can be hung up

Place mat: make the notches on your loom 1/8 inch apart so that the weave will be finer. Use soft cotton string for both the loom and your weaving material.

Pocketbook: use thick cloth strips in a rectangular loom. When you have finished weaving, fold the rectangle and sew the sides of the pocketbook up. Add a snap so that your pocketbook will stay closed.

Plunk, squek, buzz, and crackle. Sounds are everywhere! Have fun with these projects

Water-glass Xylophone

One sound wave you have made, and have probably been told to stop making is by tapping a glassful of water with a spoon. This is not a polite dinnertime activity, but at some other time you can have fun creating different sounds with water glasses, or bottles in the kitchen. Take eight glasses or empty soda bottles of about the same size to make a water glass xylophone. Line the glasses up in a row. Fill the first glass nearly to the top, put a little less water in the second one than you did in the first, a little less in the third than you did in the second and so forth, until you reach the eight glass, where you shall put in only a little bit of water. When you tap the full glass lightly with a spoon it will make a low sound and each of the others will make a higher sound. The sound note increases from low to high as the water decreases. With this you can play simple tunes.

Tin can telephone

The principle you learned about traveling trough string can be used to make you r own private telephone. Cut the lid off two tin cans or oatmeal cartons. Punch a hole in the bottom of the cans with a hammer and a nail. Cut a piece of string about 50 feet long and put one end through the hole in each can. Tie a button to the ends of the string inside the cans so that the string will not slip out.

Have a friend take one of the tin cans phones and you hold the other. Move apart so that the string is pulled tight between you and isn’t touching anything. Then talk into your tin can while your friend holds his to his ear.

Liven a handmade card with a surprise, by making it pop up! Instead of going to the store and buying one, you can make your own! A cheaper and more heart felt solution to cards.

You will need:

• 2 pieces of paper, 8 ½ by 11 inches each
• Scissors
• Pens, pencils, markers, crayons, etc
• Glue

Directions

1. Fold both pieces of paper in half but put one piece aside
2. Cut two straight lines about 1 inch apart into the folded edge of the paper, make the cut in the middle
3. Fold the flaps you have just cut and make a crease, then unfold it
4. Unfold the folded paper and press the strip in the middle down until it pops through to the other side. Turn over the paper and refold it in the middle. Make sure that the pop up strip remains on the inside of the car.
5. Draw and cut out a small figure to attach to the pop up strip in your card. Glue it to the bottom half of the flap on the inside. You can make a witch for Halloween, or a present for a birthday, or a clown, a present, your choice.
6. Glue the other folded paper to the back of your card with the pop up strip. Be careful not to put glue on the strip itself
7. Now add drawings and words to the inside and outside of your card to complete it.