Tag: cardboard

Cardboard Nature Weaving

We are going to learn to weave on a loom together!

When I was a little girl in about grade 3 I went to a summer camp where a woman with very long hair and beautiful earrings taught us how to weave with beads on a loom. I had never seen a loom of any kind before and I watched with keen interest as she carefully threaded the beads onto her needle and through the threads. As she wove row upon row of beads, a picture began to appear before our eyes and I was hooked. Weaving would forever be something that enchanted me.

There is something comforting about the simple repetition involved in weaving a thread through a loom. Back and forth, back and forth, over and under, over and under. Each new thread tucked against the others begins to make a pattern. Even if I miss a thread here or there and mess up a little it still comes out looking lovely.

You will need:

  • Your cardboard loom
  • several long thin pieces of nature
  • a bit of coloured yarn
  • scissors
  • a stick a little longer than your loom
  • some string to tie your stick to your weaving
  • First I wandered around my yard and collected some long, thin things I thought would look pretty in my weaving.
  • I also brought some yarn and string with me into the backyard.
  • Then I got to work….
    Over under over under
    LOTS of times
  • I carefully snipped the bottom strings and tied them in knots to take it off my loom.
  • All done and even got it off my loom!
    My daughter, the artist, says it’s very pretty so I must have done well.
    What does yours look like?

To the grownup:

If you are needing more details instructions there is a beautiful (slow to load) post by the marvelous Jean at the Artful Parent. And for really great instructions about how to get your weaving off the loom and onto a stick you can hang on your wall head on over to Babyccino for how to get your project off the loom and add a stick so you can hang it on the wall.

If you look closely at my “finished product” you’ll see I didn’t actually tie the stick to my weaving I just stuck it through the loops. I also used masking tape to “hang” it. Still looks pretty. I might finish it one day….maybe….

Patchwork Houses

This adorable little idea comes to us from the amazing Bar from Art Bar Blog and if you don’t know about her and you have a creative child I suggest you get on over to her blog immediately and spend some serious note taking time.

Most of what you will need is in your kit this week but if you need supplies head on over to her blog and have a look at what you need to recreate this setup.

You will need:

  • Felt pen
  • White glue – in your preferred form
  • Supply kit

Set up all the materials in an inviting way and let your child create!

The houses will turn out super unique and possibility is just endless. These could be added to your child’s small world play or placed on display on a bookshelf.

Nature Journals

In your first weekly kit you will find a homemade nature journal. In case you need another one for siblings here is a super quick tutorial about how I made it.

You will need:

  • Sheet of cardboard
  • Box cutter
  • Hole Punch
  • Plain white paper
  • Yarn or string

I made nature journals out of box flaps but this led to very irregular and randomly sized journals which meant I couldn’t cut one size of paper and that I wasted a lot of paper trying to make it fit in the journals. Cardboard is free, paper is not. So…..I don’t recommend this.

What I do recommend is cutting or folding a piece of plain letter sized paper in half and using that as a size reference for your journal. You want to make the cardboard a little bit bigger than the journal so it is protected inside.

After you’ve cut two pieces of cardboard the same size you are going to punch holes in it with your hole punch. You can measure to do this if you want, I’ve got a pretty good eye for symmetry so I just wing it.

Punch both pieces of cardboard and several sheets of paper.

Make sure all the holes line up.

Thread the string through the holes. Tie some knots and you’re done!

It’s a super fun first activity to personalize your nature journal by cutting and gluing or drawing things on it.

Maybe you want to write your name. Glue some photos from a nature magazine. Sky is the limit.

Here is mine and some of our fellow Adventurers.

Fairy Door

Would you like the fairies to be able to come visit your backyard?

They need a special magical door to get in.

You will need:

  • Cardboard door cut out
  • Felts
  • Paint (optional)
  • glitter (optional)

The more time to you take to make your fairy door the more likely it is the fairies will know it is special and made just for them. Where is a beautiful special place in your yard? That’s where the fairy door should go.

What can you create around the door to make sure the fairies know it is safe to come into your yard?

Be careful with your toys. Fairies are very curious and mischievous creatures.

You might find the fairies will collect toys you’ve left strewn about in the yard and take them home with them.

To the grown up

This is an invitation for your child to embrace the world of magic and wonder.

Along with the cardboard cut out set up lots of beautiful materials for your child to create their magical door.

Flat back jewels, small beads, glitter, flowers, small stones, clay. The sky is the limit.

In my craft kits there is a special glue that remains tacky as it is drying. Placing a little bit of this along the edges of your door would enable a child to string a row of pebbles or beads along.

You can cut a frame for the outside of the door and add dimension and depth.

Building fairy doors is a project that can be enjoyed and scaled up or down to meet the skill level of the whole family.