FISHING FOR LETTERS

Materials Needed

• Fishing container (ice cream tub, or
  any bowl, box or tub with cover)
• White acrylic paint
• Poster paint
• Paint brushes
• Palette
• Construction paper
• Felt tip pens
• Drinking straw or chopstick
• Small magnet
• Paper clips
• Scissors
• Scotch tape

  Steps

  	1.	Find a suitable fishing container. An ice cream tub, gift box, tissue box, paper bowl with cover, or similar container can be used.
  	2.	Make a hole at least 2 inches in diameter at the center of the container's cover.
  	3.	Cover your work area with a mat or with newspapers. Prime the container with white acrylic paint.

	4.	Let the paint dry thoroughly.
	5.	It's time to get the container ready for fishing by painting with poster paint. Paint the exterior blue to give it a sea/water theme. You may use other colors to accent it such as the green color I painted around the rim.
	6.	Paint some waves all around the blue walls of your container. You can also paint some fishes or other aquatic creatures.
	7.	Set aside to dry.
	8.	Let's prepare the alphabet letters. Cut approximately 1 in. x 1 in. squares from construction paper and write a letter on each square. Older kids can write the upper case letter on one side and the lower case letter on the other side of the square. A variation would be to write a letter on one side and draw an object beginning with that letter on the other side.
	9.	Attach a paper clip to each letter square.
	10.	Drop the letter squares into the fishing container.
	11.	Cut string to approximately 1 ½ to 2 feet in length. Tape one end of the string to a small magnet.
	12.	Tie the other end of the string to the end of a drinking straw or chopstick.
	13.	Use the fishing rod to "fish" for alphabet letters. Can you identify each letter that you catch?
	14.	You can also do a spelling game. Fish for a few letters and spell something from the letters you just caught.

BUTTON BRACELET

Materials Needed

• Buttons
• String
• Craft foam
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Round bells (optional)

Steps

	1.	Cut a ¾-inch wide strip of craft foam long enough to go around your wrist.
	2.	Mark 4 equally-spaced points along the length of the craft foam strip.
	3.	Add 2 more points- one beside the 2nd and the other beside the 3rd points. Now you have a total of 6 marked points.
	4.	Use the tip of a pencil to punch a hole through each marked point.
	5.	Cut a piece of string about 4 inches longer than your craft foam strip. Make a knot on one end. For easier stringing, you can ask an adult to singe the other end of the string.
	6.	Insert the string through the first hole along the craft foam strip. String the first button, weaving in through one hole and out through the other buttonhole.
	7.	Continue stringing the buttons until you reach the first pair of middle holes along the craft foam strip. Sew through these pair of holes on the craft foam.
	8.	Sew more buttons until you reach the next pair of middle holes. Again, sew through these pair of holes on the craft foam.
	9.	Add more buttons until you reach the last hole along the craft foam. Insert the string through this hole and pull it all the way through.
	10.	Make a looped knot at the back.
	11.	Cut the excess length of string.
	12.	You've just finished making your wonderful button bracelet.
	13.	To wear the bracelet, put it around your wrist and close by hooking the loop around the nearest button on the opposite end of the bracelet.

DOUGH BEAD JEWELRY

Materials Needed

Salt dough (flour, salt, water) Poster paint Paint brushes Palette Scissors Strings Drinking straws Plastic beads (optional) Paper clips or pipe cleaner (optional) Wood varnish (optional)

Safety Guidelines

• Always let your child use child-safe scissors.
• Varnishing should only done by an adult and should be done outdoors.
• Watch out for this sign . It means you need an adult's help for the particular step.

Steps

	1.	Prepare uncolored salt dough.
	2.	Shape the dough into round, cube, star, heart or other shapes. You can also make abstract or random shapes.
	3.	Use the tip of a paint brush or pencil to make a hole through the center of each shape.
	4.	If you want to turn the bead into a pendant, make a link by inserting a paper clip or a pipe cleaner inside the dough bead.
	5.	Let the dough beads dry overnight.
	6.	Once the beads are dry, paint them as you please. You can use solid colors or you can make stripes, dots or abstract patterns.
	7.	Let the paint dry thoroughly. If you want your salt dough beads to last for a long time, ask an adult to varnish them for you.
	8.	Cut strings long enough to make your desired jewelry. Make a knot on one end of the string.
	9.	String the painted dough beads with drinking straw pieces and plastic beads.
	10.	If you're using an elastic string like this one, you can tie the ends together before wearing the jewelry.
	11.	Wear your dough bead jewelry.
	12.	Try experimenting with different styles of jewelry. Remember the pendant we made in Step 4? Use it to make a really pretty necklace.

More Ideas

These colorful dough beads can be used in other craft projects as well. String them together to make this beaded wind chime. Click here for the beaded wind chimes craft.

COLOR GARDEN

Materials Needed

Construction paper Sketch paper Craft foam or any colored paper Styrofoam board Plastic wrap Masking tape Scissors Poster paint (red, yellow, blue) Paint brushes Spoons Small plastic bowls or muffin tins Drinking straws Liquid glue or glue stick

Steps

	1.	Draw and cut at least three flower shapes on sketch paper.
	2.	Cut Styrofoam board into an approximate size of 10 in. x 10 in.
	3.	Cut a piece of plastic wrap large enough to cover the Styrofoam board. Tape the upper end of the plastic wrap to the top edge of the Styrofoam board.
	4.	Stick a piece of masking tape at the back of a flower. Lift up the plastic wrap and position the flower at the center of the Styrofoam board.
	5.	To paint the flowers, prepare the three primary colors- red, yellow and blue. To learn about basic color mixing, we'll paint a flower by mixing two primary colors to create a new color, called a secondary color.
	6.	Let's try one: spoon in some yellow and some blue on the flower on your Styrofoam board. Put them in random patches on the flower.
	7.	Cover the Styrofoam board with the plastic wrap. Use your fingers to rub on the plastic wrap, spreading the two colors on the flower. Watch as the two colors combine.
	8.	Continue rubbing until the flower has been entirely painted. Uncover the plastic wrap and see the swirling colors. Notice the areas where the yellow and blue colors blend together to create green.
	9.	Repeat the painting process (Steps 6 to 8)using other color combinations such as blue and red to make purple, and red and yellow to make orange. You might need to change the plastic wrap as you work with each batch. Working with more than one flower at a time is possible, just make sure you leave a little room between each flower.
	10.	Set the flowers aside to dry.
	11.	Once the flowers are dry, they can be used to compose any flower-themed picture or craft. This Color Garden picture is just one example of what you can make. Glue the flowers at the bottom of a large piece of construction paper.
	12.	Draw and cut circles on craft foam or colored paper. Glue one circle at the center of each flower.
	13.	Glue green drinking straws for the flowers' stems. You may need to cut the straws to suit the height of each flower.
	14.	Add details with paint or crayons. Paint on leaves, make colorful butterflies, or