Children like to tinker and children like to collect. If they can combine those two qualities, they make the most beautiful works of art. First look for ‘things’ together, natural materials such as: twigs, twigs, sticks, sticks, leaves, caps, nuts, stones, shells, feathers, seeds and flowers. Then back home or to school and get started. Have fun crafting!
Craft Ideas:
- Leprechaun throne
- Treehouse
- Picture frame
- Magic wand
- Autumn mobile
- Gnome swing
- Stick insects
A gnome throne of clay and twigs.
Required; (self-drying) clay, twigs, things from nature (see above) glittering beads or spangles.
The children knead a ball of clay until it is flexible. They make it a chair; ‘a thin / higher part and a thick / lower part’. Side railings are allowed but not necessary. The children can of course also make a round throne or a tree-like throne. As long as it becomes a solid seat! They press the twigs into the clay, against the sides of the throne. Nicely next to each other, cut to the right length with pruning shears, or just criss-cross together! Then decorate with natural objects and press the glitter beads into it as an extra. The clay around the twigs can also be painted, beautiful vague natural colors you get from watercolor on wet clay.
The gnome king can take a seat.
A secret (tree) hut made of a box and natural material.
Required:
- A box (rectangular / square, not too flat)
- scissors
- glue
- crayons (e.g. crayons)
- strings
- sticks and twigs
- leaves, grasses,
- a larger branch, as ‘tree’ (possibly)
- copied photos of the children (possibly)
- iron wire (possibly)
- colored cardboard (optional)
- pieces of fabric (optional)
Turning the box; carefully peel off the adhesive edges and fold the box inside out. Before the box is sealed or stapled again, the children can give the white cardboard a ‘protective color’, with green, brown and black crayons.
Leave one side of the box open or cut a ‘door’ in it. Cover the box completely with twigs and leaves. For older children it is nice to stick a real ‘carpentry pattern’ on it, (as if the sticks are wooden trunks, of which the hut is timbered.) The children are of course allowed to know how they want to make the hut and what they put in the hut. want to make. Paper and cardboard and all kinds of free materials may also be used, such as dolls and all kinds of toys or furniture for the cabin. When the hut is ready it can be attached to a large branch with string, glue and / or iron wire. A rope ladder or a ladder of sticks is a logical consequence. Possibly as an extra; copy pictures of the children and paste them in the hut. The large branches can be placed in buckets with sand, pricked in a flower pot or in a piece of clay. These are all additional possibilities. Just covering a box and playing with dolls is also fun. Or all ‘huts’ together in one big branch; a hut tree.
Craft gift tip; frame of twigs and corrugated cardboard.
Required; twigs, (ribbed) cardboard) glue, scissors, picture / drawing of an animal.
Stick a nice drawing or picture of an animal on a rectangular or square piece of corrugated cardboard. Cut sprigs to the right size; for the long and the short side. They can stick out a bit! Glue them on with colorless glue, possibly a nice dried leaf or a few caps for decoration. Attach a string to hang the frame, or tie it to one of the sticks. The ‘nature list’ is ready. All those twigs of course fit very well with a picture of an animal that lives in trees; like a squirrel or a monkey. But it will also look great with a beautifully drawn insect.
A wand.
Required; willow twigs, felt-tip pens
You can make a beautiful magic wand from a willow twig. Willows are often pruned in spring, but this is possible all year round! Willow bark is easy to remove (even by children themselves), if the branches are fresh. What remains is a snow-white stick on which, when it is dry, beautiful ‘magic spells’ and ‘magic pictures’ can be drawn on with felt-tip pens. It is also possible to cut out parts of the bark and leave the rest. This gives a nice effect, but an adult must of course help with this.
An autumn mobile.
Required; sticks and sticks in all sizes, thin rope or nylon thread, autumn stuff from the forest.
One branch is hung on both sides with a thin wire. At the bottom of that stick you hang a few shorter sticks and possibly a few small sticks underneath. You now hang different objects from the forest on and on those sticks. A leaf of the oak, for example, and a cap and an acorn on the same stick. The children can sort; which leaf belongs to which fruit?
A gnome swing.
Required; a stick, a few (evenly long) small sticks, all kinds of colors of wool or cotton, acorns or drawn / cut-out gnomes.
One branch is hung on both sides with a thin string. The swings will hang below it; short sticks with two colored strings tied at the ends. Acorn men and chestnut dolls can be glued to those swings. (Prick holes in an acorn with a lancing device and stick arms and legs made of matchstick or cocktail sticks into it. A head in the same way; connect two holes with a short stick.) Paper and cardboard gnomes also look beautiful on such a stick. row of swings.
Craft tip; stick insect.
Required; a branch, iron wire or chenille wire, pliers
Wrap three iron wires around the branch from the center and bend the protruding parts as if they were legs. Stick small eyes on it and possibly a small leaf on its beak! Simple but great fun! Can also be made so small that it really fits in a jar. A piece of net curtain on top, elastic around it and you have a beautiful play animal to take care of.