Paper Plate Ladybugs

These paper plate ladybugs are a great painting project for kids of all ages. It's awesome for helping fine-tune your child's motor skills while having lots of fun in the process!

Supplies: 2 paper plates; acrylic paint in black and your choice of colors; 2 large googly eyes; E6000 glue or glue stick; black felt.

Craft tools: Scissors; Hole punch; Paper fastener; Pouncer sponges; paintbrushes.

Instructions

1. Paint one paper plate black and the other in whatever color you choose. Red is traditional for ladybugs, but you can get colorful like we did if you like. Set aside to dry.

2. From black felt, cut out half a circle for the head. Use a jar, small bowl, or cup to trace a circle onto the fabric.

3. Once the paint has dried, take your colorful painted plate and begin making polka dots using a pouncer sponge lightly dabbed in black paint. Use multiple sponge sizes to create a realistic ladybug pattern.

4. After allowing the polka dots to dry, take the color paper plate (not the black one) and cut it in half. Line the two halves up with the black paper plate and spread the "wings" open a bit. Hold at the top and carefully poke a hoe through the top of the wings and through the black plate underneath. Still holding it in place, push the fastener through the hole and secure.

5. Glue the head over the top of the wings to hide the fastener. Glue wiggle eyes onto the head.

Finger Printed Cherry Tree

Supplies: A3 size cardboard/cardstock or the thickest paper you can find; Newsprint; Paint – we used red & white and mixed shades of pink for the blossoms and blue & white for the background; Little fingers!! (You can also use a paintbrush or Q-Tip/Earbud)

This beautiful blossom tree is made in 3 easy steps!

1. Create a background for your cherry tree

You can do this with a paintbrush or a sponge.

For younger children, it is easier with a sponge, this way they just have to wipe once across the paper.

I set up 3 different shades of blue. A light one – almost white, middle blue, and darker blue. We then wiped the paint across our page to form the gradient. Darker at the top.

2. Make a tree

Once your paint is dry it is time to create your tree. We did this with newsprint.

You can tear or cut a bigger tree stump and then add on branches.

3. Paint your blossoms

This is the best part! Now it is time to paint on your blossoms!

We used our fingers to stamp little flowers onto the tree.

I set out 3 different shades of pink. This creates a nice little mix!

Toilet Paper Roll Bee

1. Cut a rectangular piece of yellow cardstock to fit around the paper roll. Overlap the edges of the paper slightly and glue or tape along the seam.

2. Cut 2 narrow strips of black cardstock. Glue around the paper roll to make stripes, leaving a space on top for the bee’s face.

3. Add 2 googly eyes to the front of the paper roll.

4. Draw the mouth on with a black sharpie or marker.

5. Dip the end of a paintbrush in pink paint and add 2 dots of paint on either side of the mouth to make cheeks.

6. Bend a black pipe cleaner into a “V” shape.

7. Glue 2 pom poms onto each end. Glue the pipe cleaner to the inside top of the paper roll.

8. Cut out two wings from white cardstock. Glue or tape to the back of the paper.

Now your toilet paper roll bee is done. We love how easy this is to make!

DIY: Sidewalk Chalk “Pops”

Materials: Plaster of Paris, tempera paint (neon works best), silicone pop mold, wood craft sticks, plastic cups and plastic spoons. You’ll also need cold water, scissors and measuring cups (not pictured).

A few important notes before we begin:

1. Do not put Plaster of Paris down your drain! It will harden in your pipes and cause damage. We are using disposable cups and spoons for this reason. You can rinse very small amounts off your measuring cups and such, but get the majority of the excess (wet or dry) in the trashcan.

2. This can be messy. I would recommend doing it outside and using larger plastic cups than I did!

3. Cold water means between 40-50º F. Yes, it matters. Chill enough water in your fridge for 30 minutes prior to starting.

3. Tempera paint is egg-based and non-toxic, but Plaster of Paris should not be ingested. Older children may help with the mixing, but little ones probably shouldn’t.

4. The following measurements were enough for my specific Wilton Brownie Pop Mold. You may have to adjust your volumes for different silicone molds.

Begin by cutting down your craft sticks to about 3″ long.

You will need one plastic cup for each color you wish to make. Since my mold has eight spaces, I decided to mix eight different colors.

Fill each plastic cup with 1/3 cup cold water.

Add 2 Tablespoons of tempera paint to each plastic cup. I measured the first one then just eyeballed the rest. Since my paint set only had six colors, I created the purple (pink+blue) and aqua (green+blue) myself.

Use your plastic spoons to gently stir the water and paint together. Don’t worry if it remains a little chunky or separated—it will smooth out in the next step.

Add 2/3 cup Plaster of Paris to each plastic cup. This is where it got messy and I learned my cups were a little too small.

Stir until thoroughly combined. Ideally, your mixture will have the consistency of thin yogurt.

Carefully pour your colors into the silicone mold. Gently tap the mold on your work surface to release any air bubbles.

After two minutes, the plaster will begin to firm up. Insert your craft sticks (cut side down) into the middle of the chalk “pops.” They should be easy to place without having to push hard or hold them up.

Setting these out in the hot sun is a great way to cure them quickly. After an hour, you will be able to carefully remove them from the mold. Leave them in the sun to continue drying.

Craft Stick Octopus

Materials: Colored Craft Sticks; White Beads; Wiggly Eyes; Foam; Canvas; Paint; Paint Brushes.
Instructions

Step 1: Paint a canvas blue.

Step 2: Trace something round, like a cup, to create a perfect circle out of foam.

Step 3: Cut the circles out of foam. We used 3 colors to make 3 different octopuses!

Step 4: Glue 4 colored craft sticks to one another to make a star shape. Start by making a plus sign, then add 2 more diagonally to fill in the gaps.

Step 5: Glue the matching color foam circle to the craft sticks, then add wiggly eyes and a smile!

Step 6: Glue white beads to each of your octopus’s arms to create its “suckers”. Fun fact, octopus do have arms, not tentacles, and yes, suckers is the technical term!

Step 7: Glue white beads to each of your octopus’s arms to create its “suckers”. Fun fact, octopus do have arms, not tentacles, and yes, suckers is the technical term!

Step 8: Glue white beads to each of your octopus’s arms to create its “suckers”. Fun fact, octopus do have arms, not tentacles, and yes, suckers is the technical term!

Step 9: Use paint to decorate the ocean with waves and bubbles!

Step 10: Your ocean of octopuses is now complete!