Tag Archives: riot art & craft

Foam Christmas Spoons

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IMG_2860A found these foam spoon kits in Riot Art & Craft last week. She picked out two for her and two for L (who was not with us at the time). They were only a couple of dollars each, and they gave us an hour or so of Christmas crafting fun.

Each pack contained a foam spoon and all the bits to attach to the spoon to make a penguin, Santa or reindeer.

Sticking on the reindeer's head.

Sticking on the reindeer’s head.

The penguin packs had foam with a sticky backing so all we had to do was peel off the backing paper, and stick it where it had to go. The only problem with this was that the sticky area of the body pieces were much wider than the spoon, leaving the back of the body with nothing to stick to. The reindeer and Santa packs weren’t self-sticking, so we used craft glue to attach the foam pieces to the spoon.

Placing tiny bells on the reindeer's antlers.

Placing tiny bells on the reindeer’s antlers.

L and A very carefully followed the pictures to create their spoons. For some reason A’s penguin pack had two wings the same, instead of a left and right wing! She didn’t really care though, she just stuck the second wing on upside down and told me the penguin was waving.

Sticking on the penguin's beak.

Sticking on the penguin’s beak.

We have displayed these Christmas spoons up on the wall. They are very cute!

 

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Felt Christmas Tree Decorations

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IMG_2659I was browsing in Riot Art & Craft the other day and we came across these little felt decoration kits. They looked like fun, so I bought two.

Sorted and ready to go.

Sorted and ready to go.

The circles came pre-punched in felt rectangles, so the kids popped them all out then put the scraps in the bin. Once we’d sorted the circles into piles of different sizes, I noticed that we were short a few circles, and the kids had to go and get them from the bin (luckily they were in a new bin bag so there wasn’t anything yucky in there!). We sorted the piles from biggest to smallest to make it easier to pick up the right sized circles.

Threading the felt circles.

Threading the felt circles.

We tied knots in the end of the silver string and threaded the plastic needles. Then the kids got to work, first adding the cylindrical bead for the tree trunk, and then the felt circles in descending order and finally the star bead. This was where it got a little tricky however, because then the instructions suggested making a loop and taking the thread back through the beads and circles to tie it off at the base where we started. I had to help the kids do this, and the star bead mostly popped off when we tried to tie the thread at the opposite end. The star was easy to thread back on, and then I added a knot above it to stop it slipping off again.

I have added a drop of craft glue to the bottom of the trunk bead and the top of the star bead to prevent the thread pulling through in the future. And I trimmed the end of the thread ready to hang on the Christmas tree.

L (7 years) found this an easy and enjoyable activity that she could complete herself. On the other hand, A (5 years), had more difficulties and required more help with tying the knots and getting the thread back through everything. Putting on the beads and felt circles was easy enough, but she kept letting the thread go, and she had trouble re-threading the needle. A made several trees with help, and still enjoyed it, but L could have done this as a solo activity.

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Pom Pom Bunnies and Chicks

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IMG_8836When we went into Riot Art & Craft last week they had a large display of Easter crafts, including some little craft kits. Each of the kids picked out a pom pom critter kit to make at home. L chose mini chicks and bunnies, and A chose some chicks.

IMG_8818IMG_8819There were some instructions on the back of the pack, but it would have been possible to complete the pom pom critters from the picture alone, given what was in each kit. We had to cut up some of the pipe cleaners to the right length, but otherwise everything was ready to go.

 

Adding the chick's bunny ears headband.

Adding the chick’s bunny ears headband.

L got started on hers straight away, getting the beak and little puffy cheeks onto her chicks. A asked that I help her with the glue, and making the pipe cleaners into the right shapes. Once I’d placed the glue, she put the pieces together carefully.

One of L’s mini bunnies experienced a small accident which left its face elongated, so L started calling it the ele-bunny. I think she just damaged the pom pom, making it a weird shape.

L's mini bunnies and mini chicks.

L’s mini bunnies and mini chicks.

It was a fun way to pass an hour or so, and once the pom pom critters dried, the kids had great fun playing with them. A even took her chicks to bed with her and cuddled them to sleep.

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Riot Art & Craft Christmas Showbag

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I took the kids into Riot Art & Craft looking for some Christmas craft items. They had plenty of things that we could use, and we picked out some foam balls, sequins, glitter glue, and Christmas ribbons. But our best find was the Christmas Showbags which contain a variety of Christmas craft items worth over $40 (according to the label). These bags were on sale for only $15, so L and A got one each.

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I was quite impressed with the contents. Each one contained acrylic paint pots, sequins, four 3D foam shapes, including a wreath, glue, glitter glue, felt, foam tree shapes, Christmas stickers, a Christmas embellishment pack, metallic holly shapes, blank cards, cardboard ornament shapes, bauble and snowflake garlands and 3D cardboard reindeer. This was plenty for us to get on with our Christmas crafting, and we have put some of the items to good use already!

Showbag contents.

Showbag contents.

The bag also has a template for making a reindeer puppet too. We could cut out the template, glue it together and decorate it, but we have lots of other craft to do before we get to that 🙂