Summer Crafts

Bountiful bubbles

There’s just something about bubbles. Kids love them, and grownups feel more like kids when surrounded by the translucent soapy blobs. And the recipe couldn’t be easier:

• ½ cup liquid dish soap
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Mix all together well and store in a container with a lid that seals, such as a Mason jar. When you’re ready to use the mixture, you can make a bubble blower out of a metal coat hanger (shape the part the clothes hang on into a circle and straighten the hook) or by attaching whole rings from a soft drink six-pack to a dowel or drinking straw. Pour the bubble mixture into a shallow bowl or pan and dip the blower into the bubble mixture, swirling around like you would use any other kind of bubbles.

Finger painting

We’re all familiar with finger painting, but you can actually direct your children you use their fingers to make art. For instance, make a finger painted tree by putting the side of your hand in brown paint for the trunk and using your finger tips to make leaves. The same procedure on a smaller scale makes flowers. Or make caterpillars, butterflies or all sorts of other insects using your thumb print.

This is a fun activity to figure out what you can make using just your fingers, and it will be a treasured keepsake because you can actually see your kids’ fingerprints in the work.

Grow something

To make summer a time of learning, why not plant a seed in a clear plastic cup. Put the seed near the outside of the cup so you will be able to see roots develop. Work with your child to water the seed, make sure it gets enough sunlight and chart its progress.

This is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about how things grow, where food comes from, conservation, the diversity of plant life and all sorts of other topics. Visit the library for books and videos that will give you even more information about how plants grow.

Light up the night

Luminaries are a cool addition to the backyard for those nights when you grill and eat outside. Younger kids can make theirs out of paper bags (slightly coated bags are a good choice because they are more durable) while older kids can use clean, label-free aluminum cans (with adult supervision, of course).

Select a simple design: stars, your house, a flower, a tree. If using paper bags, draw a design in the middle of the bag and cut it out of both the front and the back of the bag. Fill the bag with about two inches of sand, place an unlit candle inside and put it in a safe place before lighting the candle. Votive candles in glass votive holders are a good choice for this project because the glass offers some protection to the paper.

If you want to try this with aluminum cans, wash the cans well and draw your design on with a permanent ink pen. This is a connect-the-dots style design, so you can just mark the dots or make a full line drawing. The design should take up at least the middle third of the can and should be repeated on at least two “sides” of the can.

Fill the can with water and put in the freezer for 24 hours or until frozen solid. Take the can out and use a hammer and nail to poke holes in the can where you have marked. The ice allows the nail to actually go through the can instead of just bending it. Allow the ice to melt and pour out the water. Then put some sand in the bottom and an unlit candle. Put it where you want it and light it up!

Soap critters

You can make soap in all sorts of different shapes just with some soap flakes (purchase flakes or grate purchased bar soap), water, vegetable oil and food coloring. Start with about three cups of soap to one to one and a half cups of water and a couple drops of food coloring.

Mix these ingredients until you have the consistency of Play-Doh. Put a drop or two of vegetable oil on your hands to help you as you shape the soap into whatever you want. Allow the soap critters to sit overnight before using.

Decoupaged memories

Give your kids a fun way to remember summer camp or the family vacation by buying a plain wooden picture frame (you can get these at craft stores) to decorate with memories. After a trip there are always ticket stubs, programs, maps, brochures and other items that you don’t really want to throw away but don’t know how to use, either.

Take some of these items and decoupage them to the frame using decoupage glue or diluted white glue. Put glue all over the frame, then place the items where you want them, and put glue all over the top. You might want to work in sections. After the glue has dried, you can spray it with clear shellac or coating material to offer extra protection. Then put a picture from the trip in the frame.

Paint a rock

Go around your yard and pick up a bunch of different rocks, all different shapes and sizes (though smooth ones are better if you can find them, you might have to go to a stream bed to find these).

Look at the different shapes and decide what the rock looks like or what you would like to paint on it. You can make rock animals, or just paint something on the side of the rock if it has a flat surface.

This process can take a long time as you wait for paint to dry between layers of detail, but it’s a lot of fun to see the “pet rocks” take shape.

Play dough

It’s lots of fun to make your own play dough and it’s a good project for getting kids in the kitchen. To make your own dough, put a cup of flour, ½ cup salt and two teaspoons of cream of tartar (which you’ll find on the spice aisle) in a medium saucepan. Add a cup of water, a teaspoon of food coloring and two teaspoons of vegetable oil.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a sticky ball. Remove from heat and allow to sit 15 to 30 minutes before playing.