Many parents think that planning fun crafts for their children is going to cost a lot of money and time. In fact, 26% of home buyers believe that paying down debt is the top reason many Americans struggle to purchase their first home. However, there are several ways to make DIY projects fun, simple, and cheap. You may even have more craft materials available in your home and ready-to-go than you think! Here are three low-cost fun craft ideas to do with your kids this spring.
Build Suncatchers
Suncatchers add color and sparkle to a kitchen, bathroom, or living room window. Your child may even want to hang a finished suncatcher in their bedroom. If you have children, you probably have most of these supplies already and will only need to purchase the clear contact paper. You will need:
- Clear contact paper
- Black paper or black cardstock paper
- Tissue paper
- Scissors
- Glue sticks
- Glitter
- Paintbrushes
First, cut or tear the tissue paper into small pieces. Be creative with the colors you choose! Then, cut a large shape out of the black paper for your border. If you want a border on the front and back, cut the same shape twice or cut two pieces of paper simultaneously. Loosely fold the shape in half and cut a hole in the middle so you can cut away the inside of your shape. Your black shape will be your border or frame.
Next, lay out a piece of contact paper sticky side up, and make sure it is larger than your frame. Tape down the corners to your work surface so it doesn’t slide while you are crafting. If you made two frames, set one aside. Place your frame down onto the contact paper. Then, place pieces of tissue paper inside your frame, overlapping the frames inside each other. Make sure there aren’t any gaps between the tissue paper. For added sparkle, sprinkle a small amount of glitter onto your tissue paper.
If you have a second frame, place it on the tissue paper now. Try to line it up with the first frame. Lay another piece of contact paper sticky side down over your suncatcher. Trim around your frame, leaving around half of an inch. This extra contact paper holds the layers together.
Once your children’s suncatchers are ready, snap a fun picture or two and hang them up. They’ll sparkle in the sun!
Paint Pieces of Wood
Thin, circular pieces of wood make a great source for crafting. Since a single tree can weigh around 50 tons, it may be difficult to obtain these pieces of wood from your own property. Many craft stores and online stores sell slices of wood at low prices for you to purchase. Alongside the pieces of wood, be sure you have plenty of acrylic paint colors, paintbrushes, and gloves handy for your children to utilize for this fun craft.
Be sure your kids wear gloves to protect their hands from the acrylic paint, as it can be a bit tough to scrub off compared to washable paint. For a less rustic look, sand the wood smooth and paint with a layer of white acrylic first. Do this craft outside and make sure your kids are wearing older clothes so that the acrylic paint doesn’t ruin furniture or nice clothing.
Decorate the pieces of wood with fun spring-themed paint ideas. Animals, spring flowers, sunsets, and other nature-esque spring ideas are some simple ideas that kids can paint. Since the slices are circular, ladybugs, daisies, and sunflowers are great ideas to paint as well.
Create Fun Family T-shirts
When it comes to getting crafty with clothing, white or light-colored t-shirts or sweatshirts work best. Let each member of your family choose an iron-on transfer to place on their shirt. Tie-dye is another low-cost option.
The basic supplies for tie-dying clothing are fabric dyes, rubber bands or string, and a cotton item to tie-dye. You can even find low-cost tie-dye kits online or in-store, and they often include bottles to squirt the dye on the shirts with. These bottles give more control over where you put the dye. You can also choose to reverse tie-dye with black or dark cotton, rubber bands or string, and bleach.
Experts estimate the custom t-shirt printing market will be valued at $6.9 billion by 2027, making custom-made t-shirts a trendy and fun option, especially for kids. Your kids can even use acrylic paint to paint designs on t-shirts to make it extra easy and low-cost.
Consider taking on one or more of these budget-friendly crafts. Be sure to prepare your kids and purchase the correct supplies. Then, have fun and memorable crafting experiences as a family.
Author: Kelsey R.
Metro Detroit Mommy writer Kelsey.
Metro Detroit Mommy writer Kelsey.
