DIY Network

Summer Art Projects for Bored Kids

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Knoxville, Tenn., July 27, 1999 -- When kids get bored in the summer, there are plenty of projects that parents can offer to do with them. T-shirt art, melted crayon designs, sand art -- the list goes on and on. (SHNS illustration by Don Wood/The Knoxville News Sentinel.)

By Amy McRary
Scripps Howard News Service

It's mid-summer, and the kids are restless. Trips to the pool have become commonplace. They're tired of shooting hoops in the driveway, hanging out on the porch and even of watching television. Time for some quick, inexpensive activities before they sigh for the start of school.

Many of the following activities are geared to elementary school children, but even ultra-bored young teens may get interested for an hour or so. To make projects easier on parent and child, keep an art-craft box stocked. Many items may be left over from school projects but perhaps not in one spot. For what's missing, make a quick trip to a discount department or craft supply store.

Your supply box could be as small as a shoebox or as large as a rubber tub. Basic supplies include:

• construction, poster and tissue paper
  
• pipe cleaners
  
• glue, glue sticks and a glue gun (used with adult supervision)
  
• inkpads and rubber stamps
  
• masking and clear tape
  
• yarn, twine, ribbon, felt and fabric scraps
  
• several pairs of scissors (perhaps a pair or two that cut designs)
  
• markers and crayons
  
• cardboard, magazines
  
• old greeting cards
  
• paper plates
  
• paper bags of various sizes
  
• finger paint, acrylic, tempera paints and watercolors with brushes
  
• glitter
  
• buttons
  
• packs of beads
  
• paper clips
  
• Popsicle sticks
  
• molding or polymer clay
  
• tinfoil and waxed paper
  
• dry beans and pasta shells
  
• emptied, washed and dried tin cans or orange juice containers
  
• inexpensive shower curtain liner to cover the table or floor to keep creativity where it belongs

1. Make a nature T-shirt. This idea came from the Family Fun magazine Website and is a parent-child outdoor project. You need a solid-colored T-shirt in a bright color (pink, blue or green work best), assorted nature objects like leaves, ferns or flowers, rubber gloves, a spray bottle with bleach and a bucket of cold water.

   Place shirt outside on a hard flat surface (like cement), away from anything that might be damaged by bleach. Arrange objects in a design on the shirt. Only the objects' silhouettes will show, so items with distinctive shapes work well.

   The adult wears rubber gloves to spray bleach lightly around the objects' or design's edges. When the color starts to change (about 1 minute), remove and dispose of the nature items. Dunk the shirt in the bucket and thoroughly rinse. Put shirt through washer and dryer before its creator wears it.

2. Sand art. This outdoor project from Have Fun With Your Kids the Lazy Way by Marilee LeBon (Alpha Books, 1999) requires two days. Supplies are a 10-pound bag of play sand; 1/2-ounce bottles each of red, yellow, blue and green food coloring; old jars, bottles or glass containers; rubber gloves; a bucket; a stick or spoon; four plastic containers; a funnel; a coffee scoop; and plastic knife.

   An adult wearing rubber gloves pours one-fourth of the sand into the bucket and adds one bottle of food coloring. Children stir the sand with a stick or spoon or wear rubber gloves to knead the mix. Pour sand into a plastic container.

   Wash and dry the bucket and repeat the process three times, using a different color of food coloring each time. Let sand dry overnight. The next day, put the funnel in a bottle and scoop different colors of sand into the bottle until it is filled. Tilting the bottle makes a slanted effect; different amounts of sand create different-sized layers. Make swirls by pushing the knife through the sand layers. Place the lid on the jar.

   Another idea is to layer colored sand into a small fishbowl until the bowl is half full. Place potting soil in the top half of the bowl and plant a small houseplant.

3. Watercolor mural.This idea is from www.family.com and requires an old bed sheet, tempera paints, brushes, sponges and squirt bottles. Soak the sheet in water and hang it on a clothesline or over a fence. Paint on the canvas using the different applicators.

   Don't like the work? Hose down the canvas. For smaller projects, use an old pillowcase or T-shirt. Wearing bathing suits while painting is probably a good idea.

4. Painted rocks. Collect smooth, flat rocks on walks or vacations. Use poster paint to paint faces, animals, flowers or any design.

   Clear nail polish makes painted rocks shine. Yarn, pipe cleaners or dried beans glued on solid-colored rocks make creatures, says The Little Hands Art Book by Judy Press (Williamson Publishing, 1994).

5. Sea Shell Art. How about those seashells sitting in the garage from a vacation two years ago? Family Fun suggests making them works of art. Chalkier, white shells are the best canvases. Rinse shells and let them dry. Paint on the inside of each shell with watercolor or acrylic paints.

6. Melted crayons. This idea from The Little Hands Art Book requires old crayons with paper removed, waxed paper, a vegetable peeler and an adult with an iron on low heat. Shave different colored crayon onto waxed paper using peeler. Place second piece of paper over the top.

   An adult irons over the paper, melting the crayon bits. Cut a shape from the paper, hang from yarn through a punched hole for a sun catcher.

7. An ice light. Pour 2 inches of water in a large metal mixing bowl, says family.com. Put the bowl in the freezer to freeze water. Fill a small yogurt container with stones or pennies for weight, then center it on the frozen ice.

   Slowly pour more water into the bowl so the water is almost at the yogurt container's rim. Freeze this water. After it is frozen, run warm water on the bowl's outside so the ice slips out. Remove the yogurt container's pennies or stones and pour in warm water to loosen the container. Remove the container; in its place put a votive candle.

8. A jigsaw puzzle. LeBon recommends a children's magazine with full-page color pictures like "Zoo Books" or "National Geographic for Kids." Glue pictures onto thin cardboard or poster board. After the glue dries, cut pictures into various sizes and shapes to make the puzzle pieces.

9. Jewelry and barrettes. Make what Have Fun With Your Kids the Lazy Way calls "Noodle Chic Plus." This is an activity for girls who wear barrettes.

   Buy metal barrettes at a craft store. Glue pasta (ziti, macaroni, wagon wheels, etc.) on barrettes with a glue gun. Paint the jewelry, let dry and wear. Or how about a clay bead necklace? Form beads with polymer clay, using a nail or toothpick to poke a hole through the middle of each bead. Bake beads in the oven as directed on the clay box, remove, let cool. Paint beads different colors or designs. String on a fishing line, twine or corded ribbon.

10. Play dough. This version from Have Fun With Your Kids The Lazy Way doesn't require heat, so children can do most of the mixing. In a large bowl mix well 2-1/2 cups flour, 2/3 cup salt and 3/4 cup water. If mix is too dry, add a few drops of water. If mix is too wet, add small amount of flour. Divide dough into four smaller bowls and add different food coloring. Mix well with hands; rubber gloves are recommended.

    Dough sculptures can air-dry overnight and then be painted with water-based paint.

11. Paper bag puppets. Save cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls for this activity; they are used by the puppetmaster to hold his puppet. Stuff a brown paper lunch bag about two-thirds with newspaper. Push the cardboard tube into the bag; tape around the bag's base to secure it. Make eyes, nose and a mouth from construction paper, hair from yarn, clothes from fabric scraps. Cardboard arms are glued onto the tube's sides.

12. Tinfoil characters. This project from family.com requires only one 10-by-15-inch rectangle of aluminum foil for each character. Make two cuts down from the top and one cut up from the bottom. (If making an animal, make two cuts up from the bottom.) Scrunch the sheet's middle for a torso. Pinch and mold upper corners into arms and lower parts into legs and feet. Form a head and neck from upper middle section. Bend, pose and pretend.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.

RESOURCES :
Have Fun With Your Kids the Lazy Way (Macmillan Lifestyles Guide)
Model: 0028631668
Author: Marilee Lebon
(1999)

To order this title from Amazon, click here.

Macmillan / Alpha Books
Website: www.macmillan.com

The Little Hands Art Book: Exploring Arts and Crafts with 2 to 6 Year Olds
Model: 0913589861
Author: Judy Press
(1994)

To order this title from Amazon, click here.

Williamson Publishing Company
Charlotte, VT 05445
Email: info@williamsonbooks.com