How to Make Homemade Crafts
Make simple crafts for young children out of the plastic dishwasher and laundry detergent bottles that are typically thrown into the recycling bin. These containers come in vibrant colors and are very sturdy. The large flat plastic pieces that are cut out of the fronts and backs of these bottles are used to make stencils, lacing boards and decorations. These crafts are ideal for children between three and six years of age who are typically developing the eye-hand coordination to manipulate small objects, learning to color and enjoy creating decorations.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Dishwasher or laundry detergent bottles
- Leather shears (sold in craft's stores)
- Heavy duty hole puncher (sold in office supply stores)
- String
- Contact paper
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How to Make a Stencil
-
1
Clean bottle by soaking in hot water.
-
2
Scrape labels off using a butter knife.
-
3
Cut around border of front and back of bottle to remove large pieces of plastic. Cut again to smooth out the edges
-
4
Cut a shape (such as a heart) out of the center.
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5
Children place the "stencil" over paper and color inside the opening.
How to Make a Lacing Board
-
1
Clean bottles by soaking in hot water.
-
2
Scrape labels off using a butter knife.
-
3
Cut around border of front and back of bottle to remove large pieces of plastic.
-
4
Cut a shape such as a star out of one of these large pieces.
-
5
Punch holes along border. Tie string in one hole.
How to Make a Christmas Tree Decoration
-
1
Cut a large piece of plastic from a green bottle. Cut to form tree shape.
-
2
Punch holes all over the tree.
-
3
Punch holes in scraps of colorful plastic pieces and collect the punched out circles.
-
4
Attach tree shape to contact paper. Trim contact paper so that it is not seen from the front of the tree.
-
5
Children push the small circles into the holes to create "Christmas lights." They will stick to the contact paper.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Some children might be more successful stringing shapes that have larger holes. Enlarge the holes with the leather shears.
Purchase leather shears that are meant to be used only for cutting plastic, since they will no longer be sharp enough to cut leather.
Supervise young around small pieces of plastic that may be ingested.
Do not allow young children to touch the leather shears. They are very sharp.
Round all corners on plastic pieces to avoid injuries to eyes.
