Ant Farm

Chenille Stems-Black 1/2" Round Ball 5/8” Round Ball Green foam Blue sticky back Foam scrap 8” Terra cotta saucer Styrofoam cone Scissors Hot Glue 1. Basecoat the saucer with Kelly Green. 2. Cut blades of grass out of green foam. Hot glue around the perimeter of the saucer. 3. Press down the Styrofoam cone to get rid of harsh edges and to create a mound. Poke finger in the center to create the hole for the anthill. Hot glue to the saucer. 4. Apply the texture medium to the inside of the saucer and cover the Styrofoam hill. Allow the texture to dry completely and then paint with Camel. 5. Paint 2 ½” round balls and 1- 5/8” ball black for each ant. Hot Glue the body together. 6. Wrap and twist the chenille stems around the body sections to create legs. 7. Using the end of the brush handle paint 2 white dots for the eyes. When dry add a black dot to each eye. Repeat for all ants. 8. Stamp the dragonfly onto the texture medium with black. Stamp the dragonfly on the scrap sticky back foam with Coastal Blue. Peel the backing off, stick a chenille stem onto the foam and place another piece of foam over. Trim off excess edges. 9. Hot glue the dragonfly onto the saucer as shown. Hot glue on the ants.

Clothespins

Large clothespin Adhesive magnet strips Black chenille wtem Green chenille wtem Wiggle eyes Wood variety shaped pieces - circle; ovals; teardrops: 4 large wood oval pieces; 4 large teardrop pieces; 2 medium circles; 4 small circles #2 flat brush #1 Script Liner Hot glue Bumblebee 1. Basecoat ovals, 2 small circles and one clothespin with Daffodil Yellow. Basecoat wings Wicker White and the medium circle Licorice. 2. Hot Glue ovals overlapping each other onto the clothespin. Glue the medium circle and the 2 small circles as shown. Glue wings to the side. 3. Add Licorcie stripes to the body with the #2 flat brush. Using the handle of the paintbrush add Licorice dots in between the stripes. 4. Using the script liner and licorice add dashes to the wings. 5. Glue black chenille stems as the stinger and antennas. Glue wiggle eyes to the small circles. 6. Attach the magnet stripes to the back of the clothespin. Grasshopper 1. Basecoat ovals, medium circle, and one clothespin with Fresh Foliage. Basecoat the legs/wings and the 2 small circles with Lime Green. 2. Hot Glue ovals overlapping each other onto the clothespin. Glue the medium circle and the 2 small circles as shown. Glue wings to the side. 3. Add dashes to the body with using the script liner and Lime Green. Add dashes and dot to the wings with Fresh Foliage. 4. Glue green chenille stems as the legs and antennas. Glue wiggle eyes to the small circles. 5. Attach the magnet stripes to the back of the clothespin.

Sweet Treat Jars

Mason jars Red and white gingham paper Red and white polka dot paper 2 Chipboard hearts Paper with love words White paper Red polka dot ribbon Red gingham ribbon Red and white bakers string White eyelet Heart stencil Hole puncher Scissors 1. Cut circles for the top of each lid using the polka dot and gingham paper. Glue them into place with Mod Podge. 2. Paint chipboard hearts using Lipstick Red paint. 3. Cut out small heart using gingham paper and glue to chipboard heart using Mod Podge. Glue chipboard heart to top of gingham covered lid with Mod Podge. 4. Make label for jar using heart stencil to trace heart on gingham paper and cut out. Print Sweet Treats on white paper and glue to back of gingham paper with Mod Podge. Let dry. Attach to front of jar using Mod Podge. 5. Tie Polka dot ribbon around neck of jar with gingham paper. Tie gingham ribbon around neck of jar with polka dot paper. 6. Cut XOXO phrase from paper and glue to top of other painted chipboard heart with Mod Podge. Let dry. Seal with Mod Podge. Let dry. 7. Punch hole in heart and set eyelet. Tie to heart to gingham ribbon using bakers string.

Sweet Necklace

	Use long licorice whips for necklaces and short ones for bracelets - leave a lot of extra room for tying the ends. String the cereal onto the licorice whips.
	Tie the ends together. Wear and eat!

Balloon Battle

Balloons string inflated balloons.

	Designate a certain color for each team. (If you have a LOT of children you can have more teams or you don't have to have teams at all) Tie a balloon to each players ankle. Each team tries to burst the other's balloon first. The team with the last balloons wins. As your balloon is burst, you withdraw from the game.

Breathing Tree by Family Fun

Materials

• String
• Clear plastic bag

• Tree

Instructions

1. On a sunny day, use a piece of string to tie a clear plastic bag around a clump of green leaves on the end of a tree branch. Leave it for an hour or two.

2. When you come back, the inside of the bag should be coated with drops of water. Why? Instead of a nose and mouth, plants have lots of tiny holes, or stomata, in their leaves through which they breathe. Just like our own breath, plant exhalation is full of moisture, which condenses on the bag as it's heated by the sun. The same principle is at work when you fog up a mirror with your breath.

Pipe Cleaner Dolls by Family Fun

Materials

• 3/4-inch round wooden beads (with a 5mm center hole)
• Smaller wooden beads
• Felt scraps

• Pipe cleaners
• Embroidery floss
• Markers

Instructions

1. HAIRSTYLING: Cut the embroidery floss into 20 pieces that measure twice the desired length. Fold a 6-inch pipe cleaner in half over the midpoint of the collective strands. Feed both ends of the pipe cleaner through the center of the large bead. Slide the bead up the pipe cleaner until the fold is hidden in the bead center. Then separate each strand of embroidery floss to fashion a thick shock of hair. For curls, dampen the strands with a few drops of water, wind them around a pencil and let them

2. BODY BUILDING: For arms, place a 5-inch length of pipe cleaner crosswise just below the bead head. Twist each end once around the doll's trunk (the portion of the first pipe cleaner protruding from the bead). Next, bend up the trunk about 3/4 inch from the bottom to form a hook. To form legs, fold a 5-inch pipe cleaner in half and hang it on the hook. Secure the legs by twisting the 3/4-inch trunk ends around them.

3. PANTS: Begin by folding a 6- by 1 1/2-inch piece of felt in half, so that the shorter edges meet. Starting from the fold, make a 2-inch cut up the middle, stopping 1 inch from the open end. Make a 1/4-inch waist hole 1/2 inch from one top edge. For foot openings, make a small slit through the felt fold at the bottom of each pant leg. Slip both legs through the waist opening from the front. Then, push the pipe cleaner tips through the foot openings and match up the short felt edges behind the dol

4. SKIRT AND SHIRT: Cut a 4-inch hourglass shape out of felt. Make a waist hole in the center to slide the doll's feet through. For a shirt, use a 2-inch felt square. Cut two small armholes 1/2 inch apart and 1/4 inch from the upper edge. Wrap the shirt around the doll's chest and over the top of its pants or skirt. Wind a 3-inch pipe cleaner belt around the doll's waist to secure the clothes. To keep the pants side seams closed, twist a 2-inch piece of pipe cleaner around each

5. For hands and feet, slip a smaller bead onto the end of each limb. Bend the pipe cleaner tips to keep the beads in place.

6. Finally, draw on a face with fine-tipped markers, testing the colors on a spare bead first.

Bead Buddies by Family Fun

Materials

• Painted wooden beads in assorted sizes and colors
• Felt
• Pipe cleaner

• Tacky glue
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Caterpillar: Apply a drop of glue to the end of a pipe cleaner and insert it into a large bead. For the head, position a bead so its holes look like eyes, then glue it to the first bead as shown. Slide 4 more beads onto the pipe cleaner and trim the excess, then remove the last bead and apply glue to the exposed end. Replace the last bead. Cut antennae from the felt and glue them behind the first bead.

2. Bunny: Choose 2 beads, one slightly larger than the other. With its holes positioned to look like eyes, glue the small bead over one of the holes in the larger one. Cut the ears, tail, and feet from felt and glue them in place. For stability, make sure the feet fit squarely beneath the bunny's body.

3. Ducky: Follow the directions for the bunny but swap a felt bill, feet, and wings for the ears, tail, and feet.

Fluffy Flip Flops by Family Fun

1. Select a fabric and use pinking shears to cut a series of 1- by 6-inch strips (the number of strips you'll need depends upon the size of your child's feet; the ones we made required 28 strips).

2. Using single knots, tie the strips around the flip-flop straps, pushing the knots close together as you go.

3. Keep adding pieces until your new slippers are sufficiently soft and swanky!

Chic Sheep by Family Fun

Materials

• 4 black pony beads
• 2 10-inch lengths of black yarn
• Masking tape or duct tape
• New 3-inch paint trim roller refill (available at paint and home stores)
• Craft glue or hot glue

• Black felt
• 2 googly eyes
• A mini pink pom-pom
• A 2-inch white pom-pom

Instructions

1. Begin by threading 2 of the beads onto one of the yarn pieces and tying knots at both ends so they don't slip off.

2. Tape the center of the yarn to the inside of the roller refill, draping the ends over the top to resemble front legs, as shown. Repeat this step with the second piece of yarn to create the hind legs, taping them in place at the other end of the roller.

3. Next, cut a 11/2-inch triangle and 2 small teardrop shapes (for ears) from the felt.

4. Glue the googly eyes and the mini pom-pom to the triangle to create a face, then glue the face and the ears to the white pom-pom. Finally, glue the pom-pom atop the roller.

Driveway Signs by Family Fun

Materials

• Pencil
• Wood (we used scrap lumber, but you can also use wooden plaques from a craft store)
• Paintbrush
• Acrylic paints
• Scissors
• Reflective tape (we used Duck brand)

• Drill
• Wooden stakes
• Screws
• Twigs
• Hammer and nails

Instructions

1. Download our templates for the signs shown here, or create your own design. Lightly trace the pattern on the wood, then paint.

2. When the paint is dry, cut moon and star shapes from the reflective tape and apply them to the plaque.

3. Use the drill to make pilot holes in the stake (a parent's job), then screw the stake to the back of the plaque.

4. To prevent the twigs from splitting, create pilot holes with the drill and a small bit (a parent's job). Nail the twigs in place. If desired, a parent can instead drill holes in the plaque and insert the twigs, as we did with the owl design.

A Trail Tote by Family Fun

Materials

• Egg carton
• Magnifying glass
• Magnets

• Water-filled spray bottle
• Homemade soil slides

Instructions

1. Egg carton: Paint the bottom of each compartment a different color, then challenge kids to find natural souvenirs in a matching hue.

2. Magnifying glass: Encourage your family to take a closer look at things and discover treasures hidden in plain view, such as the silvery veins on a leaf or tiny mites on a decaying log.

3. Magnets: Run a strong magnet across the soil to see if iron bits are lurking about (they'll stick to the magnet). For an even greater wow factor, bring a paper plate, top it with soil, then run a magnet underneath it to make the iron bits dance.

4. Water-filled spray bottle: See how a gentle spritz can change the look of things, such as spiderwebs and color-shifting rocks.

5. Homemade soil slides: Cut a 1/2-inch square in a notecard and cover the hole with a piece of clear tape. Press the sticky side against soil, then use a magnifying glass to discover its individual components