Crafts for Kids to Make With Parents

Wind chimesBell Wind Chime image by afroditi from Fotolia.com

Crafting is a creative way for kids and parents to spend quality time together. Select projects that both will enjoy making and that can be useful after the activity ends. Make personal accessories kids will be proud to wear or garden art the entire family can admire.

Beaded Hair Ribbons

Kids might enjoy using beading ribbon to make barrettes and hair clips with their parents. Sliding small hole beads over wide ribbon is simple when a threaded needle is attached to one end of the ribbon. Parents should thread a beading needle with four inches of thread and insert the needle through the center of the tip end of a cut ribbon. Kids can thread beads over the needle and slide them onto the ribbon. Bead several strand of ribbon and glue or tie them around a metal barrette. Young kids might need their parents' help attaching ribbons to the metal.

A stepping stone craft project can be done by kids and parents. The bottom half of a gallon milk container works as a mold for the garden stones; parents can cut the milk carton with a craft knife, scissors or utility knife. Parents also should mix the concrete and pour it into the mold after applying a release agent such as nonstick cooking spray, petroleum jelly or cooking oil. Once the concrete mix sets up -- about 15 minutes -- kids can decorate the top of the stone with marbles, broken ceramics, hand prints, botanicals, beads or shells. The stone should stay in the mold overnight to dry. Homemade stepping stones can be meaningful gifts; have the kids sign and date the stones on the back with acrylic paint or a permanent marker. Exterior polyurethane spray will help protect the paint.

Wind chimes and mobiles are simple and creative crafts kids and parents can make together. Look for old utensils, colorful beads, sea shells and craft bells to hang from a block of wood, driftwood or a metal craft ring. Kids can decorate the old utensils by threading beads over 22-gauge craft wire and wrapping it around spoons or forks. End the wire with a loop at the top to hang the utensil from the wind chime header. Fishing line is all you need to hang anything from the header; tie strands onto a craft ring or drill small holes through the wood. Tie the object onto one end of the line, thread the other through the hole in the wood and knot it at the top. Kids will enjoy adding beads to the fishing line strands between the bells or utensils and the header for added color.