Recycle A Cereal Box Into A Notebook & Bookmark Set {tutorial}

Posted on April 24, 2012 by frecklescrafts

This is a super easy and super fun project to make with your kids, and what better way to teach your children how to protect the environment than with a fun craft! Watch out though! The notebook and bookmark are so cute that you may go a little overboard turning every snack and cereal box into a recycled stationary set. We did!

Supplies:

Cardboard cereal or snack box
Scissors
Washi or Colored Painters Tape
Recycled printer paper
Paper trimmer
Plastic cord, ribbon or yarn
Stapler
Ruler
Scoring tool (optional)

Begin by trimming the box. Open both ends of the box and trim around the flaps to remove. Next trim along each side edge of the box until you have four separate pieces (a front, back and two sides. Note: the side pieces are used in the bookmark tutorial)

Measure the front and back box pieces, and trim your recycled printer paper to the same size.
Determine which sides of the box will be your front and back cover.
Measure about 3/4 inch from what will be the left edge of your notebook. Use your scoring tool to score the notebook cover from top to bottom so that the notebook will have a clean fold when opened. (If you do not have a scoring tool, place the flat edge of the ruler down onto the notebook cover and bend the cover back over the edge of the ruler to make a clean fold.) Repeat this process with the back cover making sure that the front and back covers are facing the same direction and the scored edge is on the left hand side.
Assemble your notebook by placing the cut recycled notebook paper between the two notebook covers. Use a stapler to bind your book together. Depending on the amount of paper placed between the covers you may need to staple the front and back.
Cover the stapled edge with Washi tape, masking tape, or blue painters tape. Use what you have on hand!
Fold the tape corners in, and trim any excess tape to make a clean edge.

Here is the finished product!

For the bookmark you will need to two box sides, a hole punch, and some yarn or plastic lacing.
Using the hole punch, place equally spaced holes all around the box side.
Cut approximately 2 ft. of the yard or lace. Fold the end of the yarn or lace and begin threading it through the holes in the bookmark.

Continue threading the lace or yarn around the bookmark until you reach the end. Tie the ends together and trim the excess. Enjoy your new stationary set! Isn’t it the cutest?

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St. Patrick’s Day Wreath-Kid’s Craft Tutorial

Posted on February 24, 2012 by frecklescrafts

We Luhuhuhuve St. Patrick’s Day. The excuse to wear green , the pesky little Leprechauns that wreck havoc on our house, the parades, the green food, etc. It also means spring is right around the corner here is in the Midwest. Oooh I can’t wait! While we get very into the holiday around here, we still like to keep our decor simple and fun.

This {super easy} St. Patrick’s Day wreath is one of our faves and reminds us every time we look at it how lucky we are…even without a big pot of gold!

Here is what you need:
Paper Plate
Scissors
All Purpose Glue
Green Tissue (2-3 sheets cut into 1″ squares)
Paper Trimmer (optional)
Ribbon
White Card Stock
Photos of Family Members
“We Are Lucky” Shamrock (download here)
Small Shamrock Template (download here)
Gold Glitter
Pencil
Ruler
Hole Punch

Download the “We Are Lucky” template and print in color onto your white card stock. Cut out each shamrock and set aside.

Measure about two inches in from the edge of the paper plate and cut a circle out of the inside of the plate. Use your hole punch to punch a hole in the top of the plate.

Using your paper trimmer or scissors cut your tissue paper into 1″ squares.

Working in small sections, place a generous amount of white glue on your paper plate and spread it around with your finger to evenly distribute the glue. Take one piece of tissue paper and place the eraser end of your pencil in the center of the tissue square. Fold the tissue down over the pencil as shown.

St. Patrick's Day Craft for Kids

Use your pencil to stick the tissue to the glue.

Repeat these two steps over, and over, and over until you have covered the entire paper place with tissue squares. (If working with a younger child you can glue the tissue sqaures onto the paper plate flat. It looks just as cute!)

Locate the small shamrock. Use the shamrock as a template to trace around the photos of each family member. Cut the photo shamrocks out.

As an option: You can create a mat around each photo by placing each photo onto white card stock and cutting around the photo allowing some of the white card stock to show. Attach the photo to the card stock with glue.

Locate the “We Are Lucky” shamrock and place a bead of glue around the edge of the shamrock.

Sprinkle with glitter and shake off the excess.

Locate the hole in your plate. Attach a ribbon for hanging.

Glue each of the shamrocks to your plate and allow to dry before hanging.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. May the luck of the Irish be with you!

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Join me over at the Ganz Parent Club!

Posted on February 14, 2012 by frecklescrafts

Have you heard of the Ganz company? They are the creaters of the popular toy Webkinz! My kids love Webkinz and we have quite a collection of those little animals around our house!

Ganz thought that kids shouldn’t be the only ones having all the fun so they have recently created a new online resource center for parents called Ganz World Parent Club! It is an amazing website full of recipes, contests, craft projects, parenting tips, and more!

Ganz recently asked me to be a regular contributor to their website, and I am beyond excited to be a part of this amazing community! I will be posting craft tuorials, business articles, and creative resources frequently at the Parents Club. As articles are posted I will share them here, and I would love for you to pop over and leave a comment. I have a feeling that the success of my writing will be gauged by comments so any love you can share in this area will be greatly appreciated. Just sayin’ {wink }

Here is my first tutorial! A super easy craft tutorial to make a set of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington puppets just in time for President’s Day! Enjoy!

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