Rainy Day Activities and Crafts

It is raining outside and you are at the end of your rope. Your boys have a whole set of complaints ranging from: “I’m bored” to “he hit me”.

This is the perfect time to keep them occupied with a craft project. Here are some general suggestions and tips for a successful craft day.

1. Always begin by first reading the entire instructions.
2. Make sure you have all the necessary materials on hand.
3. Rubber cement and white glue are some of the best all around adhesives.
4. Use glasses, plates to trace circles if you don’t have a compass.
5. Score heavy paper that needs to be folded by running a blunt knife along a ruler.
6. Use books as paper weights you can protect the book by first laying a clean sheet of paper on the item to be pressed.
7. Keep craft days in mind and collect potential craft supplies in a box.
8. Shop thrift store for useful items such as beads, construction paper, wall paper remnants, ribbons, magazines, colorful plates (for mosaics) and more.
9. Don’t be afraid to improvise, you might be pleasantly surprised with your results.
10. Most importantly have FUN.

As a family we have set aside a few week-ends every winter to get together and make crafts. We have created personalized Christmas decorations for friends and family. Made unique race cars and hosted a race at the end of the day. I am always pleased with the creativity, innovative ideas each “Family Craft Day”.

As the day winds down we draw names to assign each person to a clean-up task. This system makes easy work of getting the “craft” table cleared up and leaves me with a much less daunting cleaning task.

Here are some items you should remember to collect all year long. Keep in mind if you don’t use them; your local kindergarten or elementary school will be glad to take them off your hands.

• Bobbins
• Boxes all types and sizes (tissue, shoe, gift …)
• Buttons
• Corks
• Egg cartons
• Fabric remnants
• Lids (all sizes and colors)

• Paper plates
• Paper rolls
• Plastic cutlery
• Popsicle stick (wash them first)
• Ribbons, lace, bows
• Seeds – cleaned and dried
• Shower curtain magnets
• Sponges
• Tin cans (again wash them first)
• Travel Magazines
• Wire hangers
• Wrapping paper

 With a large selection of materials on hand your choices of crafts become endless.

A number of resources are available to you if ideas are slow in coming. Consult your local library, the internet or even your local craft store for tips and ideas.

Don’t limit yourself. Crafts are not just cute little necklaces and paper flowers. You can build telescopes, rain gauges, butterfly nets, kites, shadow boxes, terrariums, totem poles, dioramas and more.

Just remember, for a family fun filled rainy day, turn the television, game station and computer off and get “crafting”