Paper Crafts for Children

Sometimes I get a bit immersed in a project and a few things suffer – including keeping up with regular posts here. I thought that some of you might be interested in one of my recent projects, even if not at all paper craft related!

I quite like painting on things and had an old starry border in my daughters room that we didn’t want anymore, but we did want a forest mural. I came up with an idea for creating the new mural to work with the existing paint, and cover the old stars. This is stage one of the mural and covers the top quarter of the rooms walls. The next stage is to add some waterlife into the bottom three quarters of the room. And after that, it is on to another bedroom!

The start - on my ladder painting the waterfall	Some forest on the left of the waterfall	and some forest bushes growing on the right of the waterfall
The waterfall finished	The wall to the left of the waterfall just about finished	The wall to the left of the waterfall finished
The wall to the right of the waterfall with parrots near the curtain	On the other side of the curtain, more critters	Close up of the hummingbirds that were a special request
The wall around from the hummingbirds, and a bit of their wall, showing the first layer of paint	Now with some details added	and then with creatures added
The fourth wall - with Harry the crocodile on it	and one of the flamingoes	Showing most of Harry's wall

Above the door, the final creature for stage one of this mural

Owls are such a great craft subject, and there are many beautiful crafts out there for them, but I think this must be one of the easiest crafty owls to make – perfect for little fingers.

This craft is fun to make, but would also be ideal for putting on a gift card!

You need a cup cake case, which you flatten and then fold the top down a little.

Then fold the sides in to make the wings, on a slight angle as pictured.

Finally add some details. The eyes could be googly ones like we have used or you could just draw them on. Use some scraps of card to make some feet and a beak.

Some of my favorite cards for children to craft for Mothers Day and of course Grandmothers Day too.

	Mothers Day Tea Bag Card From all the hits this craft gets, it must be one of the most popular on my site. Have a look and see why everyone likes it so much.
	Fold Out Card A bit of a fancy card, but ever so easy to make.
	Secret Message Card This very clever card is much easier to make than it looks – have a go!
	Seeded Paper for Gift Cards A perfect card and gift combo paper craft.
	Accordion Pop-up Card The front of this card says ‘Thanks …’ and when it opens a whole bunch of flowers pop up and the message is ‘… a bunch’. Much easier to make than it looks.
	Concertina Gift Card What I love about this one is that it combines a card with a gift – and the gift can be little promise notes or special messages. Did I mention that this is also easier than it looks??
	Pop-up Garland Card This card combines two very easy techniques, a simple pop-up card and a paper garland. The flowers from the garland are used on the inside of the card as pictures here, and also on the front of the card and an envelope.
	Easy Pop-up Card Just like the others in this list, this is a great card craft for children to learn. The pop-up section is a separate piece that is glued on.

Such a great idea for a gift! This is perfect for turning a childs drawing into a gift – even a toddlers scribble designs would make a much appreciated present for something like Mothers Day.

The example from Pippi Pipecleaners below uses a very cute design that you can make from craft paper or from left over artwork.

Simple to make, you just need to cut out two identical shapes.

Layer up the shapes and glue some ribbon to the inside of one of the pieces. Glue the two pieces together leaving an opening.

Dab a small amount of scented oil onto a cotton wool ball – if you put too much it will ooze through the paper and may mark clothing. To make sure it will be OK, unroll another ball or two and roll it around the scented one.

Glue the closing shut and it is ready to be given and enjoyed. Just in time for Mothers Day!

Colorful and easy – it also suits a wide range of ages!

	Roughly chop up some bits of colored paper. Glue some onto a piece of black paper.
	Arrange another layer on top of them, overlapping them but letting bits of the first layer show.
	Repeat with another layer.
	Stop when you are happy with the shapes and colors, or if it is bedtime – whichever comes first.