Editor’s Note: ConsumerCrafts has an amazing selection of Timeless Mini’s- a brand of miniatures that are perfect for doll houses, model train enthusiasts, and more! Our lead designer Vicki O’Dell thought of this darling way to showcase miniatures- perfect for spring decorating.

I’ve always enjoyed miniatures, and I’ve often thought that some day I’d like to have one of those big, fancy Victorian doll houses to furnish and play with…some day when my house isn’t full of young people and, I imagine, I will have a little more space. It didn’t occur to me until relatively recently that I can play with miniatures without the doll house.  I’ve combined my love of making displays and vignettes with my love of miniatures and I’ve started creating miniature scenes.  SO. Much. FUN!  In this scene I was thinking about “The Littles“.  I read ALL of the books when I was young.  They captured my imagination and ran away with it. Soooo I made a small vignette imagining that The Littles were having a picnic.

Here are some of the supplies I used (or I recommend) for this project:

• 5 inch Wood Round Plaque
• Miniature Potted Daisies
• Miniature Vegetable Assortment
• Miniature Cocker Spaniel Dog
• Micro Mini Mushroom Birds
• 1 3/4 inch Gardening Set
• 1 1/2 inch Pot with Yellow Tulips
• 1 1/2 inch Pot with Pink Tulips
• Green Preserved Sheet Moss

To read more about how I put my Picnic together please visit The Creative Goddess Blog.

Glow-in-the-Dark beads are fun & cool!

This is a great little project to share with your kids. It’s perfect for that rainy afternoon, or for the next time you host a sleep over!  Make multiple bracelets for each wrist, and watch them glow when the lights go out!

Materials:

• 0726-62  big value assorted colors glow in the dark beads
• 1960-91  .5mm 7 meters clear stretchy cord 7.6 yard spool
• EPE-6000-12C   E-6000 industrial strength cement -Optional

Instructions:

1. Cut a 12” piece of clear Stretchy Cord.
   
2. Choose a uniformly shaped bead, and string it on the cord – sliding it almost to one end.  Tie a double knot around the bead.  This will be the anchor, so that the rest of the beads won’t fall off the cord while you are creating your bracelet.
   
3. Now comes the fun part! Pour your Glow-in-the-Dark beads onto a plate or into a bowl to allow for maximum creativity.  You can create a pattern of beads, or just grab them randomly to string together.
   
4. String beads onto the cord one at a time, until you have a string of beads that is long enough to just reach around your wrist.
   
5. Carefully remove the anchor bead, and hold both ends of the cord so no beads fall off.
   
6. Tie the ends together in at least 3 knots.
   
7. Clip the ends of the cord off, and you now have a great bracelet!
   

Note to Parents: These bracelets are pretty durable, but if you are worried your little one is excessively rough on their bracelet, you can take a small dab of the cement and place it on the knot.  Make sure you let this dry at least 24 hours before returning to your child.

Happy Beading!
Jamie

Your kids will smile, too, after making this fun craft!

Here we are in the month of March, still snow on the ground in Wisconsin.  Today is a day off from school and what better way to spend it than crafting with my 6 year old.  She loves creating different craft projects and this one one she can completely do on her own.  This is a great kit to pick up for your child.  I would also highly recommend this kit for classrooms, summer camp, girl scouts, bible camps, etc.  So many possibilities!  This could be a great craft for children and adults alike.

The kit we used for this project is the Foamies Lei Flower Activity Kit found at Consumer Crafts.

You simply take one of the strings that are included in this kit and take a piece of scotch or masking tape and wrap it around the end.  This helps to give the end stability so it will easily thread through the straws and flowers.  Sometimes little fingers do not quite have the dexterity needed to move strings through small holes and the tape is a huge help.  This is also the case many times for elderly folks.  This will assist them in being successful with the project.

After the first couple of flowers my daughter really got the hang of threading and she was able to get straws and flowers on much more quickly.  She could hardly wait to get done to actually try on the necklace!

So here Meliah is at the end of her project.  She really wants to give this to her Kindergarten teacher at school next week.  I know her teacher will love it!

My favorite things about this kit-

1.  The bright fun colors, including the straws.
2.  The fact it comes with the cord and all ready to string.
3. I like that it is a quick and easy project that a child can feel a sense of accomplishment from without spending hours sitting at the table.
4. This project will help build find motor skills in children 3-5 that will help prepare them to write their letters and numbers.
5. Most important, it is just plain fun!

If you need a quick and fun all-items-included craft kit, this one’s for you!

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