Crafty craft sticks

One thing I'm working on as a homeschooling mom of three (and lover of crafty ventures) is crafting more with my kiddos. It's easy to get caught up in the educational demands of the morning...and then the household demands later...and before you know it, I've said no to craft projects (that involve me) for weeks.

This is one of the reasons I decided on this 31 Days topic!

So yesterday, we made craft stick paper dolls, thanks to a great project idea found here, via Pinterest.

One thing I love about crafts is that there's a little less pressure involved. I have children who just might take after me when it comes to art classes...and their desire for perfection sometimes paralyzes them from even starting a project. 

Don't get me wrong. They will color for ages independently...but any formally led art project in the past has been difficult for at least one (if not two) of my kiddos.

This project overcame a hurdle for my oldest. When she saw the example from the blog of what these dolls COULD look like, she wanted me to draw the faces and the shoes for her. I did but insisted that she do everything else. (I pick my battles.) 

So I'm sure you can imagine my delight when she showed me this morning that she had done a new one completely by herself. That doll on the left? All Hadleigh. Baby steps...but they're important ones for her.

Wooden Dolls & Playspaces

So here's what you need:

craft sticks, we used the tongue-depressor size...popsicle sized would be cute too.

a variety of washi tape

black permanent markers and pens (a variety of sizes)

colored pens (some permanent, some non-permanent)

markers

file folders

gluestick

construction paper, 12"x18"

Putting these together is really easy...

1. Draw a face at the top of the craft stick.

2. Wrap washi tape around sticks.

3. Draw in details.

Play!

I love Nathanael's superheroes. Most of the Avengers, Loki, Batman, and Superman. I loved how he worked with the washi colors I had. I think the Hulk might be my favorite. But I like how he was thinking about Superman's cape.

Madeleine went straight to work...and at the end asked me to make two faces. I love all her details, especially eyelashes.

We also made some simple playspaces for the dolls.

1. I took standard-sized colored file folders, and using gluesticks, added a large piece of white construction paper to the inside. Glue one side at a time, and carefully work in the center, so that the paper doesn't  get wrinkled from being too tight or too loose at the fold. Trim excess paper.

2. Let the kids decorate the inside (and outside).

She taped a doll on the front so people would know what's inside. I'm dying over how she put her formal monogram on the front!

And here's the inside of Madeleine's. Table (with flowers) and chairs on one side, bedrooms and bathroom on the other.

This is one of those times where I really wanted to make suggestions and help...but ultimately let them create their own imaginary doll worlds.

They spent several hours creating and lots of time playing!

Project: success!

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This is Day 3 of 31 Days: Crafting a Creative Life. You can find an archive of all the posts from this series here. Thanks for joining me this month!