HelterSkelter - Indoor activity centre, Broadstairs
Jungle Jim's - Indoor and outdoor areas, Quex Park, Birchington
Ramsgate Garden Centre - in-store play area
Soft Play Areas - Kent
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Craft-paper tied masks
Making paper masks is a great way to entertain children on a wet afternoon or at a child's party. They keep everyone amused for ages and hopefully, gives the child something to take home that is rather more meaningful than a pricey 'party bag'. (When, where and why did the giving of Party Bags start?).
Try theming the masks to fit your party - fairies, pirates, monsters!Essentials:
Blunt ended craft scissors - or an adult on hand to cut
Assorted coloured craft paper - used to be called sugar paper
String or wool for the ties
Sticky-backed reinforcing rings*
Craft glue
Crayons, felt tip pens
- and newspaper to protect your table!
Extras:
sequins, glitter, feathers, pre-gummed coloured shapes - stars, moons etc
Have plenty of coloured scraps, sticky coloured shapes, glitter (I know - it's gets everywhere - but it's such fun stuff. Show me a girl who doesn't like glitter!), feathers, cotton wall balls and sequins for decoration. You'll be amazed at the variations of masks that emerge.
Make sure that your table is covered with plenty of newspaper or a wipe-clean plastic cloth as the process can get gloriousy messy. If you are lucky enough to have a garden and a sunny day for your party, set the table up outside if you can. Split glitter looks so much better on grass than on a deep-pile carpet!
The younger ones may need help cutting the eye holes in the right place - essential if you don't want a bunch of visually impaired children bashing into each other.
Have plenty of alternative colour paper for ears, cheeks, noses - warts and pimples. Pre-gummed coloured shapes are good for decorating - especially indoors as a substitute for glitter and sequins. If you've a collection of feathers from the park or the beach, they make brilliant additons as do dried leaves. You could extend the activity by sending your children out on a foraging mission before the mask-making day.
To finish the masks, punch a single hole in each side of the mask and strengthen with paper re-inforcing rings. Create a knotted loop of wool and thread through. Wool is more forgiving and less likely to tear the paper than string.
post your mask pictures - we'd love to see them!
Suppliers - try to support your local suppliers first.
Crafts Unlimited - High Street, Broadstairs
Lovelly's, Northdown Road, Broadstairs
National stores
HobbyCraft
W H Smith
Staples
Hand-Held Paper masks
Mum - there's a monkey at the table!
Children love play-acting and dressing up so why not help them get into mask making? Forget the shop bought plastic efforts - why not encourage them to make their own?
Hand-held paper masks
You'll probably find that the smallest of children don't like to have a mask tied to their ears so a simple hand-held one is ideal.
Bits and bobs needed - Essential: paper plates, lolly-pop sticks*, crayons or felt tip pens, craft glue
Extras: Cardboard scraps, felt, sequins, scraps of wool or cotton wool for whiskers and hair (we don't recommend pipe cleaner for whiskers as the wire can be quite sharp)
For a basic mask, all you need is a lolly-pop stick for the handle and a plain paper plate. I suggest that you make oval cut outs for the eyes before the plate is decorated or you could be cutting through carefully created art work, causing tears before bedtime!
Animal images can be copied from books - let the children run riot with their choice of colours and positioning of mouths and noses but remember the eyes will have to be drawn in a conventional place.
The joy of these masks is that they can be as simple or as fancy as your child wants - add scraps of wool (using a large darning needle or glue) to create whiskers, beards and hair, a sprinkle of sequins or glitter for fairies, cereal box cardboard ears and toilet roll noses. Make a few vertical cuts in the toilet roll, folding the card back to form tabs to glue onto the plate.
It shouldn't need saying but - as I don't want to be served a writ for Johnny snipping off his finger tips - do supervise the smaller ones if they are using scissors!
Finally, use heavy-duty sticky tape or a good craft glue to adhere the stick to the plate.
*Lolly sticks: Hobbycraft
Children love play-acting and dressing up so why not help them get into mask making? Forget the shop bought plastic efforts - why not encourage them to make their own?
Hand-held paper masks
You'll probably find that the smallest of children don't like to have a mask tied to their ears so a simple hand-held one is ideal.
Bits and bobs needed - Essential: paper plates, lolly-pop sticks*, crayons or felt tip pens, craft glue
Extras: Cardboard scraps, felt, sequins, scraps of wool or cotton wool for whiskers and hair (we don't recommend pipe cleaner for whiskers as the wire can be quite sharp)
For a basic mask, all you need is a lolly-pop stick for the handle and a plain paper plate. I suggest that you make oval cut outs for the eyes before the plate is decorated or you could be cutting through carefully created art work, causing tears before bedtime!
Animal images can be copied from books - let the children run riot with their choice of colours and positioning of mouths and noses but remember the eyes will have to be drawn in a conventional place.
The joy of these masks is that they can be as simple or as fancy as your child wants - add scraps of wool (using a large darning needle or glue) to create whiskers, beards and hair, a sprinkle of sequins or glitter for fairies, cereal box cardboard ears and toilet roll noses. Make a few vertical cuts in the toilet roll, folding the card back to form tabs to glue onto the plate.
It shouldn't need saying but - as I don't want to be served a writ for Johnny snipping off his finger tips - do supervise the smaller ones if they are using scissors!
Finally, use heavy-duty sticky tape or a good craft glue to adhere the stick to the plate.
*Lolly sticks: Hobbycraft
Welcome to the World of Kid Craft!
Have you got a simple craft based tip or project to offer parents?
Or perhaps you have found a craft kit which you think is particularly good value for money and would recommend.
We're looking for easy-to-do projects, for all ages.
Remember making folded paper water bombs? Or brlliant coloured paper gliders? Woven paper baskets? Your first sewn needle case? Or making telephones with a couple of treacle tins? (Ah, treacle! Those were the days!) Try telling your children that they were the original mobile phones!
Then why not share some of those projects, hints and suggestions to help us make this the year of 'The Crafty Kid' ! All ideas welcome be it paper or wood craft, knitting or sewing, origami or unusual painting project.
Or perhaps you have found a craft kit which you think is particularly good value for money and would recommend.
We're looking for easy-to-do projects, for all ages.
Remember making folded paper water bombs? Or brlliant coloured paper gliders? Woven paper baskets? Your first sewn needle case? Or making telephones with a couple of treacle tins? (Ah, treacle! Those were the days!) Try telling your children that they were the original mobile phones!
Then why not share some of those projects, hints and suggestions to help us make this the year of 'The Crafty Kid' ! All ideas welcome be it paper or wood craft, knitting or sewing, origami or unusual painting project.
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