DIY Monster Book Marks

These adorable little monster bookmark corners can munch on the pages of your books while you're not reading. Simply slip the pockets over the top corner of the page you want to save. And what's more--they're uber easy to make, and fun for the kids. These would be a great craft for a kid's book club or reading activity.




Step One: Gather supplies. You need:
Glue stick
Scissors
Hole punches of various sizes (optional)
Construction paper
Printer paper
Pencil
Ruler

Step Two: Draw three squares on some printer paper. Use the
ruler to make sure the are exact. Draw them in an adjacent L shape.
My squares were about 2 inches x 2 inches, but you could go smaller
or larger if you like. Then draw a diagonal line through the two squares
on the end of the L, and mark the triangles you won't use as shown in the
picture.

Step Three: Cute the shape out, as a whole, but trim off the triangles you marked. Your shape should look like this:

Then trace it on the construction
paper. You can cut it out once
it is traced.






Step Four: Fold the triangles in towards the square, so now you have a scored square in the middle. Then apply glue to the top of one triangle
and fold the other triangle over it.




Step Five: Punch or cut out circles for the eyes. Then glue them together
however you wish.


So they might look something like this: --------------------------->







Step Six: Glue the eyes on your monster. Now cut a thick strip of construction paper slightly smaller then the length of the monster's mouth, but leave some space at the top, and cut teeth. Glue the top of the teeth and stick them on the inside. If this doesn't make sense, I hope the picture helps.



From this
<-------- to this------------------->





So now your monster is done! You can add eyelashes and a pretty bow for a preppy girl monster, too.

And now you're done! Aren't the cute? And easy! And once you've made one template, you never need to make another one. So have fun!

Elegant Tropical Melon Desert

This is so fun & easy! Not to mention delicious. Watch out, though...don't eat too much, or tummy aches follow. I don't know why, but they came especially easy to certain kids who ate more than one serving (I may or may not also be speaking from experience myself...).

So. Here's what you need...

Watermelon
Banana
Half a lime
*Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
*Sugar
*Water
Whipped cream
*IF YOU HAVE chocolate sauce, you don't need these items. But I had to make my own, and I'll explain how later.

STEP ONE:
Chop up your watermelon and banana pretty small and put the fruit in a fancy dish. :)

(No picture of the dish right now. Sorry.) :(

< But look how pretty this picture is!! <



STEP TWO:
Make your chocolate sauce (Skip this step if you have your own.)
Put about a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder in a bowl with about 1&1/2 tablespoons sugar. Now boil some water--you don't need much. Slowly pour it in, about 1/2 tbs at a time and mix, adding more water until it's a good consistency. (Note: Those handy-dandy Twizler things for stirring coffee really help here. Otherwise you might get bitter, yucky lumps of cocoa powder. You can get a Twizler thingy from Ross.)

STEP THREE:
Take your lime and give it a bear-hug with your hand over the fancy dish of fruit (or just squeeze it like a normal person would.)

And now....

                       ...drizzle that yummy                                                                           chocolate sauce all over. :)




STEP FOUR:
Go to town with your tommy gun full of whipped cream.

And now....serve to your kids (make sure they test it first, so you make sure not to poison yourself with grossness...

THE VERDICT????
Kid tested....
...kid approved.
Arielle says thumbs-up. :)

**BTW, you say Areille exactly like R E L. Not Ariel, like the mermaid. :)

The Importance of Polymer Clay

Polymer clay is something very near and dear to my heart. Its a special type of clay that you can mold like any other clay, but when baked in an oven turns hard like plastic. It's fairly inexpensive, if you know where to  shop, and loads of fun for kids. It's great for making doll food, doll accessories, and jewelry. I get so tickled by the amazing new things they're coming out with--not only are there bright colors, but special effect clays like glow in the dark, sparkly, clay that looks like granite, etc, etc. And the possibilities are endless! See what you can do with this stuff. So here's some q's and a's...
Where can I get polymer clay?
Michaels, Joaan's Etc., Hobby Lobby...or any other craft store. I'm partial to Michaels, because they generally have the best selection and the CraftSmart brand is only $1.29 per 2 oz. block! And, I guess, plus tax if you aren't an Oregonian, but it's still a great price. Sculpey III is another popular brand, but it's more expensive.
Does the brand of the clay affect the quality?
To some degree, yes, but CraftSmart (The cheapest brand) holds up fine. If you bake it thoroughly, it won't crumble, and its pretty soft and easy to work with.
Are special tools required to use this clay?
Nope! You can buy a pack of tools, too, but you can use toothpicks, bottle caps, cookie cutters, and anything  else you want! It is especially handy to have a razor blade or exacto-knife (with parental supervision, of course) to cute pieces and such. Just be careful.
How do I bake the clay?
There are baking instructions on the side of the package of clay. But mostly they say to bake it at 275 degrees (Fahrenheit) for 15 minutes (per six millimeters). Pretty easy to assess.


More questions? Leave a comment! I'll get back to you, I promise.

About Me

My name is Lily. I love crafts. Mostly, I specialize in doll miniatures. I'll get to posts about that. But have you seen those pretty, delicate, pricey things on etsy that look like they could break if a butterfly landed on them? I have, and I'll tell you--recycled items make the same things for less, and chances are when you make them yourself, the durability is adjusted just for you. I'll also get to a post about that.I absolutely love kids, and I know that when a child comes to you and says "I'm bored," crafts can be just the thing. So, let's get crafting!