Pagan Crafts
Fun activities for children and adults.
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Crafts for Holidays:

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Miscellaneous Crafts:

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More Crafts from Enchanted Learning

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Parents:

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Crayon Candles
You can make these out of old crayons and glass votive candle holders which can be found for about 50cents at a local craft store or Wal-Mart. Using a potato peeler, slice pieces of wax from the crayons. You can use as many colors as you want to. Find some Cotton string to use as the wick. You may have to braid pieces together to make them the desired width. Place the wick in the votive holder and press the wax pieces in around it. You can make bands of colors or just use one color. If you are really creative, you can even make pictures out of the wax. Build the candle up as high as you like. It is okay if there are air bubbles in the candle, you do not have to press that hard. When you are finished, you can burn your candle. Once the candle burns out, you can make another one using the same glass votive holder.

Beautiful Blank Books
by AmberSkyfire
Blank books are one of my favorite things to make. They are fun to fill,  make wonderful books of shadows, and are also wonderful gifts to give on any occasion.
You will need:

-Paper - any amount and type of paper that you want for your pages will work
-Two pieces of Corrugated Cardboard cut slightly (about 1/8 inch) larger than the pages
-a hole punch
-glue
-dried, pressed flowers and leaves
-2 pieces of colored cloth or paper cut two inches larger all around than the cardboard
-twine or string for the binding and a needle large enough to thread it
-2 pieces of clear laminate paper cut the same size and shape as the cloth
-an awl, icepick, or a sharp pencil

Begin by punching holes into the paper. You can have as many holes as you like. Four or five holes are probably best. Punch the holes in one sheet of paper. Punch the other sheets by laying this sheet on top of the others and using the holes as guides. When you are finished, take the two pieces of cloth and the pieces of cardboard. Lay one piece of cardboard directly in the center of the cloth. Pull the sides of the cloth up around the cardboard and glue them down all around the edges. Do this with the other cardboard sheet and piece of cloth. Determine which of the two will serve as the front cover of the book. Decorate the front with flowers and leaves by gluing them lightly to the fabric or paper. Next, lay the decorated board face down on the laminate paper, taking care not to allow any bubbles or creases to form in the laminate. Cut the corners of the paper square just to the corners of the cardboard. Fold the sides over and press them down. Do the same with the back cover. 

Next, lay the top cover over the pad of papers and lay the botttom cover under the papers. Straighten them so that they lay exactly above and below one aother. Punch the awl or pencil through the top cover where the holes in the paper are punched. Using the needle and twine, thread through the holes tightly to bind the book together. Once the book is bound, open the covers and glue the first and last page of the book to the front and back covers to cover the cardboard and the edges of the cloth and laminate paper.

Crayon Can
A crayon can is a wonderful way to reuse old coffee cans. Just cut a piece of construction paper to fit all the way around the can. You can decorate it with crayons, stencils, markers, glue, paint, glitter, string, yarn, fabric pieces, found objects, leaves, flowers, sequins and rhinestones. When you are done, keep your pencils, markers and crayons inside.

Making a Prosperity Talisman Gift - by Edain McCoy
You can easily make a prosperity talisman to give away by using items found in you own backyard, or with old coins from the bottom of your change purse. Anything which speaks to you of prosperity is appropriate. You will also need a single dollar bill (real or fake), a 3 1/2" x 5" rectangle of poster board, a pen, a pair of scissors, and some decorative items like glitter or paint. Leaving the four corners of the card blank, decorate the rest of its face with glitter, ribbons, magical symbols, herbs, or any other items linked with the attributes of prosperity. Next, take the dollar bill and cut off the four corners. Glue the bill's triangular corners to the four corners of your card. This is sympathetic magic-one must have money to attract money. Then, either on the back of the card, or on a separate piece of paper, write out instructions for using the talisman: This is a talisman of prosperity. Place this card someplace where you will see it every day, preferably in a bedroom. At least once a day hold the card to your breast and spend several minutes reciting the chant: Talisman of prosperity, all good things now come to me. Be sure to strongly visualize the success of the talisman as you are constructing it. When blessed, decorated, and wrapped, this simple card becomes a cherished and functional gift.

Making Pomanders
These are great at yule. All you need are whole cloves and oranges. Just stick cloves into the skins of oranges. The cloves will draw the juice out of the orange allowing it to dry and release a spicy orange scent that will last for weeks. Cover the orange with cloves leaving about 1/4 inch spaces between the cloves. Turn the pomander every few days to allow it to dry evenly. These will make the house smell wonderful. You can even put one in the car as an air freshener. It will last longer than the little cardboard ones you find in the store, and smell better.

Dehydrated Orange Slices
These are also excellent at yule because they represent sun symbols. All you will need for this craft are oranges. Choose only small oranges with a thin smooth peel. The large, fleshy oranges tend to go bad before they are dry. Cut off the two ends. Cut the oranges into slices no more than ¼ inch thick. Place the slices in an oven at 200F and leave the door ajar. Turn them every 10 - 15 minutes. It will take about two to five hours. When you are done, you will be left with thin, clear, dry orange slices. These can be used in potpourri, hung in windows or made into wreaths and garlands.

Painted Stones
Find smooth round stones from your yard or from a riverbed. You can create gifts and talismans with just a little acrylic paint. Paint on totem animals, symbols of luck or runes of protection. Just have fun with it.

Stained “Glass” Windows
Supplies: old, broken crayons, wax paper, white paper, warm iron scissors, newspapers, markers, potato peeler.

Place several newspapers on the table to protect it. Separate the crayons by color. Use a knife or a potato peeler to make shavings out of them. A pencil sharpener also works well, but crayons will dull the pencil sharpener.

On the white paper, draw several Pagan symbols (pentagram, tree, chalice, etc.). You can also use printed pictures as long as they are very simple. Choose a symbol that has special meaning to you. Then place one piece of wax paper wax side up over your picture, and sprinkle the wax shaving in the colors you like in the form of the chosen symbol. Be sure you leave a one-inch border around all the edges. The final step is to place the other sheet of wax paper, wax side down, in top and seal it with a warm iron. The crayons will melt and crate a stained glass symbol. You can frame it or just put a hole through the top of the wax paper and hang it in the window for a sun catcher or a house blessing.

-by Breid Foxsong

Hard-Baking Clay
These are especially great for making Day of the Dead decorations.

½ cup salt
¾ cup hot water
2 cups flour (do not use self-rising flour)

Stir the salt and water for about one minute. Add the flour. Work the dough with your hands until it is soft and pliable. The dough should have the consistency of modeling clay. Place a wet cloth over the dough to keep it moist while you’re working on your creations. Dip your fingers in the water if the dough feels dry and crumbly. If your dough still seems too dry, add a little more water.

Create skulls and bones. You can make flat, cookie-like ornaments, or rounded three-dimensional forms. For a skull, make a ball, then use a knife or your fingers to give it features. Bones are easy. Think of a cartoon dog’s bone. If you intend to hang your finished ornaments, make a hole with a nail or toothpick before baking. Remember the hole will get smaller as the ornament bakes.

Put the ornaments on a cookie sheet and bake fond of as the flowers will often stain the half. The ornaments are easier to remove if you cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Let the ornaments cool completely then decorate them with acrylic craft paint. Add the flowers, vines, insects, and other animals that give them their special charm. It’s not necessary, but if you want to protect the finished ornaments, coat them with clear varnish or spray them with an acrylic sealer. These ornaments are not edible!

 -by Lynne Sturtevant

Pressed Flowers
Gather flowers from outside on a nice day. If the flowers are wet, you will have to let them air dry just a little before you press them. Press the flowers by placing them between the pages of heavy books. Old phone books are perfect for this. Make sure you place paper markers in the pages that have flowers so you will not have to go looking for them when you are done. Be sure not to use nice books or books that you are fond of as the flowers will often stain the pages. Once the flowers are in the books, stack the books on top of each other and place in an out-of-the-way spot. Check the flowers in one week. If they are not completely dry, leave them for another week. Flowers usually take about two weeks to dry. When the flowers are done you can make things with them such as bookmarks, stationery and cards. To glue the flowers down, use a mixture of 1/2 glue and 1/2 water. Paint the backs of the flowers and glue them down. Then use some of the glue mixture to coat the flowers. You can make clear bookmarks by pressing the flowers between two pieces of laminate paper.

Silly Putty
-2 cups White all-purpose glue
-1 cup Liquid starch

WARNING: Non-Edible

Mix together well. Set on trays for play, or use waxed paper. Can be used as the commercial Silly Putty is. Store in an airtight container.

Wishing Rings
Wishing rings are fun to make on beautiful sunny days while playing outside or having picnics. You can use all sorts of materials for the rings such as sweet grasses, herbs, clover and flowers. Weave your materials together while chanting a rune such as:

Wishing ring, wishing ring, grant this wish for me,
weave a faery spell tonight, three times three times three!

Make your wish upon the ring and wear it all day long. You can make many rings, but make sure that you wear them all the day long. That night, place them outside for the little people in a beautiful place such as a garden or in your yard with other gifts such as shiny coins, wine, milk, bread and honey or sweet cakes and cookies.

Building a Faery-Elf House
-by D. J. Conway
Do you have faeries, elves, brownies, or gnomes sharing your home with you? Would you like to have them? 

     Inviting faeries, elves, or other little people to share your home and yard through a faery house is an interesting project for both adults and children. Building a house for them can be as simple or as elaborate as you please. Creating and furnishing such a place is an excellent family or personal project.

    Having faeries, gnomes, brownies, and elves share your home has distinct advantages. These Little People take personal pride in protecting and prospering in their human friends as well as keeping live interesting and fascinating. The Little People take delight in playing with pets in games of hide-and-seek. They love to participate in rituals and Pagan celebrations of all kinds. They will even help in your garden, creating healthier plants and beautiful blossoms.

    To create a special inside house for these little people, you will need: a cardboard box with a lid (this doesn't have to be very big); some poster-board; scraps of rich-looking material; glue or tape; scissors; a sharp knife; acrylic or poster paints, or appropriate wrapping paper; pencil; needle and thread.

    With the pencil, mark out the doors and windows on the box in the shape and places you want them. Cut the door across the top, bottom, and one side, bending the other side back to create a door. Cut out the windows, leaving narrow strips to simulate panes if you wish.

    You can paint the box to simulate bricks, stones, or boards.

    Cut a piece of poster-board one inch wider than the lid and as long as you want the roof to peak to be high. Lightly score the poster-board crosswise in the middle with the knife so it can be neatly creased to make the peak of the roof. Center the roof with a half-inch overhang on each side and glue into place on the lid.  The ends are filled in by cutting out triangular pieces of poster-board and inserting into the ends of the roof. You want the roof-lid to be removable so you can redecorate inside.

    Faeries like shiny things, so you might use a clear glue on the roof and sprinkle on colored glitter. You might also glue on dried moss and small fir cones.

    Tiny strips of cloth can be fastened at the windows fo rcurtains and placed on the floor for rugs. Caps from cans and bottles become little tables; small boxes, filled with cotton anc covered with velvet material, are beds. Let your imagination go, furnishing the faery house with whimsy and dreams.

Do-It-Yourself Magical Candle Making
-by Emily Jane Conroy
Nothing helps a magical operation more than the personal effort which goes into its performance. A good example of this is the making of ritual tools, putting our won sweat and essence into their creation. We would know that these tools are full of our efforts, the fruits of our labor and love. However, most of us lack the equipment, instruction or raw materials necessary to make our own ritual items.

Supplies:
Two white taper candles, a box of colored birthday candles, a metal mixing bowl that you don't mind getting waxy, a glass votive candle holder, a pot (optional), a vial of scented oil (optional), a bit of the herb or flower of the scented oil.

    Make certain the mixing bowl will fit over the pot rather snugly, but not so tight that air will not escape the pot. Fill the pot with enough water so that when the bowl is placed in the pot it comes into the barest contact with the water. Begin to heat the water, and place the metal bowl into the pot.

    Now take the two white taper candles. Using whatever you have available - a knife, your hands, a hammer - break the candles apart until you are left with small pieces of wax. You will want to keep a wick from one of your candles to use in your ritual candle. 

    When the water has come to a boil, place the wax into the metal bowl and let it melt. (You might want to think of your observation of this phase change as part of the magical ritual!) You will want to turn the heat down.

    The wax from four birthday candles are used to color the ritual candle. (I have found that crayons and food coloring work well, also and have much brighter colors) As these birthday candles usually come in muted colors, your candle will have a pleasant pastel shade. You may want to choose the color of your candle according to the purpose of the ritual in which it will be used, if any.

    For an all-purpose ritual candle, leave it colorless. Or, mix as many colors as you like and see what happens. 

    Mix the colored wax into the clear wax in the hot metal bowl. Now you should attach the wick to the inner bottom of the glass votive holder with a little wax. Do this until the wick is firmly attached. 

    The oils and herbs can be added to your candle for an extra magical boost, if you desire. Not only will your candle then benefit from these extra energies, but it will also provide a wonderful scent not duplicated by store-bought candles!

A Wishing Box
-by AmberSkyfire
Wishing boxes can be made of any material that you like. You can use a pre-made box of wood or metal, or you can create one out of a cardboard box. The box should not be large, just large enough to fit a small piece of paper. Decorate the box using sequins, rhinestones, crystals, paint or decoupage pictures. Inside of the box, you should write a wishing spell on each side of the box, including the top and bottom of the box. You can write it in english letters or use runes or another alphabet. A good wishing spell is:

Wishing box, fairy flox, grant this wish for me.
I'll lay this spell and wish it well, three times three times three!

Write your wish on a piece of paper and place it in the box on the new moon. Leave the wish inside of the box until the full moon, at which time, you should remove it and burn it in a white candle flame while chanting the spell inside of the box three times. Leave the ashes  in a little white cloth or paper pouch underneath your pillow until the next new moon or until you get your wish. You can only do one wish each new moon.

Pentacle Dreamcatcher
A pentacle dream catcher is not difficult to make. It requires a circular ring; even a large curtain ring will do. You will also need some thread, string, or heavy crocheting thread to weave the design upon this ring. If you really want to be decorative, you can string tiny beads on the thread and attach little feathers where the string is wound around the ring.

To begin, tie one end of the thread to the ring. Wind the thread around the opposite side of the ring three times at a slight angle from the original attachment, pulling it tight. This will be part of the left leg of the pentacle. Each time you attach the thread to the ring, wind it three times.

Now wind the thread about the ring a short distance from the 1st tying. Your design should look like an inverted V-shape. Pulling the string to the let side of the ring, wind it about the ring a little more than half-way up the side. Adjust it until it looks like the lower angle of the cross-arm of teh pentacle. Now stretch the thread across to the opposite side and wind it about the ring. For the finishing angle, pull the thread back to the point of the beginning.

If you carefully check the angle of the thread each time you prepare to wind it at another point on the ring, you can adjust the design. Make a small loop for hanging at the top of the pentacle.

If you want to string beads on the thread, do it on each section before you wind the thread around the ring. I've seen one pentacle dream catcher decorated with a Samhain artificial cobweb and a tiny spider in the center.

Dream catchers do work. They are symbols of personal control over dreams. And the subconscious mind which creates dreams only understands symbols.
-author unknown

Window Frosting
-by Bried Foxsong
This is a perfect way to play winter in the summer or to create privacy, as in a bathroom window. Make sure you start by cleaning your windows completely.

Dissolve 4 heaping tablespoons of Epsom salts in 1 cup of beer. This mixture will foam, so be sure you do it in an area that you can easily clean up afterward. Let the beer mixture set for at least 30 minutes. The salt crystals will partially dissolve. After the time has elapsed, apply the mixture to your window. This can be done with a cheap two-inch paint brush from any hardware store, but for a nicer effect, you can dip a facial tissue or terry cloth in the liquid and wipe over the window as if you were washing it. Smeary is better in this case, so let the child go to it!! Then while the window is still wet go back and dab and pat at the glass with the wet tissue to create patterns. The mixture will dry to form beautiful crystals. It will look even better the next day, and lasts quite a long time. In time, the mixture can be washed off with water and a cloth, and it is easily reapplied. So you can do it over and over until you've got it just the way you want it.

Rain Sticks
-by Bried Foxsong
You will need:
Paper towel rolls (one per rain stick)
Brown packing tape (or any kind of tape you can paint on)
tempera paint
Toothpicks
white glue
rice

For small children, you can pre-poke holes (a lot of holes) in the tube before the kids start to work on it. Bigger kids can poke their own holes through both sides of the tube. Either way, once the holes are done, cover one end of the roll with tape. Use tape you can paint on so it can be decorated later. 

Paint the stick with brown tempera paint. Let the paints dry, then stick toothpicks so they go through one hole and out another. Glue both ends of the toothpick to the tube. The whole idea is to have the toothpicks going in at different angles to make the required sound. Have an adult cut off any protruding ends of the toothpicks. 

Then fill the stick with rice. Let the child decide on their own how much to use; just have them put the rice in a little at a time and have them flip it back and forth so they can hear the "rain" sound until they have it just the way they want. It won't take a lot of rice. 

Tape up the other end with paintable tape, and, there you have it, a rain stick!

Wind Chimes
-by Bried Foxsong
Wind chimes are very easy to make and calm any room they are hung in. And what parent doesn't appreciate a little calm?

For this project, you can experiment with materials a little bit, and see what makes the best sound. For outdoor chimes, you can go to hardware stores and get hollow metal rods. Have the store cut the rod in to different sizes for a beautiful array of notes. For indoor chimes, you can use metal trinkets, ceramic figurines, or anything your imagination can dream up. Terra cotta tiles are easy and sound great, but you can  also use rods, pieces of porcelain tile, sea shells, bits of slate or stones, jewelry, glass, old toys, and so on.

For starters, you will need an embroidery hoop, some fishing line and chimes to attach. Any sharp edges on any chimes need to be supervised for small children. You may simply want to get some sandpaper to deal with the sharp edges. Or for a safe and purely decorative chime for small children, try dipping macaroni onto water color and using those.

To make the chimes, tie the fishing line across your embroidery hoop and then tie the other side to create a cross. From this you will attach your chimes. Tie a hanging loop on the hoop and hang the hoop on the back of a chair. This will make it easier to attach your chimes and evenly distribute the weight.

Using the materials you have chosen, tie or hot glue the objects onto the fishing line, then tie around the hoop. Keep doing this at different lengths until you have chimes hanging from all around the hoop. Take care to spread the objects evenly, and to make them hang at lengths where they will come in contact with one another as they move in the wind or at the hands of your child.

Finally, attach some chimes in the center of the hoop where you first created a cross. Make sure your chimes are evenly balanced n weight and add a few more where necessary before hanging. Hang the chimes, and with your children, be sure to take time to enjoy the product of your own labor.

Look at My T-shirt! 
Materials needed: 
White t-shirt 
Fabric crayons 
White paper or coloring book picture 
Iron 
Directions: Give your child a blank piece of paper or a favorite picture out of a coloring book. Have the child draw and color the picture, (or color the picture from the coloring book) witht the fabric crayons. After the picture is finished, preheat iron according to manufacturer's directions. Put the paper colored side down onto the shirt and transfer the picture to the shirt (again according to manufacturer's directions). When transferring, please make sure you have a piece of cardboard, or another protective item inside the shirt to protect from color bleeding. Kids are so proud of wearing their own art work.

Crayon Balls
Save your broken crayons.  Remove the paper and place the crayons in the top of a double boiler. Heat them just enough till they are soft and pliable.  Mold into balls with your hands.   You can make small balls,  big balls...You decide... Set the crayon balls on  an old plate  and let cool.
Kids love these.

Lava Lamp
Kids will be amazed with these for years. Take an empty 2 liter soda bottle, clean, and take paper off of the outside. Fill soda bottle 3/4 full with light wash corn syrup. Add enough metallic confetti or glitter (as much as you want). Finish filling up with water. You can add a drop of food coloring for extra color. Put the cap on and shake. You can get the confetti in bags at craft stores. You may want to glue the lids on for smaller children.

Lolly Ghost
Supplies Needed:
Lollypop
Tissue Paper
Felt -tip Pen
Yarn
Scissors

Instructions:
Wrap the tissue around the lolly and tie its neck with yarn around the base of the candy part
Draw scary eyes on the tissue with the felt pen.
Present your ghostly lolly to the ghoul of your choice.
Makes the perfect Halloween Party Favor. These are also great decorations. Make a ghost mobile to hang in the house or on the porch!

Wiggley Spider
Supplies Needed:
Black Paint
Orange construction paper
Black Yarn
White Chalk
Scissors
Glue
Paintbrushes
Hands

Instructions:
Make sure to spread out newspaper over the work area.
Paint inside of palm and fingers, excluding the thumb, with black paint.
With fingers slightly spread, press palm on orange construction paper so that fingers are pointing to the right side of the paper. Make an identical print with fingers pointing to the left side of the paper, overlapping the palm prints completely.
Glue a piece of black yard to the paper, extending from the top of the spider's body to the top of the page. You may also draw a string.
Draw a face in the spider with chalk or white paint.

Creepy Spider Bracelets
What You Need
 Black construction paper
Wiggle eyes
White paper (for "fangs")
Paper fastener
Stapler and staples
Scissors
White crayon
Glue
Pencil

How To Make It:

1. Fold black construction paper in half.
2. Along folded edge, lay child's hand palm down (midway through palm) and trace fingers with white crayon.
3. Cut out the outline of the fingers.
4. Unfold and you have a complete image of a spider with eight legs. Now turn the spider over and with the pencil, roll the legs around the pencil...this makes the legs curl under and gives a more creepy, crawly effect.
5. Cut a 1" strip of black paper from the remaining scraps, and form it into a circle for the bracelet part. At the appropriate length, staple the ends together.
6. Attach the bracelet to the underside center of the spider using the paper fastener.
7. Glue on the wiggle eyes and the "fangs" that you design and cut from the white paper to the spider's head.
8. The child puts his/her fingers or wrist through the bracelet...the kids can make their spiders creep and crawl with a back & forth rocking motion of their wrists. The paper fastener allows the spider to turn back and forth or 360 degrees, too!

Autumn Handprint Wreath
I love handprint crafts! I save each one in a special binder and peek at them every so often. It's fun to compare and see how they've grown. 

Materials:  
glue
scissors
yellow, orange, and red paint or construction paper.

There are two ways to do this craft. One is to trace the child's hand onto paper and cut out the prints. The second is to make paint handprints on the paper and cut those out.  
 Make nine handprints (3 of each colour). 
 Cut out the prints and glue to form a wreath. 
 You can decorate the wreath further with pictures (like leaves, pumpkins or corn). 

Leaf Prints
Supplies:
Leaves
Paint ("fall" colors)
Black Construction Paper
Lots of Newspaper

Put down lots of newspaper! Paint one side of each leaf (not too thick). Carefully arrange leaves in one layer, paint side up, on clean newspaper. Place a piece of black construction paper over the top of the leaves and press gently! A little messy, but very fun.

Leaf Mobile
Glue colorful and different fabrics to both sides of several pieces of heavy paper. Cut leaves from this. Tie a string on each leaf. Suspend the leaves from a small branch. Hang where the leaves will catch the breeze and flutter.

Leaf Rubbing
To help children notice the veins in leaves and the different shapes of leaves, let them place a variety of leaves (underside up) under a piece of light colored construction paper. Using the sides of crayons that have had the paper covering removed, children make crayon rubbing of the leaves.

Aluminum Foil Leaves
Pieces of aluminum foil, leaves, glue, construction paper.

Set out pieces of aluminum foil and a variety of fall leaves. Let each child select a leaf, place it under a piece of foil, and gently press and rub the foil with his or her hand to get a leaf print. Then have the children glue their leaf prints to the construction paper.

Natural Ostara Egg Dyes
This Easter, why not color your eggs using nature's very own dyes? It's possible to che paint colours and the rinse water cups around the table to encourage sharing and conversation.

The kids had a ball painting the baskets any way they wanted. They raspberries
Orange: Yellow onion skins
Light yellow: Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin
Yellow: Ground turmeric
Pale green: Spinach leaves
Green-gold: Yellow Delicious apple peels
Blue: Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves
Beige to brown: Strong brewed coffee
To dye the perfect Easter eggs the natural way, here's what to do:
1. Put eggs in a single layer in a pan. Pour water in pan until the eggs are covered.
2. Add about a teaspoon of vinegar.
3. Add the natural dye appropriate to the color you want your eggs to be. (The more eggs you are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use.)
4. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the substance you used to color the eggs. Put eggs in a bowl. If you want your eggs to be a darker shade, cover them with the dye and let them stand overnight in the refrigerator.

Ostara Egg Baskets

• wooden strawberry baskets (1 quart size)
• pastel poster paints in many different Easter Colours
• paint brushes 1 for each child
• LOTS of rinse water!!!!!!!
• small kitchen sized garbage bags
• Easter grass in many colours

The garbage bags make great paint smocks when your in a pinch. Simply cut a slit in the top large enough for the child's head, measure where their arms would be and cut two slits for the arm holes and HEY! You have instant paint smocks!! We saved ours, but you can toss yours its up to you.

Give each child a basket, and a paint brush. Scatter the paint colours and the rinse water cups around the table to encourage sharing and conversation.

The kids had a ball painting the baskets any way they wanted. They were so expressive with their ideas!! It was a wonderful art experience for them.

They were very proud of their work and were so excited when they saw how each basket was different from the rest.

Give each child some Easter grass to line their baskets. If you wish you might give each child a few Easter Eggs for their baskets.

Real Grass Baskets
-by AmberSkyfire
One of the most lovely crafts you can make before Ostara is baskets with real grass in them. This is easy for both children and adults to do. 
What you will need:
Round basket
plastic disposable plant water catching dish as close to the size of the basket as you can find
dirt
grass seed 

Place the dish inside of the basket. The closer the dish is to the size of the inside of the basket, the better. Fill the dish up to the top with potting soil. Sprinkle grass seed over the top of the soil and water. You will need to water the grass every now and then to keep the seeds moist. make sure to use lots of seed so that the grass grows thick and keep in a sunny location. When Ostara comes, you will have a wonderful grass-filled basket to put the eggs you find in. The basket can be kept with grass all year long as a window decoration, or the grass and soil can be tossed into the yard.

Candied Violets for a Springtime Cake
-by AmberSkyfire
Violets are edible and very high in Vitamin A. A good way to serve violets is to make them into candy and serve them on white cake.
What you will need:
violets (about twenty per cake)
a cake
white icing
egg whites
paint brush
fine granulated sugar

Bake a cake and put white icing on the cake. Make sure that the violets have been rinsed and let sit to dry a few minutes on paper towels. Beat the egg whites until they are light and fluffy. Using the paintbrush, CAREFULLY paint egg white on each of the flowers. Sprinkle fine granulated sugar over the flowers until they are covered. Decorate the cake with the flowers, serve, and enjoy!

Candle Cans
-by AmberSkyfire
Imbolc is a time to light many candles in celebration of the lighting of the world and the new warmth. Candle cans are a wonderful and safe way to decorate for this holiday.
You will need:
tin can
water
hammer
nail
paper
scissors
pencil or crayon

Save tin soup cans or other tall metal cans to use as candle holders. Fill the cans almost to the top with water and freeze them in the freezer. Cut a piece of paper to fit exactly around the tin can so that it covers the entire can. Have the child draw a picture on the paper the way that they want it to look on the can using dots as if it you were making a dot-to-dot picture.. (example: stars, flowers, suns, moons, etc.) Once the picture is finished, wrap the paper around the frozen can. Take a nail (adults will need to do this for smaller children) and hammer it lightly over each dot on the picture, so that it will be transferred to the can. When finished, remove the paper and let the ice melt. Put tea lites inside of the tin can through the opening in the top so that they sit on the bottom of the can. The pictures drawn in dots on the can will glow with the light of the flame and will be projected onto the walls of a dark room.

Growing Beltane Basket
Greet the May Day spirit with this 'growing green basket'. 
An ideal green gift to surprise with!

Supplies:
Empty Milk Cartons 
lump of potting soil
Grass Seed 
(fast growing if you have it) 
a stapler
a roll of string and some wire
freshly picked herb sprigs, 
flower heads (orchids, lilies, or others) 
plant foliages( like ivy)

Take empty milk cartons, cut down to 4-5" high. 

Cover the basket with construction paper and decorate. 

Fill around 2/3 full with potting soil. 
Then generously sprinkle grass and some weed seeds. 

Have it watered daily. Grass should grow in about 4-7 days. 

With the remaining cartons, cut a handle out and staple it to the basket.

Do not add other greens till the last moment. Wire some herb sprigs and flower heads such as orchids, lilies, foliages of ivy or the likes, in separate bunches. Add them to the basket before taking it out to be hooked on the door knob of your dear ones.

Flowery Beltane Hat
A flowery May Day hat An elegant summer hat draped with fresh flower. Isn't this a great idea to celebrate the May Day. The real green way! 
Supplies: 
Poster board 
a marker pen 
one soft pencil 
a pair of compasses
(one of those found in the geometry box) 
a ruler 
scissors 
glue 
transparent tape 
twisted paper for decoration 

Steps: 
1.Before getting started, fix up the size of the hat roughly.
Tips: Place a ruler flat on the top of the wearer's head. Mark the two ends that hold the length of the wearer's head with a bright colored marker pen. Read the length. Place the ruler on a paper and mark these two marked-ends along the ruler with two dots. 

2. Now, use a pair of compasses to draw a circle on colored poster board. Fix up the pencil from the needle of the compass at a length equal to the one read by the ruler. 

3. For a better design, add some 5cm or 2 inches above the length you fix up. Now complete drawing the circle. When the first circle is finished, draw a second circle 2.5 cm or 1 inch inside the first one. 

4. Make even cuts up to that 2.5 cm/1 inch deep from the edge of the paper to the penciled inner circle. Cut out the paper around the outer circle. This will help you to bend the posterboard along the line of the drawn circle. Fold the cut flaps of paper straight way up. (as shown in the picture) 

5. For the sides of the hat, cut a strip of paper 7.5 cm/3 inches wide and long enough to fit around the folded-up edge of the paper circle. Then draw a line lengthways down the middle of the paper. 

6.Make even cuts in the same way as before along the drawn line on the paper strip. Spread glue along the outer uncut side. 

7.Stick the glued side of the paper band around the edge of the paper circle, ensuring that all the cut strips are neatly attached to it. 

8.Cut a larger circle of card of contrasting color for the brim. Ideally it should be 7.5 cm/ 3 inches wider all around than the crown. 

9. Cut out a circle from the center of the brim that measures the same diameter as the crown. Place the crown right way up on a surface, with the cut strips around the sides of the hat folded outwards. Then slide the brim into position. When you know it fits neatly, turn the hat over. And glue the cut strips in place on the brim. Secure them with transparent tape and leave to dry. 

10. Add finishing touches with wide ribbons, bows and flowers.

Paper Flowers
-by AmberSkyfire
You will Need:
colored construction paper or tissue paper
glue
scissors
craft sticks or popsicle sticks
crayons

Draw flowers on the colored construction paper. You can use each color for different flowers or only one color. Use your imagination when making flowers. You can trace objects like your hand or a toy or use stencils. Color the flowers with the crayons and paste the flower parts together.
Glue the flowers onto the sticks and then add leaves that you have cut from green construction paper.
Paper flowers can be placed anywhere for decoration and look great in baskets. You can stick them in a flower pot of dirt or crumpled paper for lovely potted flowers that will never die. These flowers also make great gifts for loved ones.

Mini Beltane Basket
Materials Needed:

• Toilet Tissue Roll
• Tape
• Construction Paper or Wallpaper Scraps
• Markers or Paint
• Pipe Cleaner

Instructions:
Cut the toilet tissue roll in half so you have 2 circles. Cover one opening with construction paper and tape securely in place. Cut a strip of construction paper or wallpaper to cover the outside of the toilet tissue roll. Use a hole punch and make 2 holes near the open hole of the toilet tissue roll. Make sure the holes are directly across from each other. Thread one end of the pipe cleaner into each hole. Fold the ends up and wrap around the pipe cleaner to make the handle. Fill your mini basket with real or home-made flowers and try to hang it on your neighbor's doorknob without getting caught!

Fruity Popsicles
-by AmberSkyfire
You will need:
Fruit juices (as many flavors as you want
ice tray
toothpicks
plastic wrap (or foil if you don't have any)

Each ice cube space in the ice tray will be one popsicle. Fill the ice tray with juice. You can use as many juices as you want and mix them or keep the flavors seperate. Once the tray is full, Place a piece of plastic (or foil) wrap over the top. Make sure that the edges are pulled tight. Stick a toothpick in each cube through the plastic wrap so that it sticks out. Place the popsicles in the freezer. Wait until they are frozen and then enjoy, but make sure not to eat the toothpick. (adults may just want to give small children the ice cube without the stick, though it might be a little messy.) This project is really wonderful because the popsicles are made mostly of juice instead of sugar and are good for children and save money.

Hairy Harry
What you need:
Styrofoam cup or paper cup (recycle)
scissors
construction paper
markers
glue
buttons (or cut them out of paper for young children)
potting soil
rye grass seed

Steps: 1. Have the children cut eyes, ears, mouths, nose, etc...out of construction paper and glue in place on their cup. Let them also use markers to color on the cup. Let them use buttons to embellish or anything else you may have lying around.

2. Have the children fill their cups about 2/3 full of potting soil. Then plant the rye grass seeds in the soil. Place the cups in a sunny place and water regularly.

3. Hairy Harry will begin to grow "hair" in about seven days.

Wind Socks
You will need:
Styrofoam cup large one works great
crepe paper streamers 6 colors
yarn
glue
sharp pencil

take the cup and poke 6 holes in the end of the cup.... Cut strips of streamers about 15 ins long. Roll the end to make a pointed tip.. Poke throw hole and put glue on tip and stick to inside of cup. Do this will all six color strips. Poke a hole on the side to cup and put another hole opposite to that. Take some extra crepe paper and glue on outside cup-- doesn't matter what it looks like... tie yarn through holes on side and fly cup when dry!!

Bath Buddies
Ivory Snow detergent (or any other soap flakes)
Liquid food colouring
Water
Vegetable oil
Bowl
String (if you want soap on a rope)

How To Make It
In a bowl pour approximately 3 cups of soap flakes.
Add 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of water with a few drops of food colouring added to it.
With your hands mix the contents of the bowl until it forms the consistency of play dough.
To shape it, take a drop or two of vegetable oil and rub it between the palm of your hands -- now shape anyway you wish.
If you want to make a soap on a rope, cut a piece of string and tie the ends together. Push the knotted end gently into the your finished shape.
Let the completed soap stand to set over night
Tips
If you can't find soap flakes, you can make your own. Get some bars of pure soap and finely grate them to make soap powder. This powder may not need as much water to be workable. Start with just 1/3 to 1/2 cup per 3 cups of soap powder. Add more as needed.

Creature Fan

• Corrugated cardboard (recycle a box)
• Scrap paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Construction paper (in desired colors)
• Glue or tacky glue
• Popsicle stick (regular or wide)
• Markers, as needed
• Wiggle eyes, if desired

Note: When you trace your pattern on the cardboard, make sure the cardboard interior ribs/lines are vertical so you can insert a Popsicle stick.

1. Draw your pattern up on the scrap paper. You may wish to look at some pictures of your favorite characters while you draw the pattern.
2. Cut out the pattern.
3. Trace around the pattern on construction paper and on the cardboard. Cut out.
   Note: You may wish to make this pattern double sided, if so, double all your cut-outs.
4. Glue the construction paper to the cardboard.
5. Create the features for the character on the appropriate colored construction paper and cut out.
6. Glue the features on to the construction paper.
7. Put some glue on the end of the Popsicle stick.
8. Push the Popsicle stick into the inside of the cardboard.
9. Put a small amount of glue around the stick where it comes out of the cardboard to give it extra "hold".
10. Let dry.
11. Have fun keeping your cool!

Olympic Medal
Just in time to celebrate the Olympics. Recycle bags you receive your newspaper in and frozen juice can lids! Children love to receive a medal for playing in their own Olympics!

What You Need

• One plastic newspaper bag, preferably blue.
• Two 12 ounce frozen concentrate juice can lids.
• Star and/or flag stickers
• Hot glue

How To Make It

• Take the newspaper bag and, from opening, cut both sides all the way to the fold. You will now have one long flat piece of plastic.
• Fold, lengthwise, into thirds. Take each long side and fold in lengthwise, you now have 1/3 the width you had before.
• Fold at center, bringing both ends together and glue between both juice can lids. This is the ribbon that goes around the neck.
• Adorn lids with star or flag stickers!
• You now have an Olympic medal to celebrate the achievements of your little ones efforts! They'll feel just as important as the official Olympians!

Yule Snowflakes
Celebrate the season of winter by making these perfect six sided snowflakes. Use them to decorate your windows.
What you need:
Paper
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil
Plate or cereal bowl
Glitter and glue - optional
Crayons or markers - optional

What you do:
1.Lay the plate or bowl upside down on the paper. Trace around the rim. Remove the plate or bowl and cut out the circle you made.
2.Fold the circle in half.
3.Fold the outsides in as shown in diagram.
4.Fold the paper in half.
5.You are now ready to begin cutting out the design of your snowflake. Do not cut away all folds or the snowflake will fall apart.
6.Gently unfold the snowflake and see what kind of design you have created.
7.Optional: put dabs of glue on the snowflake and sprinkle with glitter or color them.

Garden Stepping Stone
These easy-to-make Stepping Stones are a nice addition to any garden. They also make great gifts.
What you need:
Ready mix cement
Newspaper
Container
Beads, shells, bottle caps, key chains, etc.

What you do:
1.Find a plastic container that you will use to make your stepping stone. It could be the top of a ready made cake from the grocery store (these usually have fancy edges) or a margarine container. If you plan to use a paper box use plastic wrap to line it, so the water from the cement will not seep through.
2.Mix the cement according to the manufacturers instructions. Pour the cement in the container. Two inches is thich enough.
3.Before the cement dries, press your decorations, beads, shells etc. into the cement.
4.Wait at least 24 hours for your stepping stone to dry before removing it from the container. Enjoy!

Lughnassadh Placemats
Supplies
Leaves, seedpods, small sticks
Wax Paper
Iron

Go for a "nature walk", and collect various leaves, seedpods, and small sticks. Take one piece of wax paper (any size you want), and place the items on this piece. Take another piece of wax paper, same size, and lay this carefully over the first piece. Iron the two pieces together. (Adult supervision required!) These clear placemats also look nice hung in windows.

Harvest Napkin Rings
-by AmberSkyfire
You Will Need:
construction paper
scisors
pencil
glue
napkins (paper or cloth)
ruler (optional)
hole punch (optional)

Cut out strips of paper about 1 inch wide and long enough to fit around your napkins when they are rolled up (about 5 inches long should do it).
Using the pencil, draw harvest designs in colored construction paper and cut them out. You can make pumpkins using orange paper for the pumpkin and green for the stem or corn cobs using different colors punched out with a hole punch and string for the cornsilk. Once you have made as many harvest pictures as you will need, glue each picture into the center of the strips that you cut at the beginning. Wrap the ends of the ring around the napkin and glue in place.

Harvest Corn Cob
Make a Thanksgiving corn decoration out of paper and popcorn! An easy group craft to make.
What You Need
 Scissors
Glue
Popcorn kernels
Popped popcorn
Yellow and green construction paper or printed pattern and crayons to color it

Making your Corn Collage
Step 1 - Make the Corn Picture
Cut out a corn cob shape from yellow construction paper and cut out some leaves from green construction paper. You might find it easiest to cut out the corn cob, then lay it on the green paper, then draw the leaves, then cut them out. You can glue the finished shape to thin cardboard if you want to make it sturdier.
Step 2 - Attach the corn
Put glue all over the corn cob section, the glue unpopped or popped corn (or both) to the cob.

Spooky Cups
Great for drinks or to hold those ghoulish goodies!!!
Adult supervision is recommended with the use of a hot glue gun.
What You Need

• Black chenille stems (4 for each spider cup)
• Scissors
• Craft glue or hot glue gun
• Purple paper cups
• Black poster board (for bat wings)
• Small wiggle eyes
• Ruler, optional (only if you need to measure)

How To Make It

1. Cut four pipe cleaners in half to make eight spider legs.
2. Fold one end of each pipe cleaner up 1/4 inch.
3. Glue the folded part to the side of the cup, putting four legs on each side. Bend legs into a spider pose.
4. Cut two bat wings from black poster board.
5. Bend the ends and glue one on each side of a cup.
6. Glue eyes on each cup. Let dry.
7. Serve drinks or treats in the cups.
8. Have fun!

Cereal Box Gravestones
Have fun decorating your yard with this craft!
Adult supervision is recommended with the use of a hot glue gun.
What You Need

• Black and white tempera paint
• 3 cups for mixing paint
• Paintbrush
• Assorted-size cereal boxes
• 2 sponges
• Thick black permanent marker

How To Make It

1. Mix paints to make a light gray, medium gray, and dark gray.
2. Paint boxes with two to three coats of medium gray. Let dry.
3. Use the sponges to dab on the light and dark gray paint to give gravestones a mottled look. Let dry.
4. Write names and dates with marker. Such as: Dracula died here 1768-1842, etc.

Fill Ziploc plastic bags with sand or rocks and place inside boxes to keep them from blowing over. Stand them in mounds of dirt or sand.
Make sure you bring in the boxes if it is going to rain!

Yule Log
by AmberSkyfire
When Yule comes around, celebrate by creating a Yule log. Take a walk in the park or near your home if you live in a rural area. Look for the perfect log to burn in your fireplace. Remember to try and choose a log that has already fallen instead of cutting one from a living tree. Driftwood is also good to use. Collect items to decorate your log with. These can be:

holly leaves and/or berries
oak leaves
winter flowers
pine cones
pine needles
corn or corn husks
mistletoe
evergreen sprigs
gold string or bows
apple cider

Decorate the Yule log in the fireplace before starting the fire. Traditionally, the Yule log was supposed to burn for 12 days. Today, however, few people are able to have a fireplace or log to size. Save a piece of the log to use to light the next year's log.

Treasure Boxes
Materials:
Sturdy cardboard box, natural items for decoration, white glue, med-size paint brush.

This little box is for the youngster to collect "treasured" memories from summer. Start with a large shoe box and lid. Let the child collect some items from the yard, the park, and/or the beach. Glue flat items to the box, and place the non-flat items inside. To give the box a more durable finish, brush on a coat of white glue diluted with water. Encourage the child to tell stories of where the different items came from, or make up stories about the contents.

Flower Crowns
Materials Needed:
Fresh flowers of any kind with short (2-3") stems
A metal nail file (the kind with the point and plastic handle)

These days, you see all of these gorgeous chainmail head pieces... at exorbitant prices. Certainly these pieces are very beautiful, but for those of us more frugally minded Pagans, flower chains and crowns are much more economic.

The process of making flower crowns is a very simple, relaxing one. I love to sit in the field of my backyard in the middle of a buttercup patch (buttercups are great for this!) and make these. It may be a bit time consuming, but sometimes we just need to escape the non-stop, on-the-go world we live in and relax! This is great for that.

Pick up a flower and with the nail file, poke a hole in the part of the flower just under the blossom. Slip the stem of another flower into the hole, cutting the stem if you need to. Now poke a hole in that flower, and slip another flower 's stem into that hole. Continue until you have a chain long enough to sit on your head. To complete the circle, poke a hole in the last flower, and slip the stem of the first flower into that hole. From here, you can add more flowers, greenery, or even ribbons. Now you have a pretty circlet of flowers to wear in your spring and summer rites.
-by Cyranna

Pine Cone Candle Holder
A very simple pine cone wreath can be made by gluing pine cones onto a wreath form cut from heavy corrugated cardboard. Use a small wreath form and small pine cones with a pillar candle placed in the middle for an attractive table decoration. Stick a little evergreen or holly in between the pine cones.

Winter Treats for Birds
If your yard has that dreary winter look, cheer it up with a tree decorated for the birds! String popcorn and cranberries. Hang scooped out orange halves filled with peanut butter and birdseed. Make suet balls and hang them in the mesh bags in which oranges and onions are packaged. Cut attractive shapes from paper plates, spread them with peanut butter and bird seed and hang them on your tree. Don't forget to put out some fresh water for the birds, also. Or put together a feeding station for the squirrels so that you can watch their antics through a window.

Costume Swap Party
Save money and have fun by having a pre-Samhain costume making/costume swap party. Invite all the parents and kids in your circle. Have everyone bring old costumes, or costume elements. Encourage creativity by letting the kids play dress-up. It helps to separate costume elements into piles such as wigs, hats, masks, dresses, pants, shirts, jewelry, etc. This a fun a party idea where parents get to visit, the kids get to play and everyone goes home with a new Samhain costume. You can also have crafts set up so kids can make their own masks, costumes or accessories.
- adapted from idea by Fabulous Foods

"Hand" Snacks
You'll need some clear plastic food server gloves (one for each child), some popcorn, candy corn and a bit of yarn or ribbon. Take glove and place a candy corn in each of the fingers to represent a fingernail. Fill the rest of the glove with popcorn and tie the top of the glove with yarn or ribbon.
- idea from Fabulous Foods

Spooky Samhain Lanterns
Here's a neat idea I saw on a website. You can create neat little jack-o-lanterns from recycled tin cans. This is a lot like the "candle cans" craft for Imbolc on this same page. Save tin cans of all shapes and sizes. Draw a scary face on the front and back of each one - just like a jack-o-lantern. Fill the cans almost full with water and freeze them in the freezer. The adults will have to take care of the next part. Place a towel on your lap and lay the can on its side on the towel. Using a nail an a hammer, punch lots of holes along the lines for the faces. If you are not fast enough and the ice begins to melt too much, just put it back in the freezer for another hour or so. When the faces are punched out, spray or paint the cans with orange paint. Use black acrylic craft paint to paint the areas within the eyes, nose and mouth. Put a little metal-rimmed tea-lite in each one. Then place them on the edge of a fence or along a walk away from children's costumes and where they will not be a fire hazard. If you do this correctly, you will have little jack-o-lantern lanterns that will look good by day and by night.
-by AmberSkyfire

Goopy Slime
2 Cups Water
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
Food Coloring
Boil 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Add cornstarch while stirring. After that is mixed well, add food coloring and stir. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Make sure they play with it on a plastic covered surface.

T-Shirt Transfers
I read about this in a craft book for children when I was little, but I was never able to try it for myself. Crayons will transfer onto shirts very easily and permanently. Just draw a picture on a piece of paper using crayons. Remember that the transfer will go on backwards on the t-shirt so if you write words, be sure to write them backwards. Have an adult lay the picture transfer face down on the front of the t-shirt and go over it with a hot iron. Like magic, the picture will be transferred permanently to the t-shirt and you can show all of your friends the t-shirt that YOU made yourself!
-AmberSkyfire

MAKING THE MASH: Place the rose petals in the stainless steel pot with water to cover, about one quart. Bring the contents to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly for 2 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally. You can cook the petals all day or cook them for a while one day, turn off the heat, and finish up the next day. The longer you cook the petals, the more the cellulose breaks down and the easier the job of pureeing the mash. In the blender or food processor, puree the cooled mash in batches. Add just enough extra water to each batch to enable the machine to puree it thoroughly at the highest speed. The finer the mash, the smoother and more uniform the bead. Drain the mash through the jelly bag or cheesecloth to remove any excess water.
SLOW COOKING: Place the drained, pureed mash into the iron pot or skillet. When the mash is cooked in iron, a chemical reaction of the acid in the petals with the iron turns it black. (Once the mash turns black, it badly stains what ever it touched, so wear rubber gloves and old clothes when working with it.) Because the mash will remove the patina from an iron pot, use an old one. Cook the mash, covered, over the lowest heat possible, stirring occasionally, for 2 or 3 days, or until it is black and the consistency of soft cream cheese. You can cook it for a few hours, turn it off, and finish cooking it later. Keep it covered to prevent a crust from forming. The mash can also be baked, covered, at 250F for 1 to 2 days. COOLING, DRAINING: Layer the tray thickly with newspapers and cover with a layer of paper towels. (The mash will stick to newspaper but not to paper towels.) Turn the mash out to cool on the prepared tray, and cover it with another layer of paper towels. Let it drain. Change the newspaper padding when the mash has soaked through; this can take a few hours or overnight and may need to be done two or three times. Add a few drops of rose essence to the mash - 6 or 7 drops to one cup mash - and knead it in.
You can make beads now or store the mash. To store, pack the mash into plastic containers with tight fitting lids and refrigerate for as long as a week or freeze for a few months. The mash can be thawed and refrozen as necessary.
ROLLING: For each bead, measure out a slightly rounded 1/2 teaspoon of mash: the bead will shrink to about one-third its original size as it dries. Wearing gloves, knead each piece of mash in the palm of your hand to make sure it is smooth. With firm, even pressure, roll each bead between your palms until it is round. If the bead shows any cracks while you are rolling, dip the beads in a little water or rubbing alcohol and smooth them out, as the cracks will become bigger as the beads dry.
DRYING: Carefully slide the beads onto wires to dry. The wire should pierce the center of each bead. Use brass wire because it does not rust. Place ten beads on 12-inches of wire, making sure that the beads do not touch each other. Lay the wires across the empty box or styrofoam tray so that the beads are suspended and do not touch the bottom of the container. Keep the beads at room temperature and away from any drafts. If the beads dry too fast, they will crack; if it is cold or dap, they may mold. During the first week, turn the beads daily, sliding them back and forth a little on the wire to keep them from sticking. Leave the beads on the wire for another week or two, or until they are completely dry. Remove the beads from the wires and store them in tightly covered glass jars, which help retain their perfume until you are ready to string them. After removing a batch of rose beads, sand the wires with fine sandpaper to smooth them in preparation for the next batch.
FINISHING: Bead onto double strands of unwaxed dental floss. You can use small gold beads as spacers, or if you are talented in special bead crafting, you can make more complicated bead arrangements for rosaries and the sort.
-By Susan Belsinger

Creating a Bee House
Besides bees that nest in hives of thousands, some bees prefer to live alone. Bumble bees and carpenter bees are just two examples of bees which love to nest in holes. You can help these wonderful pollinating creatures by building an easy bee house. You will need:
block of wood 6x6x6 inches
a drilll with a 3/16 inch bit
an eye screw
some string
You will need an adult to help you with the drilling. Drill about 12 holes in random places on one side of the block 5 inches deep. These will be the individual bee houses. Be sure that the holes are drilled at just a slight upward angle to prevent the rain from coming in. Screw the eye screw into the very center of the top of the bee house and tie a piece of short heavy string to it. Hang your bee house in a tree where you think the bees would be safe from the elements. As the wood ages it will turn a nice gray color and blend in with the surroundings. Your bees will return again and again to visit your house and stay around to pollinate your gardens.
-AmberSkyfire

Finger Puppets
Everyone has a glove or two lying around the house that will never be used. Remember that glove that lost its mate last winter? Put it to some good use instead of throwing it away. You will need:

a glove scissors markers different colored felt wiggly eyes colored pipe cleaners acrylic craft paint (all colors) yarn elmer's school glue

Begin by snipping each finger off of the glove at the base. One glove will make 5 finger puppets. You may want to create puppets for characters from a story or you can create a story for them after you have created the characters. All sorts of people, plants and animals can be made from fingers of gloves.  For example, if you want a bat, just cut some wings and tiny round ears from black felt and glue them to the finger piece. Glue on some wiggly eyes and you have a bat. If the glove is not black, you can paint it with some acrylic craft paint before you glue on the parts. For a cat, just cut some pointy ears, yarn whiskers and a little yarn tail. Butterflies, bees and even people are easy to make. For people, you can just glue on yarn for hair. Cut clothes out of the felt and glue them onto the front of the finger. When you are finished it is easy to make a little stage for your characters. Just use a shoe box. Turn the box on its side and cut a rectangle out of the bottom of the box leaving about 1/2 inch all around the sides and 1 1/2 inches on the bottom. This will be what you hide your hands behind. Cut the top off and make curtains from red cloth or felt. You can even paint the sides of the box to look like a background and make props such as trees or furniture out of colored paper. Mount them on popsicle sticks to use in your performance!
-AmberSkyfire

Friendship Bracelets
When I was young, everyone gave friendship bracelets to our best friends. Certain friends at school would all wear the same colored bracelets so that everyone would know that we were friends. Today, most people buy them instead of making their own, but you can create your own friendship bracelets even if you don't know how to make the fancy ones they sell in stores. You will need:
different colored yarn or embroidery string (string works best)
beads
scissors
begin by cutting string three times the length that you will need. Some bracelets use two strings, some three and some use many more than that. The simplest kind uses only two strings. Begin by tying the two strings together at one end. Then loop that end over something stable such as a nail. We used to pin the end to our jeans at the knee so it was easy to work on them. Once the end is pinned, begin tying knots in the string. Just keep tying the strings together over and over. Every now and then add a bead to one of the strings and then keep tying them together. You can add as many beads as you want. When the bracelet (or necklace) is long enough, just stop tying. Cut off the ends leaving about 1/2 inch of untied string. You can tie them around your wrist, neck, ankle or give them to your friends. Once you are good at this, you can start making them with three or more strings. You can also braid three strings together to create your jewelry. Some people who are very good at it can sell their bracelets. I remember when I was in school some kids would buy them for a quarter. If you make enough, you can make a few dollars!
-AmberSkyfire

Snowflake Stickers
These stickers are great for Yule and are fun to stick around the house. You will need:
glitter
thick dimensional white or silver fabric paint
clear plastic sandwich bag
snowflake patterns
Place the pattern inside the plastic bag and make sure the plastic lies perfectly flat. Trace over the pattern with the fabric paint making sure to keep the paint thick. While it is still wet, sprinkle glitter over the snowflake. Wait a few hours until it dries and then peel the snowflake off of the plastic. Stick them wherever you like! They come off easily and don't leave any residue behind.

Beanbag Game
This is a great craft for rainy days when you can't play outside and is easy to do. You will need:
lots of colored felt
glue
dried beans, rice or corn
scissors
markers
paper
boxes, cans and other containers
Begin by deciding what kind of shapes you want your beanbags to be. You can make goldfish, plants, food items, animals or other shapes. Make a pattern on a piece of paper first. Cut out the pattern and then lay it on the color of felt you want to use. Trace the shape around the paper on the felt with a marker. Cut the pieces out of the felt. When you have all the pieces cut out, put glue around the edge of one piece leaving about 1 inch of the edge with no glue so you will have a hole to fill with the beans. Be sure that the lines from the marker face in so that they won't show after you have glued the pieces together. Put the two pieces together and let them dry completely before finishing your beanbags. When it is dry, open the hole that you left unglued and fill the beanbags with rice, beans or dried corn. Then close the hole with some more glue and let it dry. When it is done, you can draw on it with markers or add wiggly eyes.
Playing the Game
To set up the game, you will need to collect some cans and boxes of different sizes. Arrange them close together and then take four or five big steps away. Draw a line with chalk or tape. Tape a piece of paper to each container labeling points. The harder ones get higher points and the easier ones get lower points. Each person stands behind the line and takes turns throwing all of the beanbags. Add up all the points you get. After five throws, the one with the highest score wins.
-AmberSkyfire

Play Food
It is easy to make play food for your tea parties. All you will need is different colors of play dough or any other inexpensive play clay that dries out quickly. Just mold the clay into shapes of food using the proper colors. For strawberries you would use red and green. Use a black marker to draw on the seeds. For a hamburger, use brown for the buns and dark brown for the meat inside. Yellow can be used for the cheese and green for lettuce. After you create the food, let it sit for a whole day until it is dry. If you mess up, just try again until the clay is just how you want it. Then set it out to dry. Here is a color code of how to make different colors of clay. Just mix the first two colors together well and you will get the third one.
Red + Green = Brown
Red + Green + White = light brown
Blue + Red = purple
Red + White = pink
Blue + Yellow = Green
Blue + Yellow + White = Light green
Red + Yellow = orange
-AmberSkyfire

Yule Egg Ornaments
Egg ornaments are a great way to recycle used eggshells if you do not compost them and can make beautiful gifts for loved ones at Yule. You will need:
clean blown eggshells
pencils
acrylic paint
thin ribbon
glue (with a little water added)
fine glitter and/or gold and silver acrylic craft paint
paintbrushes
hot glue and glue gun (optional)
acrylic glaze.

To make a blown egg, take a nail or large needle and hold the egg firmly in your left hand. Use the nail to drill a hole in the tip using a small amount of pressure. You can use a small hand drill if you wish or a small drill bit. Poke a hole in each end of the egg and hold it over a glass. Blow through one end of the egg into the glass. It may take a little bit of work, but the egg bits will soon come out easily. Once you have blown out all the contents, rinse the egg out under the water and let it dry for several hours.
    When you are ready to paint your egg, set it on a soft surface such as an old towel and draw your design on the egg in pencil. Don't worry too much about making a mistake. You can erase and you will be painting over the lines anyway. Be sure that the egg is completely dry when you begin to paint. Any type of acrylic paint can be used and bright bold colors work best. The large point of the egg goes at the top and the tip should point down. When you are finished painting your design, coat the egg with a thin layer of acrylic glaze. This will make the egg shiny and the colors bolder. If you want to cover the hole at the bottom before you paint, you can fill it with hot glue. If you want to add glitter to a portion of the design such as a star, you can paint the shape with Elmer's glue mixed with a little water. Then roll the egg in glitter while the glue mixture is still wet and let it sit for 10 minutes to dry. Once the egg is completely dry, blow or brush off the glitter with a clean, dry paintbrush. Cut a piece of ribbon about eight inches long and form it into a loop. Glue the ends down to the top of the egg. Make a small bow from the ribbon and glue it down over the ends of the loop. When the glue dries your ornament is ready to hang!

Scented Ornamnents:
1 cup cinnamon,
3/4 cup applesauce,
1/4 cup white school glue
Mix ingredients together, roll out on a lightly floured surface. Cut out with cookie cutters. Punch a hole in the top of each oramnet with a drinking straw. Dry for at least 48 hours. Tie a string or a ribbon through the hole, and hang on the tree. Do not eat!
-The Pagan and Wiccan Parenting Page

Sun God Masks
You will need: paper plates, yarn, yellow, orange, and red paint, hole punch, and scissors.
Cut two eye holes in the middle of the plate to see through. Using your paints, paint the plate to look like a sun. You can use the scalloped edges of the plate to represent the rays of the sun. When you are finished, punch two holes on the sides of the plate and tie a piece of yarn through the holes to go around your head. Now you can wear your sun mask for Litha!

Leaf Printing
Gather fresh leaves together. Paint one side of a leaf and then press it down on a piece of paper to make a print of the leaf. This is a wonderful way to make gift wrapping, book covers, placemats, or other crafts that you can give as gifts.

Stained Glass Decorations
You need to get an adult's help with this craft. You will need: plexi-glass in different shapes and sizes, permanent markers, a drill, string.
If you have small pieces of plexi-glass, you can make them into ornaments for a Yule tree or just hang them in the window as suncatchers. Take the piece of plexi-glass and a black permanent marker. Using the marker, draw the picture you want on the piece of plexi-glass. If you are worried about making mistakes, draw the picture on a piece of paper first. Then put the Plexi-glass over it and trace the picture. Next, take the other markers and color in the spaces of the picture. Last, have an adult drill a small hole in the top of your ornament. String a piece of string through the top and hang it in a window.

Your Very Own Potato Plant
Put four toothpicks sticking halfway out of the middle of a sweet potato like little legs. Set the toothpicks in a jar with water so that half of the potato is in the water. Put your potato in a sunny window. Leaves and roots will grow. Be sure to change the water from time to  time.

Noodle Jewelry
You will need: Different kinds of noodles with holes, a jar, string or yarn, clear tape, food coloring, and water. Cut a piece of yarn as long as you want your necklace or bracelet to be. Wrap a piece of tape around the ends to make a point. You can color your noodle beads before you begin stringing them on the yarn. Just put food coloring and 3 tablespoons of water in a jar with some noodles and shake it. Remove the noodles with a slotted spoon and dry them on newspaper before you use them. You can also paint the pasta with tempera paints. String the noodles on the yarn and tie the ends to wear it like jewelry!