3 Projects To Keep Little Hands And Minds Busy

Imagination is the key to this project and it will cost next to nothing to make these wonderful creatures.

You’ll be amazed at all the different looks you can create.

To start, you’ll need pine cones, sheets of coloured felt, stick-on eyes, pipe cleaners, scissors, adhesive and a glue gun.

Look for shapes online to use as templates for ears, tails and noses.

Print them, then trace onto felt, cutting out the shapes with scissors.

TIP: Kids may want to create their own shapes rather than find them online.

Make layered ears by cutting out pieces of felt that are smaller and a different colour than the pieces already cut for the ears.

Apply craft adhesive to the smaller pieces and centre on the larger ear pieces.

Use a hot glue gun to attach felt tails, ears and noses, then pipe cleaner wings and whiskers, to the pine cones.

Stick on the eyes and any other body parts it needs. Always supervise kids using a hot glue gun, or do it yourself.

This craft project teaches kids about upcycling by turning plastic bottles into creative garden decorations.

All you need is a pack of permanent markers in different colours, empty plastic water bottles, a craft knife, garden twine and scissors.

If you’re doing this project with young kids, make the cuts yourself with the craft knife and scissors.

Step 1. Remove the base of the bottle using a craft knife, then go wild colouring in with the markers.

Draw anything you want, from patterns and shapes to straight lines or random blobs, experimenting with different designs.

Carefully cut around the bottle in a spiral, working from base to top and aiming for a cut that is about 20mm wide.

Tie garden twine around the bottle necks, then hang the twirlers in the backyard.

This pot garden project isn’t just fun and easy for kids to do, it also creates a living landscape in miniature.

To make a fairy garden, fill a large garden pot with potting mix, leaving a hole for a bucket.

Drill a hole in a rock, and pump water through it and into the bucket, creating a waterfall.

Plant grasses and flowers, and use baby’s tears as a lawn.

Add pebbles to create paths and streams, then build a miniature cottage from timber offcuts.