The 5 Most Fun DIY Crafts For Your Child.

“I am bored” is one phrase I dread hearing from my son; which I may say is quite often in the summer holidays. The best indoor activity to engage kids productively is “Do It Yourself” crafts. They are not only fun but very educational. Here are 5 of the most interesting DIY crafts my son enjoys. I am certain that your children are going to adore these simple projects and you may just find yourself enjoying them as well.

For the below mentioned crafts, basic materials needed are glue/fevicol, coloured wrapping paper, cotton swabs, glitter, paints, crayons, pencil.

**Empty Pepsi/Coke bottles** – I am sure, there are plenty of empty coke/pepsi bottles in the house. Cut the bottle into half with a warm knife (that’s your job mommy). Get ready to create beautiful pen/spoon stands with the lower part of the bottle. Let your child cover the bottle with coloured craft paper. My favourite is black paper and using white paint to make funny faces.

Talk to your child about how birds also need to drink water and how they can help. Decorate the bottle with your favourite colours and paints. Join the top part of the bottle and hang in your garden. Fill it with water or seeds.

**Ice cream sticks**- are easily available in the market. Colour the sticks in various shades and let them dry. Use fevicol to attach the sticks to make photo frames, rectangle shaped coasters. Kids, in this process will also learn about shapes and colours. Another creative way to use ice cream sticks is to make puppets and bookmarks. Use glitter to decorate and make it look beautiful.

**Old CDs**- With plenty of unused cds at home, these can be converted into beautiful looking wall hangings. Colour the cd with black paint and let it dry. Use a sketch pencil to make artistic shapes and designs. Let the child be creative and doodle on the cd the way he/she wants to. Now hand them white paint and let them highlight their sketches/drawings. Choose a favourite corner to hang them or string them together. Use glitter, craft paper, pieces of yarn to create decorative stuff.

I created my son’s weekly meal chart in the form of a caterpillar created by unused cds and placed it in the kitchen.

Paper cup lamp- This is something new and requires the least raw material. There are paper/plastic cups available in the market. Staple/use glue to stick the cups together and form a base. Keep adding cups till it forms a round shape. Supervise your child if you are using a stapler. Take the help of the local electrician and wire them accordingly. Add an LED bulb and voila!!

**White paper plates**- Creative pieces can be made with white paper plates which can be used as wall hangings or gift items.

Butterfly- Cut the opposites of the paper plate in a triangle shape. Turn the plate and decorate it with glitter, and unused buttons and stickers. Use pieces of yarn to make 2 antennas.

Fish- Colour paper plate with your choice of bright colours. You can stick buttons or draw the eyes, and use chart paper cut outs to make fins and tail.

Sun & Rainbow- Fold a paper plate in half. Use pieces of different colour yarn to create a rainbow and hang in the study area of the child. Talk about different colours and what causes the rainbow to appear in the sky.