Toddler Craft – with household items and homemade glue

A great use for old wrapping paper, tissue paper or those old birthday cards you have been hoarding.

If you don’t have these items you could also use some store bought coloured paper, cellophane or even cut up pictures from your junk mail!

With Christmas coming up this makes a really nice homemade gift from the young kids for the Grandparents.

You will need:
pegs
Newspaper
egg carton
cling wrap
Q-tips or cotton balls
Art book or piece of A4 paper
Cut up paper/birthday cards etc
small table and chairs (work surface)

1. Place a couple of sheets of newspaper over table to protect it and use pegs to hold it tight. (see image)

For Homemade glue:
Plain flour
water
Pinch Salt

2. Combine ingredients add more flour or water to get right consistency.
3. Cut egg carton, use the egg shape part as a well for glue, place cling wrap over the carton to stop glue seeping through.

4. Give each child a piece of paper, and a small container of cut up paper. Give them 1-2 Q-tips and away they go. They may need some assistance at first.

Hindsight Tips:
– Invest in art smocks, the glue can get messy
– If for more than one child, give each child, separate glue and separate bowl of pictures (to avoid fights)
– Only put enough glue and paper out that they will actually use, this will also give the activity an end point.
– Q-tips work better than cotton balls for applying glue.
– Cut up paper/cards in advance. The kids can assist and is a whole new activity of sorting which to bits to keep and which to throw away. Have fun!