C is for Creative Crafts #AtoZChallenge

Posted April 3, 2020 in A-Z Challenge / 9 Comments

The Blogging from A-Z Challenge continues today. Every day throughout April (except Sundays) I’ll be posting a range of ideas and tips for keeping your family entertained at home. It will include arts and crafts, games, learning ideas and imaginative activities for all ages. I thought it would be particularly useful while we’re all self-isolating or socially distancing, though it can be used for any time of year.

Letter “C” is for Creative Crafts and I had so many ideas for this one I probably could have done the whole A-Z on it.

Thank you to Charlotte Ritson from the Popsy Clothing Frocks & Friends group for providing many of these ideas and links.

Drawing & Painting

  • Cartoon drawing- facedrawer.com has lots of cartoon drawing tutorials, including this hand drawing idea currently circulating on Facebook.
  • Colouring books- Lots available cheaply in places like The Works or Poundland in the UK and lots of free printables at justcolor.net.
  • Digital art-even if you don’t have Photoshop, you can experiment with digital art using free drawing apps or software such as Krita, Artweaver Free, MS Paint 3D, MS Fresh Paint or My Paint. Affinity are offering a free 90 day trial of their design apps.
  • Drawing challenges-challenges such as Inktober have lists of prompts to inspire you.
  • Daily drawing class-Check out Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems at The Kennedy Centre on Youtube and Draw Everyday with JKK at studiojkk on Youtube. You can also browse these free online drawing classes for all ages.
  • Finger painting-you can get some colourful ink pads from Amazon or online craft shops to make cute pictures such as trees.
  • Painting-I just bought this little acrylic paint set for my daughter from Amazon so she can have a play with paints. Adults can have a go at painting still life pictures with acrylics, watercolour or oil paints too.
  • Rock painting- Paint rocks with nice pictures/messages and leave them for others to find – a perfect ‘feel good’ craft. Basic tutorial and tips here.
  • Shadow drawing-position some animal or dinosaur toys in front of the window and then draw around their shadows.
  • Window art-lots of groups have popped up on Facebook encouraging kids and adults to start decorating their windows with uplifting pictures of rainbows, flowers and animals. You can get coloured chalk paints online or simply stick up drawings or coloured paper shapes. Try joining #frommywindow or searching for a local group.

Easter Crafts

  • Easter bonnet decorating-you can get a plain Easter bonnet from Amazon or many online supermarkets (or even weave one yourself) and then decorate it with ribbon, felt shapes, coloured feathers and toy chicks.
  • Egg decorating-All you need are some hard-boiled eggs, paint and maybe some glitter to create some eggciting creations!
  • Paper plate masks-turn a paper plate into an Easter bunny or chick with some crayons, paints, pipe-cleaners and feathers.
  • Hobbycraft have some more fun Easter craft ideas and you can find some great supplies at The Works.
  • Decorate your own Easter tree with eggs, bunnies, chicks, sheep and flowers, just like ours below!
Image description: a tree covered with fairy lights, hanging flower, leaf and egg shapes, bunny rabbits, Easter chicks and ribbon. Made by Anstice Brown and family.

Papercraft

  • Card making-make greetings cards for family and friends with coloured card, paints, crayons, glitter and whatever else you have available.
  • Collages- cut up old magazines and use leaves, feathers, sand, pasta, button, lolly sticks and other items to create a masterpiece.
  • Origami-have a go at the Japanese art of folding paper. Origami Way has lots of helpful instructions and diagrams or check out Origami Expressions on Facebook for inspiration.

Textiles & Accessories

  • Crochet and knitting- loads of tutorials on YouTube for absolute beginners. Some great sites are The Crochet Crowd, Bella Coco and Very Pink. Blueprint are offering free sewing classes right now.
  • Embroidery- All you need is embroidery thread, embroidery needles and suitable fabric. Amazon has some starter kits with stencils which are reasonably priced. There is also a course by HandiWorks here which shows the very basic stitches in nice detail.
  • Felting- Lots of basic kits available on eBay and Amazon. All Things Felt and Beautiful have a free workshop.
  • Hama beads- Kits available online (about £10 for a large one on Amazon, single project kits are less), simply create your design then iron to melt together the beads. Can be used to make jewellery or other decorations, great for fine motor skills.
  • Jewellery making- Lots of kits online but tend to be quite overpriced. It’s usually cheaper to buy individual bits you need, or repurpose cheap jewellery from charity shops. Some basic tutorials here.
  • T-shirt decorating-you can order some fabric pens online and have fun making your own designs, or have a go at tie-dye.
  • Woven friendship bracelets – All you need is some thread and patience! Lots of different tutorials online, here is just one to get started.

Other Ideas

  • Calligraphy/Hand lettering- The Works has affordable starter kits and books for both traditional and brush pen calligraphy. There are also lots of free tutorials here.
  • Soap or candle making-this is a really fun activity for older kids as you can mix the soap or wax with various colours and fragrances and pour it into interesting moulds. There are lots of kits available online.

Pinterest has many more brilliant art and craft ideas.

Image description: a collage on a yellow background featuring a stone with sunglasses, a sandcastle made from real sand, a fabric bag and a paper umbrella. Image from Pixabay.

Over to you!

Do you have any arty hobbies or suggestions for creative activities? Let me know in the comments!

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9 responses to “C is for Creative Crafts #AtoZChallenge

    • I didn’t realise you could do that, sounds like a good idea. Yes, unfortunately my blog “broke” in early January after issues with my web host so I decided to rehost it elsewhere and thought I might as well change my url too. Hope you have a great month too.

    • Thanks, Karen. I haven’t done any digital art since redesigning my blog in January. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to get back into it now.

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