Hanukiah made using discarded discs and boxes

A quick Hanukkah post today. For the second time in a row, our Hanukkah Menorah (or Hanukiah) made of recycled materials won first prize in the school contest. That was a big challenge to our craft skills. How many new craft ideas can you come up with, really? This year we made our Hanukiah of round cheese containers and old compact discs we had been collecting for almost two years. The cardboard containers were assembled together to build the body of the Hanukiah, which was then painted dark brown to make a good uniform backdrop for the brightly colored decoration.

Giant Hanukiah made of corrugated cardboard

Like every year, my children are participating in the school contest of Hanukkah Menorahs made using recycled materials. Last year we made a Hanukiah of discarded plastic egg-shaped containers, this year it was decided to create a large one of cardboard.

Hanukkah Menorah made from recycled paper

To continue the subject of Hanukkah-themed recycling crafts I started in the previous post, I'm sharing another Hanukkah Menorah idea. This one is made of recycled paper using the paper quilling technique from 1/4"- and 3/8"-wide strips (0.5cm and 1cm). First I planned to paint it silver, but then decided to leave it as is. This Menorah is approximately 5 inches (12.5cm) in height, I think it may be called "Mega-quilling" compared to the miniature quilled Hanukkah Menoras I made last year.

Happy Hanukkah! חג אורים שמח

Hanukkah Menorah made from recycled materials

Very soon, at the beginning of December, Jewish people around the world will be celebrating the holiday of Hanukkah. Candles, Hanukiyot (Hanukkah Menorahs / Hanukkah lamps), doughnuts and dreidels (spinning tops) are being sold everywhere in Israel.

Make a space rocket toy from toilet paper rolls

Some time ago I stopped throwing away toilet paper rolls, because they can be used in a variety of craft projects. This toy rocket is another example of such easy and eco-friendly kids crafts.

Make a Hanukkah-themed lantern from a milk carton

Hanukkah is coming, and I'd like to suggest this simple craft idea. A Hanukkah-themed lantern can be made with kids, it doesn't require special skills or materials and lets you recycle things you would otherwise throw away.

Homemade kaleidoscope toy

The kaleidoscope is one of those toys that make me nostalgic for my childhood. Today, just before children go back to school, I'd like to show how to make a homemade kaleidoscope toy. On the photo above you can see samples of what's seen through the kaleidoscope I've built with my kids. Each pattern is enclosed in a black circle because of the way I photographed them. In reality though, you should see continuous patterns throughout the field of view.

Make a cardboard castle using discarded boxes and toilet paper rolls

There are many ways to build a castle with children. Once I already made a small cardboard toy castle with my kids, but this time we wanted something more impressive. For our castle we collected cardboard boxes of different size, and toilet paper tubes. Using those building blocks, paint and some colored paper, we created this castle with floors, round towers, windows and a cone-shaped roof.

DIY: Make a storage organizer from old boxes and wrapping paper

For a long time I used to keep all my quilling tools and paper in chocolate boxes, as you probably noticed :) I had to do something about it, so I built this storage organizer. It's made from cartons and pieces of cardboard and covered with gift wrapping paper. The knobs are from plastic bottle caps and copper wire. Great! Now I have everything I need: two large drawers for paper sheets and strips, two smaller ones for tools, and three "cups" for pens, scissors, glue, etc. It's so convenient and lightweight that I can move it around easily.

I'm very happy with my new organizer and would recommend everybody who needs one to make it themselves. You can save a few pence in out tough times, get exactly what you need, and also go at least a little greener.

Captain Hook's hook, recycling kids craft

Do you buy every toy you child wants to play with? Even if you know it won't last long? I don't think so. I'll show you how to make Captain Hook's hook in 5 minutes, if your kids are playing pirates.

1. You will need a disposable cup, preferably a paper one.
2. You will need also a piece of cardboard, for example a used box.
3. Fold the cardboard in two and cut a hook out of it.
4. Glue the two halves of the hook together, leaving approx. 2 cm (3/4 inch) unglued at its bottom end.
5. Fold those unglued ends outward, you will glue them to the cup later on.
6. Wrap the hook in aluminum kitchen foil and attach it to the cup, gluing the flaps you made in the previous step to its bottom.
7. Make holes in the cup for better ventilation. Let's play now!
8. You may also paint the cup according to your (i.e. your child's) taste.

Make a toy telescope using toilet paper rolls

Recently my son got interested in astronomy :) Even though he's only almost four, he enjoys watching documentary movies on astronomy, knows the names of all the planets, what a solar eclipse is and much more... That's why we came up with the idea of making a toy telescope. Here's how you can do this:

Educational game: Words and letters on bottle caps

Recently, I stumbled upon this great DIY game for teaching letters and reading. For our game I used images from an old magazine instead of photos of family members.

Besides an old magazine you will need some cardboard and bottle cups to make this game. Cut a rectangular cardboard card, glue a picture onto it and draw circles with the diameter of the bottle caps next to the picture (you can just trace the caps). Inside the circles write the name of the item shown in the picture. The same letters are also written on the bottle caps — now have your child pick the right caps and make up the word. I cut the cards out of cereals boxes. Letters that correspond to vowels are written on white caps, and those corresponding to consonants — on blue ones. For children who are already familiar with letters and starting to read, the circles on the cards can be left blank, and the word written underneath the image.

Cardboard Hanukiah kids craft

Our preparations for Hanukkah are in full swing. Here's another idea for Hanukkah Menorah, this time from cardboard, paper and toilet paper rolls.

For its base I cut out a strip of thick cardboard and wrapped it in a piece of pretty wrapping paper. Then I glued a small cardboard square, also wrapped in paper, into the middle for the shamash. I used Ferrero Rocher sweets wrappers for the candle holders :) The candles are made out of toilet paper tubes. I cut the tubes lengthwise, rolled tighter and stapled them to make them thinner, attached the candles to the base.

You can make such a Hanukiah almost in no time, if you engage all of your family members. My children helped me cutting, gluing and painting and we had ours finished in just half an hour :)

Check out also this version. You might like it better. It uses toilet paper tubes and aluminium muffin cups.

Recycling craft: Robot made from boxes

We made this robot from various junk items: boxes, lids and bottle caps of different shape and size. All you need is to unfold the boxes, then fold them inside out and glue. Afterwards assemble the robot, paint it and attach bottle caps for eyes, ears, knobs and buttons. We also used drinking straws for the mouth. You can play with the robot or use it as a wall decoration, and even give it a hug if it's big enough :)

By the way, you must see the robots Gail from "That artist woman" made with her kids!

Recycling craft: make binoculars out of actimel bottles

This project is so easy, that you even don't need pictures in order to understand it. To make a toy binoculars:

Make gigantic pencils out of toilet paper rolls

Another simple toy — gigantic pencils made out of toilet paper tubes.

DIY: Homemade stencils for kids

Very often the most simple ideas are also the most successful ones. Try making stencils for your kids and see. Stencils are easy to make even for those who aren't very crafty, they don't take up space at all, and are easy to use. At the same time they let you explore your creativity: you can combine a number of stencils, make prints of different colour and density, and so on. You can also make brand new stencils whenever you wish!

Make a papier-mache cow using an empty water bottle and toilet paper rolls

Finally we've finished this papier-mache cow project. It took us looooong two months, because either the parents — us — didn't have time for it, or the kids wasn't in the right mood. Anyway, I like the idea of using plastic bottles for paper-mache, which I learned from (again) the blog of Tatyana Dubinsky. We already used it for our paper-mache airplane, and now it's a cow. Our cow is a "classical style", black and white one. I asked my kids if they would like a brightly coloured or a "real" cow. They've chosen the "real" option. I think in their age they don't care about fanciness :) So, if you're still interested...

Make toy turtles out of bottle caps

How to make toy turtles out of bottle caps: take a plastic bottle cap and a sheet of construction paper. Put the cap onto the paper and trace it around. That will be the turtle's body. Add a head, paws and tail. Cut them out, then just glue the cap onto the body. That's it. Try also making a few turtles of different sizes and stacking them on top of each other.

Sports games for kids using water bottles

Active games aren't exactly my "profile", nevertheless I'd like to post some ideas about how to vary the jumping and running games using large empty plastic bottles (like 2 litre/67.60 fl oz ones). Those bottles have two advantages as an "apparatus": 1) there's a good chance that you already have them, 2) they are safe to play with. In any case, adult supervision is required for active games!