The amazing Ellen from The Long Thread as the perfect activity to use the sun for some fun!

Ellen writes...

We've been taking advantage of the hot sunny days to gather bits of
nature and make sun prints. If you're not familiar with sun prints,
they are made using light sensitive paper that fades when exposed to
the sunlight. You can arrange objects on the paper to block sunlight
to certain areas and make a print. When rinsed with water, the blocked
areas will turn white while the paper turns blue again. We painted our
latest batch of prints and I love the way they turned out -- and so
simple that even the youngest children can make them. For this project
you'll need at least four sheets of 4" x 4" sun print paper, a hard
surface for arranging the compositions and transporting, a clear piece
of plexiglass, leaves and flowers, tape, watercolor paints and a
brush. You can buy sun print kits that come with plexiglass and
complete instructions, but here's how we did it.

How To Make Sun Prints

First, we gathered materials from the garden. You'll want leaves that
have a distinct shape since you will only see the outline after the
printing process. While still indoors in a darkened room, we laid the
sun print paper on a wooden board and arranged the leaves and flower
petals on each piece, then positioned the plexiglass on top. Then I
taped the plexiglass down so that the leaves wouldn't shift when
placing and removing them from the sun (this is key to getting a
distinct print). Next, we took the assembled board and placed it in
the bright sun. You'll get the best prints when the sun is directly
overhead and not causing any shadows. We exposed the paper for about
two minutes.

Then we brought it indoors where we removed the plexiglass and rinsed the paper in water.  The water stops the exposure process  and inverts the colors. Since the paper is thin, it tends to curl at  the edges, so after we dried out the paper I placed it under a book  for a few hours to flatten it. My daughter then painted the white
areas with watercolor paint.

This project combines science and art, while allowing the children to  experiment to see what makes the best prints. Let your kids look  around the house for objects they think would work. Try hand prints,  toys, cut paper designs, lace, seashells, or whatever else you and  your kids can imagine.

For more wonderful ideas visit The Long Thread.

Don't miss all the summer camp crafts.

The lovely Erin from House On Hill Road shares a delightful way to teach children embroidery using their own drawings. Imagine the satisfaction and pride this would give a child to stitch their own artwork.

Erin writes...

One of my favorite kids' crafts is embroidery.  My daughters have been hand stitching designs from the age of four.  In my opinion, their uneven stitches and little mistakes add to the embroidery's charm.  And if they are embroidering their own artwork, it's even better.  It's also very easy to get a child to start stitching.  You need basic supplies, a willing kid and a little patience to get great results.  And if your child is a budding artist, but isn't interested in the actual embroidery, you can use this same process to do the stitching yourself.

You'll need:

Artwork drawn by your child.  I direct my kids to not overdo the details.  While charming on paper, more scribbled lines means more stitches and more time and often kids aren't in it for the long haul.  Save those drawings for you to embroider.

Cotton or linen fabric of your choice.  White, off-white or light colored solids work the best.

An embroidery hoop appropriate to the size of the drawing.

A transfer pencil.  I bought mine at a local art supply story.

Embroidery floss and embroidery needles.

Tape.

To start, have your child draw on a white piece of paper using pencil or a fairly dark colored marker.

Tape the drawing to a window so that the blank side of the paper is facing you.  Trace the drawing using the transfer pencil.

Pin the drawing transfer side down to the fabric.  Using a hot iron without steam, transfer the pattern to the fabric.  (Refer to the instructions that came with your pencil for exact times).

Place the fabric in the embroidery hoop. Thread the needle for your child using 3 of the 6 strands of the embroidery floss. A great tutorial on how to knot the thread can be found here. You can teach your child how to back stitch or split stitch or just let them do it their own special way. Here's a great website with embroidery stitch instructions. Any way they chose, the result is sure to be charming.

For more creative ideas please visit House On Hill Road.

Need more crafts? Visit the Craft Camp page.

The talented Blair from Wisecraft is here today to show a beginning sewing project for kids. This pillow tutorial is a great way to get our kids sewing.

Blair writes...
(Please forgive the photos, I took them with my phone). I invited my son (decidedly not much into crafting) to make a pillow with me the other day and we had great fun. So easy, and a great chance to teach some simple machine sewing to your child. (This could also be handstitched.)

We cut 2 pieces of fabric in the size he wanted, I translated "about this big" into a 17" x 24" size. We measured it out on the fabric he'd chosen at the store, and he cut out the two panels.

Next, the thrill of using the machinery! I showed him the basics of the sewing machine and let him go, super easy for him (I have a function on my machine that slows the speed way down, which was helpful.) We left a 5" opening on one side.

He turned it inside out.

He stuffed it. Then I showed him how to stitch the opening closed on the sewing machine (no worries here about visible stitches closing up the opening.)

Success! A new pillow to prop him up when he's reading in bed!

For more ideas visit Wisecraft!

Don't miss all the summer crafts for Craft Camp.

The Mod Podge maven Amy from Mod Podge Rocks is here to show us how to make a great canvas with a lantern design -- a perfect way to celebrate the Chinese Lantern Festival.

Amy writes...

Hi there - it's Amy from Mod Podge Rocks! If you can't tell by my blog name, I love Mod Podge. You can do so many things with it! Today I present to you a very easy craft for the kids. They are home for summer, and you need something to do. To show you where my idea came from, let's start with these paper lantern stickers by Martha Stewart that I recently purchased at Michaels:
When I was younger I loved folding paper, and I realized after seeing these stickers that folding paper is something that pretty much any child can do. Since most of us have huge piles of scrap paper and extra supplies, I thought "folded lanterns!" Here are the supplies you'll need:
Canvas - I had a spare one with yellow fabric ready to go. You can do this on wood, paper, or any other spare surface you have around the house
Scrap paper - I used five different sheets
Sparkle Mod Podge
Flat paint brush
Black craft paint - I used Apple Barrel Black
Black paint pen
Craft glue
Scissors or craft knife and mat
First cut your papers into the shapes of your lanterns - this is the part that you should do for the children (unless they are older and you can trust them with scissors).

Fold the lanterns! I had so much fun making accordion-style folds. Fold, fold, fold - whee!

Keep folding - here's a square lantern.
Glue your lanterns down onto your canvas with craft glue.
This is where the Mod Podge comes in - I wanted my lanterns to be sparkly, so I added Sparkle Mod Podge on the top of them. Allow to dry. You can add as many coats for as much sparkle as you want.

Paint the tops and bottoms of the lanterns with black craft paint. Add the hanging strings by making dots with the end of the paint brush, from the top of the canvas to the lantern.

Using a black paint pen, I wrote the phrase "Lucky!" on the bottom of the canvas where I had a hole. It's that easy! The great thing about this project is that it's easy, and you can also teach your children a little something about another culture. Check out this link I found on the Chinese Lantern Festival!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great summer vacation. Stop by Mod Podge Rocks! any time for great Mod Podge inspiration and project ideas from around the net.

Don't miss all the summer craft ideas.