The ever resourceful and sweet Calli from Make It Do shares everything you need to know to make a marshmallow shooter. What a blast!

Calli writes...

How to Make a Marshmallow Shooter

Are you wondering how to keep the kids entertained this summer?

Well, you don't need to look further than your sprinkler supply box for some super summer fun.

Split, splat, splodge...

It's marshmallow shooters to the rescue!

Marshmallow shooters are a riot for the entire family. They are great backyard fun and perfect for any outdoor summer party. Have a distance shooting contest, we've seen them go 20 feet or more. Or a see who can hit a target with the most accuracy. And while you're at it, don't forget to eat a few.

Making Marshmallow Shooters couldn't be easier. In fact, once an adult cuts the sprinkler pipe, the kids can assemble the shooters themselves. My kids love to play with the pieces, creating new configurations.

Here's what you need to make these easy marshmallow shooters:

With a PVC pipe cutter or a hacksaw, cut 1/2" wide PVC pipe as follows:

• 2 x 2" length of pipe
• 2 x 3" length of pipe
• 1 x 4" length of pipe

You will also need 1/2" wide connectors as follows (make sure to buy smooth not threaded connectors):

• 2 x elbow joints
• 1 x "T" joint
• 1 x end cap
• 1 x straight connector

You will also need sand paper.

And mini marshmallows of course.

To fit your shooter together working from left to right:

1. Carefully sand the end of one of your 2" lengths of pipe. Make it nice and smooth as this will be your mouth piece.
2. Connect the other end of your 2" length of pipe into an elbow joint.
3. Connect the other 2" section of pipe to other side.
4. Next comes the other elbow.
5. Then connect a 3" section.
6. Connect the "T".
7. At the bottom of the "T" connect the next 3" section and then the end cap. That will be your handle.
8. Connect the 4" section of pipe to the "T".
9. Connect the straight section to the end of the Shooter.

You're done. You shooter should look like this:

To play, simply place a mini marshmallow into the mouth end of the Shooter. Yes, I said mouth end. The marshmallow will travel all the way through the pipe and shoot out the other end.

Then aim.

And blow.

And shoot to your heart's content.

You might want to watch for a sale on mini marshmallows....

If you're lucky, there's no clean up necessary.

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A word to the wise: Please supervise your children with this activity. No shooting at people or animals! Don't worry, there still plenty of fun to aim for!

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For more wonderful ideas visit Make It Do!

Find all the kid's crafts in the craft camp series by clicking on the Craft Camp button on my left sidebar.

The awesome girls from How Does She? are here to show us how to make the coolest homemade bubble blower!

How Does She? writes...

Making Bubbles

Here's an idea that will keep kids busy!!!! I thought with the warm temperature coming and kids out of school, now would be the time to bust out this idea! Making some Bubbles

To make your own homemade bubble blower start out you need a water bottle...empty.

I gave my kids a water bottle and they drank it fast. Okay they didn't...I caught them pouring it on the plants, but it was a good thought! Is it just my kids who would rather have their teeth pulled than drink a glass of water!?!

Back to making snake bubbles...Cut off the bottom of the water bottle.

Use a piece of fabric and put an elastic around it to hold it on. An old rag or an old sock does the trick. Hey, we are recycling 2 things, water bottles and socks. Here's to a green tutorial!

Put some dish soap in a shallow bowl. I added a little water to make it go further.

Dip it in.

Start making bubbles by blowing.

Tip: Don't let them blow too hard or the rag will pop off. A light steady gust of air will produce bubbles to make your little ones squeal. I think I heard my husband squeal too, but he'd never admit that:)

Have a contest for the longest snake, make a hat with the trail of bubbles, or try to pop them as they float away.

Making bubbles with kids is super fun and thrifty!

For loads of ideas from decorating to crafts visit How Does She?!

Find all the kid's crafts in the craft camp series by clicking on the Craft Camp button on my left sidebar.

I hope you are enjoying all the wonderful summer crafts!

The very talented Marie from Makes and Takes is here sharing a fun way to build with marshmallows.

Marie writes...

I'm happy to be a part of this fun 30 day event as summer is here and we're ready to get crafty. We're building blocks with marshmallows and straws today, making it easier for little hands to create and a little less pokey than toothpicks. And our straws are bendable, making for super fun creations.

Supplies for Marshmallow Building Blocks:

• large marshmallows
• bendable straws
• scissors

Cut each of your straws in half with your scissors, then just start to build. Try twisting your straw into the marshmallow to help it go in and through at least half way. Here's my son's creation. It's a man lifting dumbbell weights! So funny!

We've had fun with these building blocks in our Building Block Birthday Party. Or they're great for a crafty summer day. Enjoy!

See all the fun summer crafts from craft camp here.

Lolli from Better In Bulk has a simple way to make a kite from a piece of paper and shows us how with her fabulous photos!

Lolli writes...

Summer is a great time to fly kites. I found a simple and fun kite pattern that is perfect for kids (today kids 2 to 9 used these kites!). They decorated their papers first before following these instructions to "assemble" their kites:

Step 1: Gather materials (one piece of paper, a ruler, a pencil, some yarn or string, a stapler, and a hole punch)

Step 2: Fold paper in half

Step 3: Along the folded side of your paper, measure and mark off at 2 1/2 inches (point A) and at 3 1/2 inches (point B)

Step 4: Take two corners of your paper and staple them together at point A.

Step 5: Punch a hole at point B

Step 6: Tie a long piece of yarn through the hole you've just punched.

Step 7: Fly your kite on a windy day.

Step 8: Expect lots and lots of laughs, "Wows!" and running around.

These simple kites were so easy to make, and even easier to fly. I've never had a kite take to flight so easily or stay up for so long. Even the 2 year old could do it!

For more ideas visit Better In Bulk!

To see more summer crafts in the Craft Camp Series go here.

Today we have the wonderful art teacher Gail, from That Artist Woman, sharing an easy way to do batik with kids.

Gail writes...

During the school year I needed to find a kid friendly batik idea. I had done wax batik with kids before but it can be a bit difficult using hot wax. It also is not much fun having to iron away the wax with lots of newspaper. I had heard about glue batik with white glue but the results were disappointing. I stumbled on this blue glue idea and I LOVE IT!!!

It is now the talk of the school because it is so user friendly. So lets get started:

You need this type of glue..Elmer's Galactic Glue. They also sell a non glitter version which I think will work as well just make sure it is the washable blue gel. I got mine at Michael's but I know they also carry it at Wal-mart. The Elmer's Washable School Gel Glue (it's still blue) and it works even better, finer nozzle, easier to squeeze, washes out faster.

I used 5 bottles for 24 kids and we were able to do 3 projects with it.

I cut my fabric to size and I have a layer of wax paper underneath. Draw your image straight on to your fabric with your glue bottle. For the butterfly I lightly penciled in my design first. The pencil marks come off in the wash stage.

When finished let dry completely about 12 hours.

Now you get to add color. Instead of using fabric dye which could wash out the glue prematurely I use watered down acrylic craft paint. You can almost achieve a watercolor like effect with it. I don't use fabric paint because it costs more and it only has a bit of softener in it. This works better.

Having fun painting (Jeff age 5).
Make sure you use an art shirt to protect your clothes.

When finished painting let dry completely. Depending on the weight of your fabric this might take a few hours.

When dry you need to soak your fabric in a warm (almost hot) water bath. Depending on the fabric's weight this soak can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 1/2 an hour, (heavier fabrics take longer). I use the bathtub because it works best for a large number of pieces. Don't worry about the paint coming off you will only get a few flakes of dried color in the water.
To help it along you can also scrub it a bit with a nailbrush.
When the glue is all off the fabric wring out your piece and dry. I use the dryer because I'm impatient and with 24 pieces I wanted it done.

Sew up into your finished project. In this case Jeff wanted a pillow for his room.

This is one of the projects I did with the school for Father's Day, homemade windsocks. I used very light fabric (polyester lining material) for this one.
We also did a name sign out of heavy canvas for all the kids.

Here is a pillowcase we made for Earth Day.

In all cases the blue glue batik worked terrific!!  Give it a try the possibilities are endless. You could make flags, banners,tote bags,custom shirts or just a nice wall hanging.

For more art projects visit That Artist Woman!

To see all the projects for Craft Camp go here.