I am excited to be offering 30 days of fun crafts to keep kids active and entertained this summer! You won’t want to miss a day of these fun crafts for kids from some amazing bloggers! Please be sure to pay them a visit!

Holly, from 504 Main writes……

Thank you Cindy for inviting me to join in on the Craft Camp FUN!

I am Holly, and 504 Main is my home away from home. I craft, bake, and chat about other fun stuff…like my crazy busy life and my 2 kiddos! I am really good at making a mess…but sometimes that turns into a brilliant craft…and sometimes not. That about sums it up, now let’s craft!

Angels and Monsters in the Garden

When we first moved into our house, we had to extend the height of our fences because our dog was C-R-A-Z-Y and could jump over a 6 feet fence without even thinking about it. We bought a ton of those single fence pickets to attach to the top of the fence to keep the doggie in. We also had no friends (boo-hoo) and nothing to do, so what do you do when you have a lot of fence pickets left over and a lot of time on your hands…decorate your garden. So, this craft is “old” for me, but hopefully new to you. My kiddos LOVE this craft and hopefully yours will too.

SUPPLIES

This craft is about using what you have to make something fun with your kids…I am telling you all what I used and adding notes for substitutions when I can.

  • Fence Pickets, single, about $1-$2 each at the hardware store (a scrap of 2 x 4 could also work)

  • DecoArt’s Patio Paint (Acrylic Paint can work too, it just does not last as long – (the original angel I made 6 years ago still has paint on it but it is definitely faded). The Patio Paints work really well and last a long time. I would suggest a spray sealer if you use acrylics. I specifically used: vintage rose, citrus green, orange, larkspur blue, petunia purple, azalea, marigold, white, graphite (acrylic).

  • Paint brushes – 1 or 2 1 1/2″ or 2″ size and some smaller ones for detail work.

  • Staple gun and/or glue and/or small nails and hammer.
  • Twine or ribbon and any other decoration you might want.
  • Outdoor Mod Podge (see below)

Wings/Skirts

  • Fabric* or window screen or oil cloth – any fabric that is sturdy and will hold up to the weather.
  • *NOTE: I “painted” my fabric with Mod Podge to give it some heft and to help it stand up to the elements.

DIY IT!

  • Clean picket and if desired give it a quick sanding (I did not sand it – I wanted a rugged distressed feel).
  • Paint each picket in a base color, covering almost all of the picket. For the angels I used Vintage Rose Patio Paint. For the Monsters, Citrus Green and Orange Patio Paint. Let dry.

Angels

  • Add hair detail – just select a hair color and paint some bangs and curls on the top of the picket.
  • Add face detail – simple eyes and a sweet little mouth in pink.

  • Paint the picket, starting at where the “neck” would be a fun color (the clothing).

  • Add buttons to the shirt.
  • Cut squares of either fabric or screen approximately 10″ wide and 5″ long (you can “play” with the measurements depending on the look you want).
  • Attach the skirt: I used a staple gun. In the past we have used glue, so either works…one give more instant gratification. To attach the skirt, lay the angel face down and determine waist; place skirt edge on the picket and staple on the back of the picket; flip over, bringing skirt around and do the same thing on the other side; NOW fold or gather skirt around on the front to make it fit (I added a staple or two along the waist band to make it stay). NOTE: if you use glue, weigh the wings down with a rock until dry. You can paint a skirt on too.

  • Finish off with a twine or ribbon belt (to hide the staples or glue…or just because)
  • Attach wings: Flip angle face down, find proper place for wings (about middle of back); accordion/fan fold fabric/screen; place wings on back and then point some of the folds up and some down; staple into place. NOTE: if you use glue, weigh the wings down with a rock until dry.

Flip over and done! Now here is some more about the monsters.

My son made these by himself…he was not into angels.”

Monsters

  • Paint on crazy eyes, mouth, teeth/fangs.

  • If you want add some crazy screen hairdo – cut a length of screen about 5″ long and 4″ wide and then cut slits down into it being sure not to cut through; flip monster over and gather screen hair and staple into place.

Variations

Can’t you just see these as gnomes…guess what is next for me!

You can add buttons and googley eyes too – the kids really like that! Your imagination is the limit!

Thanks for having me at Craft Camp!

I hope summer is treating all of you well!

Signature

504 Main


About Cindy Hopper

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Comments

  1. First I was going to say I love those angels, but then the monsters are just as cute.

  2. These are so cute Holly!! I love how you can personalize them any way!

  3. What a great way to upcycle those fenceposts and add color and whimsy to the yard!

  4. Holly–what an adorable idea! I especially love the little monsters–those are so cute!

  5. These are adorable! I love how each kid can make it their own. We just moved too… as soon as I find my crafting supplies, we might just make some of these!
    Laurie @ Gallamore West 🙂

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