With all that Christmas shopping you've been doing you've probably got LOTS of plastic bags hanging around, what to do with them? Why not check out these ideas......
1 - Lego Parachute
Completely inspired by a post by Scharesteipapier that was recommended by All for the boys we made parachutes for Bud's Lego stormtroopers!
The original post is a bit more professional that ours as I got the boys to cut out their own square(-ish) bits of plastic bag then we stuck wool on each corner, gathered the ends and sellotaped it to the Lego man.
1 - Lego Parachute
Completely inspired by a post by Scharesteipapier that was recommended by All for the boys we made parachutes for Bud's Lego stormtroopers!
The original post is a bit more professional that ours as I got the boys to cut out their own square(-ish) bits of plastic bag then we stuck wool on each corner, gathered the ends and sellotaped it to the Lego man.
Then stand on a table or chair and launch. The fun with these lasted AGES!
2 - Papier Mache
We thought we'd have a go at papier mache, but with plastic bags! I snipped up some bags and we stuck them onto a cup using blue that I coloured with paint. It was messy!
It created a really cool effect, like papier mache, but thinner and more delicate. With the boys we did it until they lost interest, but with an older child you could build the layers up and make a really cool lantern!
3 - Cutting
Champ is having a bit of a cutting phase at the moment so, we spent quite a lot of time just cutting up bags!! Kept him entertained!
4 - Pom Poms
If you do one activity do this one! The idea is from Craftastica and has a very detailed tutorial which I enjoyed following.
Champ and Dude thoroughly enjoyed their time practising the cheer leading moves!!
5 - Plastic bag painting
We lurve painting, so why not try with plastic bags! I bunched them up and tied some string round the top and set it up so that Champ could stamp with them.
He enjoyed stamping and swishing the bags round the paper.
Here are the results, I was told this was a rainbow and some rain. Perfect for making a few more Christmas cards with kids art.
6 - Kite Flying
This one we did in the spring on a windy day when my kite craft failed we made plastic bag kites instead!
Liked this? Then why not check out more things to do with plastic bags on my Plastic Bag Crafts pinboard, like our Facebook page or check out other 'Things to do with posts' - foil, pumpkins, acorns, more acorns, odd socks, pinecones, chestnuts, more chestnuts and carrots.
I love this post! I think I may give those papier-mache lanterns a go and then fill them with a battery LED light (rather than, um, live flame!).
ReplyDeleteI ironed plastic bags together to create a Tyvek-like material, with the consistency of leather, and then I cut bunting out of them. Ironing would be for older kids, though.
My 2 and a half year old will definitely enjoy painting with the scrunched-up bags as stamps.
Thanks for all the great ideas!
Fun ideas! I think I'd especially like to try the plastic bag painting with my kids.
ReplyDeleteThanks Katie, I hope you get to try it out
Deletei love how simple and doable the ideas are that you include in your round ups.
ReplyDeleteThanks! We seem to work best with simple (very short attention spans!)
Deleteooooh making prachutes! I haven't done that since I was a kid! Thanks for the reminder all the other great ideas
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate. The parachutes kept the boys entertained for ages, so I reckon we will have to do this again sometime soon. Thanks for stopping by, I love reading your blog.
DeleteWhat great ideas - I especially love the lego parachute & and the painting/stamping!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I think the boys loved the parachutes best and I loved the painting, for once everything wasn't mixed brown!
DeleteOooh brilliant post!!! What a fun set of activities. Love them all. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy
So fun!! So many great ideas as always. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!
ReplyDeleteGreat way to recycle and have fun with the kids! I love the parachute idea. So fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! My favorite is the parachute! Thanks for sharing at Eco-Kids Tueday! Hope to see you again tjis coming week!
ReplyDeleterecycling plastic bags with such fun activities is surely great idea
ReplyDeleteGreat job Hannah!!
This is a little complicated, but what I did as a kid was to drop parachutes from kites. Cut the top off an old coke bottle, stuff the parachute in it and tape the whole thing to a kite. (The kite needs to be the sort with two strings that you can steer.
ReplyDeleteLaunch the kite and once it's in the air, spin it upside down, the parachute will fall out and float to the ground. Kept me entertained for months!