There are many things around the house that you wouldn’t think of as crafty. There are also several things you can buy. You should always keep a few “staples” on hand to help you in your various art projects with your toddler.

• crayons
• kids scissors
• glue
• paint
• markers
• construction paper

When you are going about your normal everyday life, think about items that you are throwing away and consider if you could save it to use for crafts. Good items to save are toilet paper and paper towel rolls, empty metal cans, and boxes that your dried foods, like cereal and instant mashed potatoes come in.

The toilet paper and paper towel rolls can be used to make various things your child can play with including “people”. Your toddler can color the entire roll, with your help cover it in construction paper, or just leave it as it comes. They can draw eyes and clothes on it. With your help and a little yarn they could glue “hair to the top of it. They can also decorate the outside of the roll, you can help them glue paper on the ends and put some rice or beads inside that they can then shake, creating their own little noise maker. For some reason it is always the toys that make noise that kids love.

Once you clean them out and remove any sharp edges, you can teach your child how to make an old “phone” with two empty cans and a string. You can also let your child decorate cans, buy some soil and seeds for them and let them plant their own plants. This is a good gift idea for holidays to relatives and friends from your child as well.

You can take empty boxes, and let your toddler decorate them, help them write their name on them and use them as storage for the various supplies you have bought and keep on hand for their crafts. Having their own special place to keep their supplies, that THEY made themselves, may encourage even the shyest of toddler into doing crafts with you.

One last idea is to get some paint sticks like the ones they give you at Home Depot or Walmart when you buy paint that helps you mix it up at home, and some narrow crepe paper. If you can’t find the narrow you can always buy the wider ones and cut them in half. 1-2 inches wide is perfect. You can help your toddler glue one end of crepe paper about 2-3 feet long onto one end of the stick. Your toddler will love this craft as they can run around, holding the opposite end of the stick, and the crepe paper will fly behind them in the air.

Don’t forget about finger painting for your toddler! It is easy and quick and can often be a sanity saver when you are busy cleaning the house or doing other chores. Unlike when we were kids, they now have easily washable paints for finger painting and crafts.

As featured in the story “A Candle For Christmas” from the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm)

Materials:

• 1 wax carton (quart) (milk, fabric softener, or orange juice)
• 1 pound of paraffin wax
• 4 or 5 old crayons
• two trays of ice cubes
• a double boiler (or an empty coffee can and a saucepan)
• 1 piece of ordinary white package string about six inches long.

Caution: Do not heat paraffin directly over the burner. Paraffin is easily combustible. Use a double boiler or a two-pound coffee can set in a pan of water. I put the coffee can on top of home canning jar rings (the rings, not the flat lids). If the can is not set on top of something, the concave bottom creates a vacuum when the water begins to heat up, plus if it’s on the bottom of the pan, it’s just that much closer to the burner.

Trim the top part of the carton off so that what remains is about six inches high.

Cut the string so that it is six inches long. (To make a wick that lasts longer, try braiding three pieces of string together.)

Melt the paraffin wax over medium heat in a double boiler or a coffee can in a pan of water. Use three-quarters of a pound for a somewhat smaller candle or use all four squares for a larger candle. Once the water begins to boil, it will take 10 or 15 minutes for the paraffin to melt.

Break the crayons into small pieces and add to the paraffin. If the crayons are added first before the wax is melted, the color makes it difficult to see if all of the paraffin is liquefied.

Use a pair of tongs (a scissors works, too), and dip the string into the paraffin. Dipping the string will ensure that it is coated with paraffin since the ice cubes may prevent some sections from coming in contact with the liquid wax. Hold the string so that it is in the middle of the carton and fill the carton with ice cubes. Pour the hot paraffin over the ice cubes.

The candle will be set in about 30 minutes. Let the candle stand for another hour or two until most of the ice cubes are melted. Pour off the water. Peel off the carton. Place the candle in a tray or on a plate to catch the rest of the water from the ice cubes as they finish melting. Let the candle dry for a day or two.

The candles I have made with a single piece of string only burn for an hour or so and burn quickly enough so that most of the paraffin remains intact. To use the paraffin again, melt the candle and pour the wax into other containers to make solid candles.

~ Solid Candles ~
To make solid candles, select several glass containers. Pint or half-pint canning or jelly jars work well. For the wick, measure out a few more inches of string than is needed to reach the bottom of the container. Tie the string around a pencil. Put the pencil across the top of the container to hold the wick in place. When the paraffin and crayons are melted, pour the liquid wax into the container(s). When the candle is set, snip off the wick about a half inch above the wax.

~ Scented Candles ~
To make scented candles, put three or four teaspoons of vanilla extract into the bottom of the double boiler (or the coffee can) and then add the paraffin and crayons. When the wax is melted, pour into containers.

About The Author
LeAnn R. Ralph is a freelance writer for two newspapers in west central Wisconsin, is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer (the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Assoc.) and is the author of the book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) (Aug. 2003); trade paperback. For more information about Christmas In Dairyland, visit ruralroute2.com. bigpines@ruralroute2.com