Paper Mache Light-Up Globes

Earth Day Crafts for Kids

Paper Mache is so easy and really cheap.  Which makes it a prefect medium for crafting in large groups.  We love creating simple Earth Day Crafts, and quickly feel in love with these simple paper mache globes that glow.

I was surprised by how many kiddos had never tried it before.  I think that most of us remember the crazy mess and don’t want to deal with it.  The joy on the kids faces as they were creating and dripping the paper mache paste was priceless and made all the mess worth it.

Earth Day Crafts for kids ~ Paper Mache Globes

Earth Day Crafts Supplies:

  • A small round balloon for each kid.
  • Paper Mache Paste ~ recipe below
  • A whisk ~ to mix the paste
  • 1 shallow container of paste for every 2 kids (this seemed to keep the mess to a minimal since you don’t have kids dripping and reaching over other kids)
  • News Paper Strips – ripped into 1″ wide strips
  • Tissue paper – ripped into 1 ” wide strips
  • A disposable cup and plate for each globe ~ The cup and plate should catch most of the drips.
  • A bucket of water and paper towel to rinse and dry hands.
  • Skewer – used to pop the balloon when the globe is dry and also to create the holes for the candle to shine through
  • Battery operated tea light candle.

Paper Mache Paste Recipe

1 part flour and 2 parts water.  Some methods have you boil the paper mache paste, but we had no access to a stove.  We just mixed the flour and water together and it worked great!  Super easy.  No cooking!

To make clean-up go quicker, you can cover the table with a disposable table cloth.  Don’t worry about cleaning it after each session, wait until the 3rd day when all the drippy mess is over.  Then simply  roll up the table cloth and throw it away.  We also had a tarp covering the floor.

Paper Mache Recipe ~ Earth Day Craft

Start by handing out the plates and have the kids write their names on it.  (hint – the names should be on the edge of the plate so it does not get covered by drips)  Cup goes face up on the plate, and the balloon sits on the cup.  Put the “tail” of the balloon into the cup.

Dip the strips of paper into the paste. Use your fingers to wipe off the excess glue so that your balloon is not dripping and can dry faster.  Our youngest age of kiddos was 4.  They did a great job, but needed extra help.

Paper Mache Light-Up Globes - Simple no cook paste recipe

Gently lay the wet newspaper across your balloon and smooth out any wrinkles.  Keep layering strips until the entire balloon is covered.  You will need to let this layer dry overnight.  The next day repeat the process of layering more wet newspaper strips and let the second layer dry overnight again.  We found ours dried really quickly.

Earth Day Crafts for kids ~ Paper Mache Globes

Notice the “tail” of the balloon is still visible.  You will need this opening for the globe to sit over the candle, so make sure not to cover the bottom.

Paper Mache Light-Up Globes - Simple no cook paste recipe

Now it is time for the colorful third layer.  Since tissue paper is fragile, you can’t dip it into the paste.  You will need to use your hands to cover the entire balloon in paste so that it is wet.  Most kids LOVED this step.  It was very gooey, and drippy but oh so much fun.

Earth Day Crafts for kids ~ Paper Mache Globes

Lay the strips of tissue paper gently onto the wet balloon and pat.  You may need to smooth another layer of paste on top of the tissue paper to help it stick and smooth out the wrinkles.  Just remember to be gentle.

Earth Day Crafts for kids ~ Paper Mache Globes

It was definitely messy, but it was so worth it!

Earth Day Crafts for kids ~ Paper Mache Globes

All lined up to dry overnight.

Earth Day Crafts for kids ~ Paper Mache Globes

Once the globes were dry I handed each of the kids a wooden skewer.  They LOVED popping their balloons (pop near the tail of the balloon that is still exposed and not covered in paper mache.  I had a number of kids try to pop the balloon through the paper mache).

Once the balloon was popped, put your hand inside the balloon and gently poke holes in the globe.  The larger the holes, the more light the candle will give off when turned on.

Earth Day Crafts for kids ~ Paper Mache Globes

 A few kids questioned why there was stars coming out of the world… funny!  No good answer for that one, but they did look amazing all lite up!  This would be a great Earth Day craft.  My kids are enjoying playing this their new lights.

For more Kids Craft ideas, check out our:

Rainbow  Bubble Snakes 

Helicopter Seed Dragonfly

Cardboard Apple Tree Art

Popsicle Stick Harmonica

Tie Dye Butterfly on a Stick

Coffee

I just recently fell in love with coffee.  I started out with a little coffee in my cream, and now I only like it black.  Since my addiction is relatively new, I have not really brewed many cups of coffee.  I know, what kind of wife doesn’t know how to make a good cup of coffee:)  That job had always fallen to my wonderful husband.  However, a recent trip took him out of town for a few days and with him went my personal Barista.  I think my hubby must have a secret ingredient that makes his so wonderful and mine just OK.

Knowing I have an aversion to making coffee, my sweet hubby left me this on his way out the door…

Not only did he leave behind detailed step-by-step instructions, but it was written with sharpie markers.  This man knows me too well.  Coffee and a page written with beautiful sharpies are 2 of my favorite things!

I have to admit, even following his detailed instructions my coffee was not as good.  However, I was thankful for his sweet thoughts.

Frozen Yogurt Dots

My kids LOVE yogurt.  I was really excited when I came across this fun post on how to make your own frozen yogurt dots, similar to dippin’ dots only healthy.

Frozen Yogurt Drops

 

We used Greek yogurt, ours was the kind with the fruit on the bottom.  Spoon the yogurt in to a baggie or piping bag.  I find the easiest way to fill a piping bag is to shove the baggie into a glass and then fill it.  That way the baggie is stable and I have 2 hands free.  Once the baggie is filled, seal it and then snip a small hole in one corner.

Frozen Yogurt Drops

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and begin piping little dots.  This is the most time consuming part, but totally worth it.  Our frozen yogurt dots were a bit wonky because of helpers and the fruit pieces, but they tasted GREAT!

Frozen Yogurt Drops

 Once you have all your dots piped, move the cookie sheet to the freezer.  The yogurt dots freeze really quickly.  We made ours just before supper and then eat them as desert.  YUMMY!  These are a simple, frozen treat that was a HUGE hit with the kids.  I also love that they are super healthy, the only down side was they melted really quickly.  So be ready to eat these little frozen yogurt dots right out of the freezer.

Fixing a Bike Tire

Spring is here and the kids are enjoying riding around on their bikes.  I love that they enjoy spending time outside.  My husband has taught the kids general bike safety, and how to check and fill the tires with air.  However, that is where our teaching ended, and where our neighbor comes in.  He teaches classes on bike safety and asked if the kids would like to learn how to fix a flat bike tire.  ABSOLUTELY, since then maybe they can teach me…OK really I would rather they learn so they can just change my bike tire:)

Our neighbor had amazing patience with the kids and they loved learning about how everything worked.  He encouraged the kids to do each step, while he talked them through it.  Being a very hands on learner, I loved this!

It took Kaleb a few tries to get the tube out, but he eventually succeeded.  Taking off and putting the tube back on seemed to be the most difficult.

He also taught them how to find the leak, and repair it.  He made everything seem so easy.  I love when people are truly teaching kids, not just doing it for them.  He had a way of explaining it to the kids that they were able to understand and follow his directions.

Once everything was fixed, he then had the kids put everything back together.  They were able to put everything back together relatively quickly.  I am so thankful for knowledgeable people, that are willing to share their skills with my kids.   Maybe fixing a flat tire is really not that hard, but to me and the kids it was all new and exciting.

What are you teaching your kids?

Kool-aid Easter Eggs

When I was searching for fun ways to dye eggs, I found this amazing post.  You need to check out her amazing photos on coloring eggs with Kool-aid!

When choosing which Kool-aid flavors to use, I took her advice and did not try the lemonade or grape flavors.  The lemonade is too light and the grape will turn a dark grey color.

To make a Kool-aid dye bath, you will need 2/3 cup of water and one packet of Kool-aid.  No vinegar is needed since Kool-aid already contains citric acid.

The kids enjoyed smelling the fruity kool-aid dye.  We were amazed by how vibrantly colored the eggs turned out.  I’m sad to say that we were having so much fun coloring the eggs that I forgot to take pictures of the end result.  Bummer.  Lucky for us, you can find an amazing set of pictures of the whole process over at Hey! Jen Renee.  Hope you have as much fun coloring eggs with Kool-aid as we did.

Check out these other fun ways to dye your Easter eggs: