Kid Craft Ideas Online

By Elizabeth Wasserman

When she was planning her son Ethan's 9^th birthday celebration -- a pirate-themed pool party -- Carol Davis of Fairfax, Va. realized that she needed to find a craft activity for the dozen children expected to converge on her house for the event. So Davis turned to the same place that has been providing her with unique craft ideas for years: the Internet.

In the past, Davis had found unique children's craft ideas online, such as instructions for making a tri-cornered Colonial-era hat or prints for T-shirts using fabric paint. For Ethan's party, she stumbled across craft directions detailing how the children could make wooden boats with sails -- a few mouse clicks later, she had even bought the supplies. "I bought the wooden boat, the sails and even the paint," she says. "They could even float in the pool or tub."

For birthdays, school parties or even just rainy weekends, the Internet is a gold mine of children's craft ideas, supplies, printable coloring pages and how-to videos demonstrating the steps your child needs to take to create a perfect project. Gone are the days when you had to venture to the library to look at craft books or travel to a craft store and comb the shelves for ideas.

"The key element in the kids crafting now available on the Internet is the better ability to do spur-of-the-moment crafts," says Laura Young, crafts editor for Kaboose, a family-friendly web site with a craft section. "If it's a sunny day and you think, 'My kids would love to do some flower crafts,' you can plug in those terms on the Internet and see what you come up with."

Here is what you can find on four popular children's craft web sites:

Kaboose is a Toronto-based online resource for parents, caregivers and educators seeking ways to engage, entertain and teach children ages 3 to 11. At the web site's craft section, there are step-by-step instructions for how your child can make everything from a pet food scoop made from a recycled laundry soap bottles to lady bug rocks. A special section on printable crafts includes coloring pages, mazes and puzzles on holiday themes that kids can do on their own -- without a mess -- from making a Mother's Day card to a baseball maze.
What parents will love: Each craft carries a rating, from easy to difficult, gives you an age-appropriate range, and has a search function that allows you to search based on what supplies you may have at home.
What kids will love: Many of the craft ideas are colorful and fun to play with. Who wouldn't want a set of maracas or ribbon streamers? The projects are a craft and toy all-in-one.

HighlightsKids is a web site run by the long-running Highlights for Children magazine and features a craft section that can help your children make everything from holiday decorations and costumes to toys. The site contains a search engine that lets you select a theme and find an appropriate project, from making a giant yo-yo from plastic foam plates to an armadillo bracelet out of rocks to a frog magnet for the fridge. With no advertisers, you don’t have to fear marketing to your kids.
What parents will love: The crafts often involve materials you’ll already have on hand, such as old buttons for a necklace or a detergent bottle cap and a plastic foam ball to make a sunflower pincushion.
What kids will love: The wide assortment of crafts -- there are six different categories, including decorations, games, gifts, holidays, things to wear and toys -- means kids can always find something new they'll want to make.

FamilyFun is a web site operated by FamilyFun magazine, a Disney-owned print publication. The site has a great inventory of craft ideas for youngsters. There is a whole section on making musical instruments -- from fashioning a rain stick from a mailing tube and rice or beans, to making a cardboard-box guitar. Similarly, there's a section on puppet-making, using everything from lollipops and carrots to papier-mâché. The site features a range of crafts that your children can do alone or with you.
What parents will love: There are several different categories that can help you select a craft by age, whether it is "quick and easy" or whether it’s appropriate for classroom parties, for example.
What kids will love: The how-to videos let a kid figure out how to make crafts without mom or dad's help. Topics range from making a book to decorating a T-shirt with flowers using fabric paint and finger prints.

Martha Stewart, of course, has a section of her magazine web site devoted to children's crafts. As you would expect, these crafts are the crème de la crème of good taste -- beeswax candles in the shapes of animals and trees, Easter egg ornaments embellished with ribbon and trim, fall party masks made from oak leaves preserved with glycerin. The supplies may be harder to find, and your child may need more hands-on supervision, but the end results will impress the mothers of all your children's friends.
What parents will love: You can search for a project for your child by craft technique (decoupage, stenciling, weaving, etc.) or materials needed (shells, glitter, pumpkins, etc.).
What kids will love: The section on kids' party crafts will let your kids design their own invitations, party hats, games and decorations, which is handy if they’re crafty or turn up their noses at store-bought items.

The treasure trove of online craft ideas that you can find for your child allows busy working parents to never lack for neat ideas. "You don't always have time to go out and buy a book on spring crafts," says Young, of Kaboose. "The Internet allows people to be more flexible and get an immediate response."