DIY Craft Ideas for Children - Natural Soap, Crawly Caterpillars & Erupting Clay Volcanoes!

Sharing is caring - and the best thing you can share with your children is your time! At Feelgood Health we think that spending quality time with your family is important. What better way to do that than by allowing your creative juices to flow! Below are some fun and awesome DIY craft ideas for you and your child to enjoy doing together. As always, try to be as kind to Mother Earth as possible. Where possible try to use recycled containers and keep colouring and objects used in your creations as natural as you can!

1) Crawly Caterpillars

Create your own crawly caterpillars using egg holder containers.

You will need:

• 1 egg carton - use as many egg cup holders as you like - the more you use, the longer your caterpillar will be
• paint (red, green, black – whichever colours you like)  
• paintbrushes
• craft glue
• googly eyes
• pipe cleaners (black and brown)
• craft needle
• scissors
• markers

All of the above can be bought from a craft supply store. 

Directions to create your creepy caterpillar:

• Cut off the top of the egg box, leaving just the bottom
• Cut two or three egg cups in a row. Remember you decide the length
• Paint the outside of the cups with the green paint
• Once the paint has dried, use markers to add details (such as dots and lines). Use your imagination - does your caterpillar have any stripes or lines?
• Then glue two googly eyes to the front for the head
• Cut the same lengths of pipe cleaners to use for the caterpillars legs
• Use a craft needle to punch holes in the cups where you want to insert the pipe cleaners
• Thread the pipe cleaners and secure the ends by bending or twisting them inside the cup
• This is quite an easy DIY craft creation for younger children – your child will simply love being able to do so much on their own, which is very important to build their self confidence! 

2) Crystal Eggs

You can start growing your own crystals in eggs with just a few household basics.

You will need:

• Eggs (egg shells is what you need)
• Craft glue
• Epsom salts
• Food colouring
• Toothpicks

1. Help your child crack an egg at the narrow end and carefully widen the opening to the size of a R2 coin. Empty into a bowl; repeat with as many eggs as you like. (Save the yolks and make some scrambled egg for breakfast!)
2. Set shells in a bowl of hot water to rinse. Show your child how to gently rub their thumb on the inside to loosen and remove the membrane. Turn the shells over on a towel to dry.
3. Set the shells inside the carton. Brush the entire inside with a thin layer of the craft glue and lightly dust with the epsom salt (this will act as a starter crystal). Allow it to completely dry. 

A bit of impatience could creep in now. This would probably be a good time to make the scrambled egg (or omlettes) so your timing to do this should be close to breakfast time ;)

6. Boil 1 cup of water and remove from heat (your job). Slowly add ½ cup epsom salt and stir until it’s dissolved. Continue stirring in small amounts of salt (a tablespoon or two at a time but no more than ½ cup) until it no longer dissolves, then STOP. You’ve made a super-saturated solution (something scientific - wow!) It should be thick but not slushy.
7. Carefully pour the solution into your shells, filling to the top. Add a drop of food colouring to each egg (you decide the colours you like), and stir gently with a toothpick. Place your shells somewhere safe and at room temperature. 
8. Check your crystal eggs daily. If you find a thin, hard, jagged layer forming on the surface, gently break it up with a toothpick (allowing the water to evaporate). After a few days, all the water will evaporate, leaving colourful crystal like creations!

This is quite a magical creation for slightly older children. The day to day growth and development of the crystal like eggs is truly intriguing for them to visually see. 

3) DIY Natural Soap Recipe for Kids

You will need:

• Soap moulds – You can do anything owls, hearts, squares, you name it!
• Coconut oil or cooking spray for coating the moulds
• Pure glycerin soap (sold in blocks or cubes at most craft stores)
• Microwave-safe measuring cup with handle for melting the soap
• Red, yellow and blue soap dyes (also found at craft stores)
• Small shells, gem stones, pieces of lavender (you can get creative and use whatever you like)
• Chopstick or similar for stirring
• Essential oils (your choice, depending on how you want the soap to smell!)

 Directions:

1. Spray/grease the interior of the plastic moulds with a small amount of cooking spray or coconut oil, making sure to cover all areas. 
2. Place small cubes of soap in the measuring cup and microwave on high for 30 seconds. If some solid soap still remains, microwave in 10-second intervals until soap is melted, but not boiling. Remove the melted soap from the microwave. This is best done by an adult or older child as the SOAP IS HOT.
3. Add a drop or two of the liquid soap dye to the melted soap. Too much dye will make your soap dark, so don't overdo it. Mix colours to get your desired shade. Then stir the dye into the soap using your chopstick. Add a few drops of your favourite essential oils here.
4. Carefully pour the hot soap into the moulds so that they are filled about a third of the way to the top. Let the soap cool for about 20 minutes and then place the gem stones, shells or object you want to use for decoration on top of the hardened soap.
5. Finish the soap. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to melt and colour the remaining soap. Pour a second layer of soap into the mould, covering the object. Let it cool and harden for at least 1 hour. Once cool, turn the mould upside down and pop the soap out. 

You can also add natural elements like lavender sprigs, poppy seeds or citrus peels to the top. These are just some suggestions. You can experiment and add any object variations you like... Coffee beans with vanilla essential oil sounds good too!

Isn’t it cool making your own soap?! These can also make beautiful gifts for your friends and family. 

4) Erupting Volcano

Steps to create your volcanic eruption! 

• Line a tray with foil for the surface. 
• Get your lava container. This container will be the centre of your volcano. You can use lots of different containers like a can, console glass jar, plastic bottle. Always remember to use recycled containers wherever you can. 
• Shape your clay. Starting from the bottom and working your way up, place your clay around the volcano to form the outside. Try to make it lumpy and uneven, since volcanoes rarely look like perfect cones!
• Allow the volcano to dry. Do not forget to paint your volcano once it has dried completely! Any colour you decide. Bright green and pink perhaps!
• Put the baking soda in the volcano. 
• Prepare some vinegar and a red food colouring mix in a cup. Mix in a tablespoon of dish washing soap to add an extra bubbly final effect!
• Add the vinegar mixture into the container. 

Yay! You have a super cool volanic eruption in your home and really happy excited children. 

We do wish you lots of luck with your creations and are sure you will enjoy making them as much as we did. For any questions please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always here to help you!