Creating African arts and crafts for kids is a fun way to get them engaged in cultural history at a young age. Through simple and creative activities, your child will learn about different types of African animals, games, cultural symbols, and holidays. Here are a few examples of different inexpensive and educational crafts that you can make with your child:
Mancala is a traditional African game that promotes critical thinking and improves mathematical skills. The game board and playing pieces can be easily created with these tools:
Egg carton
Scissors
Paint
Small beads – all the same size
Simply cut off the lid of the egg carton, flip it upside down and glue it to the other half. This creates a base and a playing board. Next have your child decorate the carton with brightly colored (think red, orange and yellow) paints. For added decoration, have ready-made shapes cut out of construction paper for your child to glue onto the sides. Finally, have your child choose their beads, place four in each cup and you are ready for an enjoyable game of Mancala!
One of the exciting aspects of Africa that especially interests children is the idea of a safari. Cater to your child’s seemingly infinite imagination and help them create Safari Puppets. You will need:
African animal stickers
Blank note cards
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Popsicle or craft stick
Have your child place the stickers on the blank note cards. Then, have them use the scissors to cut around the perimeter. Take the cut out animal shapes and use the glue gun to fix it to the craft stick.
Music is an integral aspect to traditional African life. Drums represent the heart beat of life and are used in many African dances and festivals. Create African arts and crafts for kids that will not only be fun to create, but can be enjoyed for years to come. To help your child create an African-style drum, you will need:
Red, black and yellow construction paper
Glue
African animal stickers
Coffee can
First cut the red and black construction paper into strips that will fit vertically onto the coffee can. Have your child glue the strips to the can. Cut a thicker strip our of the yellow construction paper that will fit around the width of the can. Glue it to the can. Your child can now decorate the can with the African animal stickers to their liking. Finally place the lid on the can and start tapping away!
There are many more African arts and crafts for kids that are low in cost and fun to make. Get creative! Make masks out of paper-mache or design your own coloring books filled with African scenery and animals. Whatever you choose, you should feel good that you are helping your kid expand their world view and keeping their imaginations alive and active.
Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about African arts and crafts for kids [http://africancrafts.info/african-arts-and-crafts-for-kids/], please visit African Crafts [http://africancrafts.info/] for current articles and discussions.
Author: Wendy Pan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Coffee and Cancer
Filed under Bead Craft Ideas by on Oct 12th, 2010. Comment. 
Spending your time doing what you love and getting paid for it seems like the ultimate dream job, but as you start crafting for profit, the pleasure can so easily wither away. Once you’re a professional crafter, your focus is on your business and making money, and your creativity and enjoyment usually suffers first.
When you first start selling your crafts you get such a buzz from it! But what happens when you are making that same item again and again (and again!) You started crafting because you enjoy the creative process, but now you feel like a factory worker, just churning stuff out.
And then there are those customers who want something different. ‘Great!’ you think, ‘a chance to create something unique again.’ But it’s the customer who ends up ‘designing’, while you just follow orders and assemble it. Again, you’re back in the factory!
Finally, you hit a quiet period and have a chance to create some new designs and ‘do your own thing’ again. And what happens? Your muse deserts you and you go completely blank. You can’t for the life of you think of anything new to do, and don’t even know where to start.
Does any of this sound familiar? I’ve been through each of these stages and they’re no fun – you end up wondering why you ever wanted to sell your crafts in the first place! But it doesn’t have to be this way. Over the years I’ve developed some tricks to pull me out of these slumps and back into creative heaven.
Firstly, to avoid the boredom that often comes with crafting for profit, see whether any of these ideas will work for you:
- Reward yourself with creative sessions. For every day spent doing the more repetitive jobs, give yourself a few hours of fun crafting. This way you’ll be motivated to finish the boring stuff quickly.
- Also alternate custom orders with time spent letting your creativity go wild. As custom orders aren’t particularly time efficient anyway, you don’t necessarily need to do all of them together in one session. Perhaps reward yourself for every custom order finished with a block of time to do your own thing.
- Make sure you account for the extra time custom orders take in your pricing (including time spent sourcing materials) in order to make it worth the hassle. You’re much less likely to become dissatisfied if you’re being richly rewarded!
- You could consider limiting yourself to doing one-offs or limited editions. That way the customer gets extra value for their purchase and you don’t get fed up doing the same thing over and over. Or if this isn’t practical for you in terms of earning a good income, consider doing this for just a selection of your crafts.
- When you have to make lots of the same item, get a production line going. Once you know an item sells well, rather than having to replace it every other day, put in one really good session and make loads. OK, so it will be even more tedious while you’re doing it, but you’ll get them finished much quicker this way, and then won’t have to make any more for ages!
- Outsource the production of popular items. That way you can pay someone to replicate your popular designs while you concentrate on creating new ones.
And if you’ve run out of inspiration, here are some ideas for getting it back:
- As a preventative measure, set aside a block of time (daily or weekly) that is purely creative time. Don’t worry about whether what you’re making will sell or not, and don’t think about the other things you need to do, just throw yourself into doing whatever feels good. I find that once I start I get carried away with all sorts of new ideas!
- Read books and magazines about your crafts. This feels wonderfully indulgent, and you may think time spent reading is wasted, but it’s so important in order to generate new ideas and to keep abreast of new techniques and trends. So when you’re feeling a bit jaded, grab a cup of coffee and settle down with your favourite (craft related) glossy.
- Invest in some new and different materials or supplies. I always get excited when a parcel full of new beads arrives, and can’t wait to try them out!
- Have a clear out. You’ll find things you’d forgotten you had, and seeing your materials arranged differently can often inspire you to try new combinations or techniques that you haven’t thought of before.
- Take a course. Learning a new technique, or brushing up on old ones can help you rediscover your inspiration. And you’ll find it refreshing to mix with others who are excited about the same craft as you.
When you’re crafting for profit, you do need to resign yourself to some of the less exciting tasks, but do everything you can to keep yourself at your creative best. If you don’t love what you’re doing, it will show in your work.
Don’t feel guilty about treating yourself to a craft magazine subscription, a day off, or whatever else you need to keep those creative juices flowing, because as a professional crafter you are the number one asset in your business!
Louise Longworth http://www.craft-selling-parties.com Louise Longworth is a work at home mother who sells her handmade jewelry at home parties and has published a website to help others sell their crafts the same way.
Author: Louise Longworth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger
Filed under Bead Craft Ideas by on Oct 14th, 2010. Comment.
For some people, going into a local craft store is a treat that is equal to enjoying a picnic, a sporting event, or a much needed get-away from the stresses and strains of a hectic lifestyle. Such places are bright with colors, ideas and designs that never fail to bring a smile to even the most busy people.
Major businesses such as Michael’s, Jo-Ann’s, Hobby Lobby or A.C. Moore stores provide a wealth of possibilities and supplies for any sort of project ideas that will keep your hands and thoughts busy for the entire year. Whether you like to design floral arrangements, paint, knit or scrapbook, a craft store will have the supplies you need.
Many smaller communities also have their own version of the larger stores, and will carry items that the big ones don’t, while other carry only selective items that are the most popular at any given moment. Whether you shop at a huge national store or a small, local one in your town, a craft store is the first place to shop when you have a particular project in mind. Whether you’re making a quilt or knitting a sweater for junior, visit your local stores first for ideas and products that will make your job easier.
Some stores cater to specific needs, such as painting, yarns or beads and stones. Larger cities often have more than one store, which makes completing any project a snap for locals, while smaller communities are more limited in their offerings.
However, the Internet makes shopping at any craft store as easy as clicking your mouse. In fact, more people today are ordering their supplies from stores on the Internet to take advantage of more competitive pricing, product offerings, as well as the ability to shop globally.
When looking for a local store that will suit your needs, it’s a good idea to visit them to see what kinds and amounts of items they carry and to determine whether their employees are knowledgeable, friendly and willing to answer questions or provide suggestions when it comes to help or ideas. Check and compare pricing as well, as they will vary.
Sometimes, people will choose a particular craft store to support and utilize and refuse to visit any others. Such loyalty is nice, but may prevent a customer from benefiting from additional ideas, supplies and opportunities. Try to find at least two or three store offerings in your area that will cater to several craft supply needs, the most common of which are yarns, scrapbooking and fabrics.
Even if you don’t need any particular types of supplies, it’s fun to venture into a craft store once in a while just to get an idea of what people are doing and creating. Especially around the holidays, visiting a craft store can provide a myriad of ideas and projects that will help to create lasting memories that are designed and created with love and provide plenty of enjoyment for years to come.
For more information on crafts, try visiting http://www.craftguidance.com – a website that specializes in providing craft related tips, advice and resources to include information on craft store.
Author: Candice Sabrina
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
iPhone/iPad accessory
Filed under Bead Craft Ideas by on Oct 17th, 2010. Comment.