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Home › Articles › Bonding with Grandchildren › Fun on the Cheap

Fun on the Cheap

5 Craft Ideas Every Grandparent Should Know

By Anne Culbreath Watkins

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Looking for a few fun projects to do with your grandchildren, but don't have the cash for expensive kits? Grab a newspaper, circle the most promising yard sales and hit the road.

Making cool crafts from yard sale finds can be a neat way to encourage children as young as 5 to spread their creative wings and learn to see the intriguing possibilities in ordinary things. Here are 5 fun, cheap things to do with yard sale treasures:

Cheap Craft #1: Make Some Magic
Everybody knows that cast-off prom gowns, old bride's maid dresses or jewel-toned silk shirts can be magically transformed into fairy-tale princess gowns for imaginative little girls. But did you know that a man's dress coat can become a stunning tuxedo for a dramatic little boy? A magician's robe can be fashioned from an old dressing gown, and a white, button-down dress shirt is just the thing for the budding scientist in need of a lab coat. And here's an added fun thought: Pick up a yard sale suitcase or trunk and clean it up. What neater way to store those newly created costumes?
 
Cheap Craft #2: Bring on the Bling-Bling
Your little opera singers or movie stars will need fabulous jewelry to accent their costumes. Plastic play-jewelry is pretty, but tends to fall apart after only a few uses. What to do? Prowl yard sales for old costume jewelry! Not only can these pieces be given a good cleaning and worn as-is, but you can take them apart and redesign the pieces into spectacular, one-of-a-kind creations.

Here's an idea to get you started: Cut a tiara shape from a piece of cardboard, and encrust it with jewels you gleaned from yard sale brooches or necklaces. Then loop a piece of soft elastic through holes punched in each side to make a headband. (Note: White glue works well, but if you decide to use a glue gun, carefully supervise any handling by children, as the glue gets dangerously hot.)


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