A Week of Summer Kid’s Crafts!

School is out which means the kids are home, running around, or going to camp! Whether you are a parent, babysitter, camp counselor, or a childcare provider, these crafts will help keep kids occupied while also enhancing their creativity and motor skills. This is a week’s worth of crafts that you can do using a handful of supplies and some fluffy, colorful feathers. It's also an easy group of projects to package the supplies into a box and give as a gift to a friend to help them and their kids have a more fun summer! Let’s get started!

Day 1: Painting With Feathers!

Supplies needed:

-Tempera Paint in 2 or more colors

-Water

-Plastic bowls

-Glitter

-Goose satinettes feathers

-White paper or cardstock

Pour a half dollar sized amount of tempera paint into each plastic bowl. Water down the paint just a bit so it’s not quite as thick and add a few sprinkles of glitter. Let the kids dip the ends of the feathers into the paint and begin painting on the paper, making swirls, forming paint splatters, creating dots! You can use one color per end of the feather or mix them. The softer part of the feather acts similar to a paintbrush, while the pointed quill tip allows for stronger lines. Let them dry and hang them up! Bonus: you can also let the feathers dry as well and hang them up with the drawing as another part of the art!

Feathers used-

https://www.moonlightfeather.com/1-pack-white-goos...

Day 2: Paper Plate Swan

Supplies needed:

-Regular white paper plates (the kind with ridges on it)

-Orange paint or markers

-Google eyes

-Scissors

-White glue

-White Turkey t-base plumage feathers

Take a paper plate and begin cutting it into the shape of a swan. You want to take out a half circle of the flat, unridged part in the center and cut out a face and beak shape from the remaining ridged edge. Glue on googly eyes, paint on the orange beak, and glue on the feathers to the body portion of the swan. Let it dry and you are done!

Feathers used-

https://www.moonlightfeather.com/1-pack-white-turkey-t-base-plumage-feathers-0-50-oz/

Day 3: Funky Creature Magnets

Supplies needed:

-Old puzzle pieces from an incomplete puzzle

-Brightly colored paint

-Googly eyes

-Small paintbrush

-Black Sharpie

-Small magnets

-White glue

-Bright colored marabou feathers

Paint the puzzle pieces with the paint and let them dry! Glue on googly eyes, the feathers for hair, and draw funny faces onto them with the sharpie! Let them dry and then glue the magnets onto the back!

Feathers used-

https://www.moonlightfeather.com/marabou-short-down/

Day 4: Quill Tip Feather Pens

-Turkey rounds

-Food coloring

-Water

-Scissors

-Toothpicks

Take your turkey rounds and cut the tips at an angle so they come to a point. Experiment with different ways to cut it, like rounding the end or cutting it extra pointy. Use the toothpicks to clean any debris out from the inside of the quill tip so that it will hold ink. Inside a small cup, put 2 tablespoons of water along with 20 or so drops of food coloring. Stir together and then use it as ink to write or draw with your new quill tip pen! If you will be doing this with kids above the age of 8, you could also buy a container of black writing ink from a craft store so that you can close and store the ink to use whenever without worrying about it drying out or having to remake the food coloring ink every time!

Feathers used-

https://www.moonlightfeather.com/turkey-rounds-quills/

Day 5: Creation Station

Supplies needed:

-Any leftover supplies from the above crafts

-Old containers, art supplies, paper, sticks, straws, popsicle sticks, egg cartons, or any other constructive materials that you have around!

-Colorful feathers

-Glue, tape, and scissors

Let the kid’s creativity run wild and see what they create when given a load of supplies. If they are unsure of what to make, suggest projects like a machine, something that flies, a creature, miniature versions of objects, or a sculpture! The point of this project is for them to use their minds, imaginations, and problem solving skills to create things they are excited about!