Guest Post with Gude from Hodge Podge

Hi, I’m Gude from Hodge Podge, where I blog about crafting with and for children.  Bonnie, thank you so much for allowing me to guest post at the Pin Junkie (my first ever guest post – squeal!)

   

Anyway, here’s a fun, simple, low-cost craft that my boys (AKA Pickle, 2 & Chops, 1) enjoyed this week. Do connect with me at Hodge Podge or follow me on Twitter for more ideas. Don't be shy! 

To make a personalized paper plane, you will need: 

- A4/letter size paper 

- alphabet stamps (if you don’t have alphabet stamps, you can make them from potatoes and a sharp knife!)

- ink/paint 

COST: under $2.00

AGE: 1+ for stamping, 3+ (with help!) for paper plane making 

TIME: 30 minutes (plus drying time – allow more time if you are making your own stamps)

HOW TO: We started with a blank sheet of paper, an ink pad, the letter stamps that spell out Pickle’s name (which he now recognizes, though he can’t yet write) and an exclamation mark, just for fun. He quickly learned how to ink the stamp and then press it onto the paper to make a print. I couldn’t convince him that the stamps didn’t need to be squished into the ink pad, but they were easy enough to clean afterwards with a wet wipe (where would we be without those?)! He also loved pressing his fingers into the ink pad and making prints on the paper. He finished up with blue hands, cheeks and hair… Even Chops was able to join in without too much mess/ink ingestion (I gave him a sheet of paper and pre-inked the stamps for him).  After the ink had dried, I folded the paper into simple planes.  (I am sure older kids would enjoy doing this themselves). Then we took our planes to the park for their maiden flights. I think my take-off-technique was a bit dodgy, as mine kept dive-bombing, but Pickle managed to make his do a loop-the-loop!