Making a recipe card holder is very easy and the perfect gift for
any child to give to Mom, Grandma, Auntie, or anyone else who cooks.
Here's how your kids can make a hand crafted gift recipe card clip holder:
Materials |
|
Plaster of Paris |
(prepared
according to package directions) |
Craft Stick |
(popsicle stick) |
Small
paper or styrofoam cup |
(approx.
6-9 oz.) |
Wood
clothespin with spring |
 |
Paint
and paintbrushes |
Felt
in bright spring colors |
Glue |
|
What you do
Glue the clothespin to the popsicle stick, with approximately half
of the clothespin sticking above the popsicle stick.
The opening
part of the clothespin needs to be pointing upwards, as this will
be where Mom will "clip" her recipe card.
Using the prepared Plaster of Paris, pour into the cup until it
is approximately 1-1/2" from the bottom of the cup. Keep a
close eye on the Plaster of Paris, as you need to work with it just
as it begins to thicken.
When the Plaster of Paris develops a thicker consistency, take
your stick and clothespin and push the end of the popsicle stick
into the plaster; center it in the middle of the plaster.
The plaster
should be thick enough to hold the stick/clothespin upright. Leave
your project in a safe area, while making sure that the stick/clothepin
does not shift.
After about 45 minutes, the plaster should be hard. At this point,
you can tear off the cup. Now you are ready to paint your recipe
card holder.
When I did this project in third grade, we were "instructed"
to paint our popsicle stick and clothespin green, so it would resemble
a flower stem. We cut out a simple flower out of the felt and glued
this to the top of the popsicle stick (on the opposite side of the
clothespin).
The plaster was painted brown to resemble dirt or a pot. The idea
was that the finished project resembled a flower in a pot.
However, I am much more into letting children express their creativity,
so when I did this activity recently with my daughter, I encouraged
her to paint the recipe card holder any way she wished.
© copyright 2002 Brandie
Valenzuela
Brandie is a freelance writing mother of three children. She is also the
editor of the HomeMade Living ezine, and other services for parents
and stay-at-home mothers. To find out more about Brandie's creations,
visit: http://www.bmvcreations.com |