Pass the Crayon

Tree House? Sky Scraper? Circular curved thingy? The kids imagined some crazy structures in this weeks Architectural Design Workshop at the Pankow refugee shelter.

At Pass the Crayon we are always encouraging the children to let their imaginations run wild and explore the limits of their creativity (Clue: there are no limits!). This week we wanted to apply this technique to a new area: Architecture.

The aim of this workshop, hosted by volunteers Jeanne and Nicholas, was to challenge conventional beliefs of what a house looks like. We all have that generic housey design in our mind, right? ===>

Well, we wanted to smash this stereotype, and encourage the kids to imagine something more like this:

And they certainly didn't disappoint!  Some kids favored a very modern look...

Whilst others opted for a more rustic feel!

The imagination on display was impressive. What was also lovely to see was the overwhelming emphasis on Family occurring in most of the children's designs. As you ca...

Hey guys, this week we are going to be making Avatars!

(No, not that sort... more like this) ======>

This week's craft is inspired by last Friday's art class at the shelter in Spandau, where we helped the kids make their very own Avatars.

This was a fun and easy craft to do, and the kids really enjoyed experimenting with the colour and design of their personal Avatars.

After they finished making them, the kids spent time writing a profile for their Avatars, and they each created their very own Avatar booklet. 

We ended up running out of materials because a lot of the children wanted to make more than one Avatar, so we suggest bringing a LOT of materials just in case!

This is a really fun and simple craft to make, and the results are a great way of showcasing the diversity of creativity. 

A special thanks to Maeille for designing and organizing such a great activity. We can't wait for next week! <3

You will need:

• Large piece of white Styrofoam

• Coloured felt tips

• Scissors

  ...

Yesterday I helped with an art workshop at the refugee shelter in Spandau- the activity of the day was... print making! The prints were fun and easy to make (but MESSY), and the results came out really well.

The kids enjoyed it so much that they wanted to keep making more and more prints, so we had to start re-using the backs of pieces of foam. So my two big tips for hosting group print-making workshops are-- bring a LOT of materials. And do NOT not leave the paint rollers unsupervised, because the kids love to squeeze them and get paint all over their hands!

You will Need: 

• x1 white piece of paper

• x1 thin piece of foam

• x1 pen or sharp object

• paints of your choice

• paint rollers (we recommend one for each type of paint)

• paper plates (one per type of paint)

Method:

1. Draw a rough sketch of your design onto the piece of foam.

2. Take your pen (or similar pokey object), and poke/carve your design into the foam along the lines tha...

"Make mine a jellyfish", I said to the waiter (in my imagination). 

"Which flavour?", asked the waiter.

"Rainbow", I replied.

"I'm sorry, we are out of rainbow jellyfish"

"Not to worry, I'LL MAKE YOU SOME MORE!"

Hi there, it's that time of the week again- and I'm not talking about made-up-cocktail-o'clock (although that would be great too). No, I'm talking craft-of-the-week-o'clock!

For those of you who haven't already guessed from my amazingly weird segue... we will be making Rainbow Jellyfish!

You will need:

• Different colored crepe paper

• A toilet roll

• Scissors

• Felt-tip pens/ or crayons

• A stapler

Method

1. Take your coloured paper, and cut into long thin strips (making SURE you don't cut all the way up, so that all the strips are still held together.)

2. Take your toilet roll and decorate with a nice smiley face

3. Next, gather up all your strands of tissue, and position them inside the toilet roll, so that they all flow out of the hole, like the t...

Now that we are well into September, the nights are getting longer, the winter woolies are emerging from wherever the hell we put them last year, and the leaves are falling from the trees.... Yes. Winter is coming.

BUT, we are going to squeeze in one more summery craft before we switch to dried leaf collages and stuff-made-with-pine-cones.

Our art idea this week is a sand collage. This is a fun one to make with younger children, but make sure you keep an eye on them with all that glue and sand- recipe for a sticky situation ;)

You will need:

• Sand

• Sea shells

• Craft Glue (not pritt stick!!)

• Paints & brushes

• Large piece of paper (A3)

• A knife for spreading the sand

Method:

1.  Draw a line across the page: this represents your sea/sand divide

2.  Paint your sea section. Get creative, paint groovy fish, floating jellyfish, maybe some sharks.... whatever floats your boat aha!

3.  Next for the fun part: cover the whole of your sand section with glue- spread eve...

So this week we will show you how to make a Button Tree Painting. This is a fun, simple art idea, with gorgeous end results- and it can be done in just tree easy steps! Was that pun oak-ay? No? Never mind.

You will need:

• Assorted buttons

• Paints

• Paint brush

• 1 piece of paper (A3 is preferable)

• Glue

• (extra decorations e.g sequins)

Method:

1. Paint your tree trunk-- this is the most important stage. It's easy to glue on buttons with gay abandon, but if you haven't got a good trunk, it won't look like a tree... it will look a mess.

2. Glue on your buttons-- pay attention to the spacing of the buttons, and where in relationt to the branches the buttons are placed. Have a think about what style of tree you would like--- weeping willow? Sturdy oak?

3. Once you are happy with your results, simply let the glue dry.

And... that's it! This is a tree-mendously easy craft to try; but the results are really cute, and it's a fun one do with the kids. This techni...

Take an old glass jar, add a dash of colour, et voila- a gorgeous glass lantern, perfect for all those tea lights you never use ;)

(Sorry pumpkin... we won't be needing you anymore!)

You will need:

• x1 glass jar (or more!)

• glass paints & paint brush

• OR marker pens

• thin craft wire

Method:

1. Wash your glass (This is probably the most important step...you don't want your lovely candlelit bath spoilt by the smell of singed passata)

2. Plan your design (Or not)

3. Get drawing/painting

4. Let your paint dry (if you have used paint)

5. Attach your craft wire to the rim of the jar by simply wrapping it round a few times

6. Make the loop by bringing the wire up and across in an arch, and re-attaching it on the other side of the rim (this sounds complicated, but just look at the pictures; it's very easy, I swear)

7. Re-enforce the wire if needed

8. Add your tea light, run that bath, light the incense. OMMMMMMM.

This craft is super-easy and extremely effective.  The scalloped edge of the paper plate perfectly mimics the texture of a fish's fin; who would have thought a simple paper plate could be turned into such a convincing fish!?

Make sure you use your most vibrant paints, and dont hold back-- be as creative as you can be... because guaranteed... there will always be something crazier in the sea!

...... nam sayin?

You will need:

• 2 disposable paper plates (or more if you want to make lots of fishies)

• paints

• paint brushes

• scissors

• glue

Method:

1. Take your first paper plate (this will be the fish body), and get painting. 

2. Take your second plate and cut out 3 fin shapes (or more). This will make the tail, dorsal and pelvic fins (top, bottom,        tail)

3. Paint your fins

4. Attach your fins to the main body with glue

5. Stick on the goggle eye... Viola!

These paper plate fish are seriously simple, but look wonderful- it's a...

Summer is here, the flowers are in full bloom, and baby birds are leaving their nests and venturing out into the world... Why not give them a helping hand by installing a bird-feeder in your garden, or your local park?

This groovy, recycle-friendly craft isn’t just fun to make … it also benefits nature! Help foster your child’s passion for wildlife, by making this simple bird feeder.

You will need:

• Empty milk carton or plastic bottle

• A wooden chopstick

• Scissors

• Glue

• String

• Pens and crayons for decorating

• Bird seeds

Method:

1. Cut a window in the middle of your milk carton (it should be big enough for a bird to poke it’s head through)

2. Take your stick; poke a hole through the milk carton just underneath the window, and pull the stick through (this creates a fake branch, where the bird can stand)

3. Make a hook to hang your feeder by poking a hole through the top, and looping through some string 

4. Now get decorating! Let your imagination go wild ;)

5....