Get your kids excited about going back to school by making some of the supplies they’ll need in the classroom together at home instead of going shopping for them. They’ll have a blast making their own erasers and bookmarks. To make it even more fun, invite some of their friends over for a “Back to School Craft Party,” or have the kids arrange a swap meet to exchange the different crafts they’ve made.
Below is everything you’ll need to make erasers and lanyard bookmarks. Why not make going back to school a little more exciting for your kids?
Homeade Erasers
Users on Cut Out + Keep craft tutorial website have some great ideas for fun eraser shapes. Once you’ve purchased eraser clay (suggest using Sculpey®), then your kids can mold the clay to look like peas in a pod, a tea party, or, for the girls, a tube of lipstick.
The Sculpey website also has some eraser clay crafts your kids are sure to love. Try making this eraser clay skateboard, using instructions posted by Britta Lautenschlager.
Getting Started
Before rolling out the clay, make sure you have a good surface to work on. Lay down wax paper or disposable foil so that the clay doesn’t stick to the surface of your furniture.
Steps for Making the Skateboard
1.) Roll a 1/4 of a block of whatever color clay you choose to make the skateboard into snakes. Twist them together and tightly roll them into one log, fold in half, twist and roll into a log again. Repeat two more times to get a marbled effect.
2.) Shape the marbled clay into an oval and flatten to create a three-inch board. Slightly bend ends up.
3.) Divide a 1/4 of a block of whatever color clay you choose to make the wheels into four equal pieces and then shape them into the wheels.
4.) Assemble the skateboard by firmly pressing wheels to the bottom of the board.
5.) Bake on oven-proof glass or metal surface at 250° for 20 minutes per 1/4″ of thickness. Do not use microwave oven and do not exceed the above temperatures. Baking should also be done by an adult.
Lanyard Bookmarks
Things You’ll Need
- Plastic canvas
- Rolls of lanyard
- Scissors
- Beads (optional)
Steps for Making Lanyard Bookmark
1.) Cut out a rectangle from the plastic canvas of any length and width you want. You want to make sure that the number of vertical rows of holes is divisible by two.
2.) Select the colors of lanyard you want to use. The best way to measure how long each piece should be is to unwind a bit of one of the rolls, hang it over the top of your rectangle, and cut a piece that looks like it will go through two full rows of holes. You can measure all further pieces against the first piece you’ve cut.
3.) Pull the piece of lanyard all the way through the last hole at one end of the rectangle from underneath, leaving a bit of lanyard hanging out at the end as trim (this can be as long or as short as you want). Weave the lanyard in and out of the holes until you reach the other end.
4.) At the other end, loop the lanyard over the top so you can weave it in and out of the second row of holes.
5.) Once you come back to the end you started on, pull the lanyard all the way through the last hole and leave some of it hanging as trim. If the two hanging pieces are uneven, trim them with scissors.
6.) Repeat the above steps until you’ve completed each row. Add beads to the trim at the end if desired.
Lanyard photo by Maggie Blaha.
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