Making Paper Doll Chain with Your Kids

Making a paper doll chain is a perfect activity for dads and children on a sleepy afternoon. It is simple and does not require either time or money. Most importantly, it will be an exercise in creativity that the children will surely enjoy.

Things you will need:

• Some cardboard or hard paper
• A pair of scissors
• Pen, crayons, markers, and color pencils
• Glue
• Colorful paper or fabric scraps, buttons, beads, ribbons, sequins, and stickers to decorate the dolls

Steps to make the doll chain:

• Cut out a broad strip of the cardboard or paper. This could be about 10 cm high and as long as you want to make your doll chain.

• Fold about 6 cm of one end of the strip. At the point where the folded end overlaps, fold the strip again, but in the other direction. Go on making similar, alternating folds, so that the entire strip is folded into accordion style panels.

• Hold the folded panels bunched up tightly, with the top panel facing you. Help your children to draw the outline of a doll on this top panel, with the hands and legs spread out so that these extend to the panel borders.

• Carefully cut around the doll, taking care to retain the folds where the hands and legs touch the borders.

• Now unfold the strip to see your chain of dolls, joined by their hands and legs.

• Let your children decorate the dolls using the crayons, markers, color pencils, pieces of fabric, beads, ribbons, etc.

• You can even help your kids cut out little shapes from fabric scraps that they can use to create colorful dresses for the dolls.

You can use this chain to decorate the walls of your living room. You could even stick it around a lampshade, hang it as a mobile, or use it to decorate your child's door.

Valentines Day Crafts Ideas for Kids

A small gift, a favor, an out-of-your-way effort-there are many ways to express your heart on Valentine day. Hand-made crafts are an instant hit when it comes to gifts-they not only are beautiful but also appreciated more because of the effort put into creating them.

Introduce Valentine's Day craft ideas in your family and convert your home into an activity center--the kids will love making these interesting crafts and giving them to people who mean a lot to them. Here are some Valentine's Day craft ideas listed below:

* Wrap a Styrofoam wreath with red ribbon. Glue candy all around and make them overlap each other. Attach a small ribbon loop at on one end so you can hang the wreath. The sweetheart candy wreath is ready.

* Cut two similar-sized hearts from a grocery bag and paste the edges together. Fill the heart with cotton and close the hole. Paint the heart red and spray pink paint over it after the red paint dries. Write a message across the heart with a dark-colored marker. Use buttons, ribbons, etc. to add a few more effects to the heart. Make a loop at one end with a ribbon so the recipient can hang it up.

* This Valentine's Day craft idea is very easy. Take some Styrofoam cups, paint them red and add glitter. Then, write a message on the cup. Fill your Valentine vase with lots of lollipops or flowers, depending on who you want to give it to.

* Take a small mirror and attach it on the inside of a card decorated with cut-outs of flowers and leaves. Make a crown or tiara with silver or golden paper and place it at the top of the mirror. On the outside, write a message complimenting the person who will open the card to see her own reflection wearing the tiara.

* Cut out a heart from a thick cardboard sheet and cut it into pieces so they can be easily rearranged like a jigsaw puzzle. Decorate the pieces and attach messages to some of them.