Tin Foil Jelly Fish Craft

I love this super cute, jelly fish craft for so many reasons. Our TIN FOIL JELLY FISH were inspired by a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium and the girls' fascination with "The Jelly Fish Invasion" exhibit. (Super cool...if you are anywhere near Baltimore, go see it!!!) I love that this craft costs nearly nothing to make and L learned all about textures and rubbings while coloring the foil. And I LOVE the way our jelly fish look hanging in our kitchen window. If you can, place them near an air vent...when the air kicks on the jelly fish will come to life, dancing and swimming in the sun!

"The Jelly Fish Invasion" at the Baltimore Aquarium...

Materials needed:

-tin foil

-permanent markers

-egg cartons

-other small, plastic containers (think applesauce, olives, etc.)

-string or fishing line

-painted stick 

-tape

-scissors

-paperclips

-nail or sharp-tipped tool

First, cut your egg carton into little jelly fish shapes.

Next, take a few sheets of tin foil and have your children color them. This is a great opportunity to make rubbings. L colored on the patio furniture and bricks, over tree bark, on the textured sidewalk and on her slide. Not entirely necessary, but why not!? Your kids can also try making different patterns if coloring on a flat surface...stripes, dots, swirls, anything goes!

Cut the tin foil into little squares and have your kids wrap the egg carton cut outs with the foil. You may have to help them smooth down the outer edges. 

If you have some small, plastic containers to use as well, first poke a hole in the center. Next, cover the containers with the foil too. 

Cut strips of tin foil and tape the strips, 2 or 3 at a time, to the inside of your jelly fish. 

Using a nail or sharp tool, poke a hole into the top of each jelly fish.

Now, it's time to hang your jelly fish up. I knew ours would go in our kitchen window, so we hung the jelly fish along a painted stick. You could also make one large jelly fish and hang the smaller ones underneath. That method would be cute if hanging your jelly fish up under a light, in the center of a room.

We hung our jelly fish by stringing them onto fishing line and tying the line to a paperclip underneath each one. Some hung on their own, while others had a second jelly fish hanging underneath. Get creative and have fun with it! 

When doing projects like this, it's definitely easier to have the jelly fish hanging while you are tying them on rather than laying flat on the ground. 

Put them up to display and enjoy!!!

DIY Ant Farm

I'm so super excited to share this project with you. ANT FARMS are fun to make and fascinating to observe with your little ones! L and I have been staring at our jar all day, reading kids books on insects, watching some National Geographic clips on ants, and we've found some fun facts along the way. Within the first 24 hrs of placing your ants inside your DIY ANT FARM, they will dig tunnels and make chambers right before your eyes! 

The ants you collect will most likely be "worker ants" and all worker ants are female...pretty amazing! Most ant colonies contain one queen ant who lays all the eggs, male ants whose only job is to make babies with the queen, and worker ants who gather food, dig tunnels, and protect the colony. When collecting ants you want to be sure to only collect ants from one colony, otherwise the ants will fight to their death inside your jar. 

Materials needed:

-large jar (pickle jar)

-small jar (jam jar or spice jar)

-loose, sandy soil (Cactus/Citrus Soil works great!)

-spoon

-small jar or cup

-jam or sugar water

To make your ant farm, place the small jar upside down, inside the larger jar. 

Next, carefully spoon the soil into the jar. L would place a spoonful on the top of the little jar and then brush the soil down along the sides. It does not have to be packed tightly, just filled to the top.

To collect ants, put about one tsp. of sugar water or jam into a separate jar or cup and place it outside on its side. This is your ant trap. You may want to set a few ant traps around your garden and be patient. It can take a few days for the ants to discover your bait, but once they do many will follow!

After your ant farm is made and the ants have been caught, quickly and carefully dump your ants inside your ant farm and screw on the cap. You'll want about 10-20 ants. I think we have about 5 ants in our jar...it takes a couple minutes to find them, but works just fine! They are busy digging all those tunnels and chambers all by themselves!

Once a week, open the lid to your jar and place a few drops of sugar water and/or a couple pieces of bird seed. You don't want to feed them too much, once a week is plenty! When you open your jar to feed the ants, plenty of fresh oxygen will enter the jar as well...no need for holes! Keep your ant farm indoors, not too hot and not too cold, away from direct sunlight. 

For more info on ants, check out some books at your local library and click here to see some fascinating photos and videos from National Geographic! Enjoy!!!

DIY Tin Can Bird Feeder #2

To celebrate the last week of National Bird Feeding Month, L and I made these adorable TIN CAN BIRD FEEDERS! They are really easy to make, look beautiful and cost nothing...just go digging through your recyclables! Not only will the birds love this winter treat, this bird feeder would make a fantastic gift for your children to make for a friend, parent or grandparent! 

Materials needed:

-tin can w/ lid

-wooden paint stirrer

-pliers

-acrylic paints

-hot glue gun

-string

-glossy sealant (optional)

-church key can and bottle opener (optional)

-bird seed

First, make sure your can is clean and remove the label.

Using your hands, carefully bend the lid of the can in half. Using pliers, squeeze it flat.

Using the hot glue gun, glue the paint stirrer inside the can. You can break the stirrer if it's too long. This will be the birds' perch.

Next, glue the bent lid back into the can as pictured. Try not to make a huge mess with the hot glue gun, but if the glue shows it is no big deal...you will paint over it next. 

Paint the can any way you like. 

After the paint dries, you can use the can opener to make holes in the can from where you'll hang it on a string. On one of our cans I placed two holes on the top...this bird feeder will hang from an old clothes line end. 

On our second can I made holes in the back of the bird feeder...this one we will tie onto a fence. I was careful to put the holes in the can after we painted it, because I wanted to avoid any sharp edges while L was handling the bird feeder.

If you'd like your bird feeder to have a shiny, glossy finish, spray the can with a glossy sealant. It only takes 15-30 min to dry and will help protect the paint as well!

Thread string through the holes of the bird feeder and fill with bird seed!

Now, find the perfect spot to hang your TIN CAN BIRD FEEDER! We placed one of ours right outside our kitchen window...the girls will love watching their little wildlife friends snack throughout the day! (The first bird we catch on camera I'll be sure to update to the blog and share on our FaceBook page!) Enjoy!

In case you missed it, here's the first DIY TIN CAN BIRD FEEDER we made! Another fun nature craft!