Nanny Anita Kids Crafts

Craft Stick Treasure Box from Nanny Anita

Recently I was doing a craft that involved using craft sticks and I ran out of a certain colour that I needed, it was More

simple book binding

How to Make a Simple Book Binding

Did anyone else love making little books when they were younger.  I certainly did, and my charges, especially YC, love making them.  The problem More

line drawing

How to Create a Line Drawing Picture

I do like really simple art projects that look like they are harder than they are.  My charges see them, ask about them, then More

Potato printed poppy lantern

Potato Printed Poppy Lanterns

Although are time after school is super busy at the moment, I always try to make time to do a craft around Remembrance Day.  More

monster grabber

Nanny Anita’s Monster Grabber

During breakfast one morning my 4-year-old charge asked why I wanted to keep an empty cereal box, I replied I wanted to make a More

worry rocks

Worry Rocks: To Help With Separation Anxiety

Last year when school started in September we would draw a little heart on the palm of BB’s hand. That way if he felt More

Glue Sun Catcher

It is always nice to try old crafts in a new way.  We have made quite a few sun catchers over the last few More

one line drawing

How to Make a One Line Drawing

During the May ½ term holidays I went to the Picasso Museum in Malaga.  It was fascinating art museum.  One of the things that More

Black Glue Art

Black Glue Art

We have done black glue art before, but it was a long time ago and was Easter themed.  This craft does take some time More

waterdrop art

Waterdrop Art

During the half term YC and I were having an artsy morning.  We got out a variety of materials and started creating.  She decided More

watercolour paper flowers

Watercolour Paper Flowers

My Mum used make lots of paper flowers when our family was living in the Malaysia. They were very small, like blossom. These watercolour More

oil and water marbling trays

Oil and Water Marbling Trays

It has been a long time since I have done marbling with my charges, so long in fact, that all the marbling ink has More

pasta butterflies

Pasta Butterflies

A few years ago we turned some pasta shells into giant pasta snails. Now we are moving onto farfalle pasta and making pasta butterflies. More

Chinese Dragon Puppets

Chinese Dragon Puppets for Spring Festival

This year Spring Festival (Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year) will be taking place on 1st February.  Over the past year I have More

winter jumper weaving activity

Winter Jumper Weaving Activity

Before Christmas I was sewing a unicorn decoration and BB said told me “Let me do it Nana, I can sew.”  Bless him, seeing More

mini hand warmers

Mini Hand Warmers

Does anyone else suffer from the cold? Don’t get me wrong, I much prefer cool weather to hot, but my hands and feet suffer More

chinese scenery picture

Chinese Scenery Pictures

I had some really lovely art scenery ideas show up on my social media the other week, which was a great timing as YC More

pressed flower cookies

Pressed Flower Cookies

One thing that YC and I love to do during the spring and summer is to pick flowers and leaves, then press them.  Generally, More

egg carton treasure chest

Egg Carton Treasure Chest

International talk like a pirate day is on September 19th and this year I was determined to have a post ready for it.  Never More

acrylic sun print t-shirts

Acrylic Sun Print T-Shirts

Have you ever done sun printing?  We have done it with sugar paper in the past, this time however, we have been making some More

sea glass wind chime

How To Make A Sea Glass Wind Chime

Over the summer we went to the coast for a week. One of our favourite past times (especially for YC and myself) was to More

Rosettes Craft Nanny Anita

How To Make a Rosette

Another re-post for the Olympics.  Although I didn’t originally make these rosettes for the last Olympics, I did think that they would be quite More

How To Make Homemade Pebble Pendants

A few years ago, EC learnt how to make pebble pendants while on holiday.  I am not sure what gave him the idea, but More

reverse colour transfer

Colour Transfer Craft

Do you remember those scratch art packs?  They were black, and when you scratched off the black it revealed a rainbow of colours underneath More

floating chalk pictures

Floating Chalk Printing Craft

Unlike his brother at this age, BB is much more into doing art activities, which makes a nice change.  The moment he sees me More

How to make a 3D hand drawing

How to do a 3D Hand Drawing

YC came home from school the other week with this really cool art “trick” that she had learnt.  It was how to make a More

Weaving for Kids: How to Weave on a Cardboard Loom

Earlier this year I made a picture weaving busy bag, and as it was such a success I thought we should try actual weaving More

art supply cupboard

What Makes the Perfect Art Supply Cupboard

Even though I left further education 11 years ago I still feel that September is the beginning of a new year. Therefore I thought More

paper goldfish

Cute Little Paper Goldfish Craft

The other week BB’s class newsletter said that they were looking at Matisse’s Goldfish Bowl painting this term.  As a fun little afterschool art More

Origami magic circle

How to Make an Origami Magic Circle

I had a lot of fun making these origami magic circles last summer.  They are pretty basic to make, but they are mesmerising to More

kite sun catchers

Mary Poppins Inspired Kite Sun Catchers

Did you watch the new Mary Poppins film? What did you think of it? I personally loved it, although it will never replace the More

homemade stamp set

How To Make Your Own Homemade Stamp Set

A while ago I bought a bag of corks to do a cork building boat activity. Since that time I have had about 50 More

watercolour and salt nebula paintings

Watercolour and Salt Nebula Paintings

We have done watercolour and salt paintings many times over the years, it is such a fun craft to do.  When I arrived at More

Creating Our Own Pop Art

Inspiration can really come from anything. I can literally be out food shopping and see something in an interesting packaging and think “Ooo what More

How to Make a Craft Stick Crossbow

Over the years we have made quite a few things using craft sticks, they are extremely useful craft supplies.  To go with our pirate More

spin drum

How To Make a Spin Drum

Last year BB broke his arm! For weeks he had it in a cast, and when he finally had the cast taken off, he More

How to make an origami banger

How to make an Origami Banger: Ring 2021 in with a bang!

Can you believe that this year is almost over? For many I know that this year cannot end soon enough.  This final craft of More

tin can lanterns

Homemade Tin Can Lanterns

These tin can lanterns are for older children and definitely require adult supervision. If you decide to turn them into candles then younger children More

How to make a wizard wand

Make Your Own Wizards Wand

Make sure you follow our craft board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to pin the Pin at the bottom of the More

Make a Rick-a-bamboo

Make A Rick-A-Bamboo

Make sure you follow our craft board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to pin the Pin at the bottom of the More

How to make worry dolls

Make Your Own Worry Dolls

Worry Dolls come from Guatemala and were created as a remedy for worrying. According to Mayan legends, when someone is kept awake worrying, they More

Pet rocks: The easiest pets to look after

Pet Rocks: The Easiest Pets To Look After

Make sure you follow our crafts board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to pin the Pin at the bottom of the More

Sand Mandalas For Kids

Sand Mandalas For Kids

We decided to create some sand mandalas on a very grey and wet summer’s day as a way of adding a little brightness and More

egg carton sharks

Egg Carton Sharks

Egg cartons are great for junk modelling, and over the past few months we have been collecting lots of packaging and creating lots of More

agamograph pictures

Agamograph Pictures

The first time I came across agamograph pictures was when I was in year 5 and I boy in my class brought one in More

clay owls

How to Make Clay Owls

We had the clay out the other day, there is something very calming about using clay, it is a great stress reliever. YC was More

Origami Koala Bookmark

Easy Origami Koala Bookmark

Origami is great craft; it doesn’t require much to do it and it is fab for developing fine motor stills.   Now that everything has More

watercolour quotes

Watercolour Quotes for Father’s Day

When it comes to making presents, I find myself thinking, “will they actually use it, or will it just end up forgotten about in More

How to Make Adorable Mini Father’s Day Pictures

Make sure you follow our craft board on Pinterest for more ideas. It is always difficult to come up with new and fun idea More

Nanny Anita’s Butterfly Chromatrography

This activity is primarily a science based one, you can leave it at just the experiment, but we

How to make craft stick fairy doors

How to Make Your Own Fairy Doors

Making fairy doors seems to be the epitome of childhood innocence. To believe in something so innocent and pure is what childhoods should be More

pasta mandalas and other pictures

Pasta Mandalas and Other Pictures

Over the Christmas period a little mouse got into my storage box for my sensory tray fillings and tired to eat its way through More

peace dove kites

VE Day Peace Dove Kites

On Friday 8th May we will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of VE day.   I’ve been scratching my head over what we could make More

surprise rainbow drawing

Surprise Rainbow Drawings

There have been so many wonderful pictures of rainbows that people have put up in their windows to bring cheer to others, support the More

How to make a Thaumatrope

How to make a Thaumatrope

A thaumatrope is a 19th Century toy; it is a disk with a picture on each side, which is attached to two pieces of More

A Puffy Paint Card for Mother’s Day

There are a lot of recipes out there for puffy paint that require a microwave, but I managed to find one from the Artful More

Craft Stick Fairy Wands

Making craft stick fairy wands doesn’t require you to have lots of sticks, just one or two will do. Make sure you follow my More

clothespin airplanes

Clothespin Airplanes for Little Aviators

Which toddler/pre-schooler isn’t obsessed, in some way, with cars, trains, or planes? My niece loves cars and planes, as does BB. I often have More

Posy of Paper Flowers

Posy of Paper Flowers For Mothering Sunday

For this years Mothering Sunday gift I thought I would go back to the tradition of giving flowers. At my church we always get More

Mardi Gras Masks

Make Your Own Mardi Gras Masks

In England we obviously don’t celebrate the day before Lent in the same way as other countries do. Of course we eat yummy pancakes, More

Simple friendship bracelets

3 Simple Friendship Bracelets

This brings back so many memories. I first started making them when I was a camper at Camp Beaumont. Just simple friendship bracelets, mainly More

How to Make a House Fit for a Fairy!

I recently saw this craft on Pinterest, although the original was made into a bird feeder. With a fairy themed spin on the idea. I More

Native American Headdress

On our latest cookie adventure we headed out to Blenheim Palace for a walk around the lake.  As always happens, the little ones found More

Avengers drinks covers

Hama Beads Avengers Drinks Covers

I know the summer is at an end, but hopefully the weather will continue to be fine as we go into autumn so that More

Retro Coloured Sand Bottles

These retro sand bottles are such a simple and easy craft to do. There is no set up time. Plus if you use a More

crayon printed t-shirts

Crayon Printed T-Shirts

Another great summer activity is decorating T-shirts. I used to do this a lot when I worked in summer camps, although it tended to More

melted bead sun catchers

Melted Bead Sun Catchers

I don’t think that there has been a single past summer when we have not made some sort of sun catcher. This year we More

polymer clay bracelet

How to Make Polymer Clay Bracelets

I feel that making bracelets is a quintessential summer activity.  We often use our down time to make friendship bracelets, but this time we More

clay pinch pots

Clay Pinch Pots

I remember making clay pinch pots at school. So when YC came up and started asking if we could make some stuff out of More

hogwarts houses friendship bracelets

Hogwarts Houses Friendship Bracelets

You may have guessed by now but we are pretty big Harry Potter fans here. Welcome to your newest Harry Potter inspired activity; Hogwarts More

drawing prompts for kids

Drawing Prompts for Kids

I love to draw, I am not particularly good at it, but I do enjoy it.  Over the last year both EC and YC More

body tracing art

Body Tracing Art Activity

When I was training at Norland one of my placements was at a nursery.  We would often get a huge roll of paper and More

melted crayon lanterns

Melted Crayon Lanterns

If you have ever seen Disney’s movie Tangled, you will know that lanterns play a huge part of it. Disney know how popular they More

God’s Eye Craft

God’s Eye Craft

If your children has ever been to summer camp chances are they have made a God’s eye before. And with summer camp season just More

Wind-up butterfly

How to Make a Wind-Up Butterfly

Do you remember having those elastic wind up toys when you were younger? I thought it would be fun to try our hand at More

photo transfers to wood

Memory Pictures: Photo Transfers to Wood

Over the Christmas period I saw quite a few decorations where you transferred a picture to a piece of wood. They looked pretty cool, More

Homemade Dreamcatchers to Keep Those Nightmares at Bay

As Thanksgiving is coming up I decided to a craft with an American twist to it, something to salute the Native Americans. For those More

Make Your Own Mickey Mouse Puppets with Printable Download

For my youngest charge’s birthday party we did a Minnie Mouse theme and rather than have one entertainer come, we had a few stations More

melted crayon pictures

Melted Crayon Pictures

Yay Wednesday after school craft/ activity days are back! Our first craft of the school year was to make these melted crayon pictures. YC More

craft stick bracelets

Craft Stick Bracelets for your BFFs

This week EC has headed off to sleep away camp with some of his cousins. This means I only have YC, BB and one More

Making Flip Books With Children

How To Make Animation Flip Books With Children

This week we’ve been making animation flip books. It has been a really fun process to see them come up with a little story More

Painted salt structures

Painted Salt Structures

When I first saw these painted salt structures on Pinterest, about 5 years ago, I knew then that this was definitely something I wanted More

disney tsum tsum block puzzle

Disney Tsum Tsum Block Puzzle

When I was a lot younger I had these block puzzles. I absolutely loved them; they were probably one of my favourite toys. They More

Mini Bauble Fish Tanks

I had a couple of fillable baubles left over from Christmas and have been thinking of ways to use them up. I have always More

DIY musical instruments

DIY Musical Instruments

If there is one thing that BB loves to do, it is to make music. He likes to shake things, bang things, and bash More

stained glass night light jars

Stained Glass Night Light Jars

A couple of months ago I was cleaning out my boxes from the attic and came across all of my old art supplies from More

wax paper sun catchers

Wax Paper Sun Catchers

I absolutely love making sun catchers, they are such a happy craft. It has been about a year since we last made one. The More

Nanny Anita’s Mothering Sunday Hand or Foot Medallions

These hand and foot medallions made from salt dough make for a great activity to do with the kids

handmade mother's day cards

Handmade Mother’s Day Cards

This year I gave YC and EC two different ideas for a handmade Mother’s Day cards. That way their mum doesn’t get 3 of More

Hama Bead Coasters – A Perfect Gift for Mother’s Day

Mothering Sunday has come around really quickly this year. I swear Lent only just started, but with Mothering Sunday on the 11th March we More

Origami boomerang

How to make an Origami Boomerang

A few weeks ago EC came home from school and asked if we could make boomerangs! Well it was pretty clear from the beginning More

DIY harry potter wands

DIY Harry Potter Wands

This past weekend was EC’s 8th birthday! I can’t quite believe that, it seems like only yesterday that he was a 3 year old More

styrofoam block printing

Styrofoam Block Printing for Kids

First craft of the year and we are starting with styrofoam block printing. I’ve not done block printing since I was in year 9 More

diy party poppers

DIY Party Poppers: Happy NEW YEAR!

I love it when I go to parties, especially at New Year, and I find a party popper waiting for me by my plate. More

pasta shell snails

Nanny Anita’s Pasta Shell Snails

Sometimes I find the best way to encourage children to take part in a craft is to have one pre-made (in true Blue Peter More

how to make paper

How to Make Paper

I have been looking into how to make  paper for quite a while, but everywhere I looked you had to either make really detailed More

DIY Pencil Holders

DIY Pencil Holders

I actually made these DIY pencil holders last year. I really wanted something that would hold everything that we would possibly need while doing More

harry potter inspired wooden wind chime

Harry Potter Inspired Wooden Wind Chime

Our last craft of the summer holidays is this wooden wind chime. It isn’t just your average wooden wind chime, oh no, it is More

shell mandala

Shell Mandala Craft

I think that making these shall mandalas has been one of the most relaxing crafts that I have done all year. We did make More

shell painting

Shell Painting

Every summer my nanny family goes on a beach holiday, and every year I want to do shell painting with them. Two years ago More

Stained glass pasta suncatcher

Nanny Anita’s Stained Glass Pasta Sun Catchers

I first saw these stained glass pasta sun catchers on a brilliant blog called Babble Dabble Do. It is such a brilliant idea – More

Harry Potter inspired Dragon Eggs

Harry Potter Inspired Dragon’s Eggs

Since reading Harry Potter, we’ve been inspired to create our own dragon eggs!

DIY Fidget Spinner

DIY Fidget Spinner

I am sure you have all seen/heard of/ or even bought a fidget spinner by now, and if you haven’t where have you been? More

shrinky dink baby footprint keepsakes

Shrinky Dink Baby Footprint Keepsakes

Make sure you follow my homemade gift boards on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to save the pin for later. There seems More

Ideas for Mother’s Day Cards

Make sure that you follow my crafts board on Pinterest for more ideas and don’t forget to save the pin for later. This year’s More

How to make a Pokeball

How to make a Pokeball

Make sure that you follow my craft board on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to save the pin for later. Earlier this More

Nanny anita

Beauty & The Beast’s Enchanted Roses: The Last Petal Falls Craft

These take their inspiration from Beast’s enchanted Rose from Beauty and the Beast