When it comes to screen-free activities, you just can’t beat spending time outdoors with the kids.

Maybe that’s why camping is popular among families with young kids; it’s a great way to get plenty of time outside.

Even if your family isn’t planning a camping trip this summer, you can still enjoy camping crafts, roasting marshmallows and taking hikes at local parks.  That makes this duct tape craft perfect for this time of year!

Grab a few colorful rolls of tape and let the kids have fun learning how to make a sit upon.  It’s perfect for toting on hikes and using to sit around the campfire.

Duct tape is a fun material to work with in kid crafts, especially for tweens.   We’ve even used it in several fun duct tape crafts for school.

We made this sit upon at day camp as one of our scout camp crafts, and it’s seen plenty of use since then.

This duct tape sit upon would be fun to make before a family camping trip or as a craft to welcome summer.

What Is a Sit Upon

A sit upon (sit-upon) is a padded seat cushion that provides you with a dry seat when camping or hiking.  They are also great for using on bleachers during sporting events.

I remember making a Girl Scout sit upon as a young girl before our first scout camping trip.  

This no-sew sit-upon is quick and simple to make, allowing kids of all ages to create their very own colorful place to sit when outside.  

How to Make Sit Upon with Duct Tape

Affiliate links have been provided for your convenience; see my full disclosure here. 

Materials needed:

• • Cloth shopping bag
  • Plastic shopping bags
  • Polyester Fiberfill  (Optional)
  • Duct Tape

This craft is a great way to recycle some of those plastic shopping bags!  

Take one plastic bag and stuff it with 15-20 other plastic bags.  Try sitting on it.

Need more stuffing?  Add more bags.  (An alternative is to fill the plastic bag with polyester fiberfill.)

Once you have the thickness you prefer, tie your plastic bag in a knot and stuff it into your cloth shopping bag.

We chose to keep the handles on our reusable shopping bag sit-upon to make it easier to carry when hiking.

Not interested in toting it with you?  You can cut the handles off or tuck them inside the bag.

Then it’s time to start with the decorating!

Start by covering the seams of the cloth bag with duct tape, folding the tape over the edges to help waterproof it.  When taping the top of the bag, cut pieces of tape to fit around the bag’s handles.

Once the edges are sealed, use strips of duct tape to decorate the outside of your sit-upon.

You can use all one color, make a pattern, or get as creative as you wish!

This duct tape sit upon is perfect for carrying on that hiking trip, giving you a clean, dry place to sit when you need a rest.

The homemade sit upon is also perfect for sitting around the campfire.  (I remember always having my Girl Scout sit upon to sit on during campfire time at camp.)

This duct tape craft pairs greatly with our simple duct tape water bottle holder.

While you’re sitting around that campfire why not give this soap carving camp craft a try?

That comfy sit upon craft makes a great seat for reading time, too.

You could even use these sit-upons for outdoor classroom use.  Kids will love having their very own dry and comfy spot to sit when they go outside to study.  

Your child will love learning how to make a sit upon.  That duct tape sit upon may even inspire a little more reading time this year.

Other posts you may like:

• Soap Carving
• Duct Tape Water Bottle Holder
• Colorful Soda Straw Weaving 
• STEM Activity: Craft Stick Catapults 
  
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Originally published August 10, 2015. 

The post How to Make a Colorful Sit Upon with Duct Tape first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

If you are looking for a fun tween craft for your child to do at home, or maybe some new camp crafts for summer, look no farther.

Straw weaving is the perfect craft for tweens and early teens.  

The finished product can be used to make colorful yarn bracelets, headbands, belts, and necklaces.  If you use a baby fine yarn, you can even turn it into a bookmark.  

Weaving crafts are not only fun, but they can also help improve fine motor skills. 

Kids as young as 7 can be successful weaving with straws as a loom.  We did this as a Scout camp craft, and all the kids loved it! 

If you are looking for camp craft ideas, you may also want to check out this simple soap carving activity.  

Straw Weaving 

Affiliate links provided below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Materials Needed:

• 3-5 drinking straws (We used 3, but you can make a wider bracelet using 5.)
• Yarn
• Tape (to hold straws in place while weaving)
• Small piece of cardboard
• Scissors
• Wooden Skewer (optional)

Decide how wide you want your weaving to be when finished. 

We used 3 straws to make our loom, and it turned out to be almost 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) wide.  You can make a wider woven bracelet (or headband) by using 5 straws.  

Cut a piece of yarn for each straw you plan to use.  The yarn needs to be 4-5 inches (10-12.5 cm) longer than your straws are.  

Tie thes pieces of yarn together at one end.  

Then thread each piece of yarn through a drinking straw.   (A wooden skewer is perfect for helping guide the yarn through the straw.)

If you are using bendable straws, it helps to cut the bending tip off first so your yarn doesn’t get stuck in the bend.  Paper straws can also be used.  

Only the ends of this yarn will be seen in your final project.  The soda straws will act as your loom.

Once you have your bracelet loom made, choose what color yarn you wish to weave with.

Wrap 5-8 feet (1.5 – 2.5 m) of your yarn around a small piece of cardboard.  The cardboard will act like your shuttle as you weave.

Tie the loose end of your weaving yarn to your other 3 pieces of yarn that have been threaded through the straws. 

Secure the knotted yarn to the table with a piece of tape.  This will hold your loom in place as you weave.

Now it’s time to begin weaving with drinking straws.  

How to Straw Weave

Use the cardboard shuttle to weave your yarn over the first straw, under the second, and then over the third.  

You will continue weaving back and forth.

Use your fingers to push the yarn against the top of the loom, keeping the rows tight together. 

For the best final product, you want to keep those rows as snug as possible.  

Straw Weaving Bracelet

Once your project is long enough to go around your wrist, carefully slide the soda straws down, and off the yarn, one at a time.  You will need to use one hand to hold your weaving in place so it doesn’t unravel.

Tie your loose ends of yarn together to secure it.

Cut off extra yarn, leaving it long enough to tie the two ends together to form your bracelet. 

Find your duct tape water bottle holder, take a drink, and show off your bracelet!

We used our straw weaving to make yarn bracelets.  

You could also make a woven yarn belt or headband following the same directions.  Just make your weaving a little longer.  

You may also like:

• Build a Mechanical Hand with Straws
• How to Make a Duct Tape Sit-Upon
• Build a Craft Stick Catapult
• Yarn Weaving CD Dream Catcher
• Get the Kids Up and Moving with Math Races

Be sure to check out this straw weaving video over on my Youtube channel! 

Originally published on July 15, 2016.  

The post Make a Colorful Bracelet with Soda Straw Weaving first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Even if the kids can’t make it to camp this year, you can have fun with your own backyard camp activities. 

Have fun and teach basic knife skills with soap carving for kids.

Affiliate links have been used below at no expense to you.  See my full disclosure here. 

This simple camp craft would be fun to do at home or as a scout camp activity.  

Soap Carving for Kids

Materials Needed: 

• New, full-sized bars of soap
• Craft sticks 
• Sharp knife 

Before starting this activity, use your knife to cut one end of each craft stick into a point.  This will turn it into a carving utensil.  

By using craft sticks, even younger campers can try their hand at soap carving.  

For older kids, with good adult supervision, you may want to introduce using a pocket knife.  We really like this small pocket knife for beginners because the blade locks in place, helping prevent accidents.  

Simple Soap Carving

To start your project, use the point you made on the the craft stick to draw a basic shape on one side of your bar of soap.  (Ivory soap works best.)

Then, using the edge of the craft stick, slowly begin shaving pieces of soap away from the shape you drew.   (You can try using the shavings in this Ivory soap experiment.)

As you get close to the shape you are aiming for, you can begin taking smaller shavings off and using the point of your craft stick to add details.

You can use this activity to teach basic knife skills.  Start by making sure your child only cuts away from themselves when using their craftstick knife.  If you have more than one child doing kids soap carving, make sure they leave plenty of space between them. 

Basic Soap Carving Tips

• A simple pattern is best.   We chose a fish as our first attempt. 
• The best soap for carving is Ivory soap.  It is soft, easy to carve, and doesn’t crumble like some soaps do.  
• There will be a lot of soap shavings when you are finished.  Work outside over a plastic table cloth to make clean up easier.  The shavings can still be used for hand washing if you place them inside a soap saver.

This soap carving for kids activity is perfect to do at camp or at home.  

You’ll also enjoy these kids activities for summer:

• Duct Tape Sit-Upon
• Duct Tape Water Bottle Holder
• Cooking with a Solar Oven 

Get more fun ideas like this delivered to your email by subscribing to our newsletter.

The post Camp Craft: Soap Carving first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

One of my favorite camping activities we did in Girl Scouts was learning to make and then cook on a buddy burner stove.  

I couldn’t wait to try the activity with my own kids.  Your kids will enjoy cooking outside as part of some fun backyard camp activities this summer. 

Whether you are looking for a camping activity to do with kids, or you are searching for a DIY emergency cooking stove, learning how to make a buddy burner and tin can stove can be a great family experience.

Your kids will also have fun learning how to mark a trail with sticks & rocks. 

Buddy Burner Stove

Materials Needed:

• corrugated cardboard (not printed with bright inks or coated)
• short, flat tuna can or pet food can
• candle wax, old crayons, or paraffin
• empty large metal coffee can (or other #10 can, like the large vegetable cans schools use)
• punch style bottle opener
• tin snips
• empty soup can (to melt wax in)

How to Make a Buddy Burner

Start by cutting your corrugated cardboard into long strips the same width as the height of your tuna can.  (We cut ours a bit too wide, causing it to stick out and our stove to get too hot.)  

Make sure to cut across the corrugation so the holes show on the sides.  Roll your cardboard tightly and fit it into the tuna can.

Next, melt your wax.  

You can use an old double boiler, or improvise by placing your wax in an empty soup can and then placing it in a pot of water on the stove.  (Be sure to use tongs to remove the soup can, as it will be hot!)  

Carefully pour the melted wax over the cardboard in your can.  Make sure the melted wax goes into corrugation holes.  

Fill the can at least 1/2 way with wax.  

Then let the wax harden.   

This may be the perfect time to do a few camping crafts with the kids to get them excited about camping.

Tin Can Camp Stove

A DIY tin can stove can be used for camping or as an emergency stove.

Use your can opener to make punch marks approximately 2 inches apart, all around the bottom of your #10 can.  

Next, use your snips to cut a rectangular opening at the top of the can.  You want the opening to be just big enough to slide your buddy burner through.

Buddy Burner Cooking

To cook with your buddy burner and tin can stove, simply light the buddy burner and slide your #10 can over it.  

You can cook directly on your large can, if you want, or you can use an empty tuna fish can or even a small skillet.  

If you choose to cook directly on the can top, spray it with a bit of cooking spray first to prevent food from sticking.

We made simple cheese quesadillas on ours by placing a tortilla on top, adding shredded cheese and folding the tortilla in half.  

Lightly brown each side, using a spatula to flip the quesadilla over half way through cooking.  

With a bit of salsa and sour cream on the side, they turned out pretty yummy.    

You can also use your camp stove to cook eggs (even egg in a basket), grilled cheese, pancakes, and more.

Caution: The can will get very hot.  Children should be supervised at all times.  Please consider the ages of your children.  I would not attempt this with kids under 8.

When you are finished cooking, do not try to blow the buddy burner out.  (The wind will make it flair up.)  

Using tongs or oven mitts, flip the #10 can upside down and use the flat end to smother the flame.  

You can re-use your buddy burner by adding more wax to it.  (In fact, you can add pieces of wax to it while it is still burning, making sure it is ready for the next time you plan to use it.)

Learning to make and cook on a buddy burner stove is a fun camping activity you can do with the kids in your own backyard.  

More camping activities you may like:

• How to Make a Duct Tape Sit-Upon
• Awesome Camp Crafts
• Let’s Go Camping with Kids: 40 Tips, Activities, Games & Recipes from Mom with a Lesson Plan

Originally published July 31, 2016.

The post Make Your Own Tin Can Stove Backyard Camping Activity first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Whether you’re camping in the backyard, or traveling to somewhere new, you can get the kids excited about camping with these fun camping crafts.  

Planning a staycation?  Check out these fun backyard day camp ideas as well. 

The tent and campfire crafts, as well as other crafts inspired by camping, would be fun to do before your family camping trip. 

Or, you could use them for scout camp crafts.  

Camping Crafts

Sit Upon —  A sit-upon is essential for always having a clean, dry seat when camping.  Make your own using colorful duct tape to use when sitting around the campfire, or for taking on long hikes.  

Gone Camping — Kids will love personalizing this paper tent craft with a picture of themselves.  

Glowing Campfire — Young kids will adore this campfire craft, which really lights up.  Put a few cottonballs on a stick, and they can pretend to roast marshmallows.  Too cute! 

Tin Can Lantern  —  Tweens will have fun learning how to make their very own lantern for camping.  Use with a battery tea light or small candle.

Craftstick Tent — This one is super simple and doesn’t take a lot of prep time.  It would make a cute magnet for the refrigerator to remind kids of all the fun they had camping. 

DIY Compass —  Part craft, part science, and 100 percent fun.  Kids will have fun making this oversized compass that really works.

Cupcake Liner Campfire — Red and orange cupcake liners become a cozy fire in this paper craft.

Bandage Lightning Bugs — Bandages aren’t just for boo-boos.  Discover how you can use them to create some cute lightning bugs.

Pretend S’mores — Everyone love s’mores.  This cute craft is perfect for pretend play.    Then use a solar oven to make smores you can eat!

American Girl Camp Fire —  Build a pretend camp fire that is perfect for using with dolls or stuffed animals.   

No-Sew Sleeping Bag for Doll — This adorable sleeping bag is perfect for an American Girl Doll or stuffed animal.  Perfect for using during pretend play and to take on camping trips.

Foil Printed Camp Fire — This is a fun camp fire craft for preschoolers.  

Camping Story Stones —  These decorated rocks would be fun to make to leave for others to find, or to use when telling stories about your trip.

Camping Coloring Pages — Print these out for kids to color as you drive to your destination.  Or, use them as part of a camp at home experience.  

Paper Plate Camping Craft — Little ones will have fun switching their camp scene from daytime to night with this paper plate craft.

Handprint Campfire — Are you going camping with the kids for the first time?  Make this cute toddler campfire craft as a keepsake.  

Recycled Camping Lantern — Recycle a plastic jar into an old-fashioned looking camping lantern.  

Cardboard Tube Binoculars — Inspire some creative play with this simple craft.

Craftstick S’mores — This is a simple and fun craft for little campers.  

Paper Sleeping Bag & Writing Prompts — Print out the sleeping bag craft to color and then open it to write memories of your camping experiences.  

Camping Necklaces — Tweens will have fun making their very own necklaces that show off their favorite part of the camping experience. 

Water Bottle Holder —  Create your own colorful water bottle holder to use on hiking trips and around the camp site.  

These camping crafts are perfect for summer.

You may also enjoy these posts:

• Fun Ways to Play with Water
• Pendulum Painting Outside Art
• Make Sun Prints
• How to Make Sand Foam

The post Fun Camping Crafts for Kids first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Having that much-needed water is important in the summer heat, but who wants to have to hold it in their hand all day?

One of our favorite camp crafts is this duct tape water bottle holder.   With this design even young kids can help decorate their own carrier they’ll be proud to use.  

Colorful duct tape crafts like this one are fun for all ages.  

Once you’ve made your own DIY drink carrier, try making this duct tape sit upon.  They’re both perfect for taking on hikes and using around the camp fire.  

DIY Water Bottle Holder

Materials Needed:

• Water Bottle 
• Cheap Drink Cozy 
• Colorful Duct Tape 
• Tape Measure (optional)

Start with your drink cozy.  You can usually find these at local dollar stores.

Slip your bottle into the cozy to help give it shape.   

You can use a reusable bottle, if you’d like.  If you use a disposable bottle, you may want to use it for this water bottle sun catcher when it’s empty.  

I have seen people make homemade drink holders with just duct tape, but using the cozy will help keep your water cold a bit longer.  Plus, it makes this craft super easy for kids to make their own water bottle holder.

Once your bottle is in the cozy, cover the cozy’s sides with duct tape.  

You don’t need to cover the bottom.  In fact, it is better not to.  This way any condensation from the water bottle will have a way to escape.

Simply take strips of duct tape to wrap around the cozy and cover the outer sides.

Of course, in order to make carrying that water easier, your drink holder needs a strap.

Measure how long you want your strap to be.  If you want to be able to carry it across your body diagonally you will want it a bit longer.

Cut off a piece of duct tape the length you need for your strap.  

You will fold this piece of duct tape in half length-wise.  This step is best done with a partner!  

One person can hold the end of the tape while the other carefully works to fold the tape a little at a time.

Once your strap is created you will attach it to the outside of your drink carrier. 

Position the ends of the strap so they are on opposite sides of your cozy.  Then use another strip of duct tape and circle the top portion of your drink holder, covering the ends of the strap.  

This personalized duct tape water bottle holder is perfect for taking on hikes, or for that trip to the amusement park.

You may also enjoy these posts: 

• How to Do Soap Carving
• Water Bottle Fish
• Cook S’mores in a DIY Solar Oven

Originally published on June 17, 2015.

The post How to Make a Colorful Duct Tape Water Bottle Holder first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.