Do you need more creative things to do with your children so they aren't bored all the time? Here are some easy and fun art projects that will keep your kids occupied and having a great time.

Make jewelry out of food. String some painted Cheerios or some hollow pasta onto yarn or string and you instantly have a beautiful bracelet or necklace.

Straw Painting. You'll need some paint, paper and a straw. Place some blobs of paint on the paper and let your kids blow the paint around with their straw. They only control the paint with the straw. Make sure you make them take a break every once in awhile as you do not want them to get dizzy.

Prince or princess for a day. Let your child decorate a strip of construction paper or cardboard with markers, glitter and stickers. Tape the two ends of the strip of paper to fit around your child's head so that it looks like a crown.

Homemade collage placemat. You will need construction paper or cardstock, glue, contact paper, stickers, magazines, and markers. Have your child write their name with markers at the top of the paper. Next, let them look through all the different pictures in the magazines and the different stickers that you have. Have them pick out some of their favorite things such as a basketball, a dog, or anything else that they want. Have them glue the pictures to the paper in any way that they choose. They can choose to decorate the paper more with stickers and markers. Next, when everything is dry cover the entire placemat with the contact paper and your child has their own personal placemat.

Splatter painting. Take an old bed sheet outside and let your child splatter some washable paint on the sheet with a paint brush.

Design a t-shirt. Take a plain t-shirt and have your child decorate it any way they like. You can use fabric markers or bubble paint for clothes. You can have them trace their hands or just draw their favorite object. You can have them decorate the shirt for themselves or as a gift to grandma or grandpa.

Rock Painting. Gather some rocks around your yard or from the park that are all different shapes and sizes. Have your child decorate the rocks with acrylic paint and glitter. They now can have their own pet rocks.

Make your own goo. Mix some cornstarch with some water until your child likes the consistency an then add some food coloring in.

Paper Mache. To make paper mache paste you will need 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 2 cups cold water, 2 cups boiling water, and 3 tbsp sugar. Mix the flour and cold water together in a bowl. Add the flour mixture to the boiling water and allow it to come back to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. As it cools it will thicken. You will also need to tear narrow strips of newspaper. Dip the strips into the paste, coating completely, and run your finger down thru strip to get rid of excess. Apply the strip to your object, overlapping strips as you go. You may need more than one layer of paper. After the paper has dried, the object can be painted any which way your kid desires. You can paper mache a lot of different objects. You can paper mache a balloon to make a person's head, a box to make a house, or a pinata to fill with candy.

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