Bottlecap Necklaces

I like to make these necklaces for myself and my kids for all kinds of things: holidays, their favorite cartoons, etc. My husband and I were trying to think of some way to keep my kids interested when we went to Yellowstone a couple weeks ago. We were trying to think of some badge we could give our kids when they spotted certain things in Yellowstone. So we found a list of 10 things we wanted them to try and spot or do while in Yellowstone.  For each thing they spotted or completed they would earn a necklace badge my husband and I made for them. It worked just as we hoped. Both my older girls were thoroughly searching while we drove and walked through the park and were super excited each time they earned a new badge necklace. They loved wearing their necklaces throughout the whole trip. It was a hit and we think we might do something similar on future trips. What is extra fun is that is becomes their trip souvenir too.

 

Supplies: (I got almost all my supplies on etsy.com or from craft stores or Wal-mart)

-Diamond Glaze

-Craft glue (I used super glue because I was in a rush and didn't have any more craft glue. I wouldn't recommend super glue. It worked, but not as well as craft glue)

-Small hammer (mine is a craft hammer)

-Nail setter

-Something to nail on (I just have a chunk of wood. I always just use this same one.)

-Jump rings

-Jump ring splitter

-Clips (I think I bought these at the dollar store and they are PERFECT)

-1" circle paper punch

-Bottlecaps (I used the flattened version)

-Necklace chain

-Tweezers

-Toothpick

-Pictures for necklaces (I just googled images and photoshopped them into 1" circles and then printed them at Costco. I tried to use my own printer for the pictures once and the colors bled.)

  

I store almost all my supplies in this fishing tackle box and it is great to just be able to pull it out ready to go when I come up with a new necklace idea to make. 

I use a template like this in photoshop to get my pictures the correct size for bottlecap necklaces.

 

 Here are the pictures we used. I put all the pictures on one 4x6 page in photoshop which saves me money on printing.

 The bottlecaps I bought have that little rubber sealing piece inside that I have to pick out with tweezers

 

I then take my nail setter on the concave side of the bottle cap 

 and I use my hammer to puncture through the bottle cap to make a small hole.

 I then use my jump ring splitter to separate the jump ring (it is too little that it would be very hard to open using your fingers)

 Put the jump ring through the hole on the bottle cap

 Punch out the desired picture with your 1" paper cutter

 I then like to use just a touch of craft glue to glue down my picture so that it doesn't move around in later steps. I used this super glue, but it wasn't as good as real craft glue.

 I use my claps to hold the picture in place with the glue

 I then start at the edge of the picture with the diamond glaze and work my way around in a circular motion until I get to the center of the picture and the whole picture is covered with diamond glaze.  You want to try your best to not have any bubbles. The glaze will thin as it dries, so I usually have a pretty good layer of diamond glaze.

 It will look milky like this after the diamond glaze is on and before it has dried.

 It takes a good 24+ hours to dry. I usually babysit them for the first couple hours because sometimes as they dry they can form air bubbles that I like to pop with a toothpick carefully. I just check back every 15-20 minutes for the first 2 hours or so.

 Once it is dry I put it on my necklace chain.

 Here is my cute girl searching desperately for a fish in a river in Yellowstone. She was so focused to try to earn her necklace badge for seeing a fish. :) Cute.

Here they are with almost all of their badges. I am so glad we did this, it really added something to the trip.

Nature I-Spy Bags

I have to admit, I am proud of this one because I thought of it all by myself! Normally I find ideas elsewhere and tweak them, but this came straight from my brain. I'm guessing I am really not the first to think of it though. What I love about the idea of making a nature I-spy bag is that it requires spending time in the outdoors! We were going to this when we went camping earlier in the summer, but the kids were too engaged in other activities.

First, find yourself a nice place in nature. It could be a park, beside a lake in the mountains, along the beach, or even your own backyard. Let the kids just spend time exploring for awhile.

My kids love collecting things when we go out on walks, so asking them to find "nature stuff" for the I-spy bag was not a chore at all.

We gathered some mini pine cones, sticks, pieces of bark, pine needles, and later some acorns and feathers. It is fun to have a variety of items.

Once we got home (or you can bring the supplies with you) you can assemble your bags. I had bought a way too big bag of bird seed for another project and I thought it would be the perfect base for the I-spy bag. Just fill up a ziploc type sandwich bag about 1/2 to 2/3 full of seeds. If you don't have seeds, rice works too or you could use oatmeal, couscous, popcorn kernels or even sand. One thing I like about the bird seed is that the various textures makes it just a little bit harder to find the items in the bag, creating a bigger challenge for the kids.

Fill the bag up with the found nature goodies.

So easy to see them now!

Seal the plastic bag and then put it inside of another one, just in case there are any spills.

 

Now it's time to get spying!

Camping: Name Signs

I saw this idea along with some other fun camping ideas in the October 2009 Family Fun Magazine. Although camping is on our list of 100 things to do this summer, we went for Memorial weekend, which we do every year. My hope in putting it on the list would be to "force" us to go again during the summer. So, number 18 has not been accomplished yet. 

 As I packed our camping supplies I filled a bag full of supplies for projects and activities, making sure that I had some cardboard (from cereal boxes), glue, yarn and scissors. Knowing that nature would likely be enough fun on its own, I didn't expect to get to too many of them and I was right. As soon as we set up camp though, this project was immediately started.

 We went around gathering "tidbits" of nature - sticks, leaves, small rocks, dried grass, and various other things that I don't know what to call (like the different "stuff" that drops from trees).

I helped the boys write their "name" on their sign with the glue. They both chose a nickname over their real name. Those nicknames (Bug & Bear) happen to fit well with camping. 

One thing I found with the leaves it that it was fun to both put the whole leaf on, but to also crush them up and sprinkle them on.

We waited for them to dry before we could hang them and then put yarn in through some holes at the top of the cardboard (I did this before we left, but you can also use the scissors.)

The signs really were something the boys were proud of and wanted to show off (and keep somehow once we got home!)

Disney FamilyFun (1-year auto-renewal)

 Kids Camp!: Activities for the Backyard or Wilderness (A Kid's Guide series)

The Kids Campfire Book: Official Book of Campfire Fun (Family Fun)

Summer Hikes Collector Kit

Maybe calling it a kit might pushing it, but my boys loved having these little books for their treasures they found hiking.
We also brought along a jar for bugs and a cheap-o magnifying glass for close inspection.
These books can be super fancy or basic like this one. I just used 4 Ziploc bags and taped them inside some construction paper.
Each page got a sticky label with the name and a drawing of the item to be collected on it.
That's about it. It's a nice way to keep the sticks, rocks, leaves, etc. that your child collects on a walk all in one place and not filling everyone's hands.