Although the rainy season is a favorite of many a people since they bring the much needed respite from heat, it is also the time when we are forced to keep inside our homes most often, especially at times of heavy showers. This is the time we dread the most, but through careful utilization of our creativity, we can practically make these days some of the most interesting days of the season.
The best way to lighten up these gloomy days is through interesting paper crafts like:
1. Rainy Day Umbrella: Cover a large area of the floor with newspaper and then open an umbrella over it. Decorate each section of the umbrella with different colored fabric paints and/or pens. When finished, let the umbrella dry for at least one day before you can close it.
2. Ducky Umbrella Basket: This is a fun way to keep your dripping umbrellas from soaking everything wet indoors. Place one of the baskets on the foam sheet and trace around the bottom of the basket. Then draw duck feet extending from the front of the circle and cut the shape in one piece. For attaching the feet to the basket, use pushpin to make a hole through the centre of each evenly placed square and foam. Centre the feet and make corresponding marks on the bottom of the basket through the pinholes and then insert a paper fastener through the holes and spread open the prongs on the inside. Finally, place some weights in the basket and slide the other water collecting basket.
3. Rain Painting: This is a very easy craft. All you need to do is to sprinkle some food coloring on a paper plate and then getting into your rain gear walk outdoors with the plate for about a minute. You will notice artistic designs appear on the plate. For more artistic batik effect, draw a white crayon design on a new plate and then adding some food coloring onto it head out into the rain.
4. Stenciled Spring Umbrella: Spread out the umbrella on a newspaper and cut out artificial flower petals laying them on the topmost umbrella panel. Then hold the spray bottle at least 5 inches from the umbrella and spray around the shapes. Remove the shapes and continue the process until you have sprayed all around the umbrella in the same way. Wait for the paint to dry before you can take it out in the rain.
5. Toy Canoe: Fold a 6*12 inch cardboard in half so that the long ends match up. Using the fold for the bottom of the boat, draw a side view of a canoe. Cut through both the layers along the sides and top of the canoe using scissors and then needle and string to sew the curved ends. For seats cut a couple of cardboard strips and wedge them inside the boat. Paint the canoe and let it dry. To make your canoe waterproof, dip it into molten wax, an end at a time and when the wax hardens, place a few pebbles in the hull to prevent it from tipping.
