Difficulty Level: Easy

Time: 10 minutes
Concoct magical paint, create a masterpiece and then see it puff up in the microwave.

Materials:
Bowl
Spoon
Flour
Water
Food coloring
Paintbrush (or fingers)
Card stock or construction paper
Microwave

1. In a bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of water.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring and mix until the paint is a thick texture.
3.  Using a paintbrush or fingers, paint a design on construction paper. Make sure the paper will fit inside a microwave.
4. Pop painting into the microwave for 30 seconds. 5. Voila! Watch your painting puff up.

Rebecca Kanthor has been living in China since 2002. She invites all who love knitting and crocheting, or those who want to learn, to join the Beijing Yarn Appreciation Club. E-mail rotogobo@gmail.com for more information.

Making your own paper is a fun way to recycle all of that scrap paper  lying around the house. Thick, homemade paper is perfect for birthday or Christmas cards and is a great way to spend a cold winter’s day with the kids.

Materials:
Screen
Embroidery hoop
Newspaper
Tissue or crepe paper
Used paper
Water
Blender
Plastic basin
Towels
Felt or sponge
Rolling pin

Difficulty Level: Intermediate. Requires parental guidance for making the frame and using the blender.

Time: One hour to make, a few hours to dry.

Directions 1. Prepare the frame. Fasten a piece of windowscreen in an embroidery hoop (this step may require adult assistance). Be careful of the screen, it can prick your fingers. If you have an old photo frame you could also make a frame by nailing the screen onto the back of the frame.
2. Prepare the paper materials. Shred the paper, tissue and newspaper with your hands. Be sure to separate the paper by color from light to dark.
3. Begin creating the slurry by putting the shredded paper into the blender with a few cups of water and blend until smooth. Start with the lighter colors of paper before moving onto darker colors.
4. Pour the mixture into the basin. If the slurry is too thick, add more water.

5. Slide the frame into basin and pull up, capturing slurry evenly on top of the screen. Let excess water drain off.

6. Overturn onto felt or newspaper, with towels and newspapers underneath to catch the drainage.

7. Use a sponge or piece of felt to absorb water from the screen, and then slowly and gently lift up the screen to reveal the paper below.

8.  If the paper is too thin or is missing pieces, repeat steps 4 to 6, laying the new layer directly on top of the first to make a stronger piece of paper.

9. Using a rolling pin, press out any extra moisture, then uncover.

10. Leave the piece of paper on the towel or felt in the sun or in a dry place for several hours. If the paper curls up as it dries, flatten it under a heavy book.

Materials:
Newspaper
Scissors
Scotch tape
Plain heavy stock paper
Heavy black paper
Exacto knife
Glue
Chopstick
Colored scrubbers
Double-sided tape

Difficulty Level:
Intermediate
(Adult supervision is recommended when using the Exacto knife)

Time: 30 minutes

Directions:
1. On a piece of folded newspaper, sketch half of the mustache design you plan to make.
2. Cut out the mustache.
3. Tape to a piece of heavy stock paper.
4. Cut out the shape from the stock paper.
5. Using your template, trace your mustache on a piece of heavy black paper.
6. Cut out the mustache with the Exacto knife.
7. Glue the chopstick to the side of the mustache.
8. Optional: For longer-lasting mustaches, you can use tape to cover the mustache and give it a glossy look.

Scrubby Mustache:
1. Using your template, trace your mustache on a scrubby.
2. Cut out the mustache.
3. Put pieces of double-sided tape on the back of the mustache and stick it on your face.

Crafting your own Chinese chop

Whether it’s a birthday card or their latest crayon creation, all young artists should have their own distinctive seal, or chop, to make their mark. Instead of signing your name, stamp your own chop to give your works their own special look. Traditionally, Chinese chops were carved from stone with chisels, but pens and styrofoam are a lot easier for young hands.

Materials:
Ball point pen or pencil
Styrofoam (try a take-out container)
Scissors
Glue
Wine cork
Stamp pad
Paper

Difficulty Level: Easy
Time: 15 minutes
Ages: 3-10

1. Using a pen or pencil, draw a simple symbol or letter on a piece of styrofoam. Pressing down with the pen will make an impression in the styrofoam. The indentation doesn’t need to be very deep; thick lines will make a better print. Remember that whatever you draw will print out backwards.

2. Cut a circle around your design in the styrofoam.

3. Glue the cut-out stamp onto one end of a wine cork.

4. Press the stamp onto a stamp pad to pick up color and then press your stamp onto paper.

Rebecca Kanthor has been living in China since 2002. She invites all who love knitting and crocheting, or those who want to learn, to join the Beijing Yarn Appreciation Club. E-mail rotogobo@gmail.com for more information.

Materials:
1 cup sugar
Pot
1lt cold water
6 lemons
Knife
Measuring cup
Ice cubes
Pitcher
Wooden spoon
Sprig of mint and slice of lemon for garnish.

1. Pour one cup of sugar into a pot and cover with one cup of water.

2. Bring the sugar and water mixture to a simmering boil on the stove.

3. Roll the lemons on the countertop to make it easier to juice. Then, slice them in half and deseed them.

4. Squeeze the lemons and scoop out any stray seeds. Continue until you have one cup of lemon juice.

5. Put the ice cubes, lemon juice and sugar syrup into a pitcher. Fill up the pitcher with cold water and stir with spoon. Serve with a sprig of mint and a slice of lemon slice.

Time:
Half hour to make, with additional time to dry

Difficulty: Intermediate

Materials:
• White eggs
• White vinegar
• Awl (available at local hardware/supply shops); a needle or nail will work as well
• Small bowl
• String
• Homemade dyes (see below)
• Empty glass containers, one for each egg
• Large metal spoon
• Skewers
• Ribbon
• Optional: Alum (明矾) to make colors brighter – available at local vegetable markets

For Dyes:
• Deep yellow: Turmeric powder<
• Yellow/orange: Onion skins
• Red/brown: Red onion skins or beets
• Brown: Tea bags or coffee grounds
• Blue: Red cabbage
(Note: Other colors can be obtained by dyeing eggs first in one color and then in another.)

1. After washing eggs in warm water and soap, then disinfecting with vinegar, blow out the egg yolks. Start by poking a small hole in one end of the egg and a slightly larger hole in the other with an awl. Place the small bowl under your egg and gently blow through the smaller hole until the yolk comes out through the other end.
2. Though optional, you can wrap your eggshells with string to create a batik effect on the eggs.	3. Prepare your dyes by boiling dye material in water. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then pour into glass containers. Add a teaspoon of vinegar to make dyes lighter; adding alum will make colors brighter.
4. Place each eggshell in a container. Because the hollow eggshells will float, use a piece of skewer or a toothpick to pin your eggs down so that they are completely submerged in the dye. Let your eggshells sit overnight.
5. Using a spoon, lift each egg out of its container.  Remove the string (if necessary) and dry the eggshells on skewers. You can re-dye your eggs in the same color to create a deeper hue, or use another colored dye to create different colors.	6. Once the eggs are completely dry, string each eggshell on a ribbon and hang, or arrange in a bowl or basket. Rub your dried eggshells with vegetable oil (optional) for a shiny effect.

Materials:
Long length of construction or craft paper
Scissors
Pen
Markers, glitter and stickers to decorate

Difficulty Level: Easy
Time: 15 minutes

1. Fold up the long length of paper accordion-style.

2. Trace the shape of a gingerbread man on the top fold. Make sure that the hands and feet of the gingerbread man are at the edges of the folds.

3. Cut along the lines, making sure that you don’t cut through the arms and legs.

4. Unravel your paper chain.

5. Decorate however you like!
 

Materials:
Scrap paper
Felt or heavy fabric
Scissors
Embroidery needle
Embroidery thread
Cotton balls
Pen or pencil
Ribbon
 
Difficulty level: Advanced (requires parental assistance for sewing)
Time: 30 minutes
 

1 Sketch your design on paper; simple shapes like stars and birds are best. Place your design on two pieces of felt and use it as a guide to cut out your shape.

2 Using blanket stitch and starting from between the two pieces of felt to hide the tail of the thread, stitch the two pieces together, leaving one edge unstitched. Search "blanket stitch" on cutoutandkeep.com for a step-by-step guide.

3 When you have one edge left, tear apart the cotton balls and use the pen to stuff them into the cavity. When you’ve stuffed it as full as you can, pick up your needle and finish stitching up the ornament.

4 Sew a loop onto the ornament and attach a length of ribbon.

5 Tie the ribbon into a loop and it’s ready to hang.

Materials:
Measuring tape
Newspaper
Pencil
Scissors
Fabric
Pins
Needle
Thread
Rice or corn kernels
Heavier fabric or felt for tongue
Two buttons for eyes

Directions:
1. Measure the length of the doorway you want to block from the wind. Fold a newspaper in half the long way and trace half the snake the length you need and about 5 cm wide (2 inches).
2. Cut around the traced newspaper snake.
3. Keep the template folded. Place your
newspaper cut-out over a piece of fabric that has been folded in half the long way. Pin down the newspaper.
4. Cut the fabric along the newspaper
template.
5. Unfold the fabric and refold the opposite way, so that the inside of the fabric faces each other (inside out). Sew along the snake until you reach the last few inches of the head (you can ask your local tailor to help you with this part to save time).
6. Pull the fabric inside out so that the right sides now face outward.

7. Fill the snake with rice or corn kernels until it is full.
8. Cut out the shape of a snake’s tongue from the felt or heavier
fabric. Place the tongue inside the opening and sew up the opening with the snake’s tongue in place.
9. Sew on two eyes.