If you've read some of my other posts you know that I'm big on using recycled materials to make crafts. So now that it's officially summer I wanted to come up with something
Now you don't need too many things to do this craft. For the background you can use just some normal construction paper but I used some recycled cardboard from a pizza box (yes my family doesn't eat healthy all of the time). Using the thicker cardboard worked very well for us because it held the glued sticks without being too flimsy.
Whenever we get the chance I love to include natural elements in our crafts too. So we also went outside and found some thin sticks in the backyard to use for the project. If you can't find sticks though you can also use popsicle sticks for the logs in the picture.
Now for the paints we used some non-toxic finger paints in yellow, orange, red, white and black. Throw a junkie t-shirt on your kiddo and let them get a little messy. Using their hands and fingers let them paint the fire. Start with red for the base and then add some orange. Finish it off by adding some yellow areas on top to create a fire.
Once the base of the fire is done paint some black coals at the bottom. Using their hands again let your child make fingerprints all along the bottom of the bonfire.
Now it's time for mom or dad to step in and use a hot glue gun. Take the sticks from outside or popsicle sticks and glue them to the bottom for the logs. I love the 3D effect this gives the overall project instead of just painting sticking on.
After that part is done it's time to add just a little bit more paint for the final touch. Using white paint and a small paintbrush (you could use Q-tips if you don't have a paintbrush) dot some white specs on top of the fire and wood.
Then voila! You have a super cute summer project your kiddo can enjoy. Not only is it getting them involved with art and creating something but it also teaches them about using some recycled materials in the process. My daughter has this project in her room right now and she pretends she is camping. She likes to imagine she's roasting marshmallows over the fire and it's super cute.
Do you and your family usually go camping during the summer or do you just enjoy bonfires? Leave a comment below and don't forget to subscribe for more kid-friendly crafts!
View full disclaimer here