I got bored the other day and took a trip to the library–without the kids. I found this little gem, the “Craft-a-day-book” by Sarah Goldschadt.

Check it out here.

If you can’t find it at your library, but you want to check out Sarah’s crafts before deciding to get the book yourself, she has a app for just two bucks with a fair sampling of crafts.

The book is pretty fun for mom who aren’t so crafty. It’s full of simple patterns you can trace from the book and turn into puppets, cake decorations, greeting cards and other things. Sarah shows you how to work with paper, felt and paint. You’ll be crafting in no time!

I let my five-year-old flip through the book and pick out a pattern. Being the master craftsman that he is, he didn’t want to trace the book’s patterns. Instead we used the spring book as a spring board to crafting.

We took an idea for a simple butterfly on a straw (why on a straw, I have no idea) and jammed pipe cleaners in the top for antenna. Later he took the idea for a thought bubble you’d stick to photos and mounted that on a toothpick–with a greeting from the butterfly. Then we took an idea for a 3-D egg and made a 3-D apple for the butterfly to eat. (Yeah, I know. They don’t eat apples. Go figure.) Later Mitch copied the rainbow from the book and I caught him in the living room singing (as the butterfly) to the rainbow on a stick.

I love five-year-olds.

Butterfly Puppet Directions, with Mitch mods:

• Fold paper in half, cut out butterfly. While still folded, cut 2 slits in the center to allow a straw to slide through.
• Decorate butterfly with marker/crayon.
• Insert straw through slits. Tape in place if needed.
• Cut a small length of pipe cleaner (fuzzy stick). Fold in half, insert into straw top.
• Optional: Color straw with black Sharpie to look like butterfly body.
• Flap, fly and repeat.

Makes a nice puppet. When you’re tired of  playing with it, can also be used as a plant stick or decoration for silk flower arrangement. Girls might want to use it as a fairy wand. (Hey, my boy plays with butterflies and rainbows, but we draw the line at fairies.)

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