We're constantly looking for enjoyable activities to do with kids as parents, especially on weekends and during summer vacation. Summer camps are always a great idea but can get expensive after a couple weeks or if you have more than one child! While we enjoy taking the kids out for activities around town or encouraging them to play outside, the weather doesn't always cooperate, putting a damper on our well-planned activities - but lucky for parents everywhere, that's where crafts come in!
1. Let’s get starry!
This activity is filled with sensory stimulation, cutting, and pasting. Please remember to supervise any activities with scissors, especially with little tikes.
You’ll need:
- One pack of BunMo’s new Poppin Pipes Pokies – they come in a pack of 30, which is perfect for any crafting! This activity is scalable, so you can decide how many Pokies are used, and how many stars are created.
- Crafting scissors
- Glue or paste
- Glitter
- Colored Cardboard
- Optional: Colorful pipe cleaners
To begin, have your children build stars with the Pokies. Let them extend, connect, and bend around two or three Pokies into a five-point star. Once they have created your set number of stars, grab a sharpie and the colored cardboard of your choice and use the Pokie Stars as an outline. Draw the Pokie Stars, and using the scissors, cut them out.
Now you should have some cardboard stars and some Pokie Stars.
Let’s decorate! Let your children’s imagination run wild! Add glitter to the Pokies and the cardboard or give your stars a bit of a shine with some colored pipe cleaners pierced through the edges of the cardboard outline! Once you’re done with decorating both sides, use some strong glue and stick the Pokies to the cardboard stars. Once dried, make a hole in the top of the star and run some twine through it.
And there you have it! Some great stars to hang from your kid’s windows or even the Christmas tree!
2. Snake painting
This one can get a bit messy, so ensure you take the necessary precautions to protect furniture and surroundings.
You’ll need:
- BunMo’s Poppin’ Pipes Pokies
- Different color paints (Tempera Paint is best. Otherwise, acrylic also works)
- Large blank papers or canvas
- Plastic containers or bowls
- Drawing aids
- Optional: Different sizes of BunMo’s best-selling Poppin Pipes: Original or Mini.
Start by prepping your table with the Pokies, papers, and paints. Please ensure that your furniture and surroundings are protected against any spills or paint splashes that may occur.
Add different color paints to various plastic bowls. Take a single Pokie and dip it vertically in a color paint of your choosing. Place it on the canvas and slowly stretch and maneuver it around to create worm (or snake-like) figures. Pulling the Pokie out fast creates a lovely splatter effect on the canvas.
Repeat as many times as you like. To finish the painting, wait for the paint to dry, and once dry, add some outlines or other drawings to the painting.
3. Cloud dragons
These little creations can be anything from a colorful worm to a snake or even a dragon!
You’ll need:
- BunMo Poppin Pipes Pokies
- Cotton Balls
- Colorful pipe cleaners
- Small triangle cardboard cutouts (+- 2 – 3 cm)
- Small cutouts in the shape of dragon paws.
- Sharpie or stick-on googly eyes.
- Optional: Paper snake tongue cut-out
- Optional: Glitter
First, ensure your creative space is thoroughly protected from any glue spills or glitter mishaps. Lay out your craft materials on your workspace and begin by stretching out your Pokie (you can add multiple Pokies) to the desired length.
This will become the body of your dragon or worm. Start by decorating the body with the small triangle cutouts, glitter, or anything you want your dragon to have – make it super unique! Glue the legs on the body and a cotton ball on the front of the Pokie; this is the head.
Take a few pipe cleaners and twirl them together. Stick them in the back, open end of the Pokie, and add some glue to secure them. Add some eyes (or stick your googly eyes) on the cotton ball using a Sharpie. This is also the perfect point to add your tongue if you opt for one.
That’s it; now you have a Pokie Cloud Dragon!
Pokie-pokie phone!
Imagination is a child’s greatest asset. Helping them create this wonderful new take on string phones can bring them hours of imaginative fun!
You’ll need:
- BunMo’s Poppin Pipe’s Pokies.
- Paper cups
- Glue
- Optional: Decorations for the cups
To start, connect and stretch out as many Pokies as desired. Secure the connection with a little bit of glue.
Using a scissor, cut a Pokie-sized hole in the paper cups, and put the end of your Pokie-tube through the hole.
Secure with some glue and repeat the process on the other end. Decorate your Pokie Phone with anything you see fit, and, when the glue has dried, place the cup to your mouth and see if the other person on the other side of the phone hears you!
5. Pokie the Hedgehog
You can show off your love for hedgehogs this summer with BunMo’s Poppin Pipes Pokies.
You’ll Need:
- BunMo Poppin Pipes Pokies
- Medium to large-sized Styrofoam ball
- Small-sized Styrofoam ball
- Two wine bottle corks
- Cotton balls
- Googly eyes or a Sharpie
- Small cardboard cutout resembling ears.
- Red Paint.
Take your medium (or large) Styrofoam ball and gently press the Pokies on the top of the Styrofoam ball and stretch or twirl to the desired length. Add as many pokies as you want since we are making a hedgehog.
Once done with adding the Pokies, take the smaller Styrofoam ball and glue it to the front of your hedgehog. Give your hedgehog some fur by gluing the cotton balls to the body between the Pokies. You can tear and fluff up one cotton ball to create a little bit of fur on the face. Using the Sharpie, draw a ‘3’ shape around the fur you’ve added to the face, and finish up with gluing the googly eyes or drawing some eyes on. You can also add a red dot with some paint for a nose!
Finally, take your wine cork and carefully cut four rounds from it. Glue to the bottom of your hedgehog's body; now it has feet!
Poppin Pipes Pokies are the perfect way to go, whether you're looking for a new indoor activity to keep the kids busy or excited about your rainy weekend, Poppin Pipes Pokies are the perfect way to go! With so many possibilities for creativity and endless hours of enjoyment, we hope you'll give them a try. What's your favorite indoor craft using Poppin Pipes Pokies?