Pet Projects
by Leslie Frederick
When it comes to gifts for your grandchild's four-legged friends, it's time to get crafty
Pets can be wholeheartedly important in the life of a child. While working on these projects, talk about why you enjoy sharing your home with your feathered or furry pal.
Keep in mind that if your grandchild’s pet is not of the canine or feline variety, creative adaptation of the crafts will be necessary.
Before you begin, practice stamping with your grandchild. Show him or her how to stamp straight down, press with proper force, and then pull the stamp straight up to get the clearest image.
For Toddlers and Preschoolers:
PET DINING MAT
This stamped mat is an easy project to accomplish and will have long-lasting use. Whether your grandchild has a dog, cat, or even a goldfish, mats can be handy in protecting floors and furnishings.
Materials:
- White poster board, 14” x 22”
- Foam stamps in animal shapes. Look for stamps of your particular type of pet.
- Clear contact paper
- Acrylic paint, your choice of color
- Makeup wedges
- Foam or coated paper plate
Instructions:
- Squeeze a quarter-size circle of paint onto the plate.
- Brush the paint onto the stamp using a makeup wedge.
- Stamp the image down onto the poster board. Lift the stamp straight up to avoid smearing.
- Stamp the rest of the images around the edges of the mat, as shown.
- Paint your pet's name in the center of mat using a makeup wedge.
- Brush the paint around the edges of the mat.
- When the paint is dry, cover the mat with the clear contact paper to protect it.
For Grade-Schoolers:
PET-JOB REFRIGERATOR CHART
Keeping track of Fido can be less of a chore and more of a fun task with this easy-to-create chart.
Materials:
- Yellow card stock, 12” x 12”
- Blue card stock, 8 ½” x 11”
- Foam stamps in animal shapes. Look for stamps of your particular type of pet as well as other images for this project.
- Black marker
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Safety scissors
- Clear contact paper
- Small extra-strong magnets, four for the back of the chart and four additional magnets for each pet that will be listed on the chart
- Adhesive
- Acrylic paint, your choice of colors
- Makeup wedges
- Foam or coated paper plates
Instructions:
- Using a pencil and a ruler, measure 2.5” from one side edge of the yellow card stock. Mark this measurement the length of the cardstock and
- Draw a light vertical line with the pencil.
- Do the same at 5”, 7.5”, and 10”.
- Once the vertical lines are drawn, create a set of horizontal lines using the same measurements, 2.5”, 5”, 7.5”, and 10”.
- The completed grid will have 20 boxes. The 2” margin will serve as the header.
- In the header, pencil in Food, Water, Clean-up, Exercise, as shown.
- Go over lines and words with black marker.
- Squeeze a quarter-size circle of each color of paint onto separate plates.
- Using one color paint and a makeup wedge, brush the paint onto a stamp of your type of pet and stamp onto the first box, as shown.
- Using a second color paint, stamp the image of your second pet in the second box, as shown.
- If you have a larger menagerie, keep going. There's room for four pets on this grid.
- Using another color of paint, stamp different animal images onto the blue card stock (we used a mouse). Stamp four of these exact same images.
- Stamp four fire hydrants, or whatever other stamps you've acquired, onto the blue card stock.
- When the stamped images on the blue card stock are dry, cover the entire section of images with the clear contact paper.
- Cut them out individually.
- Cover the yellow card stock with clear contact paper.
- With the adhesive, add magnets to each corner of the back of the yellow card stock.
- Adhere magnets to the back of the small laminated images.
- The chart is now ready to be mounted to the refrigerator.
For Older Grandchildren:
TREAT-TIME JAR
Older kids can use stencils rather than stamps to create this colorful jar. The optional tag and ribbon are the perfect accent.
Materials:
- Clear glass or plastic treat jar, look for one with flat sides for easier stenciling
- Stencil letters
- Stencils in animal shapes, letters, and other images of your choice
- Tape
- Scissors
- Toothpick
- Spray matte sealer
- Acrylic paint
- Makeup wedges
- Foam or coated paper plate
- Card stock, color of your choice
- Ribbon
- Small letter stickers
- Circle punch
- Hole punch
Instructions:
- Wash the jar and allow to dry.
- Tape a stencil onto the jar.
- Squeeze a dime-size circle of acrylic paint onto a plate.
- Brush the paint onto the stamp using a makeup wedge. Tap off any excess paint.
- Apply the paint to the cutout openings in stencil, being careful not to let any excess paint slip under the stencil edges.
- Leave the stencil in place for a few minutes to allow the paint to set.
- Continue to stencil images and letters on each side of the jar, as shown. Allow the paint to dry on each side before moving onto the next side.
- Clean up any unwanted paint using a toothpick.
- Seal the jar with matte sealer and allow it to dry.
- Cut out a circle of card stock to create a tag.
- Add sticker letters for the pet’s name.
- Punch a hole through the top of the tag and thread a ribbon through it. Tie the ribbon onto the jar.
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