Rainy Day Crafts: Keep Them Handy

Rainy day crafts are a fun way to entertain your family when you cannot go outside due to rain (or snow or excessive heat).  The best and easiest crafts are the ones such as play dough, bubbles, finger paint, and peanut butter bird feeders that can be made using every day supplies found in your kitchen.  The best part of these particular crafts is that once you have actually completed the craft, you get to "play" with your craft.

Play dough is a fun craft for all ages.  You can make a variety of colors and it lasts for a long time.  To make play dough you need the following supplies:  2 cups flour, 4 teaspoons cream of tartar, 1 cup salt, 1 ½ - 2 cups boiling water, 3 – 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, and food coloring.  To make the dough, add oil and food coloring to boiling water.  Combine remaining ingredients and mix well.  Turn out dough and knead it.  The more you knead the dough, the smoother it will get.  Store the dough in a container that is airtight.

Another rainy day craft that is fun and easy to do is to make bubbles.  Bubbles are inexpensive to buy, but are so fun to make that you may choose to make your bubbles from now on.  To make bubbles you will need 1 cup of water, 1/3 cup dish soap, and 2 tablespoons light corn syrup.  Combine all the ingredients and enjoy.  Use your imagination to discover new bubble wands.  Some items you may want to try are a flyswatter, a potato masher, a slotted spoon, a piece of string tied like a lasso, and the mesh bags that fruit comes in.

Who doesn't just love finger paint?  If the only time you were allowed to make and use finger paint is when it rains, don’t you think you would wish for it to rain more often?  The supplies you would need to make finger paint are ¼ cup cornstarch, 2 cups water, food coloring, and jars or other storage container.  Mix the first two ingredients together in a sauce pan and bring to a boil until mixture thickens.  Allow mixture to cool and pour into containers and add food coloring.  This mixture works best on glossy paper.

What about a rainy day craft that you can enjoy when the weather clears?  A peanut butter bird feeder is not only fun, but is also helpful by providing a feeding station for hungry birds.  The supplies you will need are large pinecones, peanut butter (chunky, not creamy), shortening, cornmeal, and fishing line, string, or yarn.  To make the bird feeder, you will need to mix the peanut butter, cornmeal, and shortening (bacon fat works too).  Spread mixture on pinecone and hang in a tree using the fishing line, string, or yarn.  Shortening and cornmeal are added to peanut butter to assist the birds with digestion. A rainy day used to be something to be feared, but not anymore with your arsenal of rainy day crafts.