Crafting is a great way to keep children entertained through the long days spent at home and most adults get very involved too!  You’ll find plenty of art and crafts ideas out there but, just as you get excited to make a start, you realise you don’t have everything at hand needed to make them.

In simpler times, we’d pop to the shop or head online to find the extra bits and bobs but what do we do now popping to the shop is no longer an option? Simple!  Make Do & Mend Crafting!

Our recycling holds the key to a whole new world of crafting.  With toilet roll inners, empty milk bottles and cereal boxes you have an abundance of crafting materials at your fingertips. It’s all about reusing or repurposing things at home without the need to buy any additional materials.

We'll think you'll agree that these little gems of inspiration look anything but dull! 

Like so many others around the world, kids seem to be obsessed with animals! They're in great company, as our love for animals has given us some inspiration to create this adorable elephant, using a simple cereal box!

Using just a few small items from around the home, you too can make as many zoo animals as you like - it just goes to show that creativity doesn't have to be expensive!

I'm sure we can all remember those fun infant school days of getting messy and creating a "masterpiece" to take home. 

We're bringing back the old-school activity of Salt Dough Handprints and we think they'll be just as popular with kids nowadays, as they were back in the day. Use the leftover flour from recent baking escapades and get creating these cute little momentos - add something special by using glittery or glow in the dark paint for a real showstopper!

Whoever said being thrifty needed to look boring? Definitely not us!

We've been digging out our leftover bits of ribbon and string to make some vintage-style button necklaces. If you're feeling super fancy, try adding left over slivers of tin foil to a few buttons, to give a really nice effect.

You’ll need:

•         ½ cup of flour (any will do!)
•         ½ cup of salt
•         ½ cup of water
•         Food colouring
•         Sandwich bags (use sealable to allow you to close and store the paint for a few days)

Method:

1.       Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, add the water and mix until smooth
2.       Divide the mixture into 3 sandwich bags (or however many colours you wish to make)
3.     Add a few drops of food colouring to each bag and squish them up until the colour is blended.

That’s all there is to it! If you’d like a thinner paint, then simply add a little more water.

Why not get your children involved in making their own paint and creating different colours too? 

We’d love to see how creative you can get!  Tag @ryman on Instagram or @Ryman Stationery on Facebook to show us your Make Do & Mend Craft Creations.