Unplug to Play with Nature Crafts

By Jaclyn Ryan

We love nature crafts in our house, and even though winter is in full swing where we live, so far we have managed to spend a good amount of time outside.

When considering projects to promote the Unplug to Play initiative, we immediately thought of crafts and ideas to get us all outdoors. Myself and my children are both much happier people when we are breathing fresh air. Hopefully, after reading just how easy it is to craft with nature, you’ll be inspired to do the same!

Like many parents, when we first started doing crafts together, I was quick to head to the store to grab pom poms, glitter and pipe cleaners. But somewhere along the way, my girls and I started experimenting with items from nature to do our craft activities.

There are plenty of activities and things to do outdoors, but some people might be surprised to learn just how easy it is to do crafts using items from nature.

The benefits of crafting with nature are many.

First of all, it gets them outside. Secondly, all of the supplies are readily available. You don’t even have to leave your house, which is great for children who can be impatient. Nature is also versatile. There are endless amounts of crafts and projects you can come up with easily using items from the natural world. It doesn’t cost anything and creates much less waste than using traditional arts and crafts supplies. Who needs to spend a fortune on supplies for kids when most of the crafts just end up in the recycling bin anyway?

The one challenge that does seem to arise when crafting with items from nature is that glue doesn’t always hold well, and a hot glue gun is often needed. This is not the case for this project, however, and you will see just how easy it is to craft with Wikki Stix and nature!

Materials Needed:

–Wikki Stix’s Unplug to Play Kit
-String
-Scissors
-Additional craft materials (beads, pipe cleaners, etc. – optional)

Step 1:

Go outside and gather your materials. Use a basket or a bag and instruct your children to collect rocks, sticks, twigs, acorns, pine cones and anything else your children find interesting from outside. You can even try making it a scavenger hunt (“Go outside and grab five things each!”)

Step 2:

Use the items from Wikki Stix’s Unplug to Play Kit to decorate your nature finds. Use the Wikki Stix to wrap around stones or sticks (like you would yarn), or use them to adhere objects together – this is actually great fine motor practice and even incorporates a little STEM learning, too!

We found that the Wikki Stix adhere well to the twigs and are strong enough to be used to join twigs together. They are much easier to use than yarn or string for this purpose – we noticed this while completing this project and discussed why we thought Wikki Stix were better than using traditional string or yarn – there is so much learning involved here!

We wrapped our stones with Wikki Stix and found that this works easiest with flat rocks. We then wrapped our twigs and branches that we found right in our backyard. We used beads to thread through the Wikki Stix and added some pipe cleaners for a little more detail, and fine motor practice!

Remember to allow your children to use their creativity and imagination when doing this part, as there is absolutely no right or wrong way to complete this. I loved watching my daughter complete her structure and talk to herself and me through the process as she worked.

Step 3:

When your projects are complete, display them outside! We hung ours from a tree and just love how the bright and vibrant colors of the Wikki Stix bring a nice pop of color to our drab and sometimes dreary winter backyard.

This activity is guaranteed to inspire your children to unplug and to engage in the world around them. As an added bonus, it will create lasting memories and fun for your whole family.