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• Water
• White flour
• Strips of newspaper, about 1 inch wide
• Acrylic paints

Mix flour and water in a large bowl (2 cups of each to start with). Make it into a smooth paste. Now dip in the newspaper strips, one at a time, remove the excess paste from your fingers and lay the coated newspaper on the form to be papier mached. Smooth out the wrinkles and continue to place coated newspaper over the surface until completely covered. When the surface has totally dried, paint your own design using acrylic or poster paint, and decorate with craft supplies.

Variation: Use white glue instead of flour, it is less messy.

• 4 tblsp paint
• 2 tblsp glue
• 1 tsp water
• Construction paper of at least 8x11 width (non-shiny variety)
• Plastic drinking straw

In a small bowl, mix the paint, glue, and water. Pour about a tablespoon of the mixture onto the centre of a piece of construction paper. (If you are working with two or more colours, you can place all the "puddles" of paint on the paper at once). Take a big breath and blow with a blast of air through the straw holding the bottom end of the straw about 5 inches above the paint. The paint will spread into bursts of colour like fireworks on paper. Pour another paint and repeat the process. Let it dry. Display the paper as a piece of artwork or cut out and use it as a wrapper, greeting card, etc.

• Paper
• Crayon
• Masking Tape

Place the paper over an area of tree bark and tape it in place with the masking tape. Rub the crayon (holding it on its side for maximum coverage), over the paper. Dark coloured crayons work best. Try different kinds of trees for different textures. Use the rubbings as gift wrap, or collect them in a notebook and identify from what type of tree they came. Cut paper towel tube into widths to match the width of the ribbon. Wrap the ribbon around tube and add glue to keep it in place. Add smaller ribbon trim, beads and glue to outside edges in any decorative fashion. This activity is fun for the whole family.

• White or coloured paper 8 1/2 x 11
• Scraps of wrapping paper
• Pointed scissors
• Glue stick

Fold the paper from top to bottom keeping edges even. Similarly, fold side to side. Now you have your basic card - lightly draw your design on the front of the card. Cut a piece of wrapping paper just slightly smaller than the size of the card and put glue on the back side of the paper. Open the card to the full size of the paper and paste the wrapping paper in. Cut out your design carefully with scissors, put a dab of glue in the corners, fold your card and pronto!

• Leaves - any colour, yellow, brown or green
• Old crayons
• Crayon sharpener
• Wax paper
• Newspaper
• Iron and ironing board
• Yarn or string

Find some pretty leaves outside. Sharpen some crayons and save the shavings. Cut a piece of wax-paper 12" long and 6" wide. Arrange leaves and crayon shavings on half of the wax paper. Fold the wax paper in half over your arrangement. Cover the ironing board with several layers of newspaper. Lay the wax-paper on top and cover with one layer of newspaper. Press with an iron set on medium heat for about 30 seconds till the crayons melt. Now you have a beautiful wall hanging to put in a window. You can cut around the wax paper with scissors, and punch a hole to place a piece of string through.

• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 cup baking soda

Pour baking soda into the sink drain and add vinegar. Watch it fizz as it breaks down the clog. After a few minutes run fresh water to clear the congestion.

• Vinegar
• Water

Mix equal parts of water and vinegar in a plastic spray bottle. Spray dirty windows and wipe dry with a newspaper or a clean cloth.

Sprout some tree branches inside for an early spring. Gather tree branches from outside and place them in a container with water. Be sure to give them fresh water every few days, (and you can add a few drops of vinegar to the water to keep it from growing moldy in your container). Give them about three weeks indoors and they will sprout their leaves.

Take a lid and fill it with a layer for pebbles; this is to give the birds firm footing. The pebbles also add weight to the lid so that it won`t blow away. Birds like a place to perch after bathing, so place the lid near some bush or under a tree. Put it on the ground, in an open area so the birds feel safe. Fill it with no more than 3 inches of water. Then sit back and watch the birds, you may even want to keep a journal of the kind of birds you see!

You`ll need: heavy books, scissors, and lots of white blotting paper.

Cut a piece of paper the same size as the book. Fold paper in half, then open out. Lay the blotting paper across the book. Arrange plants and flowers flat on the right half of the paper with plenty of space between them. Carefully fold the blotting paper. Put some heavy books or magazines on top of the book to weigh it down. Let the plants dry for at least four weeks. Use it to design your cards, bookmarks, etc.

Paint some shapes or blocks of colour with water soluble paints (such as water colour or poster paints) or markers. Place the picture outdoors when it`s raining for a short period. The patterns made by the drops can be very interesting. How long can you keep the painting in the rain before it washes away? Compare the results of drizzle, gentle rain, and a full-fledged downpour.

Take two fresh radishes. One radish should have a root that can double as the mouse`s tail, and the greens should be clipped close to the radish skin