Parents can teach their kids a lot of important life skills using fun and crafty ideas. Kids have a wild imagination just waiting to emerge and blossom into creative projects. In order to get these creative juices flowing, parents should introduce their children to a variety of simple projects made from easily accessible materials from within the home, such as construction paper, glue, scissors, masking tape, and paper clips.. In addition, many of these materials can be found at the local work office for those off days when the boss requires extra time after school hours. Parents can purchase these items at the local retail store, even if they are not readily available at the house or workplace. However, please be careful not to leave small children around small objects that could become a potential choke hazard.

How to Make a Paperclip Necklace

Kids can make a paperclip necklace by getting different colored paperclips and then linking them together until it fits around their neck. Each of these necklaces can have added decorations, such as colored tape and other ornamentation. Parents can also use paper mache to create an indistinguishable paperclip necklace using crap paper, liquidizer, gloss varnish, sponge, rolling pin, round-ended scissors, paint brush, paper clips, masking tape, all purpose glue, and metal washers. Kids can also make paperclip earrings, bracelets, and anklets.

How to Make Paperclip Bedroom Decorations or Message Chain

Kids love to decorate their room with an assortment of toys, dolls, pictures, drawings, and handmade crafts. They can create a decorative paper clip link train and hang it over their bedroom door to personalize their room with a unique theme. Simply cut out greeting cards, magazine pictures, or other colorful images and then punch a hole through each picture at the top. Next, fasten the picture with to the paper clip chain with another paper clip. This colorful project also accentuates a bunk bed or loft. Parents can also customize this project as a fun way to deliver messages by simply replacing the colorful images with an attached envelope.

How to Make a Paperclip Bedroom Mobile

Kids love to watch mobiles while laying down on the bed before nap time. Bedroom mobiles can be pricey if purchased at a retail store. Parents who get their children involved in making their own bedroom mobiles can save money and keep their kids entertained by using their imagination to create various crafts. Kids can make a single mobile by creating a paper clip chain to the desired length. Next, cut out a favorite picture from a greeting card, coloring book, magazine, or dispensable book. Finally, use a hole puncher to create slits for fasteners. Hang the mobile in the desired location, and watch the kid's face light up with glee.

How to Make a Paperclip Bookmark

Kids can definitely use a bookmark for their school books. Bookmarks can be easily lost, so it only makes sense to make a bookmark from scratch to save money. In addition, it teaches kids how to make their own bookmark for future reference. Kids only need to tie a piece of string, wool, or ribbon to a paper clip and then slide it into the page they have left off at in class. The string should hang outside of the book to retrieve the saved page until finding time to read in the future.

How to Make a Paperclip Ornament

Kids love to make crafts during the holidays. Parents can engage their kids to create Christmas ornaments for their teachers, bus drivers, and friends during their two-week vacation. Angel necklaces or Christmas tree ornaments are some of the easiest projects to make. The project only requires paper clips, silver pony beads and disk beads, and ribbon. The entire project only takes a few minutes to complete. Kids should take the ribbon and tie it into a loop. Next, thread a disk and pony bead on to the ribbon before pushing it up to the knot. Finally, loop the ribbon and then through itself. Be sure to slip both beads down to sit flush with the top of the ribbon.

How to Make a Paperclip Key Chain

Most kids take the bus home from school and use a house key to get into the house. Even adults can loose their keys if misplaced, especially if the keys are not attached to a key chain. Kids can make their own paper clip key chain that will keep their keys together and lower the potential of them getting lost. Kids should use oblong paper clips with threaded beads to create a decorative key chain. Link the paper clips together to the desired length and then attach a key ring to the end of the paper clip key chain. Finally, fasten the desired keys to the ring.

More Paperclip Projects

Follow these links to learn more about fun crafts using paperclips:

• FaveCrafts: Santa's to Easy Christmas Crafts (PDF) – An extensive document packed full of fun, easy crafts for the holiday season. It includes an ice-skating themed ornament plan made from felt and paper clips.
• KidzScience: Building Anti-Gravity Inventions (PDF) – A 45-minute anti-gravity invention made from small paper clips, magnets, craft sticks, index cards, cardboard sheets, plastic cups, masking tape, and pieces of string.
• Jitterbug (PDF) – A motorized toy made from a recycled CD and a DC motor. The student will need a hot glue gun, hot glue stick, six jumbo paper clips, wire cutters, scissors, a miniature jumper lead, wire strippers, duct tape, AA battery, and decorative crafts materials.
• Origami Flower (PDF) – A simple origami flower design made from scrap booking paper, scissors, glue, and paper clips.
• Good Earth Necklace (PDF) – An elementary crafts project requiring a small bag of potting soil, white glue, cup, spoon, china plate, paintbrush, poster paint, clear nail polish, blue yarn, scissors, and a small paper clip.
• Star Mobile (PDF) – An easy-to-make child's mobile made from straws, construction paper, and paper clips.
• PBS Kids: Puff Mobile (PDF) – The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) offers an arts and crafts project made from three non-bendable plastic straws, four Lifesavers, a single sheet of scrap paper, two paper clips, masking tape, and scissors.
• A Solar System (PDF) – A classroom science project for elementary and middle school students that require the construction of the solar system from paper mache, pencils, markers, pint, string, long pipe cleaners, spherical rubber balloons, and small paper clips. Students can use an array of spherical objects to represent the planets, such as basketballs, soccer balls, grapefruit, kidney beans, acorns, and walnuts.
• Paper Clip Pendulums (PDF) – A science project that aims to teach students how to construct a paper clip pendulum, and find the frequency of a paper clip pendulum change in its swing.
• How to Make a String Phone – An old fashioned project that focuses on building a string phone using two paper cups, a sharp pencil, and a long string.
• Valentine's Day Necklace from Paperclips – A simplistic Valentine's Day necklace made from paper clips and construction paper.
• Fun Flowers Paper Clip Bookmark (PDF) – A simplistic design requiring certain materials to create a colorful bookmark, including flower die, die-cutting machine, designer buttons, bone folder, 4-inch paper clip, white crochet thread, hot glue gun, and pop-up glue dots.
• Paper Clip Earrings (PDF) – A short and concise illustration on how to make paper clip earrings from scratch.
• Paper Clip Helicopters (PDF) – An elementary-themed science project that challenges kids to create a paper helicopter using a few materials, such as construction paper, ruler, scissors, and paper clips.
• A Paper Helicopter – Joey Green provides a comprehensive tutorial on making paper helicopters from scratch using an assortment of materials, such as a sheet of construction paper, ruler, pencil, scissors, and two paper clips.
• Paper Mache Jewelry (PDF) – An intermediate jewelry project using a variety of materials, including scrap paper, liquidizer, gloss varnish, sponge, rolling pin, round-ended scissors, paint brush, paper clips, masking tape, all purpose glue, and metal washers.
• A Colorful Paperclip Necklace (PDF) – An extensive list of instructions that show students how to make a paperclip necklace using only paperclips, colored tape, pliers, and jump rings.
• Make a Paper Clip Float – Science Bob teaches students how to make a paper clip float using dry paper clips, tissue paper, a bowel of water, and a brand new pencil with an eraser.
• Make an Electromagnet (PDF) – A complex project that involves making an electromagnet from a battery, copper wire, large iron nail, and small paper clips.
• Adding Paper Clips and Pushpins to your Projects (PDF) – An extensive list of creative ideas that involve adding paper clips and pushpins to homemade projects for a more decorative touch.