Brrrr… what a winter we’re having! It feels like the real deal, with concrete-coloured skies, misty mornings, drippy days and temperatures that can’t seem to crawl out of the teens.

Although we’re finally on the cusp of the Winter Solstice (so we’ll finally see a few more minutes of sun creeping in at each end of the day) we still have a whole lotta winter to get through before we’re done.

When it’s cold and grey and you’re at home with kids it can be nice to get creative together, and in winter it’s especially nice to introduce your little ones to some craft materials that are warm to their touch.

Getting their little fingers busy helps to build your child’s fine motor skills: that is, their ability to make movements using the small muscles in their hands and wrists. What could be cosier than offering some soft materials to craft with… to get little fingers moving, and little imaginations sparking.

Felt:

Felt is a distinctive fabric made of fibres that are matted and pressed together, not woven. Because of this it’s simple to cut felt into shapes that don’t fray or unravel, and will adhere softly to each. While it’s traditionally made from wool and natural fibres, these days it’s easy to find squares of cheap synthetic felt in craft shops, and in an array of bright fun colours. A felt-covered board can be used as a base, along with cut shapes, for some fun temporary collage that can later be dismantled and re-used time and time again.

Yarn:

Scraps of yarns (wool or synthetic) are another good thing to have in your craft box. Knitters are often happy to share scraps, or op shops have random leftover balls to sell cheaply. Offer yarn to children in small amounts as long strands tend to tangle easily, and they can use it to wrap around pre-cut cardboard shapes or twigs, or use with a gluestick as a collaging material.

Templates from cardboard are perfect for wooly wrapping.

Try a pom pom… see instructions in a previous blog.

Cotton balls:

Uniquely soft and fluffy, cotton balls have a soft airy texture that can be easily torn, shaped and pasted. With the addition of glue they inspire all sorts of wintery collage ideas, such as snow and fur.

Fabric scraps:

If you’re a sewer you may already have bags of these… if you’re not a sewer you may know someone who is, and would be happy to give you some scraps for your craft box. Otherwise it’s easy to create your own fabric scraps by chopping up some old, torn unwearable clothes.

Fabric scraps are a versatile craft material, perfect for sorting, matching, dressing toys or collage. A simple glue stick will usually give you enough adhesion for a pasting onto paper.

Simple face templates can be adorned with woolen hair or fabric hats.

Dressing paper dolls with fabric clothes.

Extra oily pastels:

The texture of oil pastels makes them perfect for bold mark-making - so they can be a very satisfying drawing tool for kids. Although they’re water resistant, oil pastels can be slightly liquefied with the addition of extra oil, so that means oily fingers can be used to smudge and spread pastel marks in a lovely smooshy way.

Choose a safe oil for your kids and splash a few drops onto their drawings to experiment. I’ve done this many times with baby oil as it’s light to touch and softly scented, but you could choose any child-safe food or massage oil. Oil pastel drawings become more like paintings as colours blend, and little fingers get nicely warmed up.