Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Delightful Dragonflys...A Twig Craft!



In honor of our  magical  friend, the dragonfly, we created these simple, sweet little crafts.

Here's what you will need 
~ twigs
~ beads for the eyes
~ maple keys
~ glue gun 
~ glitter (if that appeals to you) I highly recommend Martha Stewart's gem stone glitter ~ it is the queen of glitter, with superb sparkle!



First we collect twigs that caught our eye and held that "dragonfly quality" ; )  We had maple keys stored from the fall so we pulled them out and began...
So simple ~ kids choose their sticks, maple keys, glitter and bead (eye) colors ~ I then  glue gunned on the wings and beads...
  

The girls took the  glue and either edged the wings, gooped it on or painted  it on...then shook on that sparkle!



What started out as a quick craft soon became a world of  creating entire families of dragonflies ~ complete with names and personalities.  I love how children throw themselves completely into creation and imagination. 


These rainbow dragonflies were ready to take flight in the garden...


This project was done in the earlier part of a VERY hot day. We then headed to the beach for a cool off... this fine glitter sparking unexpectedly off our skin the rest of our beach long day! 


 Thinking we may make a mobile out of these magical creatures or perhaps save them for my envisioned  christmas tree this year ~ a tree sparkling with and abundant, natural, handmade decorations.

I must dedicate this post to my sister Emily who loves dragonflies and adopted her own one afternoon when we were young, naming it "sporfy".  The adoration must run in the family. I love watching them at our favorite beach, as they elegantly swoop and glide, filling our space with magic.  Luna recently had one land on her finger and in quiet excitement, she sat in awe for over twenty minutes watching this delicate creature perched on her.
Such delicate grace...
In the sparkle our our majestic friend 
~ Shanti ~

54 comments:

  1. Simply amazing . Love ur other creative works esp the mosaic table n plant pokes too !!

    Smita
    http://littlefoodjunction.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are so adorable. Such great ideas around here. Thanks for offering to do a guest post- what a treat that would be!! Can't wait to hear your ideas!! xo m.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful! The kids and I did a similar thing, minus the sparkles, with clam shells from the beach. But I know Middling would REALLY like it WITH sparkles.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I LOVE this! These are amazing...I was so surprised to read that the wings were maple keys! They're just magical and yes, a mobile would be wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You really do come up with some amazing ideas. I really do love these....if I could just get myself up and do something.
    And by the way, we have a cat named Marshmallow too. She is white with patches of different shades of marshmallow - roasted or not or burnt.

    ReplyDelete
  6. These are lovely little crafts for any age girl. I was about to go to the craft store to get some really sparkly glitter for various crafts, but had no idea what kind is best. I find so much useful info on your blog.
    I was inspired by your Mod Podge week and for us, this week has sort of been our own mod podge week. :) The fabric I had asked you about worked perfect on the Djembe Drum we made. We are doing a nature table now made out of an old tv stand and tissue paper. THanks for the inspiration.!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love these! Not only because I have a special place in my heart for dragonflies, but also because this is a super-easy craft with little supplies needed. (MY kind of craft)
    Will pick up glitter today and make these over the weekend. We have green keys on our maple right now, that should still be fine, right?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such a great incorporation of your natural environment! So cute, I just love dragonflies. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. These are FABULOUS!!! Will keep it on file for my nursery school children. Thank you! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  10. great craft. I just happen to have all these supplies on hand from the windchimes and I desperately need something to keep my little guy busy inside as it is super hot out there. Thanks!

    By the way, I never knew they were called maple keys, we really do learn something new every day!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow and wow!
    My daughter got this kit for her birthday, it's packed with glitter glue, and has these gorgeous dragonflies on the cover.
    We've been meaning for days to create some pretty dragonflies!
    And here they are! :)
    Though I was still pondering the "how", I had not thought of those seed pods for wings. A brilliant idea!, though we don't have any, yet. I'll keep my eyes open!
    We've made them out of beads, and yesterday I made one out of bendy sticks, but I love your version.

    ReplyDelete
  12. LOVE!! my girl would really love the sparkles. i will look for that glitter. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. My son loves dragonflies, and my daugther loves glitter, I think this is going to be a perfect craft for both of them! Thanks for all your great craft ideas, love it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Those are sweet. They'd make a great mobile for Baby C to stare at...
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  15. how funny that I come across this post today, just this morning while in the park we were gathering fresh maple seeds. My daughter immediately said they looked like dragonfly wings and how she wanted to gather sticks to make some .
    Love the glitter, do you get that at craft stores???
    Beautiful dragonflies:)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Moment to Moment...you can get the glitter anywhere that they sell the "Martha Stewart" line of craft products...for us, (we're in Canada), that would be at Michaels or Walmart. It is seriously the BEST glitter around!!
    xox

    ReplyDelete
  17. We have tons of Maple trees around here! I can't wait to try this craft out with my kids! I love your blog, so many great ideas here! I'll be checking in often! Thanks,
    Rachel

    ReplyDelete
  18. ooh, good use form my lonely glitter I collected as a paper crafter. And another good use for those pesky maple keys that will not go away!
    thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dragonflies are my favourite ! Thanks for posting this wonderful and creative idea !!
    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  20. LOVE these.....
    My first thought was.....these would make the best Christmas tree ornaments. You must post a picture of your tree come December!
    Even I....the least crafty of them all, will attempt these little beauties.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lovely and glittery! We have made similar dragonflies using clay for the bodies.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh, Maureen! They turned out beautifully ... they must look so magical catching the sunlight!~Pamela

    ReplyDelete
  23. These are just beautiful!
    Paisley x

    ReplyDelete
  24. love them - the sun catching on the glitter gives them a magical dimension - you are clever :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. We have hundreds flitting around on our farm. My husband has been reading Ursule la Libellule in French so I think this would be a beautiful project make with the children. Thanks...

    ReplyDelete
  26. So clever and so very pretty, love them!

    ReplyDelete
  27. So cute and easy! I love MS glitter! Thanks for posting this fab idea!

    ReplyDelete
  28. How darling! This is perfect, thanks for sharing! I'll definitely try them with my kindergarten kids.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Shanti, these are fantastical! Can't wait to try making my own "Sporfy's"...

    ReplyDelete
  30. These are awesome! We'll be doing this project for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  31. thanks again for the inspiration!
    http://momenttomomentdk.blogspot.com/2010/07/dragonflies-and-beyond.html

    ReplyDelete
  32. they are so beautifull! It is a very good idea :) ale

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi Shanti :) I actually planned on featuring these on Craft Gossip before you even submitted them :)


    I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I linked to this post today from the new Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. :) My hope is to share many of the fabulous projects I see everyday with the vast CG audience. I hope you will not only stop by and subscribe to CG, but will tell your friends about the new category! Hope you see some traffic from it!

    Your feature will appear in the main Craft Gossip RSS feed, on the main home page and can be found directly here
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/glittery-dragonflies-for-your-garden/

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hello! These are beautiful and bright! We've added a link over at MBC :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. oh what a gorgeous and simple idea...love love love it!!! dragonflys inspire and bring beauty and this craft does the same. thanks so much for sharing! can't wait to search for maple keys in the fall to put away for a rainey day craft!!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Love them..I don't have any maple keys, but will use some paper instead. My preschool art camp class will love adding these to their mobiles...

    ReplyDelete
  37. So love these. My girls will go giddy with pleasure in making them as well. Thank you for the totally enchanted idea.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I have just visited via Craft Gossip. Your dragonflies are just stunning!! Congratulations on some wonderful creations. Now to find something suitable to use for wings - I have no idea where to find maple keys in Western Australia!! Sure to find something that will work for us.
    Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  39. Wow - how adorable!! Very simple and so sweet. I think we will try this one, thanks for the inspiration and great ideas!

    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  40. So beautiful - my girls will love these. I wondered if you might like to see our butterflies made from clothespegs http://nurturestore.co.uk/butterfly-mobile

    ReplyDelete
  41. Ever the dragonfly lover, these are GREAT! I've never heard them called 'maple keys' before - we always call them 'helicopters'. At any rate, here in northeastern NY state, we are in maple country, so have no shortage of these. Great craft, I can't wait to try it! By the way, speaking of dragonflies, my blog (temporarily missing its dragon from its heading) is called "There's a Dragon in my Art Room". Come check it out at http://plbrown.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  42. This is brilliant- love it!

    Jen
    Creative and Curious Kids!

    ReplyDelete
  43. What a great idea! I can't wait to do this with my nephews.

    ReplyDelete
  44. We made these. They didn't turn out as pretty as yours, but I'm sort of the Amelia Bedelia of crafts. But the kids still loved this craft despite my shortcomings as a crafter.

    M

    ReplyDelete
  45. Hi Shanti-
    I am featuring this entire tutorial on my site on 9/6. Thanks for the great idea!!!
    -Steph

    ReplyDelete
  46. fabulous! I want a dragonfly garland for my canopy bed, (like Coraline's) and these will be just the ticket!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Okay. Here I am again- it seems all roads lead back to you. Wonderful idea. How do you do this? How on earth do you keep coming up with this swell stuff? I'm going to go stick my head in a bucket.

    ReplyDelete
  48. These I want to try to make....

    I ♥ them!!

    ReplyDelete
  49. What a sweet project, great that it is kid friendly and of course love all the glitter. I Love your pinspirational project! I have pinned this and also blogged it for my Walkabout Wednesday series. Twiggy Inspirations post here
    Hugs, Antonella :-)

    ReplyDelete

We ((LOVE)) your comments!!! Thank you with all our hearts for visiting us here at Twig and Toadstool. xo