Easy Crafts With Children: What Does The Fox Say?

Our decorations came down on December 27th for a number of reasons – not least because Freya couldn’t really understand that after Boxing Day our Christmas was essentially over for another year (bar eating the 400 mince pies that remain, of course).

We made many of our own decorations this time, including a sun catcher tree, which was a lot of fun, but after I packed them up and put them in the loft, our living room looked rather sad.

“What decorations could we make for the new year?” I asked Freya.

“Hmm, how about a fox?”

A fox? Well, that was a bit unexpected. We’d talked about new year and how there might be fireworks at midnight (or, as it turned out, most of the night) so I thought she might suggest that but, no, a fox.

I looked up a fox silhouette and then drew it on black card and cut it out before sticking it (with masking tape) on a clear plastic wallet. As Freya is so handy with her scissors now, I got her to chop up the tissue paper (the white was wrapping I had saved from a pair of shoes) into small bits and then coat the plastic with a watered down PVA.

We also glued each bit (which she loved because she likes getting her hands messy) and stuck them on, giving the fox, which Freya decided was a girl, little white feet, tummy, face and ears so she looked like this.

When she was dry, I peeled her off the wallet and thankfully all the bits stayed stuck together (yay). I added a couple of eyes and then stuck her to the window.

I’ve been waiting to capture a sunrise through her but ever since we made her it’s been foggy or grey (I hope we haven’t jinxed it).

However, the fox still manages to brighten the room, so much so, I was thinking of making some more animals, maybe even a little garden scene. Freya really seems to like the cutting and sticking so it’s a win win.

What do you think we should make next? Magpie, hedgehog, squirrel? 

Also, here’s a happy video for a Tuesday. I remember this came out when Freya was a newborn and, maybe it was sleep deprivation, but I found it very funny (and catchy). What Does The Fox Say?