Jane

homemade fun

With my kids home for summer vacation, we built this little game a couple of weeks ago. We also used it at our father’s day party. This would be fun to build in your yard like we did, or put it together while camping this summer!

WHAT YOU NEED:

aluminum cans – start saving food cans
bark mulch or rocks
tree branches – time to go on a nature walk
twine + yarn
hammer
nails
scissors
optional: index cards + washi tape

1.  place your tree branch in the middle of a large can, and fill the can will bark mulch or rocks to hold the branch in place. {my daughter myla is a fan of projects, nature, and creating so she was my perfect partner for this activity.}
2.  a sample of what your branch/mulch/can should look like.
3.  build the game frame by adding a third branch on top.

4. using the hammer & one nail, place your can on the edge of a stair or over a 2×4, this will give you a sturdy backing to hammer. You just need to tap the nail a few times to get a small hole in the can, this is where you will string the twin through the can.

5. thread the twine through the hole, i doubled our twin for extra strength.
6. choose the length of your twine by how long you would like the cans to hang off the branches.
7. make sure your twin on each side is even so when you tie the strings around the branch, the can will hang evenly.
8. tie twine together around top branch.

9. because i have competitive little rascals, they requested “points” for each can. using index cards + washi tape, i wrote scores on 3 separate cards and attached them to the cans…

10. last, we made yarn balls for the game. this is where my son became interested in what we were making & joined us. to make a yarn ball, start with the end of a string – tie a knot over and over and over again in the same spot so the knot becomes larger and larger. then, start wrapping the yarn around the ball over and over and over. if it becomes tricky at times to hold the yarn in place, we used sots {sticky little dots} to help the yarn stay in place.

11. using sticky dots, this is also how you finish the yarn ball. cut the yarn string and place the end on a sticky dot. voila! {repeat this process as many times as you’d like, for as many yarn balls you’d like to make!}

26 responses to “homemade fun”

  3. This is a wonderful backyard game idea! I love projects that the kids can help build then enjoy outside. Thank you for posting.

    Reply

  4. wow, this is pretty neat, this would be a way to keep those grands busy without having a lot of cost, thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  5. Your blog is beautiful! I especially love the first photo in this post. I’m writing on behalf of the KEEN Recess Team. Recess is a rallying cry for kids and adults to take a break from the daily grind, get outside, and create their own playground. Thanks for your ideas!

    Best,
    KEEN Recess Team

    Reply

  11. I’m the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your game! You can see it here:

    http://funfamilycrafts.com/ball-toss-game/

    If you have other kid friendly crafts, we’d love it if you would submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a wonderful project idea!

    Reply

  13. Love it, will use it at my kid’s preschool’s next Halloween Party. I’d like to spend less on plastic gift bags this year and do more recycled and upcycled games and crafts. Beautiful website too!

    Reply

  22. Love your Blog, have shared this idea on our page. Looking forward to following your posts.

    Kind Regards and Thanks Maureen 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *