In keeping with our Silk Road theme, here are a couple of ideas that kids will love... they can make one of the animals that made Silk Road trade possible or a charming Chinese flower fairy.  Scissors to the ready.

TOILET ROLL CAMEL

YOU'LL NEED:

• 4 Toilet Paper Rolls
• 5 Sticks
• Masking Tape
• Hot glue gun or PVA glue
• Paint in a camel sort of colour
• Googly eyes
• Pen
• Fabric for saddle
• Wool for halter

HERE'S HOW:

1. Cut one toilet roll to about 2/3s the size of the others. Then tape this roll + two others to create the back and hump.
2. Make holes for the legs and used a hot glue gun to glue them in place. Good PVA glue will also work, but you will have to let it dry overnight.
3. Cut the 4th toilet roll down to 2/3s for the head. Made a hole for the neck and connect that with a lot of hot glue to the rest of the body.
4. Once secured, add more masking tape to cover all the “holes” and a surface to paint.
5. Once completely dry, stick on the googly eyes, draw nose holes and a mouth and add the details, such as a fabric seat and halter made from wool.

SILK FLOWER GARDEN FAIRIES

These silk flower fairies are so simple to make for your fairy garden and they're super cute! It won’t be an expensive project, either. You should find bunches of silk flowers and bags of painted wooden beads in your local dollar shop in a wide range of colours.

YOU'LL NEED:

• Scissors 
• Heavy craft glue (or a low-temp hot glue gun and low-temp hot glue sticks.)
• Floral wire cutters (if you don't already have them on-hand they sell these cheaply at most dollar shops.
• Skewers (from the grocery store thin wooden dowels from the craft store
• Coloured wooden beads (you can also paint some in metallic colours to highlight)
• Multi-purpose paint in your choice of colours (pinks and golds for the faces of our fairies and black for their eyes in these photos).
• Fine tip paint brush(s)
• Embroidery thread in your choice of colours to create hair
• Silk
• Note: If using a low-temp hot glue gun or wire cutters, an adult should handle the step(s) that require these tasks for safety purposes.​​

HERE'S HOW:

1. Using the wire cutters, cut the silk roses off of the stem, right at the base of the flower. Leave about 1/2"/2cm of the stem (you will slide your bead / fairy's head on here - so it needs to be long enough to hold the wooden bead that you use.) Repeat this step for all of the flowers. Set to the side.
2. Separate the leaves from the flower stems, set to the side, you'll use these later to make wings for your silk flower fairies.
3. Using multi-purpose paint, and a paint brush, paint each of the beads to create the fairy head(s). Allow adequate time for paint to dry (tip - slide beads onto a skewer / dowel to paint them - it makes it far easier to paint / handle!). Make sure that the holes in the bead are centered vertically. You may glue the "hair" / embroidery floss over the top hole in the bead, in the next step. The bottom hole in the bead needs to be left unobstructed.
4. Once dry, cut multiple strands of embroidery floss (in your choice of color(s) to a desired length, affix to the top /sides/back of each of your beads to create hair for each of your silk flower fairies (refer to images above and below.) Set each of your completed beads / fairy heads to the side.
5. Find the centre of the silk flowers. There should be a small hole in the centre that leads through to the flower stem - gently insert the tip of the skewer into the small hole. Add a dab of glue to affix / make it more secure, if desired. Repeat this step for each of your silk flower fairies.
6. Add a small dab of glue to the 1/2"/1cm piece of stem on your silk flower base. slide each of the completed bead(s) / fairy head (s) onto the 1/2"/1cm piece of stem. Hold in place / allow adequate time for the glue to set / dry. Repeat this step to complete each of your silk flower fairies.
7. To make fairy wings, use scissors and the leaves that you set aside earlier. Cut two leaves for each of your silk flower fairies. Add a dab of glue to bottom tip of one of the leaves. Press the bottom tip of the second leaf to the dab of glue on the first leaf (slightly overlapping the leaves in a V shape). Hold in place for a few seconds. Allow adequate time for the glue to dry/set. 
8. Once dry, add a dab of glue to the back of the silk flower (top centre). Press the previously glued leaves / wings. Hold in place for a few seconds. Allow adequate time for the glue to dry / set.
9. Once dry, add your silk flower fairies to your fairy garden, by pressing the skewer of each of your silk flower fairies into the soil.