Series: Usborne Activities Series.
Subject Areas: Art, Crafts.
Ages: 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13.
Type: Activity Books, Hands-on Projects, Art Projects

After two graduations this past weekend, I'm back to wrap up a series of blogs on summer activities. This time I want to review a whole group of books made especially for girls. I have one sweet daughter in the middle of four very masculine sons, so I think that's why I loved doing these types of activities with her, and also enjoyed watching her experiment with art projects, designs, crafts, etc. As far as she was concerned, the more glittery and sparkly a craft could be, the better! Now she's in college studying Interior Design, so probably all the practice with Usborne influenced her career decision.

Usborne has three "Make and Do" titles that are delightful; each one is loaded with sparkly silvery stickers, too --
Princess Things to Make and Do -- everything from tiaras, dainty slippers and princess headdresses to chandeliers, swish bags and lacy fans. It's also available in a Kid Kit version, which includes supplies.
Sparkly Things to Make and Do -- party masks, glitter bugs, spangly butterflies and more.
Fairy Things to Make and Do -- fairy pop-up cards, fairy palaces, fairy tiaras, fairy collages, sparkly fairy wings,and loads of other ideas. This title can be purchased in a Kid Kit version, with supplies included. These make wonderful gifts. Take a Look Inside this Book

If you have a young girl in your life who loves mermaids, you'll want to check out Mermaid Things to Make and Do, which comes in a Kid Kit also.

My favorite among this series (probably because my mom used projects like this to teach me the beginning basics of sewing) is Fairy Things to Stitch and Sew. I was fascinated with miniatures, too, so I would have adored the tiny tooth fairy purse, the fairy pillows and fancy stuffed hearts. Directions are very easy to follow, and the last section of the book goes into great detail about how to do all the pretty types of stitching and how to sew on buttons -- very practical stuff.

Another beautiful title is How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas. There are step-by-step instructions for a wonderful collection of lovely, graceful figures, using all kinds on media -- pastels, pens, pencils, paint, tissue paper for collage type pictures, and as with the others, stickers (this time of various shapes and colors) are included in the book. There is one project called Swan Lake which is especially floaty, and looks like a fantasy picture.

Finally, there is Fairy Cooking. It's gorgeous and yummy, perfect food for little girls' get-togethers, or moms and daughters tea times. Mini meringues, tiny fairy cakes, pink confetti cookies, and darling marzipan toadstools. You will want to try them all. Working with recipes helps children to learn fractions and measurements, too.

Purchase

You can purchase any of these titles and more (including ones for boys like Pirate Things to Make and Do) by going to my Usborne website and using the Search feature.

Of Interest To: Parents, Scout troop leaders, Teachers, Librarians and Media Specialists.