Tag: suncatcher

Makit & Bakit Kit for Making a Suncatcher

The other day I mentioned we would be making a suncatcher with a Makit & Bakit kit that I bought at a Joann Fabrics store. Today’s the day! I have seen this type of kit before but I had never done one. So time to teach an old dog a new trick! 😉 Here’s how they are done:

This is what was included in the kit. The instructions were printed on the back of the cardboard.

The idea of making them is simple. First line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Place the frame, flat side down, onto the foil lined cookie sheet.

Start with one color and fill an area of the frame with that color of the little plastic pieces. First I did orange.

Then the yellow…

Next came green…

And finally the blue.

The trick is getting and keeping the colors in the places you want them. It’s good to have a toothpick and a pair of tweezers handy for moving the little pieces around. And tweezers are nice for filling in the little spaces. Here’s a closer view so you can see what they look like when they are ready for the oven.

Now you preheat the oven according to the package directions. Do NOT use a microwave!! Place the cookie sheet with your suncatcher in the heated oven and follow the package directions for how long to let it bake. Mine took about 15 minutes. A word of caution: Open your windows while your suncatcher is in the oven. It will give off a plastic smell. The package says it is not harmful, but if you are sensitive to odors, you might not like this part of the process. After the plastic pieces have melted, remove the cookie sheet and let the suncatcher cool before handling. Then it should peel off the foil easily. Because of the odor, I sat my cookie sheet outside to cool and that helped a lot to dispel the odor.

And there is your suncatcher! Add a bit of string if you like to hang it up. It was a fun project but a little tedious getting the little pieces in just the right place, so this might be good for kids that are a bit older. (I accidentally dropped my tweezers on my suncatcher which made the tiny pieces go flying all over…and then I had to clean them up!) And of course, adult supervision is needed when using the oven. Let me know if you give this a try! 🙂

Inexpensive Suncatcher Fun

It’s Monday Funday and I have a nice inexpensive craft to tell you about today. I found a cute unicorn suncatcher at Walmart the other day…only $0.97!! (My guess is that some other craft stores likely have them too.) That is the regular price, not a sale price. 🙂

One thing to note is the picture shows 4 colors on the unicorn while there are actually only 3 paints. But it looks cute anyways, so I didn’t find that to be a problem. I suggest laying out some newspaper or paper towels before letting the kiddos start painting. The paint is fairly thin but I think that is because this is a suncatcher and you want the light to be able to shine through.

There weren’t any instructions but here’s what I did: the suncatcher is smooth on one side and has ridges on the other. I painted on the side with ridges. I stirred each paint with a toothpick when I was ready to use it. I also used the toothpick to paint the really small areas. I started with the blue/teal paint.

You can paint the unicorn any way you like. I’m just showing you how I chose to do it. Next I painted with the purple paint.

And finally I used the pink paint.

Here it is against a better background.

And here it is with the light behind it.

I thought it was a rather fun project for kids for only $0.97! And there was some paint leftover. I’m pretty sure you can also buy the unpainted suncatchers at Walmart (not in a kit). So you might be able to make 2 suncatchers for $0.97! 😉