What have you done for your BFF lately (you know, your "Best Friend Forever")?

If you have a little girl around the house, her answer in this back-to-school season may be "a lot."

My two school-age girls have spent the past few weeks creating homemade gifts, including treasure boxes full of precious trinkets.

My 10-year-old crafted tiny notebooks and magnets for her BFFs. For each friend, she wrapped the homemade gifts in yarn and tucked in a new pencil. She then excitedly stored her gifts in her backpack to distribute on the first day of school.

My older daughter went a less crafts-y route: She found a small, attractive tin and filled it with diminutive mementoes from her bedroom, each carefully wrapped in tissue.

Both gift ideas were resounding successes.

The following crafts can be made for an entire classroom of new and returning friends. They're so simple that a child can make dozens of items in a few hours. They're so simple that a parent doesn't have to hover to ensure the kitchen table survives without gluey incident.

Teensy-tiny notebooks

Supplies:

Sample paint chips in various sizes and colors (free at paint and home-improvement stores)

Paper, such as white computer, scrapbook or graph

Scissors

Stapler

Ruler

Pencil

Stickers, fake "jewels," markers, etc., for embellishment (optional)

Assembly:

1. Choose one end of the sample paint chip, and fold and crease it about 3/4-inch down (it doesn't need to be exact).

2. Take the other end and fold it down so that it tucks under the first. (Adults: It ought to look like a matchbook. Some kids have never seen one.) This is your notebook cover.

3. Measure the cover, then cut papers about 1/4-inch smaller than the notebook. Include however many pages you want; 20 is good.

4. Bundle the papers neatly, and insert them into the notebook cover. Staple the papers to the bottom flap (from Step 1). Fold the top flap under the bottom flap (like a matchbook).

5. Decorate with stickers and other embellishments.

(Used with permission from a 2008 "WhiMSy love" blog posting, "Paint Sample Notebook Tutorial")

Bottle cap magnets

Supplies:

Metal bottle caps (lots; kids may enjoy collecting these)

Magazines, colorful scrapbook paper, old greeting cards, photos of friends, etc.

Small treasures, such as beads, sequins, small buttons, pom-poms and tiny plastic animals

White craft glue (like Elmer's)

Scissors

Small magnets (craft stores sell small sheets of magnets, which is more economical)

Clear casting resin (optional; requires adult supervision)

Assembly:

1. Make sure the bottle caps are clean. Use a bottle cap as a pattern: Turn it upside down and trace around it on paper. Cut out its shape a little smaller, so that the paper fits inside the cap. This is the background. Glue it into the cap.

2. Glue any embellishments next. Let this dry.

3. Optional: If an adult is supervising, fill the inside of the bottle cap with resin. Let this dry.

4. Add a small magnet to the back of the bottle cap. Now it's ready to use.

(An adult version of this is available in "Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts" (Potter Craft, 2009))

You must be logged in to comment.