A NIGERIAN TURBAN
MATERIALS
• A 1 1/2-by-5-foot length of cotton gauze or sheeting
If your kids wonder what it feels like to wear a turban, it's easy to give them the chance to find out.
INSTRUCTIONS
First, find a cloth about five feet long and 18 inches wide. Begin at the back of your child's head, leaving a tail of material about two feet long. Wrap the fabric snugly around his head so that the turban rides at the hairline in front and close to the neckline in back. Continue wrapping until you have used up the cloth, then tuck the end in. For protection against sandstorms, your child can grab the two-foot tail from behind and pull it over his mouth and nose.
VENETIAN GLASS BUTTONS
MATERIALS
• Sculpey III polymer clay in six colors
• Waxed paper and masking tape
• Rolling pin
• Craft knife (parents only)
• Toothpick
• Foil pie pan
• Varnish
For 400 years, Italian artisans on the island of Murano have been applying their perfect sense of color and design to make delicate glass beads and buttons. Using a technique called "millefiori" ("a thousand flowers"), the artists bundle cylinders or "canes" of glass together in special patterns, then melt and stretch (or "draw") the canes down to a small diameter. The canes are then sliced into discs, revealing a flower pattern, and the discs are remelted onto beads and buttons.
With a polymer clay, such as Sculpey (which is easier to work with than glass), your children can try this traditional craft, then show off their colorful buttons on a sweater or blouse.
INSTRUCTIONS
For a work area, tape a piece of waxed paper to a tabletop. Invite your kids to pick colors for their flower design. They'll use three colors for the petals, two for the center and one as a background.
Petals
For the petal core, your kids can make a roll of clay about two inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Then, using a rolling pin and a second color of clay, they should roll out a two-inch square that is about 1/8 inch thick. Wrap this layer around the core, then repeat the process with a third color.
Have your kids place the log on the waxed paper and roll it back and forth with their fingers, lightly pressing down and pulling away from the center. The log will thin out and lengthen. Try to keep the overall thickness even and stop when the log is a half inch in diameter. Slice off the ends and cut the log with a craft knife into five cylinders of even length.
Flower Center
Next, make a two-inch square from two colors of clay. Place one square on top of the other and roll with fingers or palms until it is approximately the same diameter as the petal pieces. Slice off the ends of this log to make it the same length as a petal piece.
Background
From the background color, make five triangular wedges the same length as the petal pieces. Then, roll out a rectangle from the background color. It should be the same length as the petal pieces--a little over three inches wide and about 1/8 inch thick.
Assembly
Arrange the five petal pieces around the center roll and insert triangular wedges between the petal pieces (it may help to stand the pieces on end for this step). Press all of the pieces together lightly. Wrap the rectangle of background color around the flower and roll the entire assemblage down to about one inch thick. Help your kids use the knife to slice their buttons from the log, cutting them about 1/8 inch thick.
Baking
Let the kids use a toothpick to make buttonholes before baking. Bake in the foil pan in a 260-degree oven for four to five minutes. Cool and coat with a layer of varnish.
