Summer Crafts for Kids: How to Make a Flower Luminary

For kids (and adults), summer means spending a lot of time outside. Playing outside is a great way to pass the time but there will likely be days where it's too hot to go outside or it's raining and the kids have to stay inside to play. During those days, kids can get a little bored of watching TV or playing video games. Rainy days (and other types of days that force people indoors) are great for crafts. If you are hoping to do some summer crafts with your kids but can't come up with any ideas, try making flower luminaries. It's a very easy project and can be enjoyed by kids all summer long. This is a very art project, anyone can do it. Here are the materials and instructions:

Materials
-votive candles (one per luminary)
-brown paper bag
-scissors
-sand (or rocks)
-pencil

Instructions
1. The first step to creating your flower luminary is drawing the flower pattern on the brown paper bag. It works well with just a basic flower, but make sure that you draw the petals separately from one another, so that when you cut out the petals they will be outlined by the paper bag. You can draw a stem and a leaf if you want, but that's optional.

2. Once the flower is drawn on the paper bag, it's time to cut it out. The cutting part can be a little difficult (especially if the flower is small), so this part should probably be done by an adult, if the kids are of a young age. If you want to decorate the bag at this point, you can, but it's not necessary. It might be more fun for the kids if you let them decorate the bag, and since it's just an ordinary paper bag, you can use anything such as colored pencils, markers, or even paint.

3. If you decorated the bag with something that takes time to dry, make sure that your craft completely dry before moving on. When your bag is ready, open it and put some sand or rocks at the bottom. This is extremely important because your luminary will blow away if you don't.

4. Once the sand or rocks are at the bottom of your bag, it's time to put the votive candle in. Make a place for it in the center of the rocks or sand, and make sure that it's steady so that your luminary doesn't catch on fire when it's lit! Place your flower luminary outside and wait until night time to light it and enjoy your craft!