A Year of Nature Craft and Play (Harper Collins) is a new nature based activity book by garden blogger Catherine Hughes and well-being author Becky Goddard-Hill.
In the book they share a host of nature craft and play ideas following the seasons.
They also include nature-based science experiments and gardening projects as well as mindfulness activities, cooking and gift ideas.
Today we will share with you a Rustic Star Craft tutorial from the book, and we have a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader at the end of this blog post.
The reason for the book
Their deep desire is to encourage kids to get outside in the fresh air, running about and shaking off the day, screen free and filled with mood boosting daylight and vitamin D.
Nature makes people happier, crafting makes people happier and play does too. Combing these 3 elements provides a simple, cost-free way to keep a child’s mood uplifted and to build their connection with nature.
It has been shown that children who connect with nature grow up to be adults who protect nature, and this is of course exactly what our planet needs.
Nature Craft and Play has flown off the shelves and is currently the no.1 bestselling book in kids gardening on Amazon. It looks set to be a Christmas must but for kids who love the great outdoors.
The authors have shared one the most eco-friendly crafts from the book with us here today – the simplest of crafts but one that is so effective and such a lovely way to celebrate the solstice.
A Rustic Star to Welcome Winter Solstice
“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.” — Aristotle
Winter solstice is an ancient holiday known for rituals and traditions that celebrate nature; it takes place on 21 December each year. It marks the shortest day of the year and the official start of winter.
It is tempting to stay inside all warm and cosy when it’s wintertime but you miss the best things about winter if you do.
One lovely way to celebrate nature and welcome in winter is to hang a rustic star either from a tree in your garden or local park, or on your front door or mantel. You can make a rustic star really simply just using sticks.
You will need
- 5 sticks all about the same length and 0.5 cm or more thick (you can break them to make them same length)
- String (or for a really tiny star you might want to use glue)
- Ribbon or string to make a hanging loop
How to make a rustic star
- Lay out two sticks with their ends together, to make two sides of a triangle pointing upwards.
- Then place two more sticks forming a cross shape, with their bottom ends matching up with the bottom ends of the triangle sticks.
- Next lay your last stick over the other ends of the crossed sticks horizontally, to complete your star.
- Now use your string to tie the star together at the points where the sticks meet – this stops it from falling apart. You need to tie it tightly.
- Then, loop a ribbon or piece of string through the top and tie the ends together.
- Now it’s ready to hang up.
The really lovely thing about this rustic star is that it lasts and lasts. We hung ours on a mantelshelf, on a shed door, and in a tree. It has been everywhere!
It is so lovely for kids to craft with sustainable materials knowing that they are not adding to landfill or manufacturing processes. And there is just something wonderfully traditional about playing with and making things out of sticks.
Other stick craft and play ideas
Cinnamon Stick Ribbon Christmas Tree Ornaments
Making natural paint brushes
Using sticks to make a picture frame and filing it in with nature art
Making stick animals
Making twig-wrapped flower pots
Using sticks to make a noughts and crosses game
A starting point for the imagination
Nature has the best art materials and there are just so many wonderful ways kids can craft and play with it. Give them an invitation to play, a little starting idea and before long their own imagination and creativity will kick in and they will be devising their own ideas for things to make and do.
A Year of Nature Craft and Play is a wonderful book packed with inspiration and would be a lovely addition to any family bookshelf.
Giveaway
Giveaway has now ended.
Good luck and Happy nature crafting everyone!
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
Thanks so much for sharing my craft
I must try this with my grandson
Definatley something to do with the grandchildren
This looks wonderful, thanks for sharing
Wow, that is amazing!
My great grandson would love to try some of the crafts in the book
I’d love to win this for my two children. There looks like so many amazing ideas in here xx
I live this. I’m planning on making a craft box for my little boy for Xmas and this would be an amazing addition to encourage using nature in craft.
Love to win to try with my granddaughter
Love this idea, perfect for Autumn crafting
great book, will be on my christmas present list for twins rose and teresa if not lucky enough to win.
We love doing crafts from things we find in nature, the only problem is finding a place to keep all the things my children make.
this would be lovely
My grandsons love making things. And so do I. Channeling my inner child
Beautiful star, so simple to make and for free if you already have string.
Definitely a book we need for the ideas of ridding us of apathy and boredom!
Perfect for us, we love crafting and especially using nature
This book would inspire us.
This would be lovely for us!
Should be good for the kiddies
Great for my boys
My children would love this.
This will make a stunning garland or bunting for Xmas
Looks Cool
What a great book. This would be perfect for sharing with my nephew and giving us some cool ideas to do!
My kids love the outdoors this would be amazing
this would be great for when my nephew comes to stay!
such a great idea, can keep the kids active and entertained in any season
Lovely for my granddaughter
Looks like a great book, and it’s good to be able to do craft activities that also get you outside. Thanks for running this giveaway 🙂
This looks great for some fun ideas for the kids.
This book looks great to keep the kids busy
Love the giveaway I can this coming very useful.
This looks full of fun ideas
Love doing craft with my daughter, and this will have some amazing ideas in for us to try can’t wait to read it!
id love this for some ideas when my nephew visits
Looks like so many great ideas
Love to crafts with my son, great ideas
Great giveaway, would make the perfect Christmas present x
We often run out of ideas so this would be both fun and helpful.
My daughter would really love the ideas in this book. She loves nature.
This would give me hours of fun with my niece thanks ❤️🎄💖💋
My daughter loves arts and crafts 🤞
This would be fab for my friend who runs a forest school
Fantastic looks like it has lots of creative ideas
Some great ideas to try with my grandson
My 2 nieces love being outdoors and crafting so would love this super prize
This would be ideal for my craft loving grandchildren
So many great ideas here!
Thanks for the great article and ideas.
What a great idea!
My grand daughter will love this
There looks to be lots of great ideas in this wonderful book!
This would be perfect to use with my boy, he’s 11 he has severe learning difficulties so this is pitched at the appropriate learning stage for him, would be great to have some new ideas for things to do with him 🙂