Rachel, from Berkshire, made this fantastic wicker rainbow with their kids.

What did you do?

To make a giant wicker rainbow you will need:

  • lots of sticks
  • lots of cable ties or glue gun
  • paint brush
  • paint.

Instructions:

  1. Firstly gather sticks or branches together (from your garden, nearby woods or on your daily walk).
  2. Start making your shape with the stronger, thicker branches you have collected.
  3. Make sure you pull the cable ties as tight as you can.
  4. I thickened out the ends so it could stand up and gathered more bending sticks for the middle to create the curve. 
  5. Once it’s strong enough to stand on its own you can start adding the smaller sticks together in bundles to fill out the shape. Carry this on until its wide enough for all the colours of the rainbow to fit.
  6. Go around and make sure all the cable ties are as tight as they can be and use more if any are loose. Once they are as tight as they can be, you may notice some more gaps. Fill these in. 
  7. Cut off all the cable ties on show and begin to paint. 

This was a last-minute craft so we only had kids paint to use. It has kept its colour, however, it is less vibrant. I suggest using outdoor paint or make sure you seal it with varnish (we are doing this once it arrives. Hope it works!!)

Anything else planned?

Our next project is going to be building a birdhouse.

Tell us a bit about yourself

This was made by Mummy Rachel, Kia Cook age 8 and Connor Cook age 3 from Thatcham Berkshire.

How have you all been dealing with the extended time spent in the house so far?

We have been doing lots of crafts to keep us entertained and baking. The children have been great however Kia has started to get really bored and starting to really miss everyone.

We have tried to do at least one thing the kids want to do daily. Camp night one night, den making inside the next.

Any tips for others?

I would suggest (if you can) buy the kids something new each month so they have something new. We bought a goal last month and a marble run this month. If you can’t do that, I would get them involved in anything and everything.

My daughter enjoys helping cleaning and Connor loves hoovering. Make things fun, even the tidying up. Dance whilst cleaning.

Make things out of recycling like we have with the bee. Create a long road out of cardboard. There is endless fun with cardboard boxes. 

Any final thoughts?

I think this website is a great way of getting ideas and helping others that are struggling to be creative – or struggling on ideas of how to use the materials they have at home to make something new and wonderful.