Fun, Environmentally Friendly Craft Projects (NAPSA)—A growing number Use your creativity to make your own Paper Mario story and build your own Mushroom King- of parents are using a little cre- ativity to cure childhood cases of “cabin fever,” brought on by bad dom filled with your favorite video gamecharacters. Here arefive weatheroran illness. By getting the youngster(s) involved in games andprojects the easy steps to get you started: 1. Start by making the charac- whole family can enjoy, it’s possible to turn down time into fun time. Even video games can spark a child’s creativity and provide ideas for craft projects based on his or her favorite game. For starters, take a favorite character parents remember and children love: Mario, the world’s most recognizable video game character and star of an all-new adventure. Nintendo’s Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64 can keep youngsters busy and happy for hours, while parents will appreciate the refreshing appear- ance of this family-friendly game. Children are sure to enjoy watching the scenery “unfold,” as ters. Visit the Web site at www. papermario.com and print cutouts of Mario, Princess Peach and all the otherson old office paper. Inspiration for fun craft projects can come from surprising sources, such as video games. help the environment by encouraging kids to reuse paper instead of throwing it away. Reusable paperproducts can be found all over your home by sleuthing through closets, drawers and cupboardsfor different types of paper to use, such as newspa- pers, old office paper and even used holiday wrapping paper. Inspired by Paper Mario, try 2. Using scissors, cut around the characters you’ve just printed, or trace them on your own and color in with crayons and markers. Use Popsicle sticks as handles so your characters become puppets. 3. With used shoeboxes, build a theater to represent the Mush- room Kingdom. Color trees inside the boxes with brown and green crayons or markers. 4. Create your own castle by cutting cardboard shapes and drawing in the windows. Make an entrance with markers. 5. Add whatever else you want paper-thin, two-dimensional characters flip, flop and flutter their these paper-related therapies to storybook adventure. remember, recycled paper is preferred—crayons, scissors, markers, houses. you want, but here are some ideas to spark your imagination. paper, being “stuck” in the house way through a three-dimensional engage children in quality, creative activities. Gather paper— After experiencing the wonderful Mushroom Kingdom on your glitter and glue. Create whatever creating arts and crafts with Take the Sunday comicssec- can be fun, with a little imagination and quality family time. By TV, why not bring the game to life? Take children on another “paper” adventure and create 2-D and 3-D arts and crafts. Use what’s around the house to create paper dolls, paper airplanes or even papier-mach. A little imagination can save you money and tion and create your own cus- tomized comic books. Cut out and then glue the characters on con- struction paper and use markers to draw in the scenes. to the scenery in your kingdom— such as animals, flowers and From favorite video games to using paper products found in the house, parents can cut down on entertainment expenses while teaching their children simple lessons to help the environment.
