Metal Crafts Supply

Since kids get to use a ball-peen hammer in a lot of metal crafts, they enjoy being able to pound on things. Not since early toddler plastic workbenches and mallets have they been able to wield such a tool freely. However, the child must be old enough to understand that hitting nails with a hammer is a very precise, careful job. If the child's attitude is immature, some metal crafts should be withheld for a while longer.

Care must be used in selecting metal crafts, so that only safe projects are undertaken. The high school metal shop, for example, often uses caustic chemicals, a subject of concern in a number of states. Other metal crafts are intended for children no younger than eight, and sometimes not till age 10.

A nice project to begin with is a metal embossing craft kit. Silver and gold metal embossing foils can be applied to photo frames, greeting cards, and other items. Book covers and name tags come to mind. A little more advanced are hanging mobiles or standing mobiles. These are striking when the shapes are cut from aluminum and then decorated with stipple work and beads.

Many Satisfying Metal Projects for Kids

Little tin pie pans, sometimes called tart pans, can be punched out with a nail to form animal and bird designs, or a house, sheaf of wheat, fruit, or anything else that will fit. If desired, eyelet lace can be glued around each pan, and a ribbon fastened to form a hanger. They're especially decorative in the kitchen. Copper lantern covers are available in kits. When the patterns are punched out and the lantern cover formed, a small tea candle can be placed inside. When lit, it produces a lovely effect.

A craft that doesn't require a hammer uses flexible wire to make garden stakes. Bent into whimsical shapes, again with beads threaded on or glued on, and coated with weatherproof, safe paint, they add an element of fantasy to a garden. Fasten them to wooden dowels of different lengths to vary their height.