I hope some of you can help with suggestions on this one. My daughter and some of her school class (10 and 11 year olds) are setting up a stall and their challenge is to sell items to their schoolmates (aged 5 to 12 years) which they have made themselves.

They can get a small loan from the school to buy materials, which they have to repay, and any profit goes to charity. Its a nice project for them to learn lots of useful skills.

They already have plenty of ideas for things they would like to make- Christmas decorations, beaded and woven bracelets, badges, hair ornaments, bookmarks etc. (Edible items are not allowed.)

I of course would be thrilled if this project could be a catalyst for some of these kids learning to sew (all the work has to be done at school, presumably to stop mothers like me from doing it lol). So we are talking handsewing only (I draw the line at bringing my machine in to school- I only have one.) All I can think of that they should be able to manage would be maybe drawstring bags. Can anyone suggest anything else? I know the girls would like to be able to make small dolls, but it might just be too tricky to get that outline done, and clothes would surely be beyond them.

I have of course lots of scraps, buttons, etc that I could invoice for them at surprisingly reasonable prices (they are not allowed to just take stuff from home and everything has to go through their accounts!) If anyone has links to some super simple and saleable projects, I'd much appreciate hearing about them.

I'd particularly like something for boys, as I don't speak boy myself and their current product offering does not really have much for boys to buy. What sort of crafty things do boys like ?!!!!

As regards prices, the children buy the items but notes go home encouraging parents to give them a few dollars to support the charity. In previous years these stalls have had items for sale for prices from 20 cents up to 2 or 3 dollars.

Looking forward to your ideas :-)

From what I have seen at craft fairs animal toys, beds and toys sell. The younger generation seem to have animals as their kids and they buy them everything...collars, blankets, cat climbling poles, beds, clothes...good luck to them and their fun adventure!

Thanks carolaug- do you have any links for items to make as gifts for pets? Blankets should be easy if they can just buy and cut fabric and turn a hem around the edge- what size is good, do you think? Do animals like fleece?

beads in bracelets, necklaces, jewelry

scarfs in favorite team colors. just cut a strip o fleece and maybe they can "fringe" the ends. paper flowers-for moms

Our Girl Scout troop (5th grade) made message pads that you could hang on a refrigerator. We took small wooden plagues (bought at Michaels), decorated them however they wanted to, then glued a small pad to it and glued a magnet to the back. We also attached a clothes pin on the front so you could clip the message on it. (Hope that makes sense.) Kids can buy them as gifts for their parents.

Also recipe holders with a block of wood for the base, then a dowel glued to that with a clothes pin glued to the top.

Can't come up with much for boys except maybe pencil holder. Decorate a small can with a weight (rock) glued in it to weigh it down.

I'll have to ask my daughter for ideas, she teaches 6th grade.

All I can think of right now is to take pine cones and spray paint green or white, let dry. Glue confetti on the tips to make it look like bulbs or ornaments on a Christmas tree. Could even take filament thread and go around(before confetti) as for garland. Make a small star for the top but attach string toward top to hang.

My daughters class also made gift tags. Children cut out cardboard shapes. (tree, bell,star etc) and glued a small picture on. Put To and From on the card.

Cooked play dough is fun, easy and cheap to make--usually popular. (lots of recipes on line, one is www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,199,150177-253203,00.html)

Use pretty embroidered ribbon or RWB/camo ribbon with a clip to make lanyards for I.D. cards, name cards, whistles, etc.

Have empty C.D. cases? Use paper or fabric on the inside to make a picture frame.

Pinked triangle dog bandanas.

Containers with potting soil & herb seeds OR start herb pots ahead--parsley, cilantro, chives.

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