Sassy Mama is getting out the sticky-backed plastic and glitter-glue, and teaming up with crafters extraordinaire, SweetP for a monthly DIY craft tutorial for parents and kids to try at home.
Ahoy there, mama! For our first Sassy Mama post, we thought it would be timely to do a nautical-themed piece given that Junk Boat season is right around the corner for us Hong Kongers! This is a very simple Rice Krispies DIY craft that you can do with your children rain or shine. Jump on board and try it with us!
Boat ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine
- 1 pack (about 40) regular marshmallows
- 6 cups of Rice Krispies
- Olive oil to mould the Krispies
What you’ll need to make your boats:
1. In a large saucepan, melt your butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Add Rice Krispies and keep stirring until they are mixed in evenly with the marshmallows and butter.
2. Glaze your hand with a little bit of olive oil and take a handful of Rice Krispies. The olive oil will prevent the Rice Krispies from sticking to your fingers.
3. Mould the Rice Krispies into the shape of a boat, and pack the boat evenly with your thumb so that it has a nice, full shape. The length of your boat should run about 5″ / 12cm long.
4. Use both hands to mould the ends of the boat (as seen in photo 4).
5. Lift both ends of the boat (as seen in photo 5).
6. Voila! And there you have the base of your sailboat!
What you’ll need to decorate your boats:
- Nautical-themed paper
- Embroidery string
- Scissors
- Ice pick
- Old picture frame (8″x 10″)
- Ruler
- Tape
- Pocky biscuit sticks
- Goldfish crackets
- Life Savers, or other round, hard candy
- Ground almonds
How to decorate your boats:
1. Prepare all your materials on a flat surface. We recommend using wax paper as your base to prevent the Rice Krispies boat from sticking to your table.
2. Prepare the following ingredients for decoration: Pocky sticks, Goldfish crackers, Life Savers and ground almonds.
3. Cut about 6″/ 15cm of embroidery string, and thread 3 Life Savers onto your string.
4. Once completed, you can hang the Life Savers along the hull of your sailboat (as per photo 4).
5. Using an ice pick or chopstick, slowly drill a hole into the middle of your Rice Krispies sail boat.
6. Take a Pocky biscuit stick and insert into the hole. This will become the mast of your sailboat. Pat neatly around the hole of the boat to patch up any empty spaces. Ensure that your “mast” is secure.
7. To make your mainsail and jib, cut 2 sets of triangles using 2 different varieties of patterned paper. The triangle for your mainsail should be slightly larger than your jib. Once you’ve cut both sets of triangles, fold in half.
8. Take your main sail and jib and fold around both sides of the Pocky stick. To secure both flaps of the sails, use a piece of double-sided tape to keep the sails in tact.
Finished! And now you’re ready to sail away with SweetP this summer!
Stay tuned for more rainy-day activities, fun projects and edible masterpieces coming soon from SweetP; and for more inspiration, check out their fabulous website.