Bad weather days can keep your kids indoors, but television isn't the only answer to inactivity. Simple and fun craft projects that can be done with items you probably have around the house can easily become a fun family activity!

Edible Jewelry. This is a very creative and fun way to play with your food! You will need shoe string licorice (not the rope style, as the licorice will be the string) and goodies that have some sort of hole in them. Example would be: Cheerios, pretzels, gummy lifesavers, mini donuts and dried apple rings. String the items along the licorice 'thread' and tie the two ends together. You can make necklaces and bracelets!

Edible play dough. If you have young ones who tend to eat their play dough - this is a nice alternative. Mix together one half cup of honey, one half cup of smooth peanut butter and one cup of dried milk powder. Mix until you have the dough consistency you like, adding more powdered milk if it feels sticky. If you like, you can work in a few drops of food coloring at this stage. Then let the kids play with and eat it! This is meant for a single use, don't store this longer than one day.

Sponge stamps. For this, all you need is any type of sponges you can find. The more different the textures of sponges, the more fun the designs are. Just cut the sponges into different shapes with scissors. The kids can dip the sponge pieces into paint and create their own works of art. For more creativity, try gluing the sponge pieces onto a 3 inch paint roller.

Maracas. For home made maracas, all you need are paper plates, dried beans and tape. Give each child two paper plates. Have them color and decorate the bottom of the plates any way they wish. Fill one plate with about ¼ cup of dried beans, place the other plate on top, face down and tape together - making sure you seal all the way around. The hollow area creates the space for the beans to shake around and make noise!

Homemade clay. There are lots of recipes out there for homemade clay, this one is very easy, if a little messy! You will need, flour, 12 day old slices white bread (with the crusts removed), ¾ cup of white glue, food coloring. Tear the bread into chunks and put in bowl, add the glue and mix really well with your hand until it becomes a unified mass. Turn out onto a floured board and need until the clay is no longer sticky. You may need to add tiny bits of flour as you go. To color the clay, pull off a chunk and add a drop or two of food coloring. Knead well to incorporate the color. Let the kids form whatever designs they like, then air dry the pieces. It will take a day or two depending on how big the pieces are. Paint the dried clay designs if you like. Clean up with soap and water.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Crafts at http://crafts-guides.com/.