Paint Lay newspaper down on table and place puzzle pieces face up. Have the children paint the puzzle pieces in the colors of your choice. You may need 2-3 coats for some depending on the color of paint and the darkness of the pattern on the puzzle pieces.

Glue When the puzzle pieces are dry and are the color you want, use hot glue to adhere them to the ice cream sticks. Alternate colored puzzle pieces as desired, work your way around the frame, be sure that pieces overlap and do not leave any gaps between pieces.

Decorate After all pieces are glued in place, use hot glue to adhere small buttons and doodads of your choice around frame.

Hang For a simple hanger, hot glue a piece of sturdy string or yarn across the back of the cardboard.

Use a hole punch to make five holes along one shorter end of a 4 1/2- by 12-inch piece of craft foam. Roll the foam into a tube, overlapping the edges, and punch matching holes in the other end. Lace the two ends together with ribbon.

Next, punch a series of holes along the lower edge of the sock and tie a long ribbon from each one. Make two holes in the top and tie on a ribbon hanger.

Lastly, lace on cut-out foam flowers through holes punched in the sock.

Cut a car shape out of cardboard. Make sure you cut out holes for windows.

Cover the vehicle with construction paper and decorate with markers.

Glue on tissue paper for the car exhaust.

Cut two circles out of construction paper for the car’s wheels and then glue them onto the body of the car.

Glue the car to the tongue depressor.

Cover the juice can by gluing on construction paper or fabric, then place the can upright on a table (with the opening at the bottom).

Glue felt arm strips midway down both sides of the can and leg strips to the front of the lower edge.

Set out the rest of your decorations and watch as your children create some interesting characters.

Use a craft knife (adults only) to cut the bottle in half. Glue aluminum foil inside the cone-shaped portion of the top half (this creates a reflective dome), then use red acrylic paint to coat the outside of the foil- lined section.

When the paint is dry, apply 3-inch vertical strips of black tape, spaced evenly, around the unpainted portion of the bottle top.

In the bottom half of the bottle, pack a baseball-sized ball of Play-Doh or clay. Stand a flashlight upright in the clay and press down to secure it in place. Cut a notch down from the bottle’s edge to allow access to the flashlight’s switch, as shown.

Next, wrap an 11 1/2- by 10-inch sheet of white craft foam around the bottom half of the bottle (the foam will extend about 4 inches above the bottle) and note approximately where the flashlight switch opening is. Remove the foam and cut out a switch opening. Re-wrap the foam around the bottle and secure the overlapping ends with clear packing tape.

Finally, fit the cut edge of the bottle top just inside the foam sleeve and securely tape the foam to the bottle with colored tape.

Empty juice boxes or tea tins work well as basic car bodies. Or, you can cut a more unusual model out of an egg carton or a milk jug. Cover the car body with colored duct tape, if desired. Then glue on chrome headlights made from aluminum foil.

WINDSHIELDS: For a see-through screen, cut a small rectangle from a disposable plastic cup or container and attach it to the car with tape or glue.

AXELS AND TREADS: To fit your vehicle with wheels, first tape two plastic straws to the bottom of the body for axles. Or, you can use a nail to poke holes in the sides of the body and fit pipe cleaners through the holes. Then cut eight cups from an egg carton. Trim the sides so they are 1/2 inch tall. Use two cups for each wheel, matching up the cut edges and taping them together. Poke a hole through the center of each hub. Now, fit the wheels onto the ends of the axles. Another option for wheels is to use plastic caps; attach them with hot glue or clay.

THE AUTO CLUB: For passengers, use markers to draw faces on plastic spoons. Make slits in the car and insert the handles.

Open up the top and bottom of the box by removing the packing tape. Using the utility knife (a parent’s job), cut all the way down one of the corner seams. Turn the box inside out (this puts the printing on the inside, making the outside easier to paint later on). Poke holes down both edges of the cut corner seam and, as shown, lace it up with a length of twine. Reseal the box top and bottom with packing tape. Cut a 21 by 16 inch window in the box’s front, about 36 inches from the bottom, and a 20 by 34 inch door in one side of the box. If desired, cut out other windows, doors or skylights in the store.

To make the sloped roof, cut a 30 by 45 inch piece of cardboard and score it approximately into thirds, as shown. Cut four 8-inch lengths of paper towel tubes for roof supports. Use masking tape to attach two supports to each side edge of the roof. Lay the cardboard over the supports as shown and tape in place.

Now it’s time to decorate. Use the roller to apply large areas of paint to the box or use the brushes for more detailed work, such as stripes, trim, flowers or signs.

To make the fruit bin, cut the flaps off an approximately 10 by 23 by 5 inch box. Poke two holes, as shown, in the rear corners of the small box and two holes just under each corner of the store’s front window. From inside the store, thread a short piece of twine out through the wall, through both holes in the bin, back through the store wall, then knot both ends of the twine. Repeat for the other end of the bin.

Use this same technique to make bins or shelves inside the store. For a mailbox or cash drawer, simply tape cereal or cracker boxes to the walls.