Gold, Silver, and Coal Mining Crafts

Today I have a 3-in-1 craft for you. Follow the simple steps to make a traditional mining cart out of paper, then "fill" it with gold, silver, or coal. It's a great project to accompany a study of the role that gold, silver, and/or coal mining played in your state's history. Affiliate links below. 

-------

The most famous gold rush in history took place in my home state of California. Following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848, approximately 300,000 "forty-niners" poured into California the following year, hoping to strike it rich. California isn't the only state with a gold rush. The Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899) is almost as famous. Approximately 100,000 prospectors hiked through Alaska on their way to the gold fields. Other states with significant gold rushes include North Carolina (1802), Georgia (1829), Colorado (1859), and South Dakota (1874). 

What do Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and New Mexico have in common? Each of these states had a silver boom in the late 1800's. Nevada, nicknamed the Silver State, had the first silver rush in the US in 1859, following the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City. Nevada remains a major silver producer today, along with Alaska, Idaho, and Utah. 

Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the coal industry in the US. It had the largest anthracite deposits in the world during the 19th and early 20th centuries. West Virginia has been one of the top producers of the softer bituminous coal. Kentucky, Illinois, Wyoming, and Montana all have played a significant role in the production of coal. 

Gold, Silver, or Coal Mining Cart

Materials: 

• cardstock (medium and dark brown)
• scissors
• black ink
• craft glue
• circle punch
• black colored pencil
• gold, silver, or black glitter paper

Steps:

Cut a 6" x 3" rectangle of medium brown paper and set it aside. Then cut seven strips of medium brown paper, each approximately 6" x 0.5". Ink the edges of the strips, then glue them to the rectangle. 

Cut 1/4" strips of darker brown to make the metal trim that secures the boards. Glue the pieces in place (2 horizontal and 3 vertical) as shown below. Then trim the edges to give the mine cart its trapezoidal shape. Punch a pair of circles from the dark brown. 

Use a colored pencil to add grain, knots, and shading to the wood. Add dots to mimic rivets on the metal. Draw spokes on the wheels. 

Glue the wheels in place and you have your mine cart. 

Cut a piece of glitter paper (gold, silver, or black) and glue it behind the mine cart. 

I wish I'd thought of this idea a couple of decades ago so I could have made these with my 4th and 5th graders. I had a space above my chalkboards that would have been perfect for displaying a long line of mine carts holding gold.

A Far Cry from Johnny Cash

It's been a little more than two years since I made a map showing how much of "everywhere" (according to the famous song by Johnny Cash) that I had been. As it turned out, I'd been to 33.7% of "everywhere". I've done a lot of traveling since then, so I was excited to update my map and add it to my Where I've Been page. 

In the 27 months since I wrote that blog post, I have traveled to:  

• Central Texas (April 2024)
• Utah (April 2024)
• 9 countries in Europe (July 2024)
• Southern California (January 2025)
• Denver (June 2025)
• New York (September 2025)
• New England and Canada (September 2025)
• Eastern Washington (October 2025)
• Las Vegas (January 2026)
• Arizona and New Mexico (April 2026)

In addition to those, I've also been to Idaho five times. I went on a girls trip to Disneyland with my mom, sister, and niece last November. Steve and I have visited several new-to-us locations in Northern California. Surely with all that travel, I've added a lot of destinations in my quest to go "everywhere"! 

Nope. 

I have added exactly two locations to my list: Buffalo and Winslow. That brings my grand total to 33 out of 91, or 36.2%. Sigh. 

Let's look at my map. 

Now compare it to Johnny's map and you can see what it will take to have been "everywhere." 

Actually, it will take even more than that, since I cropped the image tightly enough that you can't see most of South America, which has an additional five locations beyond what I showed. 

I want to make a single map that shows all of the "everywhere" locations and where I've been. It's on my to-do list. When I do, I'll post it on my Where I've Been page.

State Name Art: Ohio, Idaho, Montana, and Maine

It's no secret that I love name art. Over the years, I've shared 47 unique ideas for creative projects using my name (or yours, if you aren't named Cindy). Today's craft is a little different because it features the names of states inside their silhouettes. This would be such a fun project to do with a class of 4th graders studying their home state, or with fifth graders who are each working on a different state report.

For my samples, I chose four states with distinct shapes to see how well my idea would work. I started with what I thought would be the easiest (Ohio) and worked my way toward the most challenging (Maine). It took a bit of creativity to fit the names legibly, but figuring it out was so much fun! I'm really happy with how these turned out. Affiliate links below.  

 

State Name Art

Materials:

• Bristol vellum
• Flair pens
• colored pencils
• microtip scissors
• colored cardstock
• glue stick

Steps: 

Print or trace the outline of a state onto Bristol vellum, or the paper of your choice. (Bristol vellum is my favorite when working with colored pencils.) I made the outlines using PicMonkey graphics, but there are a lot of places to find outlines. You can also have students draw their own outlines or use pre-prepared tracers. 

Use a pencil to LIGHTLY sketch in the letters of the state. Make adjustments until you are happy with the letters. Don't be afraid to have missing parts of letters (like the M in Montana) or distorted letters (like the E in Maine) as long as the state name is legible. Outline the letters with a Flair pen, then color in all spaces that aren't part of the letters.  

LIGHTLY sketch a scene across the white space that represents the state. When you are happy with it, fill it in with colored pencils. I chose fields and a classic red barn for Ohio...

... forests and a mountain for Idaho...

... a sunset behind the mountains for Montana... 

... and a lighthouse on a rocky shore for Maine. 

When you are done coloring, cut out the state and glue it to colored construction paper. 

I had so much fun making these that I will definitely be doing more! I have no intention to do all 50; I learned just how much work it is when I colored in all 50 state quarters coloring pages. It took me eight months, working on four at a time. On the other hand, never say never! 

I Love Pennsylvania - Hershey's Kiss Craft

Have you ever been to Hershey, Pennsylvania? Our family visited Hershey in 2017 and loved every minute. It's such a unique and fun city. (The streetlights are particularly awesome.) It's 15 miles from the state capital, Harrisburg, and about 95 miles from Philadelphia. If you've never been, I highly recommend you plan a trip to all three cities. 

I thought it would be fun to design a craft inspired by the iconic Hershey's kiss. Mine represents my love of the great state of Pennsylvania. Obviously, you can write whatever message you want on your plume. Affiliate links below. 

I Love Pennsylvania - Hershey's Kiss Craft

Materials: 

• cardstock (brown and white)
• scissors
• pastel blue pen (Ohuhu has the perfect shade in this set!)
• aluminum foil
• craft glue
• Hershey's Kisses (to snack on while crafting)

Steps: 

Cut out a triangle from the brown cardstock, then round the corners to make a kiss shape. Place the kiss on top of the white cardstock and draw a plume. 

Write your message on the plume with the pastel blue pen, then use the scissors to cut it out. Cut (or tear) a square of aluminum foil that is about an inch bigger than the kiss. Wrap the foil around the kiss, folding back a section so the chocolate is visible. 

You don't need glue for the foil, but you do need a dot of glue to attach the plume to the back of the kiss. 

Reward yourself for a job well done with Hershey's kisses! 

Where I've Been

I love maps and I love checklists and I especially love maps that act as checklists. I've made (and updated) a lot of maps over the years, showing where I have traveled. Because searching for them to link is a pain, I've created a dedicated page to hold them all. Check out my new Where I've Been page!