DONNA'S DAY: CREATIVE FAMILY FUNBy Donna EricksonTeens Get Crafty With Hot-Glue, IceIf your teens are looking for an innovative DIY craft to enjoy during a low-key Saturday afternoon, share this unusual idea with them. Fashion fun, useful creations together out of glue with a hot glue gun and a mold made of ice.Make a decorative container for a flowerpot, little baskets for sorting and storing small stuff such as coins and paper clips, or a ball-shaped sculpture with a bell inside.Here's how:SMALL BASKETS AND BOWLSFill a small bowl or plastic deli container with water, and freeze until completely solid. Pop out the ice form and set it upside-down on a plastic plate lined with several layers of newspaper. Drizzle hot glue in all directions directly onto the ice shape to resemble lace. When the glue comes in contact with the ice, it hardens almost immediately! Add an extra glue stick to the glue gun if necessary to make a complete upside-down basket shape. Use colored or glitter glue sticks for variety, if you wish. Mix and match colored sticks with clear sticks, too. (Colored glue sticks are available at some craft stores and online at amazon.com.) Finally, squeeze a thick rim of glue around the base of the ice. Set completed creation in the sink to allow the ice to melt away. Turn it over, and your basket is complete. Use it to store small items on a desk, dresser or at your family message center. Use the same technique to create a larger decorative basket to hold a clay pot of herbs or flowers. A child's plastic sand pail makes an ideal mold for the ice. BALL WITH A BELL INSIDEFill a small balloon with water, drop a jingle bell inside and knot the balloon. Set the balloon in a bowl to support the round shape of the water balloon. Freeze solid. Snip off the knot of the balloon, and peel away to reveal the ice ball. Drizzle hot glue all around the frozen shape, making sure there aren't any open spaces larger than the size of the bell. Set ball into the sink to allow the ice to melt. You will now have a ball sculpture with a bell inside. Toss it to friends and let them guess how you made the whimsical toy.Safety Note: This activity is intended for teens who have experience using a glue gun. Keep the glue gun away from any water from melting ice.***Donna Erickson's award-winning series "Donna's Day" is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna's Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is "Donna Erickson's Fabulous Funstuff for Families."(c) 2013 Donna EricksonDistributed by King Features Synd.