I use this site for craft ideas for homeschooling my daughter... there's tons of them and if you have a printer you can print them out for free:

http://www.dltk-kids.com/

Scrapbooking is so much fun and kids of all ages can enjoy making photo books and cards.

I think it's great that you are finding the time to do some special activities with your child. You are creating memories as well as craft. 

I was going to suggest drawing with chalk but someone beat me to it. Depending on the age of your child you might like to explain that chalk is only for the area you have picked and not for inside walls!!!

During summer give them a small bucket of water and paint brush and let them 'paint' the fence, paving, dog (only joking),  walls etc.

Depending on the type of garden you have you could devise a treasure hunt. Write a list of items for the kids to find and help them read it out. ( blade of grass, yellow flower, round stone) You could offer them a small reward at the end if they find everything.

Depending on the age of your child have you considered play group/day care? Ask around for recommendations. Your child gets to play with heaps of new stuff as well as learning important social skills and you get to recharge your batteries!!!

Why don't you check out www.huggies.com.au They have heaps of little crafty ideas and all sorted in age groups. Also www.spotlightcom.au they have a kids club section with different craft ideas too.

I find the best way to entertain my kids is by building a cubby house with sheets, towels or rugs and saying it is a castle or a rocket. They do a lot of pretend games too like fire man with a skipping rope to put out fires.

We also roll on the floor. I cover them up and roll them in my arms making sure I don't squash them.

Uncooked Pasta is a good tool for making necklaces and bracelets, you can also use a little food dye to colour.

Or you can make collage pictures by pasting coloured or natural pasta on paper or cardboard, these pictures don't necessarily have to be limited to pasta there are all number of things suitable for children you can use the sky is the limit.

If you have access to old style clothes pegs you can also make people, cotton wool balls or wool for hair, material for dresses or pants, these are a real hit for gifts to grand parents.

For special occassions my son really loves getting some food dye and painting our eggs, he mainly does this at easter but has been known to get out the red and green dyes at christmas

Hope these help

chalk is a fave of mine.  my kids scribble on the pavement in our back yard.  It looks great but comes off easily.  no stained clothes or bits and peices to worrie about.  they can draw for hours if they are into drawing if not you can draw a pic for them to colour (even if its just simple like a sun) or you can write letters or numbers for them to go over.  games can also be played like hopescotch or pictionary or roads for toy cars and homes for dolls.  I found that the big chalks are the best to use as they last and dont break into bits.

Have you ever thought about knitting? The kids can use homemade needles and bulky yarn to make themselves scarves, for instance, and wear them proudly! (If you're interested, you can contact me and I'll point you in the direction of some tutorials).