Crafts: Icicle Ornaments

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

 

Materials

• Pipe cleaners 
• Beads (about 12 per pipe cleaner) 
• Pencil 

Steps

1. Select the color or colors or pipe cleaners and beads you would like to use for this project.

2. Provide your child with a tray of the beads.

3. Put on one bead at the end of each pipe cleaner and twist.

4. Your child should now string on about 10 beads onto the pipe cleaner.

5. When your child is finished, attach one bead onto the end and twist to ensure they do not fall off.

6. Twist around a pencil to create the 'icicle' effect. Take care when wrapping around pencil, so that too many beads do not bunch up in one place.

7. Remove from pencil, keeping the twisted shape.  My son told me that the icicle ornaments looked like worms as they were being pulled off the pencil.

8. Hang on your tree.

Depending on how long your child takes picking out what beads to use, the entire project should take an hour or so.

I was inspired by Happy Hooligan's Icicle Ornaments and the Kids' Craft Room has a different approach in their Sparkly Icicle Ornaments.

Hand print Christmas Wreaths

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Materials

• construction paper (green and red) 
• glue sticks
• tape 
• wrapping paper (optional) 
• butcher paper  (I use the paper that companies use to wrap products in that they mail.) 
• scissors 

Steps 

1. Gather materials.  Use different shades of green construction paper to trace hands.  You can also use holiday wrapping paper if you wish.  We happened to have some left over plaid paper and I thought that would look nice mingled in with the green hands.

2. Trace Hands.  If you use a different shade of green for each person in your family, you can label the back so you will be able to identify hands in future years.

3. Cut out hand prints.

4. Trace circle for wreath. I used my cake saver for my stencil.

5. Cut out circle and center of circle to create a base for the wreath.

6. Lay out hand prints in two rows. Adult and teen size on the outside with kid/toddler/baby scattered on top of that row.

7. Tape hand prints down one by one to form a circle.

8. Once all layered hand prints are attached, tape down the smaller hand prints.

9. Cut out and glue down berries.  (I used my glue stick as a 'stencil.')

10. Turn over and tape and glue down hand prints so they are all connected on your circle base.

11.  Hang your completed wreath.

12. Optional Ideas:

• add year
• add ribbon
• add bells 
• laminate wreath

You will need approximately 15 adult/teen size hand prints and 12 kid/toddler/baby size hand prints. 

I used the same set of prints to trace and make all of my hand prints.  I would have liked a bit of variety of the hand prints but we are so busy that I didn't have time to get everyone to sit around the table and trace their hands multiple times. 

I scattered in the wrapping paper prints because I thought it would add a unique touch as I didn't plan on adding ribbon. 

With all materials and participants at the ready, this entire project will only take a few hours from start to completion. 

I originally saw an image of My Name is Snickerdoodle's wreath last year but I knew that I wanted to put a family twist on this idea.

Crafts: Leaf Turkey

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Materials 

• Construction Paper
• Glue
• Googly Eyes
• Leaves 
• clear contact paper (optional) 

Steps 

1. Collect leaves.
2. Draw turkey shapes. 
3. Cut out turkey shapes. 
4. Glue on leaves. 
5. Glue on turkey shapes and eyes. 
6. Let dry. 
7. Optional, seal with clear contact paper. 

We collected leaves and other items in October for some other activities and I still had the bag hanging up to ready to use for our November crafts.

I pre-cut the turkey's body, beak, snood, and feet.  If your child is skilled with scissors you can draw the shape and have them cut it out.  Or you can have them draw and cut out the shapes if they are older.

We glued all the pieces onto a large piece of construction paper.  I would recommend using newly collected leaves so they don't crumble.  Another idea is to use clear contact paper to seal the leaves for a fresh look.  You could also use leaf clip art instead of real leaves.

A quick search also leads me to recommend craft leaves or craft feathers or even purchasing a kit for your children to create their own turkey.  (affiliate links)

I joined up with the Timberdoodle Blog Hop this week! 

Crafts: Corn Sun Catcher

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Materials

• Bubble Wrap
• Paint (yellow, red, brown, orange) 
• Sponge brushes 
• Construction Paper
• Glue

Steps

1. Create corn and leaf templates of desired sizes.

2. Trace the leaves from templates with the corn. Cut two leaves for each project (front and back).

They can be a little uneven because it creates a nice overlapping effect.

3. Paint the bubble wrap (if you haven't painted it for another craft). 

4. After the bubble wrap dries, cut out using your corn templates. 

5. Glue the corn and leaves together and allow to dry.
OR you can laminate them or use clear covering contact paper. 

There is a lot of prep work for a three year old.  Another child could do many of the steps themselves: tracing, cutting, etc.

I recommend creating different sizes if you intend on using them all in one window as decorations.

We did two laminated and I left two un-laminated.  Part of the reason why I wanted to laminate them was because the paint was chipping off the bubble wrap as I cut them.

When putting through the laminator, the picture makes a very satisfying pop-pop noise which sounds like popcorn popping.  If you do choose to use thermal laminating pouches, only use one pouch per ear of corn.  Do not include other images with it because they will not laminate perfectly.  Warning! Also keep in mind that the laminator may be damaged because you are putting through an item that is rather thick. Using contact paper may be a safer way to create a lasting craft project.

This idea was inspired by Fall Craft - Corn Sun Catchers.

Fall Crafts for Toddlers 

Crafts: Corn Shaker

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

To help celebrate the fall, we  made our own music shakers! 

Materials 

• Pringles Container (other other similar container)
• Popcorn Kernels 
• Paint (yellow, orange, red, brown) 
• Sponge brushes
• Construction Paper
• Bubble wrap
• Glue 

Steps

1. Paint the bubble wrap. 
2. Put paper on the bubble wrap and press down. 
3. While your child is painting, eat the Pringles chips. Or share them with the whole family at snack time on a previous day. 
4. Clean out the container.  I rinsed with water and let it dry. 
5. Put corn kernels in container. This is great practice for your little's fine motor development. You can use as much or as little as you like. You can also have your child put the lid on and take the lid off to see what type of sound he/she wants to create with it. 
6. Tape the end of paper you won't see onto container. 
7. Glue the rest of the paper onto the container. 
8. You can attach tape to both ends of the paper if you like for added security.
9. You can also attach tape onto the lid to keep it on when your child shakes it.  (I imagined corn kernels going EVERYWHERE!) 

My very first reaction to the completed project was that it was very loud as my son shook it.  As the popcorn kernels hit the metal bottom and then the plastic lid, it created a satisfying, but loud, sound that my son loved.

We painted the bubble wrap to create a 'corn' stamp.  I provided him with paint and sponge brushes and he decided to paint in straight lines on the bubble wrap.  He definitely was not interested in mixing the paint at all.  We used the bubble wrap on our corn sun catchers craft.

It did take about a day for the paper to dry (it will depend on how much paint your child uses for the craft).

Other ideas

You could also add pictures or stickers to the outside of the shaker for Halloween (if you do this craft in October), Autumn, or Thanksgiving.  Or your child could draw a face onto the shaker or glue on googly eyes and draw a mouth.

This idea was inspired by Music Crafts for Kids - Making Corn Shakers.