Tag Archives: Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids

Festive Holiday Frame

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Crafts ’n things Craft of the Day

 

Capture your Christmas memories with a photo of your family on Christmas day and display in this Festive Holiday Frame. 

 Materials

  • Cardstock or construction paper: red, white
  • Cardboard or chipboard, 8-1/2” square, 3”x8-1/2” strip
  • Christmas day family photo

Tools

  • Craft glue

Basic Supplies

scissors, ruler

Directions

Size

8-1/2″ square

Frame

1. Measure and cut 8-1/2” white paper square. Cut out 3” square in center of frame (for photo opening).

2. Print and cut out patterns.

3. Measure and cut four 2-1/4” red paper squares. Fold squares diagonally in half. Cut star design from squares, placing line on fold, and cutting on dashed lines. Open up design and adhere on corners of white square, leaving 1/4” border on edges.

4. Measure and cut four 2”x3-1/4” red paper rectangles. Adhere rectangles between corner square designs.

5. Measure and cut 3”x9” white paper strip. Fold strip in half lengthwise. Cut four large heart shapes from folded strip, placing line on fold, and cutting on dashed lines. Open up designs and adhere on centers of red paper rectangles. See photo.

6. Measure and cut 2-1/2”x7” red paper strip. Fold strip in half lengthwise. Cut four medium heart shapes from folded strip, following directions above. Adhere medium heart shapes on center of white heart shapes. See photo

7. Measure and cut 2”x4” white paper strip. Fold strip in half lengthwise. Cut four small heart shapes from folded strip, following directions above. Adhere small heart shapes on center of medium heart shapes. See photo.

8. Tape photo inside opening on back of white paper square. Adhere white paper square to 8½” cardboard square.

9. To make easel for frame, cut 3”x8-1/2” cardboard strip. Bend strip 2” from end. Adhere 2” end, aligning top edges, to center back of frame.

Tip

Be sure to date your frame. Continue this as a Christmas tradition each year as you’ll love these precious mementos in year to come.

by Mary Ayres

Polar Bear Snowflake Ornament

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Crafts ’n things Craft of the Day

 

Kids love Christmas but awaiting Santa’s arrival can be really difficult. Make the final hours until Santa arrives go by quickly with this fun family activity.

Materials

  • Polymer clay: white, black, assorted colors
  • Paper clip

Tools

  • Pink powdered blush
  • Toothpick
  • Clay-dedicated rolling pin or acrylic brayer
  • Craft knife
  • Oven and parchment-lined baking sheet

Basic Supplies

scissors, black marker, ruler, cotton swab

Directions

Size

4″ tall

Ornament

Adults, help kids when baking clay in oven.

1. On clean work surface, remove clay from packages. To condition, roll clay separately in hands until soft, bending and rolling until pliable. If clay cracks, keep conditioning.

2. Print and cut out pattern.

3. Roll 2” white clay ball. Flatten ball to 1/4” thickness. Use craft knife to cut snowflake from white clay.

4. For head, roll 1/2” white clay ball. For arms, roll two 1/2” clay balls. Press and shape head and arms on one point of snowflake.

5. For ears, roll two small white clay balls. Press ears on head. For nose, roll tiny black clay ball. Press nose on face. For eyes, roll two tiny black balls. Press eyes above nose.

6. For hat, roll 1/2” ball from colored clay of choice. Form ball into triangle shape. Press hat onto head. Roll skinny log and tiny ball from same-color clay. Press log along bottom edge and ball on top of hat.

7. Use toothpick to add paw lines and muzzle line. Add lines on hat. Use cotton swab to apply pink blush on cheeks.

8. For hanger, use scissors to cut paper clip in half. Insert cut ends into back of hat.

9. Position ornament on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake ornament in oven at 225º F for 25 minutes. Let cool.

10. Use black marker to write name, year, or other message on center of snowflake.

by Lori Allberry

Christmas Friend Coasters

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Crafts ’n things Craft of the Day

 

These adorable Christmas Friend Coasters are sure to spark some holiday spirit. Or, create them as a great last-minute gift idea.

Materials

  • Round cork coasters, 3-3/4”
  • Craft foam: white, black, red
  • Wooden shapes, assorted sizes: circles, teardrops, hearts, triangles
  • White felt, scraps
  • Ribbon, 6” lengths
  • Wiggle eyes, two

Tools

  • DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paints: Lamp Black, Snow White, Flesh Tone, Baby Pink, Primary Yellow, Jack-O’-Lantern Orange
  • Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue

Basic Supplies

scissors, ruler, paintbrushes, black marker, newspaper (to cover work surface)

Directions

STEP 1

Print and cut out patterns. Cut coaster from craft foam as follows: snowman and polar bear white, Santa red, penguin black.

STEP 2

On covered work surface, paint wooden shapes as follows: polar bear: two circles (ears) white, one circle (muzzle) black, two circles (inner ears) pink; Santa: one circle (face) tan, two teardrops (mustache) white, one circle (nose) pink; penguin: one heart (eyes) white, one triangle (beak) yellow; snowman: teardrop (nose) orange. Let dry.

STEP 3

Adhere cork coaster onto center of craft foam coaster. Using photo as guide, adhere wooden items on coasters.

STEP 4

For Santa, cut beard and freehand cut hair from white felt scrap; adhere onto face. For snowman and Santa, cut mittens from white craft foam. For penguin and polar bear, cut mittens from black craft foam. Adhere mittens on sides of body.

STEP 5

Use black marker to add details and eyes on faces and draw three buttons down center of coasters. Measure and cut 6” ribbon length for each coaster (except Santa). Tie ribbon bow; adhere below head.

Tip

For ease in painting wooden shapes, tape onto newspaper.

by Melony Bradley

 

Vegetable-Stamped Reindeer Towel & Mitts

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Crafts ’n things Craft of the Day

 

Finally, it’s okay to play with your food! You don’t just have to eat your vegetables — use them to stamp cool designs! This set makes the perfect gift for the cook in the family!  

Materials

  • Kitchen towel set: dish towel, oven mitt, pot holder
  • Vegetables, one each: celery stalk; large potato; baby carrots, three
  • DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paints: Milk Chocolate, Mistletoe, True Red, Cool White, Lamp Black
  • Red/white checked ribbon, 3⁄4” wide, 13” lengths, three
  • Gold jingle bells, 5⁄8”, three

Tools

  • Sewing needle and white sewing thread
  • Sponge or paintbrush

Basic Supplies

scissors, toothpick, paper towels, knife, paper plate (palette), newspaper (to cover work surface)

Directions

How to Stamp with Vegetables

1. Use knife to cut vegetables as desired. Dab cut ends on paper towels to remove excess moisture.

2. Use sponge or paintbrush to dab cut vegetable ends with paint.

3. Press painted side of vegetable onto fabric, applying even pressure. Lift vegetable straight up.

4. Reapply paint as needed. Let dry.

Reindeer Design

1. Cut: potato in half (head); celery stalk into 1-1⁄4” and 3” pieces (antlers); one carrot in half widthwise (nose); one carrot in half lengthwise (ears). Adults, help kids when using knife.

2. Stamp head and ears Milk Chocolate.

3. Stamp antlers above head Mistletoe.

4. Stamp nose below head True Red.

5. Use end of uncut carrot to stamp eyes Lamp Black. Let dry.

6. Use toothpick to dot highlights in eyes and nose Cool White; let dry.

7. Tie ribbon length into bow. Use needle and thread to sew jingle bell to center of bow; secure with knot. Sew bow below reindeer; knot thread ends.

Tips

  • Wipe vegetables clean with a paper towel instead of washing with water. The less moisture in the stamp, the easier it is to absorb the paint.
  • Check out a dollar or discount store for inexpensive kitchen towel sets.
  • For younger kids, use heavy-duty tacky or fabric glue instead of needle and thread to secure bell to bow.

by Mary Ayres

Snowman Cocoa Hugger

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Crafts ’n things Craft of the Day

 

This whimsical snowman can’t wait to wish someone a Merry Christmas with a scrumptious chocolate hug! After all, who doesn’t like a nice warm cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter’s night.

Materials

  • Glass pint jar with lid
  • Craft foam: white, one sheet; brown, green, orange, scraps
  • Fabric of choice, 2”x18”
  • Cocoa mix

Tools

  • EK Success Zig Memory System Millennium Markers: Pink, Blue, Green, Brown
  • Black fine-tip permanent marker
  • Small stencil brushes, four
  • Beacon Adhesives Kid’s Choice! Glue

Basic Supplies

scissors, pencil, ruler

Directions

Size

6-1⁄2” tall

Snowman

1. Cut out patterns. Cut craft foam as indicated. (Note: Use long, smooth strokes when cutting foam and turn foam instead of scissors as you cut.) Remove jar lid and trace onto white foam; cut out.

2. Use bullet tip of pens to shade edges of foam. While ink is still wet, use stencil brush to blend and shade toward center. Shade snowman with Blue, nose and trunk with Brown, and tree with Green. Drybrush cheeks with stencil brush and Pink pen.

3. Transfer details to face and lettering to foam circle. Use black marker to draw details. Fill in eyes, draw eyebrows, and outline foam pieces with wiggly lines. Trace over lettering as shown.

4. Adhere foam circle to lid. Adhere nose to snowman and trunk to back of tree. Place rubber band around jar. Position snowman’s arms under rubber band. Slide tree in between snowman’s hands. Spot glue hands to tree using rubber band to secure until glue dries.

5. Tie fabric around neck, knot, and cut fringe at ends. Remove rubber band and fill jar with cocoa mix

Other Options

Use brown craft foam to make a gingerbread jar hugger. Fill with gingerbread mix and a cookie cutter or mulling spices.

by Barbara Matthiessen

Ho, Ho, Homemade Santa

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Creating handmade holiday home décor doesn’t have to be a complicated process.

It’s Jill Cornell here today with a quick and easy idea to make a whimsical Santa to add to your holiday décor. All you need to get started is a foam cone shape, pipe cleaner, hot glue gun, cotton balls, cardstock, paint, pom-pom trim, and your favorite patterned paper collection and embellishments. (I’m using the Welcome Christmas Collection by Pebbles Inc. for my Santa.)

Cut the cardstock to a half-circle and wrap around the cone. Hot glue is a great adhesive for this type of project. Do the same with a piece of patterned paper for Santa’s hat. Santa’s face was easily added by painting a flesh-colored spot on the cone, adding punched black circles for eyes, a brad for the nose, and a border sticker for the mouth. Santa’s beard of cotton balls was simply hot glued to the cone. Add some alphabet stickers to make your Santa extra “merry. “

Adhere a border sticker for the hat and pom-pom trim. A pre-made felt embellishment and flag help dress up Santa. Finally, add some cotton balls to the top of Santa’s hat.

My Santa is currently sitting on my fireplace mantel among a collection of Santas – all handmade by me over the years. I even have papier-mâché and wooden versions that I made in elementary school. And this would make a great project for older children supervised with the hot glue.

Jill Cornell from Blessed Scrapper (www.jillcornell.blogspot.com)

Gift Card Jar

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Crafts ’n things Craft of the Day

 

Worried that a gift card may not be so personal? Be creative by presenting your card inside this adorable snowman to show that time and heart went into creating their unique gift.

Materials

  • Recycled glass jar (with wide mouth)
  • Dow STYROFOAM Brand Foam Ball, 3” diameter
  • Wooden teardrop, medium
  • White construction paper, scrap
  • Black felt, scrap
  • Chenille glitter stem
  • Metal office clip
  • Red gingham ribbon, 12” length
  • Wiggle eyes, two

Tools

  • DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paints: Sapphire, Jack-O’-Lantern Orange
  • DecoArt: Glistening Snow-Tex, Duraclear Varnish
  • Snowflake paper punch
  • Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue

Basic Supplies

scissors, ruler, paintbrushes, toothpick, black marker, newspaper (to cover work surface), plastic spoon or spatula

Directions

STEP 1

On covered work surface, insert toothpick into bottom of foam ball (head). Use spatula or spoon to apply snow texture on head. Let dry. Use spatula to apply snow texture on side of jar. Let dry.

STEP 2

Paint lid blue. Let dry. Apply varnish. Paint wooden teardrop (nose) orange. Let dry. Use black marker to outline nose.

STEP 3

Punch snowflakes from white copy paper. Adhere snowflakes onto side of jar.

STEP 4

Cut two mitten shapes from black felt. Adhere mittens onto sides of jar.

STEP 5

Adhere nose and wiggle eyes on head. Let dry. Cut small piece from bottom of head (so head sits flat). Adhere head onto top of lid.

STEP 6

Insert chenille stem end through loop on office clip. Adhere other chenille stem end onto bottom of lid. Attach gift card on office clip. Replace lid on jar.

STEP 7

For scarf, tie ribbon around jar. Knot ends.

by Melony Bradley

Holiday Sock Ornaments

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Crafts ’n things Craft of the Day

 

Wrap foam balls with holiday socks or tights to create ornaments with cozy appeal.

Materials

  • Dow STYROFOAM Brand Foam Balls, 3”
  • Holiday socks, one per ornament
  • White cording
  • Satin ribbon, 3/8” wide
  • Felt scraps
  • Assorted embellishments: pearl-head pins, sequins, tiny pom-poms, etc.

Tools

  • Wooden chopstick or skewer
  • Straight pins
  • White craft glue

Basic Supplies

scissors, ruler

Directions

Size

3″ tall

Ornaments

(Note: Omit straight pins and dimensional embellishments from ornaments if small children will have access to ornaments.)

1. Use chopstick to hollow out large hole at center top and bottom of foam ball. Rotate chopstick outward so holes are slightly wider at surface of ball.

2. Cut toe from sock. Insert ball into toeless sock so 1/2” of fabric extends beyond bottom of ball. (Note: Easiest way to do this is to hold ball in hand and pull sock up over hand and arm until ball is covered; slide hand from sock.)

3. Apply glue into hole in bottom of ball. Push cut edges of sock firmly into hole using pointed end of chopstick. Pin fabric in place until glue dries; remove pins.

4. Pull sock up over ball so fabric is tight and smooth up to top. Cut away sock’s ankle so 1/2” of fabric extends above top of ball. Repeat Step 3 for top of ball.

5. If desired, cut felt embellishments to complement sock designs, such as penguin’s scarf; glue to ornaments. Let dry.

6. Apply glue to ends of pearl-head pins; insert into ornament. Add sequins to some pins before inserting into ornaments. Let dry.

7. Cut 8” cord length for hanger; knot ends. Apply glue to end of straight pin and insert through knot into ornament. Tie small ribbon bow; adhere to top of ornament over pin. Let dry.

Tip:

Try this technique with non-holiday socks, too; it’s a great way to get rid of all those lone socks sitting atop the dryer.

by Kathleen George for The Dow Chemical Co. (www.styrofoamcrafts.com); (www.CraftsnCoffee.com)