Handprint Heart with Acrylic Paints

This is a great way for little hands to spread some Valentine’s Day love. It’s best to start with plain white paper that can be cut down and mounted onto a card rather than pre-mounting the paper and trying to center wiggly little hands in the right spot.

Things you’ll need:
Red craft paint
Foam brush
White paper
Cardstock
Scissors

Things to do:
1. Paint a generous coat of red paint onto one of your child’s hands. Have them hold their fingers slightly together and their thumb at approximately a 30 degree angle.
2. Press the hand onto the paper, slightly off center, rolling the fingers slightly to make sure the paint makes good contact with the paper.
3. Repeat with the other hand, creating a heart in the void between the thumbs, criss-crossing the fingers.

4. Allow the paint to dry before cropping the paper and attaching it to the card.

Pom Pom Garland

Pom poms are great for all sorts of things. Crafts, gift toppers, cat toys, and they make super cute garlands for your home.

Things you’ll need:
Pom Poms – 1 for every six inches of garland you want
Yarn – DK or Worsted weight
Yarn needle
Scissors

Things to do:
1. Cut a piece of yarn twice as long as the length you want to cover. Tie a loop in one end. Thread the other end with the yarn needle.
2. Thread the needle through the first pom pom and slide it to a point about six inches from the loop. Thread the needle back through the center of the pom pom about ¼ inch away from where it exited and pull tight. Again, thread the yarn back through the pom pom, close to the original exit spot. This secures the pom pom into that spot.

3. Thread the next pom pom to a point six inches from the last and repeat the process. Continue to thread and secure the pom poms onto the yarn until you have the length of garland you are after. Remove the needle and tie a loop in the free end.
4. Use the loops to hang the garland.

Scribble Art

If you have a budding artist in your house, you probably have plenty of scribbled on paper hanging around. Turn those scribbles into treasured art for the grandparents this holiday season with this fun project.

Things you’ll need:
Scribbed paper
Scissors
Patterned or solid colored cardstock
Pencil
Spray glue
Stencil or template (animals are a great choice!)

Things to do:
1. Using your stencil or template, trace your shape onto the backside of the scribbled paper, centering it so that the entire shape will be covered in color.

2. Cut carefully along the lines so that your edges are smooth.
3. Spray a thin coat of glue onto the back side of the scribble shape and smooth onto your cardstock. Trim the paper to an even size and frame.

Ribbon Paper Plate Prettiness

I love to bake and gift holiday cookies, but when it comes time to deliver them, I always seem to have forgotten to pick up cute little gift boxes and tins and end up passing out my goodies on plain old paper plates. Well not any more! This project turns those plain plates into pretty little packages.

Things you’ll need:
Paper plates
Hole punch
½ inch ribbon

Things to do:
1. With the hole punch, make twelve evenly spaces holes around the rim of the plate, about ½ inch in from the edge.

2. Thread the ribbon in and out of the hole until both tails meet on the top side of the plate.

3. Tie the tails into a bow and load up with goodies!

Easy DIY Mint Tree

Perfect for the holidays and beyond, this little mint tree is a great way to perk up your winter décor with a holiday staple. Be sure to let your family know that, once the mints have been exposed to the glue they are no longer edible!

Things you need:
Striped mints
Fiberboard doll cone
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Things to do:
1. Start out by unwrapping the mints and disposing of the wrappings.
2. Run a bead of hot glue about two inches long, half and inch up from the bottom edge of the tree form.
3. Press the two to three mints in a row into the glue. Repeat the process until you have covered the bottom edge of the tree, making sure that the tree will sit flatly on a table.

4. Start on the next layer of mints, settling the mints on this row in between those on the bottom for a better fit.
5. Continue with this process until you have covered the entire tree. Finish with a mint on the very top.

Upcycling: Snowman Tags

This is a perfect, simple and slightly silly way to gift some of those holiday cookies you’ve been busy making. Attach to a small bag that holds a single special treat or use it to close up the wrapping on a whole plateful!

Things you’ll need:
White bread tags
Orange, black, red and brown permanent markers

Things to do:
1. On the unprinted side of each tag, draw in coal eyes, a carrot nose and buttons for a mouth to create a snowman. Larger tags can also include a pipe.

2. Allow the ink to dry completely before attaching it to a treat bag.

DIY Tinsel Tree

Tinsel is one of those slightly kitschy, throwback Christmas items that I can’t help but love. And this is the perfect use for it! Glittery, glitzy and fun.

Things you’ll need:
Tinsel garland
Fiberboard doll cone
Hot glue and glue gun

Things to do:
1. Squeeze a generous dollop of glue on a spot near the bottom edge of the tree for and press the end of the tinsel firmly into the glue.

2. Continue to add dots of glue every inch along the bottom edge of the tree, pressing the tinsel in as you go.

3. Once you have made it all the way around the bottom, continue to add dots of glue and wrap, pushing the tinsel down to the previous layer so that there are no gaps.
4. Continue to glue and wrap until you have covered the whole tree.

Cupcake Liner Flowers

These pretty flowers are just the thing to top off that perfect gift and are made entirely out of cupcake liners! Use different sized liners to create a variety of sizes then group them together or attaching a single flower instead of a bow.

Things you’ll need:
Cupcake liners
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Things to do:
1. Choose one liner to act as a base for the flower.
2. Open up several liners and fold them in half, bringing the rounded edges together.

3. Glue the folded liners into the base, overlapping them to create a denser frill.

4. Repeat this process, folding the liners next into thirds and then quarters and layering them into the flower until a small space remains.
5. Roll several liners together to create a core and then press into the center with a generous dot of glue

Frilled Holiday Lights with Cupcake Liners

I love holiday lights, they are so pretty, twinkling away, even just hanging over a window or door. But the addition on one simple thing takes holiday lights to a whole new level. Cupcake liners! Look for small liners and choose LED lights for safety.

Things you’ll need:
String of holiday lights
Cupcake liners
Craft knife

Things to do:
1. On a protected work surface, cut a small “X” in the center of the flat side of the cupcake liners.


2. Press the light through the “X” and pull through so that it sits securely on the plastic base of the light. Repeat with the remaining lights.

DIY Glue Snowflakes

I’m always looking for simple holiday crafts to do with the kids. And Ornaments are always a hit, so this project, which uses very basic craft supplies, was quite the hit in our home. It’s the perfect project for a stay inside cold December day.

Things you’ll need:
School glue
Wax paper
Paper and pen
Glitter
Needle and thread

Things to do:
1. Draw basic snowflake shapes onto the paper using a pen or marker. Keep them simple, especially for young children.

2. Lay the wax paper over the snowflake template and tape or hold it in place.
3. Following the lines of the template, draw lines of glue onto the wax paper.

4. Sprinkle generously with glitter and allow the glue to dry overnight.

5. Once dry, peel the snowflakes up and thread a hanger through the top using the needle and thread.

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