Recycled Greeting Card Ornament

Recycled Greeting Card Ornament

Ages: 3 and up (with parental supervision while cutting)

Parental Supervision Recommended

Difficulty: * * * * *

Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Don’t know what to do with your old holiday greeting cards?  Upcycle those old cards into pretty holiday ornaments!  Decorate your tree with them or use them as gift box decorations.  Parental supervision is recommended for children who are still learning to use scissors.

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• The front of a greeting card (part with the picture)
• 2 metal brads
• String
• Hole punch
• Scissors

How-To Instructions:

1. Take your greeting card and cut it into 1-inch strips (for a total of about 6-7 strips).
2. Punch a hole in the end of each strip, about ¼-inch from each end.
3. After the holes are punched, stack the strips on top of one another all facing the same direction.
4. Insert a brad in each end so that the top “button” part of the brad is on the same side of the card with the picture.
5. Now gently spread out the strips until they begin to form a ball.
6. Loop some string around one of the brads if you want to be able to hang your ornament from your tree or attach it to a gift.  These ornaments even “unfold” for easy storage until next year!

Pom Pom Ornament

Pom Pom Ornament

Ages: 4 and up

Parental supervision recommended

Difficulty: * * * * *

Time: 15-30 minutes

Anyone can enjoy this fun, easy, and beautiful ornament for the holidays.  Keep them for your own tree or give them as gifts!  Be careful with the pins and ask your parents to help if you have any trouble.

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• Styrofoam balls (found in the floral arranging section of the craft store)
• A bag of mid-sized pom poms (the smaller the pom poms, the more pin you can see)
• Straight pins
• Colorful ribbon

How-to Steps:

1. Stick a straight pin directly through the center of a pom pom.
2. Stick that same pin into the Styrofoam ball.
3.  You can create a pattern with your pom poms or make them random.  Following steps 1 and 2, continue until the ball is covered except for one, final spot. 
4. Choose your final pom pom.  Cut a length of ribbon long enough that your ornament can hang on the tree.  Stick a straight pin through a loop of ribbon, then stick a pom pom onto the same pin.  Now, pin to the Styrofoam ball.
5. You can create lots of different patterns, color combinations, and sizes depending on the type of pom poms you choose.  Just remember:  the fluffier the pom pom, the fluffier your ornament!

Reindeer Bookmark

Reindeer Book Mark

Ages: 2 and up

Some parental assistance may be required

Difficulty: *****

Time:  5-10 minutes

Cute as can be and couldn’t be easier, this craft is a great gift idea for your favorite reader.  Easy to make using common household items, you can whip up a whole herd of these adorable reindeer in just a few minutes. 

Materials needed:

• Paper (Card stock or light weight cardboard work well)
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Ribbon
• Markers (Brown, Black, Red)
• Optional:  Google eyes
• Red felt circle or pom-pom
• Brown inkpad

How-to steps:

1. Cut paper to size desired for book mark or card
2. Color pad of thumb with brown water color marker or use brown ink pad
3. Press thumb to the paper quickly before the ink dries
4. Draw eyes, nose, mouth and antlers with markers.  Don’t forget to add your favorite message!
5. Punch hole in top and attach ribbon

Magazine Beads

Magazine Beads

Ages: 10 and up

Parental supervision recommended

Difficulty: * * * * *

Time: 1 ½ hours hands-on; drying overnight

This craft is hands-on bead-making from old magazines; the beads can be used to make necklaces, bracelets, or earrings. Below are a list of materials and directions on how to make magazine beads!  You may need a parent or guardian to help you with the sticky stuff.

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• 3-5 leftover glossy magazines with colorful pictures
• Ruler
• Pen
• Scissors
• Glue
• Modge Podge (or a 50/50 mixture of glue and water)
• Skinny wooden rod (like a chop stick)

How-to Steps:

1. Spend time searching for the brightest pictures in the magazines.
2. Use the ruler to measure a six-inch tall skinny triangle with a 1-inch base over a colorful picture; cut it out; repeat until you have 10-20 skinny triangle strips, or however many you need for your project.
3. Starting at the wide part, roll one triangle tightly around the wooden rod, gluing the end you start with and the last point; repeat with all strips/triangles. You may have to hold the end for a few seconds to get it to stay.
4. Paint Modge Podge lightly over each bead and let dry over night.
5. Remove beads from rod and enjoy! String from rope or use your imagination!

Tree of Thanks

Tree of Thanks

Ages: All ages

Parental supervision suggested when working with scissors and bent paper clips

Difficulty: * * * * *

Time: 10-20 minutes

Celebrate everything you are thankful for!  Below is a list of supplies you will need to create this beautiful Tree of Thanks.  Ask holiday visitors to add their own leaves of thanks to your tree.

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• Sticks or twigs from a tree or bush
• Vase
• Construction Paper (orange, brown, yellow, red)
•  Scissors
• Christmas ornament hanger or bent paper clips
•  Permanent markers

How-to Steps:

1. Choose a bare branch from a tree or shrub.  Choose one that has lots of little branches.
2. Place branch in vase.
3. Place each leaf on a hook or bent paper clip.
4. Have family and guests write things they are thankful for on one side of the leaf and their name and date on the other side.
5. Hang the leaves from your tree branch.
6. Save the leaves to use again next year and add more each year!Draw leaf shapes onto the colored paper and cut the leaves out.

Election Day Button

Election Day Button

Ages: 4 and up

Parental supervision recommended

Difficulty:  *****

Time: 15-30 minutes

This cute button is perfect for your little one when they tag along when you vote this Election Day!  He or she will be styling with their very own button identifying them as a future voice!

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• Frozen juice can lid
• Felt: Red, white & blue
• Scissors
• Star Stickers
• Pin back
• White craft glue
• Black or blue marker

How-to Steps:

1. Place the juice can lid on top of a piece of red felt. Trace the lid onto the felt and set aside.
2. Cut a 5” triangle out of blue felt; cut a small triangle from bottom to make it look like a ribbon.
3. Cut a 4” triangle out of white felt; cut a small triangle from bottom to make it look like a ribbon.
4. Glue the white felt cutout onto the blue felt cutout.
5. Take the red felt that you traced the lid onto and cut a scallop (wavy) design around the traced line.
6. Glue lid to red felt.
7. Glue blue and white felt to the back of the red felt.
8. Use marker to write “future voter” on the juice lid.
9. Decorate with star stickers.
10. Glue a pin back to the back of the red felt and let dry.

Personalized Journal

Personalized Journal

Ages: 6 and up

Parental supervision recommended

Difficulty:  ***** 

Time:  about 10 minutes

Turn a boring notebook into a personal work of art!  The duct tape cover will also make the notebook more durable.  Use your book for class or keep a journal!

Materials Needed (located at your favorite craft store):

• Composition notebook
• Duct Tape (various colors and patterns now available)
• Permanent Markers
• Ruler
• Scissors

How-to Steps:

1. Measure your notebook from top to bottom.  Round up the number to the next full inch.  Add 4 inches to that number. 
2. Measure and cut a strip of duct tape to the above length.
3. Attach the tape to the notebook cover starting at the top, leaving about 2 inches to wrap around the inside cover.  Alternate between patterned and solid color tape to add interest if desired.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the entire book is covered.
5. If you wish, use permanent markers to add more detail.