Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner? This is, by far, my favorite time of the year. I just love all of the sights, scents, and sounds of the holidays. It just feels like such a warm and inviting time and I do believe that it helps to bring out the good in people. Everything about the holidays also lends itself to some creative and colorful arts and crafts. One of my favorite memories from my childhood was my grandmother's Nativity which she put up every Christmas Eve. Those fond memories were the inspiration for this project. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Nativity Finger Puppets Supplies needed: -stretchy gloves in your choice of color - peel and stick felt nativity stickers (found at Hobby Lobby or most craft stores where scrapbooking materials are sold) - craft glue or hot glue/glue gun Directions: 1. First decide in which order you wish to place the nativity characters. For ours, we placed the Holy Family together on one side … [Read more...]
Cactus Bottle Craft
Last Fall, we remodeled our kitchen and purchased new appliances. Now that we have a refrigerator that allows us to dispense filtered water, we are not buying bottled water that much anymore. As a result, it has allowed us to see not only how much money we were spending on bottled water, but also how many empty plastic water bottles we were contributing to the environment. This inspired us to figure out creative ways to recycle these plastic bottles. You'd be surprised how many uses there are for making sure that we don't just throw these bottles away in the trash. Since the weather during the summer is perfect for enjoying the great outdoors, what better way to reuse these bottles than by using them to do crafts that will beautify your front yard. The thought inspired the following Cactus Bottle Craft which I'm sure many of you will love too! Cactus Bottle Craft Plastic water bottles Green spray paint Yellow tissue paper Toothpicks Hot glue/hot glue … [Read more...]
Felt Lady Bug Craft
Some of my teacher friends from other states have been reaching out to me this month to pick my brain about arts and crafts activities that they could use to start the school year. You see, even though we don't start school until September here in New York City, other parts of the United States go back to school earlier since their school year ended before ours did. Even though I teach high school now, I did start off my teaching career teaching pre-kindergarten so I still have some activities up my sleeves for younger kids. Some of my favorite arts and crafts expose kids to other subjects such as science and social studies. For this reason, projects that deal with nature and insects are a favorite of mine. Felt Ladybug Craft Supplies needed: embroidery hoop red, black, white craft felt scissors craft glue Directions: 1. Begin by placing the sheet of red felt in the embroidery hoop. Tighten the hoop so the felt is securely in … [Read more...]
DIY Cardinal Craft
Lately I have been up to my ears in projects for my sons' classes. It seems like every week there is some new assignment to complete that requires some creativity or forces us to purchase expensive art supplies. This has gotten me to thinking that there is a real need out there for DIY activities that don't cost a lot of money to make and that you can use inexpensive materials to create. As you guys all know, red is my favorite color so it stands to reason that I would come up with a project that includes it. So what better way to get imaginative and experiment with the color red than by making a DIY Cardinal Craft? Not only are these a ton of fun to make, but they also don't cost a lot of money in terms of supplies. I hope you will love making them as much as we did and that you will share photos of the finished products on our social media channels. DIY Cardinal Craft Materials: Red cupcake liners … [Read more...]
Chinese New Year Broom Craft
Chinese New Year is also known as Spring Festival in China and falls on Saturday, January 28th this year. It is the year of the Rooster and Chinese families will be gathering on New Year's Eve to eat dinner together and to clean their homes to sweep away bad fortune before New Year's Day. Chinese children love this celebration and are excited to receive red envelopes which are stuffed with "lucky money" and well wishes from their loved ones on New Year's Day. Due to modern technology, some teens even have apps on their smartphones to receive their "lucky money" electronically which demonstrates how even this ancient tradition has caught up with modern times. Since this is the most important traditional holiday in China and signals the start of spring there, it is a public holiday in mainland China for seven days from Chinese New Year's Eve to day 6 of the lunar calendar new year (January 27 – February 2, 2017). … [Read more...]
Snowman Earrings
I am way behind this year on Christmas shopping. Normally, I would have already finished buying all presents by mid November. I'm trying cut down on my spending budget and making sure I give some personalized gifts that will show my loved ones just how much they mean to me. My godmother loves to wear themed costume jewelry so I thought it would be a great idea if I made her some earrings. Since it is winter and she has been rocking her winter accessories, I came up with a plan to make her some snowman earrings using supplies that I could purchase right at our local art supply store. You'd be surprised how many great gifts you could make with just a few items that you could buy locally and are pretty inexpensive. Snowman Earrings Materials Needed: Tools (small wire cutter, round nose pliers, and chain nose pliers) 22mm Fishhook earwire 3″ Head pins Glass snowman beads Tiny silver … [Read more...]
Trolls Puppet Craft
I've always loved to get artistic inspiration from the films we watch and the music that we listen to as a family. Growing up, my siblings and I loved playing with what we called our "Treasure Trolls." This is what we called these dolls we had that were a type of plastic doll with furry up-combed hair depicting a troll, also known as a Dam doll after their creator Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam. Some people also referred to them as good luck trolls, or alternatively gonk trolls in the United Kingdom. They became a a toy craze in North America during the early 60's and again during the 90's when I was a teenager. Thomas Dam actually carved his first troll doll as a gift for his daughter. Later, he began selling the dolls locally after his daughter's friends started asking for them. I'm sure he never imagined that his troll dolls would become such symbols of pop culture. Now that the Trolls movie has come … [Read more...]
Make Your Own Easter Bunny Bar Soap!
Lately I have been on a DIY kick and have been researching different ways to make some of our favorite products, or items we use every single day, right here at home. I was very excited to learn how easy it is to make bars of soap from scratch and how much money it can save you at the supermarket. The best part is that you can customize them to contain your favorite scents, designs and colors which can really help to bring our your creative and artistic side. Since Easter is right around the corner, I thought it would be a great idea to create some decorative Easter soaps to really get everyone in our home into the spirit of the season. You too can make these adorable soaps and I think you will be surprised at how easy they are to make and how little they put a dent in your budget! Easter Bunny Bar Soap Materials- 2 clean empty soup cans 1 clear glass Pyrex measuring cup Clear glycerin soap block Food coloring or soap … [Read more...]
Valentine’s Day Poker Chip Heart Wreath
I've always loved Valentine's Day. Not only is it a special holiday for demonstrating your love for your sweetheart, but it is a lot of fun to get the kids involved and show them how important it is to tell their loved ones how they feel about them. One of the ways that I have always gotten our boys involved during this sweet time of the year is by spending time doing arts and crafts with them. Not only do they love creating things with their hands, but they also adore being able to spend this quality time with my husband and I. This year, we decided that we wanted to come up with a unique Valentine's Day activity so we got really creative! Valentine's Day Poker Chip Heart Wreath Make this easy and inexpensive Valentine’ Day poker chip heart wreath in just minutes and with minimal supplies. Here is how you can get started. Supplies needed: Red and white poker chips (check your local dollar store) Hot glue, glue … [Read more...]
Pumpkin Puzzle Craft
As we all prepare for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I am excited about the special time that I will have to spend with my family. There is just something magical about having those moments to create memories that will last a lifetime. I plan on taking many photos and capturing every single smile and hug so I can enjoy looking back on them for years to come. Since this is also a long holiday weekend, I am planning a few activities and arts and crafts with my boys to keep them busy. Both of my sons love doing puzzles so I thought it would be a neat idea to create their own pumpkin puzzle. It's a great way to get them to use their creativity and their imaginations. Also, they can enjoy putting their puzzles up in their room once they finish designing them. Pumpkin Puzzle Craft Material- Old puzzle pieces Orange craft paint Black craft paint Green craft paint Elmer's glue White paper Paint … [Read more...]
