I’m back! Let’s Make Santa’s Hat!

I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving holiday and weekend! I’m sorry I didn’t get to post last week but things were pretty crazy here! I’m here now and I have an adorable craft for you today. I’ll show you how to make Santa’s hat using buttons and a pom pom. 🙂

You’ll need an off white or darker colored piece of cardstock, approximately 15 red buttons and 7 white buttons and 1 white pom pom. And glue to hold it all in place. The number of buttons will vary according to the size of buttons you use and how large you want to make your Santa’s hat.

Start by placing 1 red button toward the top of your piece of paper. In the second row, place 2 red buttons. You can glue the buttons down as you go or go back and glue them down after you have them all in place.

Row 3 will have 3 red buttons, row 4 will have 4 red buttons and row 5 will have 5 red buttons. Your Santa’s hat should look like this so far.

Now it’s time for the white buttons. They will go in row 6 along the bottom to be the white edging on Santa’s hat.

Add your white pom pom to the top and you’ve finished making your Santa’s hat! Great job!

I wanted to use the darker brown craft paper for my background, but I didn’t have any on hand. I would suggest using a darker color of cardstock than I did for mine because the white of the hat will show up better. Here it is on green:

And one more time using a blue background.

Which way is your favorite? I think I like the blue background best. 🙂 You can make Santa’s hat as a decoration to hang up or make it on the front of a card for a special Christmas card. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you will have fun making a Santa’s hat from buttons! 🙂

Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

Thanksgiving is just a week away! It’s time to make a fun Thanksgiving Turkey!

You’ll need an empty toilet paper roll, some different colored paper, pencil, glue and/or tape, scissors, a piece of thin cardboard or cardstock, 2 wiggly eyes and you might want some markers.

If you would like to color your turkey’s body (the toilet paper roll) with the markers, go ahead and do that first. I decided since the toilet paper roll was already brown, I would use it as is. Glue the wiggly eyes onto the turkey’s body.

Let’s make the turkey’s beak next. Cut out a small rectangle from either orange or yellow paper.

Fold the rectangle in half, bringing the 2 shorter sides together.

Keeping the folded side up, cut from approximately the middle of the bottom side up to the right hand corner.

Make the same type of cut up to the upper left hand side, forming a folded triangle.

Still keeping the folded edge at the top, glue the bottom side of the triangle onto the turkey below his eyes.

Cut another small rectangle from red paper to make the turkey’s wattle. No need to be perfect, just cut something similar to the one in the following picture.

And glue it on the turkey beside his beak.

It’s time to make some feathers. Using the thin cardboard or cardstock, draw a simple feather shape to use as the pattern for making feathers for the turkey’s tail. (It doesn’t need to be perfect. The feathers will overlap each other and hide any flaws.) 😉

Trace around the feather pattern on several different colors of paper. I used 6 different colors but if you don’t have that many colors, make more than one of the colors you have so you end up with 6 feathers.

Cut the feathers out. This is great practice for kids in using their small motor skills.

Glue the feathers to the back side of the turkey, but put glue only on the bottom part of the feathers. Only put glue on the part that will be up against the turkey’s body or where it lays on another feather.

And your Thanksgiving turkey is finished and ready to be part of your home’s decorations for the holiday! What’s nice about this turkey is that nobody will be eating him! 😉

Easy Paper Chain Snowman

Are you ready for a snowman craft? It’s just about a week till Thanksgiving Day and we’ve had some snow here already so I think we’re good to go! This guy is so cute and so simple that you and the kids are going to love making him. And maybe want to make more than one! 😉 Check him out!

All you need to get started is some white paper, a small scrap of black paper, a pencil, a ruler, scissors, glue or double sided tape and some colored pens or makers.

Begin by cutting the white paper into strips approximately 1″ by 6″.

Take 1 strip of white paper and draw a snowman’s face in about the middle of the strip of paper.

Using either your glue or the double sided tape, attach the 2 ends of the paper strip together to form a circle.

Now cut a hat out of the scrap of black paper, making it as wide as the snowman’s head.

Glue only the small area shown in the following picture so that the snowman’s hat will stand up.

Place the hat on the snowman and hold it in place for a few seconds while the glue starts to set up.

Now you will add a few other strips of the white paper to make a chain. To do this, slide one strip through the snowman’s head, as shown in the next picture.

Using either tape or glue, again fasten the ends together in a circle. Continue adding strips of white paper until your snowman is as long as you’d like him to be.

I made my snowman 4 chains long but he can be as long as you like! 😉 I drew some buttons on his “belly”.

If you would like to be able to hang your paper chain snowman up, perhaps on your Christmas tree, you’ll need a piece of string or a paper clip. If you use string, just fold the string in half and tape the ends to the back of the snowman’s head. I’ll show you how to use the paper clip.

Open the paper clip up.

Using regular scotch tape, tape it to the back of the snowman’s head.

And you’re done! Now you have a cute snowman to use to decorate your house for winter! Have fun making paper chain snowmen! 🙂

Let’s Make Pictures With Dried Beans, Lentils or Seeds

This is a fun and easy activity that your kids may have done in school. We did it way back in the dark ages when I was in school. 😉 All you need is a piece of paper, some dried beans, lentils, seeds, rice, etc and some glue. A pair of tweezers and/or a toothpick might come in handy. I used some leftover lentils and rice mixture I had from making a batch of soup.

I suggest you choose the size of your pieces according to the age of the kids making a picture. For instance, the size I used is easily bumped out of position so you have to be careful and take your time. Larger beans for younger kids might be a good idea.

All you do is arrange the dried items in a pattern to make a picture and glue them in place. It can be a “real” item or just a pattern that the kids enjoy making. Start by pouring out a few of your dried items onto the area where you are working so you can get a hold of the individual pieces.

I decided to make some flowers. Here’s how I arranged the lentils to start a flower.

Then I made 4 flowers, switching the colors of lentils for some of them.

Next I added some stems and a few leaves.

Finally I added some rice at the bottom to be grass.

After everything has been glued down and the glue has had time to dry, you can write some words on your picture if you would like to. These would make adorable gifts for the kids to make and give at Christmas time. Putting it in a frame would make it even nicer. I hope you’ll have fun creating pictures! 🙂

Make Your Own Matching Card Game

How’s your day going? I hope ok! Today I want to share a super simple way to make your own matching card game. You know, the little cards you line up face down and you turn 2 over at a time and see if they match? Yep, those. 😉 Only a few supplies are needed such as a piece of cardstock or sturdy paper, a ruler, a pencil, a pair of scissors and some stickers.

I used a piece of maroon colored cardstock (8 1/2″ x 11″) and made 12 cards for the game. First you’ll draw lines on the paper to mark the cards into even squares. If you use the same size of paper, your squares can be 2 3/4″. You’ll have just a little bit of extra paper down one side to cut off and discard. (I couldn’t seem to get a good picture of the lines on the paper.)

Cut the squares apart.

Separate the squares into pairs of 2 cards each. You’ll be making 6 sets of matching cards from one piece of paper. Feel free to make more!

Sort through your stickers to find 6 sets of matching stickers.

Make a set of cards by placing 1 sticker on each card, making sure there are 2 identical cards.

And your cards are made! You’re ready to play! Turn all the cards face down and mix them up, then line them up in 3 rows of 4 cards each.

The first player turns over 2 cards. If they match, he/she takes the match and turns over 2 more cards. As long as the player is finding a match, their turn continues. If they don’t find a match, the cards are turned face down again and play moves onto the second player.

A match!

6 matched sets is probably enough for small children, but you might want to make more for kids that are a little older. So easy to make and so simple to play! I hope you’ll have fun making your own game AND playing it! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

Finger Painting Fun!

Grab some newspaper to cover your table and a smock or old shirt to cover the kids and let’s have some fun finger painting! I have fond memories of finger painting when I was little . 😉 I found this inexpensive set of finger paints at Walmart for $4.34.

Yep, they are washable!

There are 6 colors in the set.

I also found some white construction paper for $1.47. (Why do packs of construction paper never have white in them?!)

Don’t forget your most important utensil – damp paper towels for cleaning up! LOL

Newspaper, smock or old clothes, paint and paper…looks like we’re ready to go!

Select your first color…I decided to start with green. There is another kind of plastic lid inside the first lid.

Flower stems and leaves are the beginning of my painting. Just trying something super simple that kids can do. 😉 You need a very small amount of paint on your finger at a time!

Now for some flower petals…

Let’s add a yellow dot to the center of the flowers, a sun in the top corner and some blue streaks in the sky.

Of course, you and the kids can paint anything you want! No brushes needed! You can put a small amount of each color on a styrofoam plate that the kids can dip their finger onto while they are painting. You never know, this might be the beginning work of a future great artist! Have fun!

Dream Boards For Kids

This blog post might have a little different twist on what a Dream Board for Kids is. Depending on the child’s age, you can do this activity in different ways to match the child’s ability. All you need is a piece of paper or poster board, some used magazines (that are ok to cut pictures out of), scissors and glue.

The idea is to pick a theme for the child’s board. For example, it might be a board about animals they would like to own some day or animals that they like. Let your child look through a magazine for pictures that fit the theme. Cut them out (good practice for using those fine motor skills!) and arrange them on the piece of paper. When they are in just the right places, glue them down.

A title could be added to each board or left off…whichever way the child likes it. Depending on what type of magazine you are using, what type of pictures will be readily available. For instance, a cooking magazine will have lots of pictures of food. A board with all types of food they would like to eat is a good theme too.

You can leave space between the pictures or let them overlap. Here’s a Dream Board of fun activities they might like to try someday.

Making a Dream Board gives you the opportunity to ask questions about what your child likes about a particular picture. If they chose a picture of people using paddle boards, you can ask why they like that idea or what do they think would make that a fun activity. You can gain insight into what your child thinks is fun and even find some activities that you might like to try to do together.

Maybe a Dream Board could be about a picture they found of a house they like. They could add pictures of furniture or what a kitchen might look like, etc. If you have a gardening magazine, your child could cut out pictures of plants and flowers they like and then arrange them in the shape of a garden. How about pictures of birds? How many different birds can you find? The ideas are endless! If you start looking through your old magazines and see what type of pictures are there, the ideas will come to you. And Dream Boards are great for sharing with others too, like grandparents. 😉 Your child will be proud to share what he/she made and to tell all about why they used each picture.

This is a fun, simple and inexpensive activity to try! I hope you’ll enjoy doing it with your favorite kids! 🙂

Make Super Simple Bookmarks

If you’re looking for a super easy craft for the kids to make, look no further! These bookmarks are very easy to make and the kids will love using them to mark their places in the books they are reading. All you need is some thin cardboard or cardstock, markers and stickers. I actually used the piece of cardboard that comes in a large box of tea bags and the cardboard from the back of a small notepad.

Cut the cardboard or cardstock to the size you want the bookmarks to be. I kept one of mine the size it was for a large bookmark and the other piece I cut in half for 2 smaller bookmarks.

Next grab the markers and stickers and turn the kids loose to decorate the bookmarks however they like.

I made one with Minion Pirate stickers. Ahoy, matey!

For the second bookmark I used some owl stickers, some bug stickers and added some dots using my markers.

Last, but not least, I made a bookmark with a few kitten stickers and 2 flower stickers.

This is a super simple craft project but the kids will enjoy it and maybe be encouraged to spend more time reading so they can use their new bookmarks. 🙂 Have fun!

Handmade Puzzles for Kids

A lot of people in the United States are buried under snow along with frigid temperatures outside. I’m guessing there are a few moms that are going a bit bonkers with their kids running out of things to do in the house. So here is a fun project you can do at home that doesn’t take any fancy supplies to make. Let’s try your hand at making a handmade/homemade puzzle! You’ll need a picture (can be cut from a magazine or a coloring book, for example), a piece of cardstock or thin cardboard, pencil, ruler, scissors and glue.

First trim your picture to give it a smooth edge.

Spread glue over the entire back side of the picture. You need to cover all of it with glue so that when you cut it into pieces, your picture will be glued on each piece. Place your glued picture on the cardstock or thin cardboard.

Cut the cardstock around the outside edge of the picture.

My picture wanted to curl up so I placed it under a heavy book for a little while. The next step is to turn the picture over. Decide how many pieces you want the puzzle to be and using your pencil and ruler, draw lines for cutting on the back of the puzzle. I made my puzzle into 16 pieces.

Cut the puzzle pieces apart by following the lines you just drew on the back.

Turn the pieces over and your puzzle is complete!

I made a second puzzle so I’ll share those pictures here too. Cut the picture to give it a smooth edge.

Apply glue to the entire back of the picture.

Place the glued picture on the cardstock or thin cardboard.

Cut the cardstock around the outside edge of the picture.

Draw lines on the back of the puzzle for where you want the puzzle pieces to be cut.

Cut the pieces apart with your scissors. Turn the pieces over and you’re done!

You can store your puzzle in an envelope or small box. Depending on the age of the child you are making this for, you can cut it into fewer or more pieces. Kids can have fun making these puzzles for other kids. Let the kids color a picture for making into a puzzle. If more than one child makes a puzzle, they can swap their puzzles back and forth for more fun. I hope you’ve had fun making your own puzzle! 🙂

Fingerprint Heart Project

It’s almost Valentine’s Day! Are you looking for a project to keep the kids busy or to add to a Valentine’s Day party? This project is easy to do and looks amazing when you are done. You don’t need many supplies and it doesn’t take long to make it. You’ll need 2 half size pieces of construction paper, a pencil, scissors and a couple of markers or an ink pad. WASHABLE markers or ink is the best! 😉 (I’m speaking from experience and from my very colorful finger!)

Keep one piece of your paper for making the project on and the second piece you will need to cut in half.

Take one of the half pieces and fold it in half.

Draw half of a heart on the fold.

Cut out the half heart shape using your scissors.

Put the heart shape aside for another time. Open the heart stencil and lay it on top of the other sheet of paper.

Using your marker or ink pad, put ink on one of your index fingers.

Press your finger onto the paper inside the heart stencil area. (The cut out heart area.) Continue doing this step until you have either made a complete outline of your heart or you have colored the entire heart in with your fingerprints.

When you have finished the number of fingerprints you want to make, remove the stencil.

Isn’t that pretty? You can leave it this way or fill in the rest of the cut out heart area. Actually the stencil looks pretty cool too!

Here is one with the inside of the heart filled in with more fingerprints.

You can use your heart design just to hang it up and make your house look pretty or you can make it into a card to give to someone special on Valentine’s Day. Hope you had fun making your fingerprint heart! 🙂