$1 Handmade Christmas Ideas

$1 Handmade Christmas Ideas

Simple. Purchase a frame from the dollar store, slap a high five on a piece of paper (or use burlap, like we did). Voila!  

I added a little something around the edges of the frame. "This is the hand you used to hold, when I was only X years old." 

Here we took the glass and back off the frame and hot glued burlap to the back.

I drew a little picture or traced their hand and they did some lacing! 

They wanted to do this all on their own. It turned into a mess at times! 

They did it for a while and then took a break. 

When we were done, they wanted to do more lacing!! 

In the end, their gifts are beautiful!! 

I love these so much. 

I we're going to have some very happy grandparents and great-grandparents:) 

Merry Christmas!

Puffy Painting on the Light Table

My son hurt his leg recently and wasn't walking well. In fact, he chose to let me carry him for two days LOL. Instead of allowing him to lay on the couch and watch TV (which is what he originally wanted to do) I needed to think of some long-lasting activities he could do while sitting; and I needed to think fast.

Puffy paint recipes are all over the Internet. We used equal parts flour, salt and water and added some powdered tempera paint for color. (This is also a great opportunity for kids to mix, stir and pour.)

I set out our cookie cutters we recently used here. We got them from the dollar store. 

They enjoyed that for a little while.

I-Bell created a white gingerbread man. 

Then it was time to let them use their own imaginations. 

Above, my friends, is a "Christmas storm."

I had to create a picture too!

This was really fun. I can't wait to do this again. I'd like to use it for learning letters when I have more prep time. It would also be great for shapes, child's name, etc.

Cookie Cutter Painting and Window Art

In fall we made Powder Paint Sticky Paper Leaves. The leaves turned out great, so I couldn't wait to revisit with a Christmas twist.

Cookie cutters from the dollar store and powder paint on clear contact paper.

Simple enough for the kids to fill in with powder paint.

 

After picking up the cookie cutter.

I was hoping the contact paper would help keep the cutter still, but I needed to help hold D's while he painted (2.5 yrs). 

He really liked picking up the cutter to see his painting!

At 4 yrs, I-Bell couldn't get enough of this activity ... 

D made two before painting his own free-hand pictures. We'll definitely do this again for the kids' own paintings. It's a great way to seal and keep paintings. Not to mention, they're beautiful in windows!

When they were done, we shook the paint off, covered with a new layer of contact paper and cut them out. 

These are great on windows/doors.

Or, use as ornaments on trees.

My kids put some on the side of our fish tank.

I added a few to our window:)

To see activities/crafts we've done in the past with clear contact paper, click Here.

What fun have you had with this stuff?

Thanksgiving: Crafts, Decorating, Activities, Family, FUN!

Its been so busy around here I haven't had time to post any of our Thanksgiving activities. Better late than never - and better get this up so we can show what we've been up to for Christmas!

Good ol' fashion hand-traced turkey. 

I was so proud of little D for doing this all on his own. And it turned out so much cuter than if I had traced his hand for him:) 

I-Bell was so good at this. She made about 15 of these. 

And then it was time to put them on a stick and have a turkey puppet show! 

Little L and I loved the show! 

We made more turkey hands to use as place settings for the kids' Thanksgiving table. 

I picked up some plates and glasses from The Dollar Store so the kids could decorate their own. On the plates I wrote "I Am Thankful For ..." on the top. On the bottom, I wrote their name and the year. I still have a plate I made from kindergarten that my mom would display year after year for Christmas. These plates will be a great keepsake.

 We got the glass idea from PAHM.

S's was so cute! 

And so is she! 

Here's their table.. 

Containers, markers, crayons, plates, glasses and the paper all from The Dollar Store. The plates and glasses were baked @ 350 for 20 minutes. The Sharpie Markers washed off the glasses, the plates were OK. However, we didn't eat on them just in case. Next year we will -not use glasses - mugs will be my choice. 

On Thanksgiving Day we also played Pin The Feathers On The Turkey! I drew a turkey out of recycled cardboard and taped it on the wall. 

We just cut some feathers from construction paper. 

No peaking! 

They played for a long time, and then they continued to revisit throughout the day. 

Two little turkeys! 

We had new snow that day too! Of course they went out and played in it with Papa and BoBo. 

Then the kids, with their red cheeks, warmed up by the fire! 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving - so much to be thankful for. Hope everyone had a blessed day with family/friends!

A Family Portrait: 31 Months

Our paint supply was replenished this week and we added some nice paint cups and brushes. 

The result: tons of paintings drying all over the kitchen!

I had no counter space left by the time they were done:) 

A pretty blue sun by I-Bell. 

They were so busy.

And then D surprised me. He said he made a picture of Mama, Dada and him.The painting was three circles for our heads. Then S asked about little L, so he added another person to his painting. I-Bell suggested he add some legs to all of the people in our family ... so he added legs. 

 Our family portrait is now hanging on our fridge. I love it so much!

So proud of our little guy. He's growing up so fast.