Painted Santa Ornament

To make the Santa you will need one medium size round ornament, paint (flesh color, white, black and red),  Snow Tex by DecoArt, paintbrushes.

Paint a flesh color rectangle on the front of the ornament. It will need at least two coats.

With the end of the paint brush handle make dots for the eyes and nose.

Mix the Snow Tex with a little white paint (about 3:1 ratio) to make it a bit thinner consistency. Paint down the sides of the flesh rectangle and around the top of the ornament.

Paint a mustache, beard and add a small little dot for the mouth. Be very generous with the Snow Tex. It will shrink slightly as it dries.

{Drum Roll} you have a darling Santa Ornament.

If your looking for a Holiday Craft for younger kids you might enjoy this tutorial for these Christmas idea’s pictured below.

Pom pom ornaments

Paper candy canes

I promise you next year when you get the decorations out your child will grab for the decorations they created first; all while telling you exactly what you did together to create it. This is how I create memories while spreading holiday cheer.

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If you find yourself needing something extra quick with no mess give these paper candy canes a try.

My son was in fourth grade when he first made these paper candy canes.  He  found the activity totally addicting since he brought home a dozen.  I tied them to a long piece of yarn and hung them in my kitchen window.  Each year they make my kitchen look so festive!

All you need is white copy paper, ruler, pencil, marker and clear tape

Cut the paper into a square.  The size of your paper determines the size of your candy cane. We made our paper 8 1/2″ X 8 1/2″.  Using a ruler make a red line about 1/8″ thick down the edge of two adjacent sides of the square.

Turn the square face down and begin rolling from the corner without red lines

Keep rolling

Fasten corner with a clear piece of tape

Wrap about 3 inches of one end of the paper tube around a pencil

Unroll

Adjust top and trim off any extra paper on the top and bottom

Cute and simple!

More Candy Cane Ornaments

I remember making candy cane ornaments like these YEARS ago in Sunday school. I had a nice time reliving those memories with my daughter while making these.

We used 1 inch pom poms, tacky glue, recycled cardboard from soda and cereal boxes, a hole punch and a piece of ribbon for hanging (and for a bow on the wreath). After the shapes are cut I would punch the hole for hanging and add the ribbon for hanging before adding the pom poms. It will be more difficult later. If you would like to use the shapes we used you may download them here.

Candy Cane and Wreath Pom Pom Ornaments Template

I cut out the shapes for my daughter and we applied lots of glue. She then carefully placed each  pom pom on the cardboard.  When she was finished I sat a dinner plate on top for a few minutes to get the edges of the pom poms glued to the cardboard.

She was so proud when she hung them on the Christmas tree!

Still craving more candy cane ideas? How about some  Candy Cane Crafts for a Crowd.

Don’t forget to save some candy canes so you cane make these cupcake toppers in February.

You can find more ways to celebrate the holidays here.

Linking up with Tidy Mom

The Bunny Cake cutting diagram

Download bunny-egg-holder.pdf

Print on colored card-stock and cut out on dotted line.

Bring legs up then wrap one arm in front of legs and then bring the other arm around and place on top of the first arm. Staple where claws on bunny should be.

Want more bunnies? Check out Bunny Napkin Rings

Download bunny-napkin-ring.pdf

Print on colored card-stock then cut out. Roll end toward back of bunny head.

Staple where claws on bunny should be

I wrapped silverware in an orange napkin then fastened with a green pipe cleaner and slipped the “carrot” into the bunny.  If you have a hard time with the bunny standing up, a cotton ball glued to the back would provide stability and be a cute addition.

You will find a matching Bunny Egg holder here.

You will need a roll of clear contact paper, paint brushes, paint (we used acrylic), fine sandpaper and masking tape.

First cut a piece of contact paper from the roll. I cut squares about 5″ x 5″ because that was about the size of shapes I knew I would be cutting.

Take a fine piece of sandpaper and lightly sand the shiny surface of the contact paper where you will be painting. Wipe off any dust. This step helps the paint adhere to the slick contact paper.

Since we are often VERY messy when we paint I taped a piece of wax paper to the table. Tape the piece of contact paper shiny(sanded) side up onto the wax paper.

Paint onto the contact paper square. Since my daughter is three I encouraged her to paint using lots of colors. I knew I would be cutting out Easter eggs so it really didn’t matter what or how she painted.

Allow the painting to dry completely. I think she painted about 10 of these squares.

Once the paint is completely dry take another square of contact paper the same size as your painting and peel off the paper backing. Cover your painting with the clear contact paper. Smooth out any bubbles.

Trace around any shape of your choosing. I used an egg and bunny for my template.

Cut out the shape

Carefully remove the paper backing. This takes some time —–make sure you are only removing the paper (the back of your painting should be sticky). If you use acrylic paint it is plastic enough that it has a tendency to peel away from the contact paper, so peel carefully! If it does peel away and it won’t stick back down just put a little glue stick between the layers.

Once you are finished stick your silhouettes to your window

from the outside looking in

from the inside looking out

I would encourage older kids to paint their own designs and then cut out. I can imagine huge flowers and birds! Nothing is sweeter than kid’s art!

Have fun!!

We added “pink fairy” glitter (carefully chosen and liberally sprinkled by my daughter) to each of the letters. I used a Fiskers 1/4 inch rectangle hole punch to punch a hole in each side and then strung the letters on a 1/4 inch ribbon. We included two mini clothes pins with each garland. We packaged each garland in a clear cellophane bag tied with a ribbon.

BE MINE Conversation Heart Garland

I LUV U 4 EVER Conversation Heart Garland

Wishing you a very happy Valentine’s Day!

Roll frosted cupcakes in a chocolaty cereal (leave a little space around the edge of the cupcake for the petals), pipe on some petals with a star tip and then very carefully decorate a red M&M to look like a lady bug. To make clean-up easier I attach my decorating tip to the corner of a ziploc bag. For the ladybug I cut the tiniest tip off the corner of the bag. I used a little melted chocolate almond bark for the ladybug details, but frosting would work also. Cupcakes adapted from Ladies Home Journal.

You can see last years celebration cake here along with links to Kansas coloring pages.

You might also be interested in these sunflower cupcake toppers!

Have a happy day!

They were slightly difficult to attach to the glass, but worked in a pinch and looked really festive. If one had more time the wire ring could be changed to an actual wire beverage i.d. hoop.

There are no fancy clothes or fancy food and kids are definitely invited. At first the guests (especially the adults) might be shy about wearing their pajamas—but we insist. We sit around reading Christmas stories, drinking hot chocolate, sometimes we do a craft(decorating gingerbread houses and making gift tags are a favorite), and we eat a few simple snacks. It is such a special way to spend a cozy and relaxing evening with friends. We enjoy listening to our friends favorite Christmas books and as some of the children have gotten older they enjoy reading the stories also. I can’t say enough about how special the evening is for us. It is a moment in this busy time of year to slow down and remember what the Season is about!

When we moved to Germany I met my dear friend Wendy who was also having these parties. Her sister Tara has written some wonderful invitations. I “borrow” these poems and then make a theme around the invite. This is one of my favorite, The Polar Express.

We would like for you to join us for

a Christmas tale

We’ll gather for a story about a

little sleigh bell

We’ll be in our pajamas so that’s

how you should dress

All aboard headed north on the

Polar Express

Your time and date

Please bring your favorite Christmas

story to read!

Invitations can be made by layering holiday papers and adding a jingle bell at the top

The best thing is we can always elaborate on the theme and change it up. Next time I use this I want to make jingle bell wreaths. Family Fun has cute jingle bell bracelets to make. The possibilities are endless. Party favors would be cute sent home in a bag clipped with this jingle bell clip.

So warm up some hot chocolate and invite some friends over and relax and enjoy some special family time. A sweet little 4 year old said it was the best party she had ever been to. Now that is a pretty good endorsement when you have been to a “princess” party before!