Handmade Holiday Gift Idea

Do you ever have a craft idea and when it all comes together you are just giddy? Well, this plastic cloche ornament was one of those moments for me. I was searching and searching to find some tiny glass bell jars or cloches to make ornaments. Of course I am a little on the cheap side and didn’t want to pay very much, plus I wanted my kids to be able to use them to make ornaments and not feel like they cost to much to let them glue Legos or pipe cleaners inside. Then I was wandering the aisles of Dollar Tree and duh, it hit me.

I spied some plastic wine glasses with removable bottoms and presto this fantastic ornament idea was born. I am certain I am not the first crafter to have this idea and I am not sure why I never thought of it before. But if you are as excited as I am, then run, don’t walk to Dollar Tree and pick up a 6 pack of these plastic wine glasses and some of the plastic snowflakes I glued to the bottom.

(The Santa ornament above has the removable wine glass base glued onto the bottom of the ornament. Genius! You can use all the pieces! That makes it stand up on it own. Don’t add the ornament hanger and you can just display it on a mantle.)

I do want to warn that E•6000 glue is smelly and you will need to help your child with the gluing part. I let my kids pick out all the pieces and show me how they wanted them assembled, then I glued for them. Only my eight year old was able to do it herself.

Supplies:

• Plastic Wine Glasses (mine are from Dollar Tree in the party supply section)
• Plastic Snowflakes or (use the removable bottom from the wine glasses)
• E•6000 Glue
• Ribbon
• Scissors
• Assorted items to put inside (birds, Santa, bottle brush trees)

How To:

1. 

   Using either a plastic snowflake for the ornament base or the removable bottom from the wine glass, glue down the pieces you are using to form a scene inside your ornament.

2. If you are using the base of the glass, you can either put it right side up or upside down. Either way will work.

3. 

   Complete gluing on all items that will sit inside the ornament. Let dry.

4. 

   Place glue around edge of glass and stick down to base of ornament.

5. 

   Add glue to the stem of glass and tie ribbon around glue to create an ornament hanger. Let dry. Then tie ribbon into a loop.

    

6. Glue on additional embellishments to the outside of ornament. I got my rhinestone mesh to create the pretty blue bling around the bottom of my bird ornament from HERE.

The post Handmade Holidays | Plastic Wine Glass Ornament appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Are you in the holiday spirit yet? We had a great time decorating the tree over the weekend. Everyone is old enough now that they can help hang the ornaments. It’s a special and magical year for us and I love that all of my kids are so into the Christmas spirit. This week I helped my 4 year old make his handmade gift. He stamped these spice bags to give as gifts to his brother and sisters. This is really easy to do, but will keep a 4 year old busy for a chunk of time.

My son was so excited to finish stamping the bags and then fill them with CANDY! I bought some Brach’s classic candy mix, somehow it just tastes like Christmas and Grandma’s house!

Supplies:

• Spice Bags
• Stamping Ink Pads
• Stamps
• Candy

How To:

1. Lay bag flat.
2. Choose stamp and ink it up.
3. Stamp onto bag. Continue to add stamps to build a cute scene!
4. Fill with candy or treats.

The post Handmade Holidays | Stamped Spice Bags with Candy appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Girls love to make their own jewelry and these bracelets are no exception! These are fun to make because you can choose your own colors to coordinate with any outfit. Bracelets like these are a perfect craft for a birthday party or girl scout meeting!

This was another camping craft that the girls had fun making. They loved how easy it was to wrap their own bracelets and walk away with customized jewelry.

Supplies:

• Plain leather bracelets, a Snap bracelet, or a rubber bracelet
• Assorted colors of floss
• Craft glue

How To:

1. Choose your first color of floss. Start at one end of the bracelet with the floss. Place a small dab of glue on the end of the floss, then start wrapping.
2. Continue to wrap the floss. Wrap until it is the width you want it to be and secure the end with a dab of glue.
3. Start the next color by using another small dab of glue at the start and then again at the end.
4. Continue adding more floss colors until your bracelet is covered*As an alternate to using glue you can tie each section of floss together.

The post How To | Floss Wrapped Bracelet appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Look at these cute animals made from such simple supplies! What started as making a bunny using a toilet paper tube, sparked creativity in all the kids and they came up with their own animals to create.On the left we have a bunny, then a polar bear, a monster and a penguin. I was so excited to see each child put their own spin on their creation.

Supplies:

• Pony Beads for Eyes and Noses
• Yarn in Assorted Colors
• Felt for Belly, Ears, Beaks and Teeth
• Cotton Ball for Tails
• Stapler
• Scissors
• Glue (optional)

How To:

1. Staple the starting end of your yarn to the bottom edge of the toilet paper tube. Start to wrap string around toilet paper tube and continue wrapping so tube is completely covered.
2. As you get toward the middle of the tube slide a pony bead on the yarn for a nose if wanted. As you near the top, slide pony beads on the yarn for the eyes.
3. Staple the end of the yarn when you are finished wrapping.
4. Cut felt pieces for ears, feet, teeth etc. Staple or glue these pieces to your yarn wrapped toilet paper tube.

The post How To | TP Tube Yarn Animals appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

This week I am hosting the summer day camp project here on The Craft Nest! When summer time hits our neck of the woods it often means parade time. No parade is complete (at least not where we live) without candy to catch. Usually we grab a plastic grocery bag and head out, but this summer my kids and I crafted candy catchers to take along to the parade sidelines. One of the best features is that we used containers out of the recycle bin!

A special thanks to American Crafts for sending me these beautiful patriotic supplies to use for our project!

Supplies:

• Empty Plastic Container (we used vinegar jugs)
• Patriotic Paper Supplies by American Crafts
• Zazz Glitter Glue by American Crafts
• Glitter Tape by American Crafts
• This to That tape by American Crafts or Double-sided Tape or Craft Glue
• Thickers (letter stickers) by American Crafts
• Scissors or Paper Cutter

How To:

1. Find an empty container. Wash and dry the container. Cut an opening in the side of the container.
2. Use a scissors or paper trimmer and cut your paper to size and adhere it to the container using This to That tape by American Crafts.
3. Add other embellishments and stickers to your candy catcher.
4. Use glitter glue to add more sparkle to your container. Let dry.

The post Summer Day Camp | Patriotic Candy Catcher appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Wow, it’s the end of the school year already! I always like to get the kids involved in making a small gift for their teacher at the end of the year. This paper-mache cupcake was a fun way for them to make a craft for their teacher that also doubled as a gift box.

The box is really simple to paint and after it was all painted and decorated we tucked a little gift inside accompanied by a handmade thank you card.

Supplies:

• Cupcake (by Darice)
• Acrylic Paints
• Glitter
• Red pom-pom ball (Darice)
• School or Craft Glue
• Paintbrush
• Paper Plate
• Cello Bag
• Tiny Tag
• Tissue Paper
• Piece of Ribbon

How To:

1. Squeeze a small amount of assorted paint colors onto a paper plate.
2. Use your paint brush to paint different colors onto your cupcake. Let dry between each color.
3. To add glitter, use glue to make dots or pattern and then sprinkle glitter over glue spots. Let dry.
4. Glue on pom-pom ball for a cherry.
5. When cupcake is finished write child’s name and year on the bottom.
6. Line the box with tissue paper and place a small gift or treat inside the cupcake box.
7. Wrap in cello bag and tie closed with ribbon. Add a small tag with a handwritten greeting or note!

The post How To | Cupcake Gift Box appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Wanted to hop on the blog (still in the middle of our big move) and show you what the kids are making for their class Valentines. If you are looking for something your kids can make themselves this is it. My 7 year old did these pretty much on her own.

I did have to type up the text and print it out for her and use a wire-cutter to cut the pipe cleaner into smaller pieces. My daughter loved mixing and matching all the pom-pom ball colors and pipe cleaners to make different color combos and different looking warm fuzzies!

Supplies:

• 1.5″ Pom-pom balls in assorted colors
• Googly eyes
• Pipe cleaners in assorted colors
• Foam hearts (for feet)
• Wire cutters
• Craft glue
• Miniatures candy bars
• Pencil
• Printer and paper
• Ribbon (can be added to make warm fuzzy have a bow in her hair)

How To:

1. Glue the pom-pom ball to the foam heart (feet), let dry.
2. Glue googly eyes to pom-pom ball, let dry.
3. Cut a pipe cleaner into 4 pieces using a wire cutter. Use a pencil to curl each end of the pipe cleaner. Bend curled section in center to form V-shape. Glue antenna to top of pom-pom ball. Let dry.
4. Print text out on paper and trim to desired size and shape. Glue end of note between feet and pom-pom ball.
5. Glue entire warm fuzzy to miniature candy bar.
6. Pass out to friends on Valentine’s Day!

The post How To | Warm Fuzzy Friend Valentine appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

It’s Spring Break at our house. We are keeping busy enjoying the fabulous spring weather! I just wanted to hop on the blog and show all of you the cute bunnies we made from toilet paper tubes and cotton balls. Aren’t they cute? The perfect Easter craft for little kids. I had to laugh at how different all three turned out. The boys didn’t want feet on theirs and my daughter wanted feet and floppy ears so the bunny could hide.

How To | Toilet Paper Tube Easter Bunny

Supplies:

• Toilet Paper Tube
• Cotton Balls
• Googly Eyes
• Pink Paper
• White Paper
• School Glue

How To:

1. Use the white paper to cut out bunny ears and feet. Use the pink paper to cut out the inside of the ears and a pink bunny nose.
2. Add glue to the toilet paper tube and press cotton balls onto the glue as you go until the entire tube is covered.
3. Glue on the googly eyes and the nose.
4. Glue on the ears and the feet.
5. Let dry.

The post How To | Toilet Paper Tube Bunny appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Are you looking for a cheap project that will keep your kids busy for an hour or two today? You will love letting them paint rocks because it is so simple and you can let them do it outside. What could be cheaper than collecting some rocks and painting them? This project also works for a variety of age groups. Even my 2 year old had fun painting all over the rocks.

My kids also enjoy making painted rocks for gifts. (I know that sounds sorta funny.) We made painted rocks for Father’s Day, Dad now has a rock paperweight display on his desk at work.

How To | Painted Rocks

Supplies:

• Rocks
• Paint Brushes
• Acrylic Paints/Watercolor Paints
• Wax Paper
• Paper Plate
• Toothpicks
• Water

How To:

1. Collect rocks. Look for rocks with a flat side.
2. Wash the rocks with water. If your kids are outside use the hose to spray them off. Set the rocks in the sun to dry.
3. Let each child have a piece of wax paper, paper plate and paint brush. Use the wax paper as a place mat to set the rocks on while they are being painted. Add different colors of acrylic paint on the paper plate so they can dip their brush easily into the paint.
4. Paint away! Wash off the paint brush in between colors (here is where the hose comes in handy again).
5. If you use watercolors let them paint out of the tray the watercolors come in. After the rocks are painted, you can wash the rocks off and paint them again. This works well with really little kids!
6. For detailed areas let child use a toothpick to paint with.
7. Let rocks dry and add decorated rocks as a border along your flower bed or give them as a gift (they make great paper weights).

The post How To | Painted Rocks appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

We actually made these last year for a spring decoration. They are so cute I thought I would re-post for all of you to see! Your kids will love creating a home for their spring chicks.

How To | Spring Chicks Home

Supplies:

• Domed Vending Machine Container
• Easter Grass
• Paper Flowers
• Chenille Chicks (ours are from Michaels)
• Tacky Glue
• Glue Dots

How To:

1. Use glue dots to secure a patch of Easter grass to the bottom of the container.
2. Put glue dots on the bottom of the chicks feet and attached them to the grass.
3. Use tacky glue to add flowers to Easter grass.
4. Let them dry and then add the tops. Now you have a cute and cozy home for a mommy and her baby chick.

The post How To | Spring Chicks appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.