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.

My 7 year old son made these drinking glasses to give as gifts to his siblings for Christmas. This is a really great kid craft! This year we are working on a new tradition. I am helping each child make a handmade gift for everyone in our family. Making special gifts makes my kids feel so excited and proud and since he loves to draw this was a natural fit. So you’ve seen what he made, don’t spill the beans to the rest of the family! Want to help your child make glasses like these? Read on to find out how simple they were to make!

I wanted to tell you a little more about my son’s choices of drawings. He drew a bunny for his older sister who loves bunnies, ninja’s for his brother, a crown for his little sister, a deer for Dad and an Astronaut for himself. There was one more glass for me, but he wrapped it so I couldn’t see it! I am so excited for him to give these to everyone! Plus now we will know whose cup is whose and I won’t have to keep washing them because we don’t know who drank out of what cup!

Supplies:

• Glass Markers – found at Michaels or Jo-Anns
• Glasses
• Drawings of what you want to draw
• Tape

How To:

1. Wash and dry glass.

2. 

   Measure your glass and cut a piece of paper so it will fit inside your glass. Use that paper to draw your picture on. Slide paper with picture into glass and use a piece of tape to secure picture temporarily to glass.

3. 

   The easiest way we found to draw on the glass is to lay it on a paper towel in your lap. Once glass is lying flat, draw your picture by following the lines of your paper sketch you see through the glass.

4. Let dry according to marker instructions. Hand wash.

The post Handmade Holidays | Painted Drinking Glasses appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Hope everyone is having a great summer! Our summer is going so well. It has been so great to have everyone at a good age for swimming and traveling! Yesterday we did a fun day at Michigan’s Adventure. This morning they are all still sleeping because they are all so worn out. We have another Summer Day Camp Project today and if it is as hot where you are as it is here then a fun, chilled project is perfect for this week. Camille from Growing up Gabel is today’s Camp Instructor and she is showing us how to make Ice Cream in a Bag!Camille is a 30-something wife, blogger and stay at home mom. She cooks almost everything from scratch and attempts to meet most of their household needs herself. She likes to add in a little knitting and sewing because she enjoys it. She hopes that what she shares inspires you to live a more frugal and sustainable lifestyle!

Visit her blog and find the full instructions for making your own ice cream in a bag: Growing up Gabel

Come back next Tuesday for another day camp project and if you missed last week’s project you can visit here to see what you missed.

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Are your kids complaining of boredom yet? Our Summer Day Camp series featuring Kids Crafts will be starting next week. I am super excited for my readers to see all the fun day camp style projects we will be showcasing. So check back here next week Tuesday to see our first post. We will be posting at least one day camp style project each week through August.

Want to meet some of the day camp instructors?

Rebecca from Finding My Blog

Rebecca shares her passions, dreams and things that work for her. From recipes to parenting escapades, the blog, like Rebecca’s life, is incomplete and taking shape as it goes.

Donna from Swish Printables

Donna is a self-professed party junkie! She loves everything about parties. She loves planning them…going to them… and shopping for them. She loves it all! She’s a stay-at-home mom who tries to balance life with two small kids, a busy husband, and her love of all things printable!

Alanna from The Craft Nest

Hey, yes, this is me! Alanna was a Design Manager in the scrapbooking industry until the birth of her first child. She then turned freelance designer, crafter and stay-at-home mom. Her website features family and kids crafts, recipes, handmade gift ideas and advent activities.

Kara from The Joys of Boys

Kara is a mom of 4 boys, which also makes her a nurse, referee, taxi driver, teacher, baker, atm, maid, personal shopper, jungle gym, coach, puppeteer, motivator and negotiator. On her blog she shares fun activities, crafts, recipes and ideas designed just for boys, in hopes that together we can, not only survive, but find joy in raising boys.

Camille from Growing Up Gabel

Camille is a 30-something wife, blogger and stay at home mom. She cooks almost everything from scratch and attempts to meet most of their household needs herself. She likes to add in a little knitting and sewing because she enjoys it. She hopes that what she shares inspires you to live a more frugal and sustainable lifestyle!

Kathy from Adventure Mom TV

Utilizing the latest technology, social media, video, photography and blog posting we demonstrate tips and tricks for all things alfresco. Readers look to us for outdoor products reviews, family travel activities, dining, and vacation planning for unique family escapades.

Sarah from LimeMade Designs

Sarah is a natural crafter and a truly talented sewer. She has an Etsy shop featuring an amazing array of sewn items. On her blog you don’t want to miss Insta Fridays!

Cindy from Skip to My Lou

From hosting a shrimp boil, celebrating holidays, making homemade scratch art paper, sewing gifts and throwing parties to cooking delicious food, you will find it all here at Skip To My Lou. The site is full of free patterns, downloads and I hope plenty of inspiration. Please hang out with me awhile and check it out!

Emily from The Benson Street

After graduating from college and working for a couple of years, she needed to find an outlet for her creative juices and a way to learn new things. Not only is it an outlet for her, it is motivation. Blogging helps her to get her projects done, share ideas and connect with friends.

Becky from Patchwork Posse

I have been Sewing since I was 8 years old {my first sampler}.  My first official quilt was finished in 1997 and it is ‘history’ as they say it since. I have 4 kids at home who help inspire my designs. I L O V E to sew!   I started quilting with a big girls machine in 2010.  I love to design quilts, bags, but my favorite is dolls and stuffed animals. I collect buttons, lace and ric-rac. I love tall socks, but have a had time finding ones that fit my ‘athletic’ calves…thanks dad.

You can find me sharing tutorials and patchwork patterns on my blog: http://patchworkposse.com  This year I am hosting a series for using your quilt blocks 52 Quilt Block Pick Up, come sew along with me!

Come back next week to see our first project!

The post Summer Day Camp Starts Next Week! appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Looking for a last minute Mother’s Day project? I just made this today and I admit it is for me. Don’t you just want to capture their little (or not so little) hand print size forever? And check out the cute heart in the palm of their hands. I came up with this project based upon the quote, “Mother’s hold their children’s hands for awhile, but their hearts forever.”

So maybe when you look at the first picture you are thinking, whoa someone needs to call TruGreen and get those weeds under control! Or maybe you are thinking your little one would have a hoot trying to pic all those dandelions and bring them to you for Mother’s Day. I personally want to get my kids all dressed nicely and sit them in that field for a picture, I am not sure they will cooperate with my idea though.

Anyway, back to the craft project you clicked over here to see. This project goes really fast once you have all the supplies on hand. If you have more than 4 hand prints to put on the canvas you might want to go up a canvas size or two.

Supplies:

• 8×10 Canvas
• Assorted Acrylic Paints
• Foam Brush
• Paper Plate
• Diaper Wipes
• Hand Cut Heart
• Thickers by American Crafts (that is what I used for the raised lettering)
• Marker
• Double-sided Tape
• Scissors
• Paper

How To:

1. Measure the size of the smallest child’s hand. Cut a heart out of paper so it fits in the palm of their hand.
2. You will use the same paper heart and stick it onto the canvas using double-sided tape before each child makes their hand print and then peel it up when they are finished to reveal a heart-shaped void.
3. To get ready, squirt the paint colors onto a paper plate and have a diaper wipe handy. You will want to quickly wipe the paint off a small child’s hand when they are finished with their hand print.
4. Start with the largest child’s hand first. Stick the paper heart to the canvas where the middle of their palm print will be. Use the foam brush and paint their hand with acrylic paint. Press their hand to the canvas making sure to push down on all their fingers and their thumb for an even print. Pull their hand off and remove the heart.
5. Repeat the above step for each child’s hand print. Make sure you use the largest hand first and the smallest last. Also think about what paint colors will layer well over others.
6. Let dry.
7. Add the quote by laying the stickers out (don’t press them down yet) and lightly penciling in the words. Write very light with the pencil because it does not erase well off of the canvas.
8. When you have it all arranged use a marker to permanently write in the words that aren’t spelled out using stickers. If your stickers aren’t sticking add a little drop of glue to each one.
9. Use a pencil to write in the name and age of each child along the edge of their hand print.
10. Wrap and give to Mom (or yourself)!

The post How To | Mother’s Day Hand Print Craft appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and I am sure you are searching for a perfect handmade gift for mom. Am I right? What about a small gift for Grandma? These tiny little windowsill planters made using recycled lids or a domed vending machine container are just the perfect project for Mother’s Day. You may already have the plants you need in your yard.

I recently attended SNAP! (a blogging conference) and my roommate Cynthia taught a class on making a DIY terrarium necklace with succulent plants. She has an amazing tutorial you can find here, you will want to look at her tutorial before making this little windowsill planter. Her class and knowledge inspired me to make these windowsill planters to give as gifts for Mother’s Day.

Supplies:

• Floral Adhesive (I bought it from my local flower shop)
• Assorted Succulents (You may have enough in your own yard or visit Lowe’s)
• Dried Moss (Michaels)
• Toothpick or Bamboo Skewer
• Paper Plate
• Assorted Sizes Lids from Recycling Bin (Baby food lids are the perfect size)
• Scissors

How To:

1. Gather succulents you want to use. I purchased mine from Lowe’s. You may already have some in your yard, succulents like Hen and Chicks work perfectly for this project.

2. Using a scissors, clip off a small piece from each of the succulents you want to use.

3. Squirt a small spot of floral adhesive onto a paper plate.

4. Use a toothpick or bamboo skewer to pick up some adhesive and spread it around the inside of your lid. Floral adhesive does not harm the plant tissue.

5. Adhere moss to the adhesive. The moss will provide a place for your succulents to grow new roots.

6. Use your toothpick to pick up adhesive and dab the adhesive on the ends of the succulent cuttings. Glue the succulents into the moss. Above I layered two different size lids to make a unique mini-planter.

7. Be sure to read Cynthia’s maintenance tips for caring for your succulents in her post here. The basics are that you will need to mist your plants with water about once a week and be careful not to over water.

The post How To | Mother’s Day Recycled Windowsill Mini-Planter appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Christmas seems to be just around the corner! My kids are so excited to make Christmas related crafts. I came up with these easy to make Holy Family figures for my daughter to create and display in her room.

The creation of this Holy Family incorporates a few natural items found outside. We used a dried milkweed pod for Jesus’ bed and acorn tops for their halos. Here in Michigan the milkweed pods are still hanging on the stalks and are all dried out, just waiting to be picked and used in a craft.

Supplies:

• Red and blue and light blue felt
• 4×4 piece of cream fabric or muslin
• Brown ribbon
• Milkweed pod
• 3 acorn tops
• 3 sizes of peg people/game pieces (I found mine at Michaels in the wood section)
• Acrylic paint for faces and hair
• Gold paint for halo
• Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Craft glue

How To:

1. Paint the faces and hair on each peg person, let dry.
2. Paint the acorn tops gold, let dry.
3. To create baby Jesus’ clothes, lay him on the piece of fabric. Trim the fabric to be slightly taller than the height of the peg body. Fold over all raw edges. Put a small line of glue on the peg body and roll the fabric around Jesus to create his clothes (all raw edges are tucked under). Glue the remaining edge down. Let dry.
4. Glue the gold acorn top to Jesus’ head, let dry.

5. 

   To create Mary’s clothes, cut out a blue square of felt. To get the correct size, when folded the felt should be the same height as the peg body. With the felt square folded in half trim off the corners to form a circle. Cut a small X in the center of the circle. Slide the felt circle over the peg head.

6. 

   To finish off her dress, pinch each side of the dress together. Place glue in between the layers. Use a clothespin to hold it in place while it dries.

7. Cut Mary’s veil out of lighter blue felt. Glue the veil onto her head, let dry. Glue gold acorn top over veil, let dry.

8. 

   To create Joseph’s clothing, cut out a red rectangle of felt. To get the correct size, when folded the felt should be the same height as the peg body. Cut a small X in the center of the felt. Slide the felt rectangle over the peg head.

9. Use glue to hold the felt clothes in place, let dry. Tie a ribbon around the middle of his body to make a belt. Glue gold acorn top onto his head, let dry.
10. To create a stable my daughter used construction paper, toilet paper tubes and tape (lots and lots of tape!). Have your child use their creativity to create their own stable for the Holy Family.

The post Advent Activity | Holy Family Figures appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

It is super cold here today, just like winter actually. The weather is giving me a little push to get the holiday plans laid out for my blog. So, I wanted to let all of you know that I have a lot of exciting things planned for my blog for this upcoming holiday season! A giveaway! Yes you heard correct, a giveaway for a lovely item handmade by me. I will also be continuing my Handmade Holiday series this year and it will feature a couple different sewing patterns that will be available for purchase and one or two free pattern ideas. I will also have some free printable downloads available as Christmas gets closer.

If you are a follower of my blog you may have seen my Advent Activities lists. To check out my previous year’s list of activities you can click these links:

• Advent Activities for 2010 list
• Advent Activities for 2011 list

I would also love it if you would follow me on Facebook, just click the “Like” button over there in the sidebar! There are lots of fun things coming up this November and December and you won’t want to miss any of them.

Also, I will be starting a new sponsor/advertising program for my sidebar area. If you have an interest in advertising on my site just shoot me an email! I would love to have you!

The post Just Getting Warmed Up! appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

You can recycle old scraps of felted sweaters and fleece to create your own unique felt heart pin for Valentine’s Day. (Do you recognize the Lava Girl hot pink felt on the back?) Over the weekend I started sewing the pin on the left, once my daughter saw what I was making she wanted to make one too. I tried to insist that she had to sew her heart using a different stitch because the blanket stitch would be too hard for her. She begged until I gave in and taught her the stitch, then she stitched her heart on pretty much perfect all by herself. Guess mom isn’t so smart. Tomorrow we will be wearing these all day to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Make one of these for your daughter, teacher or babysitter. They will look lovely on your shirt tomorrow!

How To | Felt Heart Pin

Supplies:

• Felt Scraps
• Fleece Scraps
• Embroidery Thread
• Sewing Needle
• Straight Pin
• Poly-fil or Wool Stuffing
• Bar Pin
• Fabric Scissors
• Stick-on Gems

How To:

1. Cut out a square shape from your felt.  (I have some Fiskars scalloped edge fabric scissors I used to cut the edges of my squares.)
2. Cut out a heart shape from felt or fleece. Pin in place onto the felt square.
3. Using a blanket stitch (click here for a how to) sew almost all the way around the heart. Leave a small opening for stuffing.
4. Stuff the heart with a small amount of stuffing, then continue sewing the heart onto the felt square.
5. Stitch words or a design in the center of your heart or add gemstones.
6. Sew the pin bar to the back of the felt square.

Back side of felt pin.

The post How To | Valentine Felt Heart Pin appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.