This peas in a pod ornament is a fun afternoon craft. This project is just right for the younger set and perfect to gift to an Aunt or Uncle. It’s simple and doesn’t take many supplies, plus it is cute enough to hang on the tree. I often see necklaces that feature peas in a pod that use the number of peas for how many children you have. I thought it would be fun to make ornaments like that too. So let’s get started!

Supplies:

• Green Pom Pom Balls
• Milkweed Pod
• Ribbon
• Craft Glue

How To:

1. Glue appropriate number of Pom Pom Balls inside milkweed pod. If you just picked the pods you may need to let them dry out for a day or so.
2. Loop and knot ribbon. Glue knot of ribbon to top of milkweed pod.
3. Wrap in cute packaging and give to your favorite person!

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Happy Holidays to you and your family!

The post Handmade Holiday | Peas in a Pod Ornament appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

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.

Look at this beautiful Candy Shop! My good friend Rebecca Bischoff (check out her website) was nice enough to create this Free Printable for me to post on my website. This sweet little candy shop prints out all on one page and you can color it and cut it out to create the Candy Shop you see above.

 How To | Cut and Color 3D Candy Shop

Supplies:

• Paper and Printer
• Crayons or Markers
• Pom-pom Balls
• Small Bottle Brush Tree
• Small Bottle Brush Wreath
• Tiny Candy Canes
• Assorted Embellishments
• Glue
• Paint Brush
• Scissors
• White Glitter
• Gold Glitter
• Cardboard
• Cut and Color 3D Candy Shop

How To:

1. Print out the Cut and Color 3D Candy Shop and color it in.
2. Cut out the candy shop and assemble it using glue or tape.
3. Cut out a large circle from cardboard (make sure it is larger than the house) to form the ground/base. I used a scalloped edge scissors around the edge of my circle.
4. Adhere the assembled candy shop to the cardboard circle near the back.
5. Use a paint brush to paint glue onto the top of the cardboard circle and around the bottom of the house. Sprinkle glitter on top of the glue and shake off extra glitter into the trash can. We also added touches of white glitter to the roof and then gold glitter onto the word Candy.
6. Add extra embellishments, like pom-pom balls and bottle brush trees to your Candy Shop and to the ground in front of the Candy Shop.
7. Add an electric tea light inside and watch it glow at night!

Thank you Rebecca for creating this fun candy shop for us to craft!

Free Download

Click Here – Cut and Color 3D Candy Shop

The post Advent Activity | Cut and Color Candy Shop appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Ohh, Christmas is so close! Are you looking for an easy gift for the kids to make Grandma? These paper maché bulbs covered in tissue paper squares and a handmade drawing would work!

How To | Tissue Paper Ornament

Supplies:

• Tissue Paper Squares
• Paper Maché Bulb
• White Piece of Paper
• Crayons or Markers
• School Glue
• Paint Brush or Sponge
• Wax Paper
• Plastic Container or Lid
• Scissors

How To:

1. Have your child draw a small picture. (I drew a circle with a pen first, then had my kids draw inside of it. Cut out the artwork.)
2. Use a small paint brush or sponge to paint glue in small patches on the paper maché bulb. Add tissue paper over the glue as you go. Be careful not to get too much glue on the bulb or the tissue paper will rip because it is too soggy. Let the glued tissue paper dry.
3. To get your artwork to lay flat on the round bulb, use a scissors to make a few small cuts inward around the edges. Then paint glue on the back of the artwork piece and then add the artwork to the bulb. Smooth artwork down with fingers, some areas of the art will overlap a bit. Paint a thin layer of glue over the artwork to preserve it. Let dry.
4. Wrap and give as a gift to grandma!

The post Advent Activity | Tissue Paper Ornament appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Have you written your letter to Santa yet? Have you been Naughty or Nice? Young kids will love filling out this letter. It has big lines and spaces for early writers. Ours are going in the mail and heading off to the North Pole tomorrow!

The days are going by so quickly. I still have presents to wrap! How about you guys, are you all caught up? I am looking forward to this weekend, I can’t wait to see my kids faces on Christmas morning!

Free Download: Click Here – Letter To Santa

The post Advent Activity | Letter To Santa appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

I must have jinxed myself by posting that we were doing really good at keeping up with our Advent Activities. Now we have fallen a little bit behind, but no pressure right? We were able to make these cute sock snowmen. My daughter said, “I want to use the biggest googly eyes we have so it looks really cute.” She was right the sock snow-woman looks cute with those big eyes.

How To | Sock Snowman

Supplies:

• White Sock from Each Child
• Googly Eyes
• Pom-Pom Balls
• Embroidery Floss
• Assorted Ribbon
• Assorted Fabric Scraps and Felt
• Scissors
• Glue
• Stuffing

How To:

1. Choose your sock and stuff it 3/4 full using Poly-fil Stuffing.
2. Tuck the end of the sock up inside itself. (See pic below.)
3. Use a piece of embroidery floss and tie it tightly around the stuffed sock to form the head and body shape.
4. Glue on eyes, nose and other trims to make it look like a snowman.
5. (To create the pink hat, we used another sock and slid it over the top of the head and tied the end of the sock in a knot.)
6. Let your kids play with their new buddy or put them on display.

Bottom of Sock Snowman

The post Advent Activity | Sock Snowman appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen… but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose… You will want to make your own version of Rudolph using a toilet paper tube and the free download you can find below!

How To | Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer

Supplies:

• Toilet Paper Tube
• Googly Eyes
• Red Pom-Pom Ball
• Dark Brown Construction Paper
• Light Brown Construction Paper
• Pink Construction Paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Black Marker
• Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer Template Download

How To:

1. Download Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer Template. Print it out. (You can choose to color in the shapes on the template or use the shapes to cut out pieces from colored construction paper.) Cut out pieces from construction paper or color all the pieces on the template. Set cut out pieces aside.
2. Trace your child’s hand print onto a piece of paper. Cut it out to use as the antlers.
3. Assembly the ears by gluing the inner ear piece onto the ear. Let dry. Glue assembled ears to toilet paper tube.
4. Next glue on the antlers behind the ears.
5. Glue on googly eyes.
6. Glue pom-pom ball to nose base. Let dry. Glue nose base with pom-pom ball to toilet paper tube.
7. Crease the hooves on the dotted fold-line. Glue hooves to toilet paper tube.
8. Use black marker to add a mouth.

Free Download:

Click Here – Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer Template

The post Advent Activity | TP Tube Reindeer appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

I wanted to show all of you the Snowman Family Frame we made yesterday for our Advent Activity. I love it, it looks so cute on the shelf with all the other Christmas decorations. We have been able to keep on schedule for our Advent Activities this far. How about you guys, are you able to keep on track? Some nights are a bit tricky and we have to do some catch up the next day, but the kids don’t know what day I planned the activity for, so it’s all the same to them!

If you want to create one of these Snowman Family Frames for yourself, or make one to give as a gift, you can find the instructions for it here: ChildMadeTutorials. She does a great job of explaining it and has lots of pictures. Just a hint, I found my frame at Dollar Tree, I can see from the picture she has the same frame. So if you are doing your crafts on the cheap, like I try to do, take a look at Dollar Tree for this frame. It is deep inside, but looks pretty much like a normal frame and is in the same section.

Stay tuned, tomorrow you can see the Toilet Paper Tube Reindeer we are making and it includes a Free Download Template to cut out your own pieces. Also, don’t forget to like us on Facebook!

The post Advent Activity | Snowman Family Frame appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Here is our list of activities for our Advent Countdown this year. Won’t you join us in the fun? You can download a tutorial to make your own Jesse Tree ornaments in my store. I also have other great ideas for Advent Activities and Crafts listed and linked below in our calendar.

To keep it simple we will be reading from The Jesse Tree book each day and creating our handmade ornaments to hang on our special Jesse Tree. On twelve of the days we also have a coordinating Jesse Tree Activity Ornament Kit by Illuminated Ink. If you are interested in following along on our Jesse Tree journey you can find out more details from my previous post here. Your kids will love the memories you create together!

(You can find a detailed tutorial for making your own handmade Jesse Tree ornaments to coordinate with the book The Jesse Tree in my SHOP. Links to The Jesse Tree book, Jesse Tree Activity Ornaments and Wooden Jesse Tree can be found below.)

**************************************************************

ADVENT COUNTDOWN CALENDAR

Nov. 28th

• Light Advent Candle and Recite Advent Prayer
• Make Handprint Advent Wreath using kids handprints

Wed. Dec. 1st – Jesse Tree Symbol Sun and the Moon (Creation)

• Set up Fisher Price Nativity Set
• Make Nativity Peanut Butter Bread Scene
• Read The Nativity Pop-up Book by Francesca Crespi
  
• Kids Get Countdown Advent Calendar with Chocolate
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Thurs. Dec. 2nd – Jesse Tree Symbol Apple w/ Snake (Adam and Eve)

• Hang Stockings and Decorate Mantel
• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The True Story of Santa Claus by Paul Prokop
  
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Fri. Dec. 3rd – Jesse Tree Symbol Noah’s Ark w/ Rainbow (Noah

• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Sat. Dec. 4th – Jesse Tree Symbol Camel (Abraham and Sarah)

• Decorate Our Christmas Tree
• Trim-A-Tree Activity – find download in my SHOP
• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The Tale of Three Trees retold by Angela Elwell Hunt
  
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Sun. Dec. 5th – Jesse Tree Symbol Sheep (Isaac)

• Light Advent Candle and Recite Prayer
• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The True Story of Santa Claus by Paul Prokop
  
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Mon. Dec. 6th – Jesse Tree Symbol Ladder (Jacob)

• Movie Monday with popcorn and hot chocolate
• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Open stocking gifts from St. Nick
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Tues. Dec. 7th – Jesse Tree Symbol Coat of Many Colors (Jacob)

• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Wed. Dec. 8th – Jesse Tree Symbol Silver Chalice (Joseph)

• Make Bird Seed Pine Cones
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Thurs. Dec. 9th – Jesse Tree Symbol Whip (Moses)

• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Fri. Dec. 10th – Jesse Tree Symbol Sheaf of Corn/Wheat (Ruth)

• Visit Santa at Mall
• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Sat. Dec. 11th – Jesse Tree Symbol Jar of Oil (Samuel)

• Make Christmas Cookies
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Sun. Dec. 12th – Jesse Tree Symbol Slingshot (David)

• Light Advent Candle and Recite Prayer
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Mon. Dec. 13th – Jesse Tree Symbol Crown (David the King)

• Movie Monday with popcorn and hot chocolate
• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Tues. Dec. 14th – Jesse Tree Symbol Temple/Pillars (Solomon)

• Do Jesse Tree Activity Ornament by Illuminated Ink
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Wed. Dec. 15th – Jesse Tree Symbol Raven (Elijah)

• Make Magic Reindeer Food – find download in my SHOP
• Make Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Reindeer
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Thurs. Dec. 16th – Jesse Tree Symbol Bear (Elisha)

• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Fri. Dec. 17th – Jesse Tree Symbol Candle (Zachariah)

• Make Snowman Poop – find download in my SHOP
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Sat. Dec. 18th – Jesse Tree Symbol Olive Branch (Mary)

• Kids wrap presents for each other
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Sun. Dec. 19th – Jesse Tree Symbol Tablet w/ Stylus (John the Baptist)

• Light Advent Candle and Recite Prayer
• Make Gingerbread House
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Mon. Dec. 20th – Jesse Tree Symbol Baby in Manger

• Movie Monday with popcorn and hot chocolate
• Make Pretzel Hugs

Recipe from Becky Higgins as seen in CK Magazine

Directions:
Put a layer of square pretzels on a cookie sheet and place an unwrapped
Hershey’s Hug over each pretzel. Bake at 200 degrees for eight minutes. Remove
them from the oven and place a red or green milk chocolate M&M in the
center. Let the cookies cool.

• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Tues. Dec. 21st – Jesse Tree Symbol Shepard

• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Wed. Dec. 22nd – Jesse Tree Symbol Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

• Make Candy Cane Heart Suckers
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Thurs. Dec. 23rd – Jesse Tree Symbol Angels (Herod)

• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

Fri. Dec. 24th – Jesse Tree Symbol The Brightest Star

• Put out Magic Reindeer Food – find download in my SHOP
• Read The Jesse Tree book and The Advent Storybook before bed

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