Christmas Card Wreath
( This came from Highlights for Children Magazine)
1. On the back of a card, draw and cut out a 2 in-by-4 in. rectangle for a pattern.
2. Gather used Christmas cards. Trace around the pattern onto the fronts of about seventeen
cards.
3. Cut out the rectangles. Arrange them in a circle, overlapping the edges. Glue
them together where they overlap.
4. Make a bow from ribbon and glue it on, or use a stick-on bow. Tape a yarn loop on the
back as a hanger.
Shining Star
What you will need:
2 plastic drinking straws for each star
glitter
string or yarn
scissors
white glue
What you need to do:
1. Cut each straw in half.
2. Cut a piece of yarn 18" long.
3. Lay the 4 straw pieces in a star shape. This is done by make two into an x shape and the
other two over the top of that in another x shape.
4. Tie securely, leaving some yarn to use as a hanger.
5. Spread glue on the star and sprinkle with glitter.
6. Shake off excess glitter.
Scandinavian Mousetraps (ornaments)
(from Christmas Crafts for Everyone By Evelyn Coskey 1976)
"The mousetrap is a popular Scandinavian Christmas item. Either alone or incorporated into
something else, it is interesting and different. This one is made from two contrasting colors of paper and is used asa
mobile."
What you will need:
2 contrasting colors of paper, cut strips 1 inch wide by at least 14 inches long-or longer if you
prefer.
1/2 inch square of cardboard
What you need to do:
Glue two pieces of colored paper together at right angles. Kind of like an upside down L
Fold the first color over the second, repeating until you have used up your paper.
At the top of the last fold, glue the cardboard in place. Working from the underside, through
the cardboard, make your hanging loop. Knot the thread on the underside, pull it through and knot it again, cut the
loop the length you want it, then tie the ends together.
Winter Berry Garland
(From: Nature Smart: Awesome Projects to Make With Mother Nature's Help by: Gwen
Dieh, Terry Krautwurst, Alan Anderson, Joe Rhatigan, and Heather Smith. 2003 Main Street Book: New York))
What you will need:
wire coat hanger
50 twigs-4 to 6 inches long, from a variety of trees, and in a variety of shades of gray and
brown.
about 10 sprigs of red berries such as red-berried elder, rose hips, winterberries, yaupon, pyracantha,
and dog wood
10 small rubber bands
scissors or pruning shears
What you need to do:
Unwind the twisted neck of the coat hanger, and straighten the wire. Bend a small hook on one
end. End a few curves in the wire.
Gather between 10 to 12 bundles of twigs, each with 4 or 5 twigs and a sprig of berries and/or of
white flowers. Fasten each bundle tightly at one end with a rubber band.
Attaching twig bundles to the wire is easier if you hang the wire by its hook from a nail in the
wall. You can also do this job by laying the wire flat on a table. Begin by placing one bundle at the end of the wire
away from the hook, with rubber banded end facing the hooked end of the wire ans the twig ends covering the end of the wire.
Wrap a piece of floral wire about12 inches long several times around the bundle to hold it in place. If you have leftover
floral wire, use it to attach the next twig bundle.
Lay the second twig bundle facing the same way as the first one so that the twig ends of the second
bundle cover the rubber band of the first bundle. Fasten this bundle with floral wire.
Continue placing the rest of the bundles in the same way until the entire wire is covered, with only
a couple of inches of wire and the hook sticking out.
Poke leftover sprigs of berries or flowers into bare spots.
Snowman Lightbulb Ornament
What you will need:
Light Bulb
Thin Ribbon
Child's Sock
Snowpaint
Buttons
Orange Bump Chenille Stem
Scrap Black Felt or Paper and Glue
What you need to do:
Put 3 layers of paper mache on light bulb first. Although this is optional, it is highly
recommend because this helps make the light bulb less fragile.
Paint the light bulb
with the snowpaint. You don't need to paint the neck (the part that goes into the light socket). Let the paint dry completely. Set
the neck of the lightbulb into an empty film container or something to hold it while it drys.
Tie
a piece of thin ribbon, about 10 - 12 inches long, securely around the neck of the light bulb. Add a few drops of glue to
secure the ribbon. This will be the hanger for your ornament.
Now
you will make a stocking cap for your light bulb snowman. Cut off the top of the sock, you will want about 6 inches to work
with. Slide it over the neck of the light bulb; and make sure the ribbon comes out through the top. Roll the edge of the sock
that is over the light bulb until you have only about 1 inch hanging over the top.
Tie
a piece of ribbon around the top edge of the sock just above the end of the light bulb. Tie it into a bow and trim off any
long ends. Secure the rolled edge of the sock onto the light bulb with a few drops of glue.
Now you can make the snowman's face! Glue on small buttons for the eyes (you can also use large wiggle
eyes). Cut half of a bump off the orange chenille stem and glue it on to be the snowman's nose. For the mouth, cut out small
circles (to look like coal) out of black felt or paper and glue them on.
Hand Christmas Tree
What
you need to do:
Large Piece of Paper
Construction Paper
Glue
What
you need to do:
Cut 10 handprints out of green paper. Put a dab
of glue towards the top of the palm edge of 4 of the handprints. Glue these side-by-side towards the bottom edge of the paper
with the fingers pointing down. They can overlap a bit. This the the bottom row of tree branches.
For the next row, put a dab of glue on the top of the palm edge of 3 handprints.
Glue these just above the 4 hand prints. Make they hang over the bottom row of handprints so the finger tips of the second
row barely hit the other handprints where the finger joins the palm.
Continue
the same way up the tree. The next row will have 2 handprints and the final row will use one handprint. Once the glue is dry,
you can use a pencil and wrap each finger tip around the pencil just a bit so they all curve upwards. Use colorful scraps
of construction paper to cut out decorations for yooour tree and glue them on. Don't forget a big star on top!
Christmas Card Ornaments
(From www.familycrafts.about.com)
What You Need: Used Christmas Cards, Single Hole Puncher, Any color ribbon
What You Need to do:
1. Punch a hole in the top
left corner of the card, avoid punching part of a word.
2. Cut 6 inches of ribbon and thread it through the hole. Tie both end
together in a tight knot.
3. Use the greeting cards as tree ornaments. This is a great way to keep
cards because you won't destroy them so you can read them year after year.
4. After Christmas you can store the cards in a box until next christmas
comes around, and If you continue to turn more cards into ornaments, your collection of card ornament will certainly grow!
Christmas Door Tree
