From left to right, up & down:

1)  SNOWY SPLATTER PAINTING: https://www.artcampla.com/new-blog/holiday-splatter-paintings

2)  SNOWFLAKE FAIRY: https://www.adventure-in-a-box.com/10959-2/

3) ALPINE TREE RESIST: https://rhythmsofplay.com/alpine-tree-watercolor-resist-art/

4)  PAPER SNOWFLAKES: http://littleworldsbigadventures.com/paper-snowflakes-kid-made-winter-craft/

5)  WINTER SENSORY PLAY: http://littleworldsbigadventures.com/winter-sensory-play-activity/

6)  WINTER FAIRY SMALL WORLD: https://rhythmsofplay.com/fairy-winter-wonderland-small-world/

7) GIGANTIC SNOW GLOBE:  http://make-it-your-own.com/gigantic-snow-globe/

From left to right, up and down:

8) 3-D SNOWFLAKES: https://kidscraftroom.com/stunning-3d-snowflake-craft/

9) FAMILY SNOW GLOBE: http://make-it-your-own.com/silvery-snow-peg-doll-family-snow-globe/

10)  SHAPE PENGUINS: https://nontoygifts.com/shape-penguin-craft/

11)  WINTER THAUMATROPE: https://www.redtedart.com/printable-thaumatrope-christmas/

12) TWIG SNOWFLAKES: https://buggyandbuddy.com/tissue-paper-twig-snowflake-craft-kids/

13) SNOW PERSON BALLOON GARLAND: http://make-it-your-own.com/silvery-snow-simple-snow-person-balloon-garland/

14) SNOW PERSON CARDS: http://make-it-your-own.com/handmade-cards-make-your-own-snowperson/

15)  LUNCH BAG SLEDS: https://www.brainybeginningsnetwork.com/lunch-bag-sled/

And a bonus: a beautiful paper craft:

16) QUILLED SNOW FLAKES: https://www.artycraftykids.com/art/quilled-paper-tube-snowflake-craft

For the full details see:

https://www.hellowonderful.co/post/KID-MADE-PRINTED-ORNAMENT-GARLAND

Materials

• Cardboard
• Bristol board (for body tracing and the snow globe base)
• Pencil/eraser
• String
• Bristol board
• Fabric, paint, etc.
• Items to make details (buttons, chenille stems, pom poms etc etc.)
• Glue gun/ glue sticks or white craft glue
• Good quality scissors
• We got a donation of styrofoam balls, but you could use crumpled up recycled paper etc.

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• To create the circle for your globe shape, tie a string on the eraser end of a pencil.  Put the end of your string in the centre of your cardboard, stretch it taut and then move in a circular direction to create a large circle.  *We show you the process with a different project below as it was difficult to get the shot with such a large circle!*  Have an adult cut out the circle for you- you can use scissors, but you might find an utility knife easier.  Don your smock and paint your background.  Before you get started filling your globe, think about perspective- remember that things that are farther away look a bit smaller.

•  Have an adult or friend trace around your upper body.  If your circle for the globe is super giant, you could fit your whole self in!

• Cut out yourself and sketch out your ideas for decorating.  How could you create yourself- with fabric, felt, paint etc.?  Use what you have- this is a perfect time to use up scraps and extra bits.  Think about what you might wear if you were outside in the snow!

• A few creating tips: 1) Use painter’s tape to create sharp lines with your paint. 2) Fold your fabric under before gluing it down, to create finished edges. 3) Wrap your fabric around yourself and glue it on the back. 4) Our kids like to work on big projects like this in manageable parts- e.g., one day working on the face.  We used circular canvases, but you could simply trace your head shape as well. 5) Experiment with placement before you glue things down- this gives you the chance to re-arrange. 6) Work as a team- that way you can have one person put the glue on and the other then lie the materials down and then switch the next time!

•  Allow yourself to dry and glue yourself onto your globe.  Flip over your globe and then trim any excess.  Create a stand for your globe.

• Have an adult cut your styrofoam balls in half (you could also crumple up recycled paper or tissue paper) to create your snow and snowballs!

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Purpose

• Changing the size, creating big!

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and a glue gun with care and direct, adult supervision.
• A utility knife is for adult use only!
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads, buttons etc. can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• We recommend that you wear a smock over old clothes for these processes and that you cover your floor under your work table with a plastic sheet or tarp.

Directions

1) Snowball prints  Materials needed: Bottle caps, white paint, shallow container, pencil with eraser, kraft paper, painter’s tape, scissors

• Don your smock.  Roll out your paper and tape it to the underside of your table.  You could do this on the floor too, taping it to your plastic sheet.
• Dip your caps and pencil eraser into your paint and carefully apply it to your paper.
• Allow to dry overnight.  Carefully remove your tape and trim your edges.
• Wrap up your packages and add a bow!

1) Splatter Painted  Materials needed: Paint, sponges, paint brushes, block, kraft paper, scissors

• Don your smock.  Roll out your paper and tape it to the underside of your table.  You could do this on the floor too, taping it to your plastic sheet.
• Using sponges, we created a space-y base for the splatter painting technique.  We created various shapes of lines, starting with dark colours first and then adding another lighter colour beside it.  Be free with this process.  We then splatter painted white and copper flecks overtop, by taping our brush on a block, over top of the sponge painting.
• Allow to dry overnight.  Carefully remove your tape and trim your edges.
• Wrap up your packages and add a bow!

3) Squeegee Painting  Materials needed: Squeegee, paint, kraft paper, painter’s tape, scissors

• Don your smock.  Roll out your paper and tape it to the underside of your table.  You could do this on the floor too, taping it to your plastic sheet.
• Put lines and dots of paint on your paper and then use your squeegee to move the paint around, going in various directions.  We found adding a metallic to the paint choices, really made this technique pop!  If you don’t have a squeegee, you can create a similar, smaller-scale effect with an old gift card.
• Allow to dry overnight.  Carefully remove your tape and trim your edges.
• Wrap up your packages and add a bow!

4) Holiday Greenery Prints  Materials needed: Styrofoam sheet or a clean, unused styrofoam tray, large tile, brayers, pencil, paper, scissors, printing ink, golf tee, paint, scissors, painter’s tape, spoon

• Don your smock.  Roll out your paper and tape it to the underside of your table.  You could do this on the floor too, taping it to your plastic sheet.
• Design your greenery on paper and cut it out.  Tape your pattern to your styrofoam sheet, trace around it and cut out your shape from your styrofoam.  Put a spoon of printing ink onto your tile and spread it out with your brayer, getting a good, even layer on it.  You could use paint, but printing ink creates a more clear image.  Roll your brayer over your styrofoam, covering it evenly with your printing ink.  Apply your styrofoam template to your paper (flipping it upside down).  You can rub the styrofoam cut-out to assure the paint adheres to your paper evenly, but rolling a second, clean brayer over the styrofoam greenery assures the crispest image.  You can create patterns like our son did or you can go for something more random.  We then dipped a golf tee into the paint and created little berries.  Really with this technique, you could create any number of shapes- be sure to “make it your own” with your unique interpretations!
• If you want photos for better understanding, here is another project that we did with printmaking: https://make-it-your-own.com/valentines-day-printmaking-set-of-cards/
• Allow to dry overnight.  Carefully remove your tape and trim your edges.
• Wrap up your packages and add a bow!

5) Cupboard Liner Prints  Materials needed: Plastic cupboard liner, paint, brayer,  kraft paper, painter’s tape, scissors

• Don your smock.  Roll out your paper and tape it to the underside of your table.  You could do this on the floor too, taping it to your plastic sheet.
• Squirt paint on the cupboard liner side that is texturized (both of them may be) and then covers your liner with the paint, using your brayer.  With a sibling, friend or adult, flip your cupboard liner over onto your paper and use a clean brayer to roll over it to assure contact to create the prints. Carefully lift it off and wash your liner.
• Allow to dry overnight.  Carefully remove your tape and trim your edges.
• Wrap up your packages and add a bow!

6) Drip Drop Painting Materials needed: Diluted paint or we used ink, pipette, small container,  kraft paper, painter’s tape, scissors

• Don your smock.  Roll out your paper and tape it to the underside of your table.  You could do this on the floor too, taping it to your plastic sheet.
• Put your ink into your container and then suck it up by squeezing the bulb of your pipette, dipping it into the paint and then slowly releasing it.  To apply your paint, hold it above your paper and then slowly compress the bulb, letting drips splash onto your paper!
• Allow to dry overnight.  Carefully remove your tape and trim your edges.
• Wrap up your packages and add a bow!

7) Bubble Prints  Materials needed: Straws, liquid watercolour paint/food colouring (read the label for non-toxic), dish soap, kraft paper, painter’s tape, scissors

• Don your smock.  Roll out your paper and tape it to the underside of your table.  You could do this on the floor too, taping it to your plastic sheet.
• This is an activity for children a little older who won’t accidentally suck in the paint/bubble solution.  Cut a tiny snip out of each straw (this will reduce your ability to suck in in case you accidentally forget to only blow on the straws!) and then tape a bundle of them together.  Mix your solution of paint or food colouring, a bit of water and a few tablespoons of dish soap.  Dip one end of your straw bundle into the mixture and then blow on the other end, creating bubbles on your page!  My kids will often put a dot on the end that they stick into the paint so that they don’t accidentally mix it up!
• Allow to dry overnight.  Carefully remove your tape and trim your edges.
• Wrap up your packages and add a bow!

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What kinds of wrapping paper have you made with your kids or students? 

Please tag us on Instagram so we can see it: https://www.instagram.com/make_it_your_own_/

We’d LOVE to see it!

Here’s 1 of 3 examples from our friends Cara and Sarah of Smocks On (http://www.smockson.com/).  You can find their tutorials on The Art Garden where they guest posted for Holly Jolly Craftmas: https://theartgardenblog.com/2017/12/01/its-time-for-craftmas-kid-made-wrapping-paper/ of their kid-made wrapping paper!

Purpose

• Experimenting with different painting and printing techniques!

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and old clothes and use a plastic sheet to protect surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.
• Select non-toxic products when working with children.
• Small items such as caps, can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children 0-3 years or those that tend to put things in their mouths.

From the top to bottom, left to right!

1) Paper Christmas Tree Craft: I Heart Crafty Things- https://iheartcraftythings.com/paper-christmas-tree-craft.html

2) Unicorn Ornaments: I Heart Crafty Things: https://iheartcraftythings.com/unicorn-christmas-ornament.html

3) Rock Christmas Tree: Make it Your Own: http://make-it-your-own.com/painted-rock-christmas-tree/

4) Christmas Tree Ornament: https://buggyandbuddy.com/christmas-tree-ornament-craft-kids-doilies/

5) Paper Strip Christmas Tree: Non-Toy Gifts: https://nontoygifts.com/paper-strip-christmas-tree-craft-kids/

6) Scrape Painted Christmas Tree: Hello, Wonderful: https://www.hellowonderful.co/post/PAINT-SCRAPE-CHRISTMAS-TREE-ART

7) Snowman Hat: https://www.firefliesandmudpies.com/snowman-hat-ornament/

8) Ornament Cards: Make it Your Own: https://make-it-your-own.com/handmade-cards-ornaments/

9) 3-D Christmas Tree: Twitchetts: http://twitchetts.com/2017/10/3d-paper-christmas-tree.html/

10) Christmas Cacti: Brainy Beginnings Network: https://www.instagram.com/brainy_beginnings_network/?hl=en

11) Newspaper Elf: Kids Craft Room: https://kidscraftroom.com/newspaper-elf-craft/

12) Snow Person Ornament: Make it Your Own: http://make-it-your-own.com/silvery-snow-snow-person-ornament/

13) Christmas Tree Whirly Gig: Red Ted Art: https://www.redtedart.com/paper-plate-christmas-tree-whirligig/

14) Cookie Cutter Christmas Cards: The Craft Train: https://www.thecrafttrain.com/kid-made-cookie-cutter-christmas-cards/

15) Sewn Christmas Baubles: Oh Creative Day: https://www.thecrafttrain.com/kid-made-cookie-cutter-christmas-cards/

16) Handprint Christmas Tree: The Best Ideas for Kids: https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/handprint-christmas-tree/

17) Nature Christmas Tree: Mother Natured: https://mothernatured.com/nature-crafts-for-kids/made-with-nature-layered-leaves-christmas-tree-ornament/

18) Space Christmas Tree Ornament: Adventure in a Box: https://www.adventure-in-a-box.com/diy-space-christmas-ornaments/

BONUS:

1) Santa with a Curly Beard: Arty Crafty Kids: https://www.artycraftykids.com/craft/paper-plate-santa-claus/

2) DIY Christmas Cards: Box of Ideas: https://boxofideas.uk/kids-diy-christmas-card-idea-coloring-cut-and-paste-free-multilingual-printable/

I was SO happy to see that Susie Rigg from Handy with Scissors was going to be featured on our site!  Susie is the Kids and Families coordinator at the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art in Australia and a mother of 2 who creates sustainable projects often made of recyclables.  She is, as her name suggests, Susie is handy with scissors, a glue gun and her imagination as she transforms everyday items into extraordinary creations that families can do together!  Here she is!

Recycled Splatter Gift Boxes 

Why buy expensive gift boxes when you cam make your own! These gift boxes are a great way to package up holiday gifts with style plus they are cheap to make and really fun! Any excuse to splatter a bit of paint around right? Word of warning, this can get messy, so lay down a big drop sheet before you start.

What you need: 

• Empty boxes in a variety of shapes and sizes
• Paint (any kind will do as long as it has a good thickness)

Tools to splatter: 

• Empty spray bottle
• Toothbrush
• Fingers

Be Creative! 

1.  Add a base coat of paint to your boxes. If you have spray paint and want to use it, go for it. I chose a mix of pinks and greens but you can choose any colour pallet you have on hand.

2. Get splattering! We used a combination of spray bottles, toothbrush flicking and finger flicking. For the spray bottles, mix up paint and water at a ratio of about 70% paint and 30%. The ration depends on the paint you are using so just experiment until you get a good flow.

3. Add a few layers of splatters in a mix of complimentary colours.

4.  Add your presents and dress them up with some jazzy ribbon. I’m pretty traditional at Christmas so went with gold but again, you can use whatever colour you like.

All done! Merry Craftmas! 

Excited to see more of the projects?!  Here is where you can find all of the pages participating and their ideas:

Materials

• Clear, plastic, fillable ornament
• Beads (You could colour cotton balls blue, use gems etc- just be sure it is something light!)
• Shrink art paper
• Paper
• Pencil/eraser
• Scissors
• Fishing line
• Pencil crayons
• Hole punch
• Ribbon
• Sand paper
• Tape
• Optional: Other beach-y items: seashells, beach glass etc.

You are going to need these items for the the shrink art itself:

• Cookie sheet
• Oven mitt
• Oven
• ADULT assistance

Directions

• Look at the size of the mouth of your ornament if you are using one that opens from the top.  According to the product directions we knew that our drawing would shrink to approximately to half the size so we slightly less than doubled that width for our shrink art portion and the rough sketch paper.

• Pre-heat your oven according to your product directions.

• Draw your mermaid on your piece of paper.

• Scuff your shrink art paper with your sandpaper (you can also buy it in a pre-done version).  Lay it overtop of your drawing and trace it with black pencil crayon, pressing hard to make dark lines.  Colour your mermaid in.  We found taping our paper to our work surface and then taping our shrink art paper in place helped with the tracing process.

• Slowly cut your mermaid out, making a tab at the top of her head and punching a hole in it.  *This is important!*

• With an adult, lay your shrink art pieces on a cookie sheet, spacing them apart.  Pop them into the oven and follow the product directions for baking.  Have an adult remove them from the oven while wearing an oven mitt.  Allow the tray to cool and then remove your pieces.

• Put your fishing line through your hole and then attach your mermaid to the cap of your ornament or the loop as with ours.

• Place your funnel into your ornament and then carefully pour in your “water” (We used small beads and recommend doing this over a tray or in a bin or box to catch any run-away waves!)  You could add additional items such as seashells, stars etc.) Since our one model of ornament has the two sides that fit together, we had an adult crazy glue shut the two sides- although this type of ornament is more flexible when comes to the size of the materials that go inside of it- this was one of the draw backs of the style.

• Have an adult help you place the cap of the ornament back in (this can be slightly tricky!), loop on some ribbon and hang your mermaid on the tree or give it to a friend!

• One thing that we always like to do to ornaments is to add our name and the year on the bottom or a discrete area in permanent marker.

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Purpose

• Creating with activities that celebrate the various seasons and celebrations of the year.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and an oven with care and direct adult assistance and supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Cardboard  (IKEA cardboard is a bit thinner & easy to cut)
• Scissors (we find kitchen scissors great for cardboard)
• Egg cartons
• Metallic paint
• Brush
• Artificial stamen
• Penci/eraser
• Dinner plate
• Bowl
• Wire
• Metallic sheets
• Stylus or similar tool (you could use a pencil too)
• Glue gun/glue sticks
• Wire cutters

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Trace your plate on your cardboard sheet.  IKEA cardboard is a bit thinner, making it easier to cut.  (Thank you Handy with Scissors for the tip!).  Trace your bowl in the inside of the circle you made with the plate.  Cut the exterior of your wreath base out.  Then poke a hole in the centre and cut to the edge of the interior circle.

• Cut out the portions of your egg carton that hold your eggs into flower shapes.  You could have curved edges, more sharp edges, whatever you like for each.  Ours have a sharper edge like a pointsettia.

• Don your smock.  Paint your wreath base and your flowers.  You could go with any colours you like or a variety!  While your paint is wet and the flowers a bit saturated, you can slightly bend the petals a bit if you like.  We went with a few coats, painting both the exterior and the interior.  Allow to dry overnight.

• Puncture a small hole in your flowers to insert your stamen and then glue them onto your wreath base.

• Draw and cut out your leaves on your metallic sheets.  Add details with your stylus or a similar tool or with a dull pencil.  Glue them onto your wreath.  Be careful as the edges of the leaves may be sharp, so handle with care.  You can scuff the edges with fine sand paper.  If you want to be on the safe side, cut out and handle your child’s leaf drawings.  If you made your wreath silver, you could even use foil wrapped over cardboard leaves.

• Trim your wire into manageable lengths.  You may need an adult to help you and be sure to wear safety glasses.  If you are concerned with sharp edges, add a drop of glue glun glue to the ends.  We wrapped them around a pencil so they looked a bit vine-ish.  As the colour scheme is just one shade we tried to figure out various ways to create texture and interest.

• Once your wreath is dry, hang it up!

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Purpose

• Working with a single colour scheme in different materials.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors, wire, a wire cutter and a glue gun with care and direct adult supervision.
• Small items can be a choking hazard therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.
• Exercise care with the edges of cut metal as they can be sharp!