Free Holiday Ideas » Christmas Crafts

Christmas Craft Idea – Button Ball

kthomas — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:04:12 +0000

These button balls are fun to do and a great way to use up a bunch of ordinary tiny white buttons. You’ll need a bunch of small buttons, a ball form (foam, paper mache, etc.) and hot glue. Simply apply some hot glue to the ball and press buttons to it. I added a second layer to cover all the gaps, but you could paint the ball with glittery paint first and then glue one layer of buttons on. They are nice Christmas ornaments for the tree, but piling a few in a pretty bowl also works. If you are doing this craft with children, be very careful. The glue can really burn little fingers (or big ones.)

Really Cute Craft Idea for Toddlers

kthomas — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 14:30:19 +0000

DLTK has the cutest handprint Christmas tree idea. (Warning-I have a pop-up blocker and 2 pop-ups still came through, but seeing all the neat ideas for toddlers was worth the hassle of having to close them.) You trace your child’s handprint 10 times onto green fun foam and cut them out. Then, glue them onto a piece of paper in a tree shape with the fingers pointing down. (Four on the bottom row, three on the next row, etc.) You have to see it to understand how cute this is. I will try to get our little guy’s project finished and posted in the next few days – he’s not sure how he wants to decorate the tree yet.

The finished tree makes a great gift for grandparents and would be neat as an oversized holiday card.

Christmas Ornament Craft – Fun Way to Use Up Your Buttons

kthomas — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 02:20:52 +0000

If you have a stash of buttons, this is the perfect way to use up some of them. I found this idea on the wonderfully creative Pixiegenne’s blog and could barely wait to start sorting buttons to make my own festive button Christmas ornament. Of course, I was barely finished using up all but two of my red buttons when I decided a heart shaped ornament for Valentine’s Day would be fun, too. I had to make it with white buttons, though, since I only had two red ones left.

You’ll need hot glue, cardboard, more buttons than you can shake a stick at and a piece of pretty ribbon. Just cut out your preferred shape from the cardboard and then cut out the inside of the shape, leaving a quarter to half inch thick border to glue the buttons to. Arrange the buttons and hot glue them on as you go. Tie the ribbon into a pretty bow and hot glue it to the back of the ornament. Cover the back with a pretty piece of paper to make the ornament pretty on that side, too.

Star and Moon Paper Ornaments

kthomas — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 21:03:24 +0000

This printable template for star and moon paper ornaments is a quick and easy Christmas craft for kids. We printed ours onto heavy cardstock for more durability. Using cardboard backings would also work.

Simply cut ourÂ the ornaments, punch a hole in the tops for a hangerÂ and then give the kids stickers, glitter, crayons and colorful bits of paper so they can decorate their stars and moon.

Alternative idea – cut the stars and moons from aluminum foil for added shine.

starmoon.pdf

Look for more printable holiday ornament shapes soon.

Fun and Easy Christmas Ornament Craft

kthomas — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 13:20:39 +0000

If you have some extra yarn, you can make some of these fun Christmas ornament crafts in minutes. You’ll need yarn and something to fill up the center. We used newspaper crumpled into a ball, but you could use styrofoam balls, too. Simply wrap your yarn around the ball until it is completely covered and tie off the yarn so it doesn’t unravel. Use a two to three foot long piece of yarn to create a hanger for the ball. This craft looks best when you make 5 or 6 balls and hang them at varying heights.

Printable Christmas Shape Book

kthomas — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 14:58:06 +0000

This printable Christmas ornament has lines on it to make it easy for children to write a holiday story or poem. Print 5 or 6 copies and cut the ornaments out to make a shape book.

ornament-shape.pdf

Simple Christmas Centerpiece Idea

kthomas — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 19:17:12 +0000

This Christmas centerpiece is very easy to make and my family loved it. We simply took three empty boxes of various sizes and wrapped them very carefully with shiny foil wrapping paper. We used gold, green and red. We used the really pretty gold organza ribbon to make bows. Then, we hot glued the three packages together in an attractive grouping.

Now for the fun part: We took our favorite photos from past Christmases to a color copier and made copies of them. Then, we arranged the photos on the presents until we were satisfied with the way they looked and glued them down. We added a few sprigs of holly and evergreens and we were done. It was like a 3-D memory album and it really looked great in the center of the table.

Recycled CD Christmas Craft Idea – CD Clock

kthomas — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 14:45:28 +0000

If you are anything like me, you have a ton of old CDs sitting around the house. One fun idea for recycling CDs is to make Christmas gifts with them. This CD clock is easy for kids to make and is a great Christmas gift idea for proud grandparents or aunts and uncles.

Â You Will Need:

Clockworks (Available at most craft stores)

Copies of some favorite family photos

Cold laminator with film that makes laminated stickers or decoupage glue

Permanent marker

Hot glue gun (Parents may need to help with this)

6 inch piece of picture hanging wire

To Make It:

1. Arrange the pictures on the CD until you have a design you like.

2. Either run the pictures through the laminator to make them into laminatedÂ stickersÂ or decoupage them to the CD.

3. Write the numbers one through twelve on the CD so they are evenly spaced, with the six at the bottom of the CD and the twelve at the top.

4. Insert the clockworks into the hole in the center of the CD. If the hole is too big, you may need to use a big washer to make the clockworks fit.

5. Bend the picture hanging wire into a “U” shape and hot glue it to the back of the CD at the top to make a hanger.

6. Give your personalized CD clock to someone you love.

Do you have a great Christmas craft idea for recycled CDs? Please share your idea using the comment box below.

Christmas Centerpiece Craft Idea

kthomas — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 23:34:17 +0000

This simple Christmas centerpiece is easy to make, looks great, and smells terrific. I actually use mine all year round.
You will need:
Large glass vase (approximately 10 inches high and 7 inches across)
Bag of potpouri
Small string of clear Christmas lights (50 lights or fewer)
To make it:
Insert the string of lights into the vase, leaving the plug end out. Pour in the potpouri, arranging it so that it hides most of the light cording. Now, plug in the lights. They will give off enough heat to gently warm the potpouri, filling the air with a wonderful fragrance. In addition, they will sparkle through the petals and decorative bits of dried foliage and look fabulous.

Handprint Wreath – Kids Christmas Craft

kthomas — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 18:26:21 +0000

If you want a kids Christmas craft that has plenty of sentimental meaning, try a handprint wreath. To make this simple project, you will need:
5 or 6 pieces of Red and Green construction paper or cardstock *
Scissors
Glue
6 inches of yarn
Pen or pencil

To make your wreath:
1. Trace your child’s handprints. Try to fit four prints on a sheet of paper and extend the tracing down an inch or two below the hand.
2. Cut out at least 12 handprints. You can use more prints to make a bigger wreath, but it is hard to make a complete circle with fewer prints.
3. Lay out the handprints in a circle so that they overlap each other slightly.
4. When you are satisfied with the design, glue the handprints in place.
5. Glue your yarn in a loop at the top of the wreath to form a hanger.
6. If you will be using the wreath on the front door, be sure to spray a coat of protective finish over it first. Otherwise, it will become damaged and discolored very quickly.

* For a longer lasting version of this project, cut the handprints from sheets of craft foam and hot glue them together.