A Homemade Christmas Ornament Idea

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't really in the Christmas spirit this year. I have a goal to get back to writing more often, so I am sure I will be sharing more about the reasons behind that, but for now all you need to know is that Christmas was pared down from the past. We didn't do a lot of of crafts. In fact, I think this is the only one that we created, and mostly it was because we were given a plain glass ornament at church and asked to decorate it for the tree there. Sadly, this wouldn't have happened otherwise, and it would have been a shame, because this was fun to make.

The inspiration for this ornament came from the December issue of FamilyFun magazine. I have made a few changes, partially due to what materials we had on hand and partially due to personal preference for what seemed sturdy. (I really couldn't see making this with tacky glue, for example, and then having it come undone. Yes, this would have been more kid-friendly than my adhesive of choice: hot glue, BUT you have to agree that mine is going to hold up, and that was what I was going for.) Anyway, we were all pleased with the results.

{Our Family's Christmas Ornament - 2014}

Materials:

• clear glass ornament
• small pom poms (round beads are what was suggested in FamilyFun)
• toilet paper tube 
• scissors
• tacky glue
• hot glue gun
• card stock (whatever colors you like -- we used blue and silver)
• pipe cleaner (optional, for trim)
• clothespins (optional, but recommended)
• permanent marker (optional, for personalization)

Directions:

1. Remove the top of a clear glass ornament and hold it while the kids add some colorful "gumballs." (Note: Anything that is small enough to fit inside the opening could work. We used pom poms because we didn't have beads on hand. Perhaps real gumballs would fit?)
2. Cut a section of a toilet paper tube to make the base of the gumball machine. Wrap it in colored card stock (Logan picked blue.) and adhere with tacky glue. Add a small rectangle of another color card stock for the gumball machine opening. (We used silver.) Again, apply with glue. Now, here's a handy tip: Secure two clothespins, one on either end of the tube, and leave on until the glue has dried. This helps the curved paper stay put until the glue is set!
3. Find a base for your gumball machine. Ours is a lid (Thankfully, in the color Mia wanted: red.) from a peanut jar. FamilyFun suggested using a large button. (I don't know about you, but I don't have huge buttons laying around my house, however, I do have a good assortment of plastic lids at any given time.)
4. Assemble the gumball machine. I used a hot glue gun (adult use only) instead of the suggested tacky glue. I made a ring around one end of the tube section and then applied it to the bottom of the glass bulb. Then, I made another ring of hot glue around the other end of the tube and pressed the plastic lid onto it, securing the base. For a finishing touch, I used two scrap pieces of red pipe cleaner to cover up the hot glue. (I wish I had thought to do this when it was first hot, but better late than never. The tacky glue would have been less goopy looking and wouldn't have needed the "finishing touch," but I am still asserting here that my way is going to hold up for the long haul. And that is what we want since we're going to be displaying this year after year.
5. For a little extra personal touch, I took a black Sharpie and wrote our family name plus the year on the back. This was an easy (and totally free for us!) craft that we were able to make together.

Caterpillar on a Leaf Craft

Here is another cute and simple idea that I got from our Story Time lady, Mrs. D. Yesterday, Logan made this caterpillar out of pom poms that he stuck onto the leaf, which had already been made for him. If you like thematic craft projects, this could easily go along with a study of butterflies and caterpillars, which was the theme for this week. Or it could be used in conjunction with the study the letter "C."

One nice thing about this craft is that it requires few materials. If you don't have pom poms on hand, you will, of course, need to purchase them. However, pom poms are an affordable craft staple. You can pick them up at Dollar Tree, Wal-mart, or any craft store. I would suggest Dollar Tree if it's not out of your way because we got a package of 80 pom poms there recently, and this is enough to last us quite awhile, even with frequent crafting.

{Caterpillar by Logan, Age 3 1/2}

Materials:

• green construction paper
• scissors
• decorative scissors (optional)
• colored paper (or pipe cleaner)
• pom poms (any color)
• glue (Glue Dots are optional)
• markers
• hole punch (optional)
• googly eyes (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut a leaf shape from green construction paper. If you do not want to draw it free-hand, there are lots of templates available online. I like this one, for example. Mrs. D. had already drawn veins on the leaf using a green marker, which made the craft look more complete. Tip: You can also cut the leaves with decorative scissors like zigzag or scalloped edges if you wish. Tip: If desired, you can use a hole punch to make it look like the caterpillar has chewed the leaf. This may be hard to see in the photo, but the edge is "chewed." You could also punch holes in the interior of the leaf since caterpillars love to eat!
2. Have your child glue some pom poms to the leaf to make the caterpillar's body. We used Glue Dots for this. Tip: If using Glue Dots, it is easier to stick the pom pom to the Glue Dot rather than trying to peel off the Glue Dot and then stick it to the pom pom.
3. Give your child a narrow strip of colored paper that has been folded in half. Have him or her glue this to one end of the caterpillar to make the antenna. Tip: You could also use a section of pipe cleaner for this.
4. Add a face if desired. Logan used a marker to draw eyes, which didn't show up very well. Tip: I suggested that we could glue on googly eyes, but he wasn't too interested, so we left it as is.
5. Make sure the glue is dry before you move the caterpillar to its display spot.

Rainbow Pom Pom Chutes

Over spring break, we went to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum, which is wonderful! There were lots of great activities there, and many of them were different from other children's museums that we have been to before. This activity is somewhat inspired by this rainbow shaped ball drop at the museum, which I looked at and wondered, How can I take this idea and replicate it at home? I had seen this idea on Pinterest, and decided to take the tubes and try to make more of a rainbow shape with them.

{This was my inspiration...}

{and here is what I came up with.}

The idea is to do color matching and drop the pom poms down the corresponding colored tubes. This is not how it always turned out, in actuality, of course! This did get messy as the pom poms didn't always land in the bin. Plus, my kids got wild and pom poms ended up all over the living room. They also had to learn not to cram too many pom poms into the tubes at once or they would, of course, get stuck. However, this triggered some problem solving as well. Logan was excited when he was able to poke a marker into a tube and get the pom poms unjammed. Even though my chutes don't really look like a rainbow as I had hoped, they were simple to make with items from the recycling bin and a bag of Dollar Tree pom poms. More, importantly, it was fun for both kids. And it's held up so far...

Materials:

• 6 cardboard tubes
• paint (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
• paint brushes
• boxboard or cardboard
• hot glue gun
• something for tubes to dry on (I used the liner from a cereal box.)
• clear tape
• pom poms (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple; small enough to fit inside tubes)
• container to drop pom poms into
• Chopsticks for Kids (optional)

Directions: 

1. Collect 6 empty cardboard tubes. I used paper towel rolls, but toilet paper rolls would work also. Your chutes will just be shorter. This might actually be better in that it may help prevent log-jams, but it's up to you what size to use.
2. Protect your work surface before painting. I used the liner from a cereal box, which is basically free "wax" paper. You could use newspaper, but sometimes tubes stick to this while they are drying, so I prefer to save the cereal box liners for paint projects.
3. Paint each tube one color of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. I used powdered tempera paints for this. You could also use acrylic paints, but be aware that they will stain fabric. I believe I just did one coat of paint, but you could apply more coats if you want it to look better. I just wanted it to be functional. Allow paint to dry completely. Tip: Foam paint brushes work very well for painting tubes.
4. Use hot glue to affix the tubes to the boxboard or cardboard. I used the side of a cereal box. Allow glue to dry. I tried to arch mine to resemble the rainbow ball drop that we had seen at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. I don't know how successful this was. You could glue them in a straight line if you prefer.
5. Use clear tape to adhere the the boxboard to a wall.
6. Place a container underneath the tubes and let kids drop colored pom poms into the corresponding colored tubes. They can use their hands, Chopsticks for Kids, or tongs for this. Note: This is not a mess-free activity, but it's not difficult to clean up.

{See the yellow pom pom dropping?}

{Look! The marker worked! Tube = unstuck!}

Pom Pom Color Sorting Activity

I am not sure where I originally came across this idea for a color sorting motor skills activity. Possibly this, which I pinned almost a year ago? I think there are probably several versions of it posted on Pinterest. Anyway, it's simple fun for little ones, especially on days when the weather just won't cooperate so you can make it outside to play.

Since we were running low on pom poms, I found a bag of 80 assorted colored pom poms in the craft aisle of Dollar Tree during our spring break shopping trip. This provided plenty of pom poms for doing this activity. Our muffin tin, which I have had for awhile, came from Salvation Army, and I believe it was 99 cents. I have used it when we have made bathtub paint and it would also be perfect for holding sidewalk paint. If I haven't mentioned it before, Salvation Army is a good source of craft materials, especially if you think to look in the kitchen section.

{Here is what you need}

Materials:

• 6 cup muffin tin (I have seen this done with ice cube trays also.)
• paper (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
• clear Con-tact paper (optional)
• scissors
• clear tape
• pom poms (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)
• Chopsticks for Kids (you could also have child use tweezers, tongs, or his hands for this)
• colored pasta (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut out 6 circles of colored paper. I used my card stock scraps for this, but construction paper would work, too. Want to know my super fancy simple method for making circles? Place paper into a muffin cup. Use your finger nail to trace the inside edge. Then, use scissors to cut around indentation made by your finger nail. Do this for each color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Tip: I then, cut my circles a little smaller (free-hand since they don't need to be perfect) since I was planning to "laminate" them.
2. This next step is optional. For extra sturdiness, I "laminated" the colored circles with clear Con-tact paper. I used my scraps that I have saved from making sun catchers. I cut squares a bit larger than the circles, sandwiched the colored paper circles between two pieces of the Con-tact paper (sticky sides facing in), and then trimmed the excess so that they were back to circles. Tip: Leave a little outside edge of clear Con-tact paper, at least 1/8" to 1/4" inch to prevent it from coming undone.
3. Next, I rolled pieces of clear tape, stuck them to the "laminated" circles, and placed a circle into each muffin cup. Tip: For the sake of looking sort of rainbow oriented, I did it in this order: red, orange, yellow on top and green, blue, purple on bottom. That's it.
4. Let your child play, explore, and have fun sorting pom poms into the muffin cups. Logan and Mia have both enjoyed doing this using our Chopsticks for Kids. (I thought this would be something more for him since he is still working on color recognition, but she surprised me with her interest in this. So, don't discount this as a good rainy day activity for kindergarten kids, too!) Tip: As an alternative to pom poms, we also have done color sorting with dyed pasta in bow tie and corkscrew shapes. 

{Cool Whip tub = fine container for pom poms or pasta}