Spring Wreath Craft

Mia recently made this wreath at church, and I wondered why we had never made a wreath with tissue paper before. We have made a few wreaths in the past including this hand traced one for fall, this egg wreath for Easter, and this toilet paper tube holly wreath. This version is both beautiful and very simple, making it perfect for even toddlers to help create!

{Pretty Easter Wreath by Mia, Age 7}

Materials:

• paper plate
• scissors
• white glue
• tissue paper (in your choice of colors)
• ribbon/yarn for hanging
• hot glue gun (optional, for attaching ribbon/yarn)

Directions:

1. Cut the inner circle out of a paper plate. Do not discard it because it makes a perfect glue holder.
2. Cut tissue paper into small rectangles. (Tip: If you want your child to practice scissor skills, she may be able to help with this step. If you are doing it with a large group, it is best to do this in advance. Another option is to have kids tear off pieces of tissue, but again, it's often best to prepare in advance.) Our pieces of tissue paper were about 2" x 2" I believe, but you can make yours bigger or smaller, depending upon your preference and the ability of your child. (Tip: Don't buy new tissue paper! Just reuse that old stuff that came in gift bags. If you have to buy tissue paper, though, don't spend a lot. You can find it at Dollar Tree and most grocery stores.)
3. Pour a small amount of glue onto the inside circle. Have your child bunch the tissue paper up, dip it into the glue, and the apply it to the paper plate ring. She will keep doing this until it is filled up (or until she gets bored and decides it's finished).
4. Cut two lengths of ribbon (or yarn). Tie one into a bow and use a glue gun to apply it to the front of the wreath. Ours it at the bottom, but you can place it wherever the child wants. Make the second piece of ribbon into a loop and adhere it to the back of the wreath for hanging. (Tip: If you don't have a hot glue gun or you don't want to use it around young kids, you can also use glue dots or a stapler. I wouldn't recommend white glue for this job, though, since it's not really sturdy enough.)
5. Let all glue dry before displaying the wreath.

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Paper Plate Easter Egg Wreath

Mia did this one almost entirely on her own. I think you could adapt it and use it for toddlers on up. You can make the eggs as fancy or as plain as you want, but either way I think it is fairly simple to make this craft.

{Easter Egg Wreath by Mia, Age 4}

Materials:

• paper plate
• scissors
• tape
• pencil
• markers, crayons, or paint
• construction or scrapbooking paper
• stapler or glue
• yarn or ribbon for hanging
• egg shaped cookie cutter (optional)
• decorative materials: beads, foam, pom poms, rickrack, etc. (optional)

Directions:

1. Using scissors, cut out inner circle of a paper plate.
2. Decorate outer ring with markers. (You could also use paint or crayons if you prefer.)
3. Using cookie cutters, trace and cut out several egg shapes from construction paper. (If you don't have an egg shaped cookie cutter, you can draw one freehand, cut it out and use it as a template or find a picture you like and trace it.)
4. Decorate construction paper eggs if desired. (You can also you patterned scrapbooking paper.)
5. Arrange eggs on the paper plate ring. When you are happy with the arrangement, glue or staple them.
6. Cut a length of yarn or ribbon and adhere to the back of the plate with tape. 
7. Make sure all glue is dry before hanging your wreath.

Advent Wreath Craft

I haven't come across too many religious Christmas crafts, but I thought an Advent wreath could be easily created using a paper plate and some tubes. This is our first attempt, so it isn't perfect, but it should make a nice centerpiece. Also, I love the symbolism behind the Advent wreath, which I will briefly explain. The wreath itself is a circle, symbolizing that God has no beginning and no end, while the "evergreens" show that God is always with us. Candles symbolize God's light entering the world. Purple represents royalty and it is also shows the darkness of sin. The first purple candle is the "Candle of Hope," the second purple candle is the "Candle of Preparation," the third candle (pink or rose) is the "Candle of Joy" (the pink color stands for joy), and the fourth purple candle is the "Candle of Love." Some Advent wreaths (like ours) include a fifth candle, the white "Christ Candle" to symbolize the reason for the Christmas season, God sending light into the world in the form of His Son. White represents the purity of Jesus, who came to wash away our sins!

Advent Wreath by Mia, Age 3 1/2

Materials:

• scissors
• glue (I like Aleene's Tacky Glue)
• paint brush (foam brushes work well)
• purple paint
• pink paint
• white paint (optional)
• green crayon
• paper plate
• 4 toilet paper tubes
• paper towel tube (optional)
• yellow tissue paper
• newspaper
• clear tape (optional)

Directions:

1. Cover work surface with newspaper. Paint 3 toilet paper tubes purple and paint 1 toilet paper tube pink. We used tempera paint. Stand tubes upright on newspaper to dry. If you want to have a fifth candle, the Christ Candle, make one by cutting a paper towel tube in half. Paint one half white and allow to dry.
2. While tubes are drying, cut away the inside circle of a paper plate. Color the remaining ring green. We used crayon, but colored pencil, marker, or paint would work, too.
3. Once purple and pink tubes are dry, apply a ring of glue to the bottom of each one and place them on top of the green paper plate ring. We ended up having about 1/3 of each tube hanging over the inside edge in order for them to stand fairly upright. (They do lean slightly inward. I also tried gluing these to the underside of the paper plate ring, which causes them to lean outward. If you come up with a way to do this without having the "candles" lean, please let me know.) If using a white Christ Candle, simply stand it up on the inside of the wreath.
4. Crumple some yellow tissue paper and use clear tape to adhere a "flame" to the inside of each "candle." (If desired you could omit the tape, but you will need large enough amounts of tissue paper for it to fill the diameter of the tube. This is probably the way to go if you want your Advent wreath to be functional and "light" each of your "candles" during the appropriate Sundays of Advent. I chose not to do this because I didn't want to have to keep track of the "flames.")
5. Display your Advent wreath on a flat surface such as a table or counter top. 

Fall Hand Print Wreath

Here is another craft I did last year with Mia, who was 2 1/2 at the time. Once again, it is something that I did most of the work on. Of course, older kids can do this more independently. And it is always cute to have hand prints of your kids at various ages.

Materials:

• scissors
• glue
• pencil
• paper plate
• crayon (marker or colored pencil)
• red construction paper
• orange construction paper
• yellow construction paper
• ribbon (or yarn)

Optional Materials:

• rubber stamps
• markers (or ink pads)
• acorns, leaves, pine cones, etc.
• foam scrapbooking adhesives

Directions:

1. Cut out the center of a paper plate.
2. Color the paper plate. We used a green crayon, but fall colors would look nice.
3. Trace child's hand or hands onto red, orange, and yellow construction paper. Cut out hand prints. We used four of each color to make our wreath, but this will vary depending on the size of the hand prints. Arrange hand prints as desired and glue down onto the plate. (Tip: Instead of tracing each hand repeatedly, you can trace each hand once, cut out hand prints, and then use them as templates for tracing the other hand prints. I recommend this method since it requires children to sit still for shorter periods of time!)
4. Cut a length of ribbon (or yarn) and adhere to the back of the plate for hanging. We used foam adhesives, but you could also use glue or tape.
5. Decorate the front of your hand print wreath. We used fall-themed rubber stamps, colored with markers in place of ink. (Tip: If you use more than one color marker per stamp, it helps to apply all of your colors and then to "huff" on the stamp before stamping onto the paper. This moistens any of the ink that may have dried slightly while you were applying other colors.) You could also try gluing on real acorns, leaves, pine cones, or other natural items. We also added a ribbon bow to the front of our wreath.
6. Allow everything to dry completely before hanging your wreath.