sunday kids' craft and classroom party audition: jingle bells

Welcome to classroom party craft audition THREE and Sunday Kids' Craft!  Two for one!  (Go here for audition ONE and here for audition TWO.)

By now you are seriously wonderful about my ability to make decisions.  I mean, who spends THIS MUCH TIME trying to pick a craft for a bunch of kindergartners? 

Me!  That's who!

Yesterday, we were stuck inside all day, and we spend about two hours of that at the table trying out crafts!  Most of the pics below are of me doing this particular craft because it's REALLY hard to get kids to pause in the middle of the steps for pictures.  But not only did my 5 year old make these bells, but my 2 year old did too.  So rest assured that these party crafts have been kid-tested and mother approved!  (I secretly LOVED every minute of our snowy day.  Snowed-in days are the best excuse to take a break from the world for a day!  And yes, we stayed in our pajamas ALL DAY LONG!  You can read a recap of our day here.) 
And here's number three:

Jingle Bells

Audition #3

Here’s what you need:

~an egg carton cut a part . . . each child will need two of those little egg cups

~one pipe cleaner per kid

~two bells per kid

~decorations - glitter glue, sequins, stickers, markers, etc.

Here’s what you do:

1) Poke small holes in the top of each egg cup.  I recommend that an adult does this part.  I used wooden skewers for this.  Someone gave us these as a wedding gift, and I'm pretty sure I've never actually used them for food.  I've used them for crayon ornaments, egg blowing and egg dying, and various other projects, but never as actual skewers.  You've got to get a set of these!

2)  Push the pipe cleaner down through one of the holes.

3)  Push the pipe cleaner through the opening at the top of the bell and pull it out about 1/4 of an inch or so.  Then twist this tail around the rest of the pipe cleaner to secure.   

4) Repeat with the other egg cup and bell.

5)  Decorate!

Done!

Hang these over a tree branch for a one-of-a-kind jingle bell ornament.  I made one of these in preschool 30ish years ago, and my mom still hangs it on their tree every year. 

I love these.  They aren't "perfect" or "polished" looking, but they are easy, allow for creativity and individuality.  (My girls picked mostly pink and blue decorations as much as I tried to influence them to pick the more traditional Christmas colors.  They like to put a their personality into every craft we do.)  And my 5 year old LOVED this one too.  She's been jingling her bells all day!

What do you think?  What's your first choice so far?  I have at least two more to audition before I make a final decision.  Weigh in!

Craft on!

This post is sponsored by Arise Shine Design!  Check this shop out for unique jewelry gifts.

sunday kids' craft: crayon ornaments and gift tags

So . . . I'm getting back into the swing of my usual posting schedule . . . and I'm using the words "usual" and "schedule" VERY loosely here.  Getting back on track leads us to Sunday Kids' Craft.  Today I'm combining kids' crafts and gift-making since Christmas is right around the corner so we're making . . .

Crayon Ornaments and Gift Tags

This is nothing new.  Chances are you've done this or seen twenty other blogs show you how.  And there's a reason for the popularity of crayon making . . . it's easy, quick and fun.  Who doesn't love to see a bunch of broken crayons become something new and fun and usable?! 

At our house we love making crayons for two reasons:

1)  If you spend five minutes at our house during coloring time, chances are you will hear me say at least ten times, "Don't break the crayons," "Please don't snap the crayons," "FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, I just told you not to do that."  My kids LOVE making crayons because I actually encourage them to break their crayons. 

2)  This is pretty much a free gift because I collect crayons at EVERY SINGLE RESTAURANT we go to.  Yes, I'm that cheap.  I actually have a bucket full of crayons from Applebees, Pizza Ranch, Red Robin, Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory . . . and any other random eatery that gives us that magic little box of crayons to keep our kids entertained.  If you haven't been keeping these crayons, START and you too can make a free gift for the kids on your gift list. 

Here's what you need . . . as if you didn't know:

~a bucket full of free restaurant crayons

~silicone molds

~a skewer or other small cylinder stick to make a hole

~ribbon

~scrapbook paper

Here's what you do:

1)  Peel wrappers off all your crayons and break them into small pieces.  Definitely recruit the little people in your house to help with this.  (Check out this girl's smile as she breaks those crayons!)  Place the broken pieces in your molds and fill molds close to the top of the mold.

2)  Put in 300 degree preheated oven and set the time for about 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, use skewer or toothpick to gently stir and poke at crayons.  Keep doing this every few minutes until melted.  Pull out and let sit until fairly set but not hard.

3)  Poke a hole big enough to fit a ribbon through with the skewer or toothpick.  Make sure the hole goes all the way through. 

4)  Let set and harden completely.

5)  Cut ribbon to appropriate length.  Thread narrow ribbon into embroidery needle and then push needle and ribbon through hole 

6)  If using this as a gift tag, cut out paper to desired shape and punch hole.  Then string paper tag and crayon onto ribbon.  If making an ornament, just string crayon shape on to the ribbon.

We spent just a few hours pealing crayons, breaking crayons, melting crayons and we ended up with a snowflake crayon for the 22 kids in my daughter's kindergarten class, crayon gift tags for the kids in our family and crayon ornaments for a few random kid gifts.  Here's a sampling:

Craft on!

Check out the great parties I may link to by clicking on the blog name below or visiting my "I like to party" page that shows off all the party buttons.  These gals go to a lot of work to host these parties.  If you participate in parties please take time to look through a variety of the projects linked up.  They are a great source of inspiration!


Weekend - Somewhat Simple Holiday Party, a little lovely, Craft Envy, Under the Table and Dreaming, Be Different Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, 504 Main - Tickled Pink, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, I heart naptime


Monday - Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Girl Creative, The Trendy Treehouse, CRAFT, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Tools Are For Women,  It's So Very Cheri, Skip to My Lou, Sew Can Do, Polly Want a Crafter


Tuesday - All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee, New Nostalgia, Creative Itch, Lucky Star Lane, Hope Studios, These Creative Juices, My Delicious Ambiguity, Today's Creative Blog-Get Your Craft On!,


Wednesday - It's So Very Cheri, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket Design, Trendy Treehouse, Tea Rose Home, Someday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Sew Much Ado, Night Owl Crafting


Thursday -  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Life As Lori, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Seven Thirty Three, The Train to Crazy, PonyTails and FishScales


Friday - The Sabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It's Fun to Craft!, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Kojo Designs, Simply Sweet Home, Frou Frou Decor, Remodelaholic, Momma's Kinda Crafty