Holidays on a Budget: EASY Cardboard Snowflakes

Cutting toilette paper tubes into rings is a quick and simple way for kids of all ages to whip up some quilling-like snowflakes for wall art or tree decoration. The finished product can be as simple, or as elaborate as you want.

 

Little ones can easily glue together some six-ringed flakes that are cute-as-a-button.

 

Try cutting the rings in half and bending them to make more interesting designs.

Glue them to the spaces between....

A little paint, maybe some glitter...and voila!

Read More

Holidays on a Budget: Cinnamon Ornaments

Cinnamon ornaments are a classic Christmas activity. We've all made them in school, and I love making them at home. They fill the whole house with a seasonal scent even while kids are rolling and cutting out their precious works of art. If you use an oven to dry them out, even better!

To make the dough, start with a hefty amount of cinnamon. The 2 for $1.00 jars work great ;-)
Mix in spoonfuls of apple sauce until the dough is smooth, and thick enough to hold its shape. It should be a but firmer than cookie dough, kind of like pie dough.


Roll your dough out to 1/4 inch thick, and cut with cookie cutters.
Some helpful tips:

• Dust with cinnamon to roll out, especially if a little sticky. Flour will lighten your ornaments/leave weird spots.
• Lay down as many cutters as you can/will fit. Then use a spatula to help you transfer them to a cookie sheet to dry. This helps them keep their shape. 

 

• Too thick and they will take years to dry, too thin and they'll break like nothing. 1/4 inch seems to be just right. 
• You can dry in a VERY mild oven (lowest setting, or until your oven on light pops on), or air dry for a couple days.
• If poking a hole in the top to hang, remember to do it before they start to dry! 
• Even though gingerpeople are the common shape for these because of their color and scent, other shapes are super cute too. We like stars too.

 Let dry in the manner you prefer. Turn as needed, but try not to handle TOO much.
Decorate with white puffy paint "icing".

 We like to glue our hangers on the back, rather than a ribbon through a hole. Both wire hangers and ribbons work nicely.

Read More

Holidays on a Budget: Advent Paper Chain

Advent calendars are used in many households. I remember my Grandma bringing one candy-filled, beautifully illustrated calendar for each of us every year. She always bought them at the Exchange, and they were filled with tiny, delicious German chocolates. Mmmmmm.

Having a little one around, we've opted for a more visual countdown to Christmas, a paper chain. Easy to make, colorful, and economical. You can have each of the children make a chain for themselves, or like us, have one larger chain displayed. This year, instead of stapling our chain to the wall, I've made it look more like an intentional decoration. I whipped together an adorable "holder", that the chains can be hung on year after year, and gives them a bit of a more finished look.

First, I cut 3 bell shapes out of some thin cardboard. I used an empty cereal box. Recycling! Then I spray painted them with some gold paint. I only did the edges of the back two, and only just in case they peeked from behind the top layer. You can paint the brown, papery side for a flocked looking bell, and the smooth side that was the outside of the box for a shinier bell.
Then, I simply glued the layers together. Three seemed to be the perfect strength, as well as gave me the perfect arrangement for my ribbons. I hung one shorter length between the bottom and middle layers at the top. This was my hanging ribbon. Then, between the middle and the top layers, at the bottom, I glued a longer ribbon that the last link in the paper can be thread through before stapling shut. Placing the ribbons on different layers kept the cardboard from having a big gap, or big bulges.

Read More