Smart Crafting: Winter Holiday Crafts

The holiday season is a wonderful, and magical time of the year for many. These tips can help you not only enjoy any winter holiday, but can also help involve the whole family in the celebration. These tips are for useful, and fun craft projects that anyone can enjoy, and that use natural, or upcycled household items.

Pine Cone Bird Feeder

This natural pine cone bird feeder is a decorative and simple craft for kids. Make a few and hang them from your trees outside as homemade ornaments which also help birds along their winter migration routes.

What you’ll need:

• Pine cone
• Paper plate
• Butter knife
• Smooth peanut butter
• Birdseed
• Ribbon or yarn
• Scissors

How to make it:

1. Cut a long length of yarn or ribbon to hang the bird feeder.
2. Tie the ribbon in a knot around the pine cone near the top (about 3 sections down).
3. Tie a knot in the end of the ribbon.
4. Use the knife to get a large clump of peanut butter on the paper plate.
5. Use the knife to spread peanut butter inside the pine cone and around the edges.
6. Sprinkle the birdseed over the pine cone.
7. Roll the pine cone in the birdseed that is on the plate.
8. Hang the bird feeder on the tree.
9. Enjoy watching the birds eat their treat!

Salt Dough Ornaments

Salt dough is one of the easiest things in the world to make, and you can create just about anything from it. Use it with cookie cutters to make ornaments for your Yule or Christmas tree.

What you’ll need:

• 4 Cups flour
• 1 Cup salt
• 1 ½ Cups hot water
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

How to make it:

1. Combine the salt and flour
2. Add the water until the dough becomes elastic
3. Add the oil and knead the dough (if it’s too sticky, add more flour)
4. Once it’s a good consistency, make your decorations with cookie cutters
5. Bake ornaments at 200 degrees until hard (about 20 – 30 minutes)
6. Once they’ve cooled, paint them with designs and symbols, and seal with clear varnish
7. If you’re planning to hang them, poke a hole through the ornament before baking them.
8. Then after you’ve varnished them, run a ribbon or thread through the hole.
9. Hang on your tree, and enjoy.

Cookie Cutter Candles

These candles are easy, fun, and great for any celebration. They are also made with beeswax instead of the petroleum based paraffin, and burn much cleaner.

What you’ll need:

• Cookie cutters (choose shapes that can stand up)
• Honeycomb wax sheets in various colors (available at craft stores or at candlewic.com; an 8- by 16-inch sheet will make 1 or 2 candles)

How to make it:

1. For each candle, use a cookie cutter to make 10 identical shapes from the wax sheets.
2. Divide the shapes into two stacks of 5.
3. Sandwich a wick between the two stacks, starting at the bottom and extending it beyond the top by at least an inch.
4. Press the sheets together gently. If they don’t stick together, take the wax layers apart and use a hair dryer to gently warm each one before restacking them, adding the wick as instructed above.
5. Trim the wick to about a half-inch. Stand your candle up, shaping the base as needed to make it sit securely.

Upcycled Hanukkah Wreath

This awesome wreath can be made from things that were destined for the trash, and are very common around homes. It is a great way to keep waste out of landfills, and create something wonderful with your kids.

What you’ll need:

• Wire coat hanger
• 14 to 16 toilet paper rolls
• Winter color paint like silver or blue
• white paper (you could also use craft foam, gift wrap or tinfoil)
• tape
• glue
• scissors
• Easy Fold and Cut Star of David
  (as many as you want for decorating the wreath)

How to make it:

1. Take each toilet paper roll and cut a slit HALFWAY through
2. Paint the toilet paper rolls blue.
3. Let dry.
4. Bend the coat hanger to form a circle
5. Using the slits cut halfway through the rolls, slide each of your toilet paper rolls onto the hanger to form a big circle of tp rolls
6. Take a bit of masking or scotch tape and tape the toilet paper rolls together.  (tape the openings of the tp rolls on the inside of the circle together).  This will keep the rolls from spinning around while you’re working.  If you choose not to do this, the paper stars will keep everything from spinning on the finished craft
7. Prepare many stars.
8. Glue all the stars onto the toilet paper roll base.  You can use as many as you want and overlap them if you like so it’s nice and full.
9. Tie a bow on the top if you want to.

Mancala Game

Play for hours when you create this fun African Mancala Game from upcycled egg cartons and tuna cans. Great for all ages!

What you’ll need:

• Cardboard egg carton (dozen size)
• 2 Tuna cans; washed, rinsed, and dry
• Craft paints
• Paintbrush
• 48 Marbles, tiny rocks, beads, beans, etc.
• Instructions (see below)

How to make it:

1. Paint the egg carton in the color desired. Let dry.
2. Paint the tuna cans on the outside. Let dry. (If you paint the inside, the paint will chip off as you play the game.)
3. Paint designs on the side of the egg carton and tuna cans if you wish. Let dry.
4. Play your game with a friend or family member.

Crafts Found at These Sites

http://crafts.kaboose.com/pine-cone-bird-feeder.html

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/yulecrafts/r/Salt_Dough_Orna.htm

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/homemade-christmas-gifts/christmas-gifts-kids-can-make/cookie-cutter-candles-801164/

http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/jewish/mwreath.htm

http://crafts.kaboose.com/mancala-game.html