What you need:

Oranges
Cloves
Ribbon

Make an orange air freshener for Christmas by sticking whole cloves into the orange.

You can totally cover the orange or create your own patterns. Find a small loop of ribbon and attach with a hair pin. Hang it anywhere.

This smells really wonderful and lasts for weeks! And it's an easy gift to make that Mommy & Daddy will LOVE!

Wood Scrap Snowmen

If you have access to some small wood scraps, or perhaps a board you can cut up, you can make these cute little additions to your holiday shelves. But wait, don't stop there! The creative possibilities of this craft are endless; try Santas, Christmas trees, reindeer, Nativity scenes, elves, and more!

You will need:

Wood scraps in various sizes and shapes
Sandpaper
Acrylic paint in white, black, and orange
Brown antiquing stain
Material scraps
Children's socks
Ribbon
Raffia
Buttons
White craft glue
Small and large paintbrushes
Dry rag

Sanding & Painting:

Begin by sanding any rough edges from the wood to avoid painful splinters. Paint wood white on all sides and at one end (the other end will be covered with a hat). Allow paint to dry, then apply a second coat and allow that to dry as well.

Leaving enough room at the top of the "head" for the hat's brim, paint on face by dotting on two black eyes and black dots for the mouth. Using a small, fine paintbrush, paint on an orange nose. Allow to dry completely or the antiquing you do below will smear your hard work!

Prepare Your Decorations:

While waiting for the paint to dry, choose and trim your decorations. Use tea dyed socks and gingham prints for the antiqued snowmen, use traditional primary colors, or the popular ice blue, for your white snowmen. Fringe the ends of your scarves with sharp fabric scissors, string small pieces of raffia through button holes and tie in knots or bows, cut small scraps for patches, trim the feet off of children's socks and fringe ankle ends for hats.

The Antique Look:

This step is optional. You can antique all or some, or not. When the paint has dried completely, brush on a layer of brown antiquing stain, ensuring that all cracks and crevices are filled. Immediately wipe off with a dry rag. This will create an antiqued look. Notice how the brown stain remains darker inside the little cracks and crevices giving it an aged look. Allow the stain to dry.

Finishing Touches:

Tie scarf around neck, reinforce it with a bit of craft glue. Place the cuff of the children's sock on the snowman's head (the end that is not painted!), glue brim in place. Trim the "top" of the hat but cutting it in a fringe fashion. Tie a ribbon or piece of raffia around the fringed top and tighten. Fluff up the fringe by pulling and adjusting the fringes with your fingers. Add buttons to hat and/or body, you can also glue a small patch on the hat brim. You may also use material scraps to fashion a hat and glue a pom pom on the top.

Coffee Creamer Snowman

Recycle a coffee creamer container to make this cute snowman decoration for Christmas. His top hat is glued over the lid of the coffee creamer container, so you can use the container to hold Christmas goodies or candies.

This decorated snowman container is also perfect to hold a hot chocolate jar mix or spiced tea mix for easy homemade gift giving.

Use these inexpensive supplies:

**Carnation Coffee-Mate coffee creamer container **Salt box container, marginally larger than the diameter of the coffee creamer container lid. (If you don't have an empty salt box, just cut a 2" cardboard strip to fit around the lid and top it with a circle of cardboard cut to fit. **Black felt or black construction paper for hat brim, red felt or fleece for scarf **2 small twigs
**Straw broom, about 5-inches long
**3 buttons
**Black permanent marker
**Orange acrylic or dimensional paint
**Gold ribbon and snowflake confetti, or other seasonal decorations, to decorate hat
**Artificial snow or white glitter
**Tacky glue and hot glue
**Scissors

Clean the coffee creamer container, inside and out, with dish soap and water. Dry completely.

Face: There are two faint seam lines down the sides of the coffee creamer container, presumably where the two halves of the container are joined. Paint the snowman's face in the middle of the upper section, between these two seam lines, following the close-up face detail shown at left.

You can use black permanent marker or black acrylic paint for the eyes and the snowman's smile. Use orange acrylic craft paint, or dimensional paint, for the nose.

Hat: If you are using a salt box (or any other circular cardboard box) for the hat, make sure that it will fit snugly around the coffee creamer container lid. If it does, cut off the bottom 2 inches of the box and paint it black.

If you don't have a salt box, cut a 2" inch strip of thin cardboard to encircle the lid and glue together. Cut a circle of cardboard the same size as the coffee creamer lid and glue this on top of the cardboard circle to make the top of the hat.

Hat Brim: Draw a circle on black felt or construction paper, about � inch larger than the hat diameter, and cut out this circle. Place the coffee creamer lid in the middle of the hat brim circle, trace around it and cut out.

Glue the hat brim to the bottom of the hat, making sure that you don't glue any fabric on the inside of the screw top lid. Screw the lid in place.

Scarf: The scarf is a 1� inch wide piece of felt or fleece, approximately 24" long. If you don't have a piece that long, cut two 12" pieces of red felt and glue them together in a one inch overlap. Cut a fringe on each end of the scart, then tie it around the neck of the snowman, placing the knot to one side of the neck, as shown in our photo.

Arms: Make the arms from small, slightly curved twigs, approximately 4 inches long, with a "V" shape at the ends, to serve as hands. Choosing a curved twig enables you to easily position the arms at the front to hold the broom or a gift tag.

With small, sharp scissors, cut a small slit on each side of the scarf and insert a twig in each side as the arms. Secure in place with tacky glue or hot glue.

Broom: The broom should fit in the "hand" of one of the twigs. Glue in place with tacky glue or hot glue. We cut the bottom of the broom on a slant, so it looked like the snowman was brushing away the snow.

Buttons: Attach three buttons in a line down the middle of the snowman, using tacky glue or hot glue.

Decorations: Glue a few decorations on the hat - we used a gold snowflake, but any small Christmas symbol will work - why not try a small gold bell or holly leaves?

Snow: Have some fun with this step! Place some newspaper on your work surface, then dab on tacky glue wherever you want the snow to stick. Tap the snowman to release any extra snow, then set the snowman aside to dry completely. Fold the newspaper in half and use the crease to funnel the extra artificial snow back into the bag or container, ready for other Christmas crafts.

Beaded Safety Pins

All you have to do is slip some seed beads onto ordinary safety pins and you can create fun items to wear, share, and swap! They make great gifts too.

The supply list for this project is pretty simple. All you need are safety pins and seed beads. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have a needle-nose pliers and a small, flat-head screwdriver.

Depending on the pattern you choose, you will usually need between 10 and 14 small safety pins. Open a safety pin, and slip the seed beads onto it. Each number column on the diagrams below represents a pin. When you thread these beaded pins onto your larger pin, always start with pin number 1.

Once all beads are in place, close the safety pin. You may want to use the needle-nose pliers to pinch the end of the safety pin so it will not pop open later. Repeat this step until all the safety pins are beaded.

Now you are ready to put all the beaded pins onto a larger safety pin. Open the large safety pin (the size you need will be stated in the pattern). Use the flat-head screwdriver to slightly pry apart the coils at the end of the large pin. Slip the loop of the first beaded safety pin onto the large one. Repeat until all the beaded pins are in place, and you'll see the pattern you have just created!

Santa's Hat Beaded Safety Pin ...

Materials Needed:

14 (1-1/16) inch Safety Pins
1 (2-inch) Safety Pin
Seed Beads (see picture below for colors needed)

Each number column represents a pin; for example, your first pin will have 8 green beads and 2 white beads on it. Your second pin will have 6 green beads, 2 red beads, and 2 white beads on it. When you thread these beaded pins onto your larger pin, start with pin number 1.

HO HO HO Beaded Safety Pin ...

Materials Needed:

12 (1-1/16 inche) Safety Pins
1 (2-inch) Safety Pin
Seed Beads (see picture below for colors needed)

Your first pin will have 3 red beads and 7 green beads. Your second pin will have 1 green bead, 1 red bead, and 8 green beads. When you thread these beaded pins onto your larger pin, start with pin number 1.

Reindeer Beaded Safety Pin ...

Materials Needed:

11 (1-1/16 inch) Safety Pins
1 (1-3/4 inch) Safety Pin
Seed Beads (see picture below for colors needed)

our first pin will have 1 tan bead, 1 green bead, 1 tan bead, and then 7 green beads on it. Your second pin will have 1 green bead, 2 tan beads, and 7 green beads on it. When you thread these beaded pins onto your larger pin, start with pin number 1.

Holly Leaf & Berry Beaded Safety Pin ...

Materials Needed:

13 (1-1/16 inch) Safety Pins
1 (2-inch) Safety Pin
Seed Beads (see picture below for colors needed)

our first pin will have 3 green beads and 7 yellow beads. Your second pin will have 1 green bead, 1 dark green bead, 2 green beads, and 6 yellow beads. When you thread these beaded pins onto your larger pin, start with pin number 1.

Braided Floss Friendship Bracelets

Braiding is really easy to do. It's fun, and with a little practice you can get really beautiful results. Your friends will love getting presents that you've made yourself! You can do one in red and green for Christmas, and then branch out into any colors you like!

You will need:

Embroidery thread
Scissors
Sticky tape

Start off by cutting five lengths of your thread. Try to make them all about the same length.

Take one end of each piece of thread and tie them together with a simple knot.

Now tape the knotted end of your threads to a tabletop or any clear, steady surface where you can do your braiding.

Lay the threads out flat in front of you, like in picture.

Start with one of the outer threads, it doesn't matter which side.

Cross it over the two threads next to it and into the middle.

Now do the same with the outer thread from the other side.

That's all you do! Keep going, always crossing the outer threads over into the middle and remembering to swap sides each time. Remember as well to tighten the braid each time you cross over - pushing the braided section gently up to the last braid each time.

Try to keep the plait smooth and even as you go.

Tie a knot in the end of all five threads like this.

Easy isn't it? When your braid is long enough, or you get to the end of the threads, tie a knot again to keep the braid in place.

Untape the braid and tie the two ends together to make your bracelet. Trim the ends if you like and tie them in a knot to fit your wrist.

You'll find that the more you plait, the easier it gets. It's fun to experiment with different colours and different numbers of threads.

Woven Floss Friendship Bracelets

This project is for a Friendship Bracelet also using embroidery floss. Learn the basic knot first (instructions just below) and then try your hands at the diagonal stripe.

You'll need:

4 Colors of Embroidery Floss, 25" Long
Masking Tape

Clothespin Snowmen

These little snowman ornaments are easy to make. You can hang them on the tree or anywhere else you choose!

Wooden clothespins
1 1/8" wood circles
3/4" x 5/8" wooden spools
Craft wire
Ribbon or material scrap
Acrylic paint in black*, white & orange
white craft glue
small foil Christmas tree or other embellishment

* You can use a black marker instead of paint if you prefer.

Paint the clothespin with white acrylic paint. Allow to dry and repeat for a second coat. Glue the spool to the center of the wood circle. Paint the spool and circle black. Glue the dry black hat to the top of the dry white clothespin.

Cut a piece of craft wire long enough to form a hanger for your ornament (approx 6"-8"). Wrap the ends of the craft wire around the "neck" of the clothespin, creating a loop. With the wire loop at the back, wrap a scrap of material or ribbon around the neck and tie for a scarf, covering any exposed craft wire.

Using a small paintbrush, or even a toothpick, dot on eyes, mouth and buttons with black paint. Use orange for the nose and glue foil tree to the hat. Hang!

Candy Cane Mouse

Felt Scraps
Small Candy Cane (tail)
Wiggle Eyes or Beads
Small Pom-poms (nose)
Ebroidery Floss or Yarn (whiskers)
Hot Glue and Hot Glue Gun

Using the scrap felt, cut 2 small teardrop-shaped pieces about 3-inches long. Lay the candycane on top of one of the teardrop-shaped pieces of felt, noting in the graphic how the candy cane hangs out over the edge. Cover with the other teardrop-shaped piece of felt. Glue the 2 pieces together, sandwiching the candy cane in the middle and lining up the edges.

Using the graphic below as a guide, glue the nose and eyes in place. Cut two small circles about 1-inch across to be the ears. Cut 2 smaller circles out of a contrasting colors and glue them the center of the 1-inch circles. Glue the ears in place. Glue on the whiskers.

You can give this as a gift or add a piece of ribbon and use it as an ornament. Also, instead of candy canes, you can glue on a bent pipecleaner.

Candy Bar Wrappers

Here's something fun to make and pass out to your friends at school or Sunday school. Teachers love them, too!

First print how many wrappers you want to make (choose one below).

Next you will need to buy the (1.52 oz). If you're not sure, print and cut out a wrapper and taking it with you to the store to make sure it will fit over the candy bars you buy.

Cut out the wrapper which should have printed to exactly 4-3/4 X 4-3/4 inches.

Before adding any glue, fold the "FOLD AND GLUE HERE" tab at the line.

Now put a little glue on the UNDERSIDE of the part that says "GLUE HERE" and attach it to the bottom of the foil wrapped bar.

When the glue is dry, wind the wrapper around the first edge and gently crease the wrapper. Continue wrapping and creasing until the candy bar is covered.

Add glue to the "GLUE HERE" section and firmly hold the flap in place until it's dry.

** Freezing the bars first is an easy way to make sure they won't break/melt while you're putting the wrappers on!

** With a little practice you can fold and crease the wrappers around the bars without gluing them to the candy bar's foil. This makes it easier for the wrappers to be removed and saved for later.

** You can keep the original wrappers on the bars but make sure you don't remove the foil wrapper!

Using a glue stick makes this a lot less messy.

Christmas

Full Armor

Advent Calendar I

This cute Advent Candle craft is very easy really cute. The craft is made with a printer, paper, something to color with, scissors and glue.

Advent is a Christian holiday that is basically part of Christmas. It begins on the Sunday nearest November 30 -- the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle. It lasts four Sundays. The Advent wreath comes from the folk traditions of northern Europe, where people lit candles on circle-shaped wreaths of evergreen. The three purple candles in the Advent wreath symbolize hope, peace, and love. These candles are lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent. The pink candle symbolizes joy and is typically lit on the third Sunday. Sometimes there is also a fifth white candle that is lit on Christmas day and symbolizes the birth of Jesus (One is not included with this craft -- instead you have a white bow)

Print out the template of choice (color or B&W)

Color or paint the template pieces.

Cut out the template pieces (may require adult assistance).

Glue the candles onto the base. (You can glue one on each Sunday of Advent -- the pink one goes on the third Sunday)

Finish it off with the white bow

Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

TEMPLATES:

Wreath Color	Wreath B/W
Candles Color	Candles B/W

Advent Calendar II

You can arrange this from 24 down to 1 (a countdown) or from 1 up to Christmas.

You can to break into one of the cups each day until Christmas!

Materials:

Toilet paper rolls (13)
Scissors
Glue
Donstruction paper
Black marker Small wrapped candy
Paint (optional)
Bow (optional)

Cut 13 toilet paper rolls in half. Paint the rolls or cover them with construction paper.

Cut circles out of construction paper (trace around one of the largest toilet paper roll ends to get the size of the circle).

Glue a circle onto one end of each tp roll half; let it dry.

Drop a small candy into each little roll cup that you've made

Glue a circle onto the top of each tp roll half; let dry.

Use a black marker to write the numbers 1 thru 25 onto the closed top roll cups.

Tape two pieces of construction paper together to make one large sheet (or use a piece of poster board)

Arrange the cups in whatever way you wish and glue them onto the poster board (the pictures shows a rectangle, but you could arrange them into a Christmas tree shape, a candy cane shape or a wreath shape). Add a bow if desired.

Templates:

Ornaments Color

Ornaments B/W

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