Tin Can Santa

The kids are making this tonight at our last Christmas workshop. I made some changes to the directions though.

Supplies:

1 empty, clean metal can
white, peach and pink acrylic paint
medium pink pom pom
2 small wiggle eyes
Cotton balls
6-8 medium white or silver sparkle pom poms
1 sheet red glitter felt
2” wide x 8” long strip of white glitter felt
White craft glue
Hot glue gun

Paint entire aluminum can with white paint.

Paint a section in the front of the can peach (or whatever skin tone color you like) for the face. I used Folk Art 949 Skintone.

Take one cotton ball and stretch it out so that fits all the way around the rim of the can. Glue in place about ½” below the rim. This is Santa’s hair. (I actually used two)



Lay strip of white glitter felt on the table. With hot glue gun, fold over edges and tack in place on both sides. This will create a thick and smooth brim for Santa’s hat that will not show any uneven cutting lines. Set aside. (I tried it and it was just a little to short so I used another strip and didn't fold it over.)

Position the red glitter felt around the top of the can, above the hair (stretched cotton ball). Glue in place and let dry. You will finish Santa’s red hat in a later step.

Meanwhile, glue the white felt in place over the top of the red felt and the cotton to form the brim of Santa’s hat.


Using white craft glue, add Santa’s beard by gluing cotton balls all around the can, leaving enough room open for his face. (I did put a staple in the end of the hat just to keep it together)

To complete Santa’s red hat, tuck the red felt into a cone shape, using hot glue to tack in place if you like. Fold felt over the side of the can and hot glue to the side.

Glue wiggle eyes in place.

Glue the pink pom pom on for the nose.


Use an extra cotton ball to dab on the cheeks, using a small amount of pink paint. (I skipped that step)

Hot glue the silver or white glitter pom poms to the end of the red felt.

I also did not like the look of the plain white can so I took a few cotton balls and pulled them apart and glued them on to the back to give Santa some more hair.

Instead of hot glue, I used fabric tac. It worked pretty good.

So what do you think? Oh the reason for the green felt, was because the store didn't have a lot of red left so I bought the rest and some green.

Magic Reindeer Food

The kids will also be making some Magic Reindeer food to use on Christmas Eve.

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats
2-6 Tbsp red colored sugar
2-6 Tbsp. green colored sugar
1 - 2 Tbsp glitter

Preparation:
Mix the ingredients together and place in a plastic bag, adding as much colored sugar as you like for a festive effect.

Tie with a ribbon and attach the following poem:

Sprinkle this reindeer food outside tonight.
The moonlight will make it sparkle bright.
As the reindeer fly and roam.
This will guide them to your home.

They will be putting it into a ziplock bag. I also printed the the poem onto Avery Business Cards.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Ornament

This is what the kids will be making this week, during Rudolph Week.

It is the same basic instructions as the black cat that we made.

Find out how to make this fun cat craft using a clothespin and a few other supplies.Age Guideline: 6 Years and UpTime required: 30 minutes (Does not include drying time)

The above age and time guidelines are estimates. This project can be modified to suit other ages and may take more or less time depending on your circumstances.

Materials Needed:
3 Flat, One-Piece, Wooden Clothespins
Small Pom-poms
Wiggle Eyes
Ribbon
Craft Paint
Glue
Paint Brush
Scissors

Instructions:

Paint the three clothespins whatever color you want your reindeer to be. One of them will be the reindeer's head and the other two will be the legs and body.

Start out by gluing two of the clothespins flat sides together so the prongs line up as they will be the reindeer's four legs.

Glue the third clothespin, flat sides together onto the two clothespins you previously glued together; however, you will turn this one so these prongs face the opposite direction of the other prongs. These will be the reindeer's ears.Now you can add the finishing touches! Glue a pom-pom onto the rounded part of the head clothespin to be the nose and glue the wiggle eyes just above it.

You can also add a cute bow by the ears or under the chin. Don't forget to add a white pom pom for the tail.

If you want to use this clothespin cat as an ornament, cut a piece of ribbon about 10-inches long and tie the two ends together to make a loop. Glue the loop to the back side of the reindeer's head.



I think we need to make a mouth somehow, maybe a white gel pen.

Jesus Candy Cane Ornament

I bought this kit through Oriental Trading. I am not exactly thrilled with it. The pieces are super tiny AND both kits I opened are missing pieces. I think I better bring a couple pieces of craft foam with me next week to the class party just in case.



I think they are really cute and I didn't even use the raffia that came with it. I used mini glue dots for all the pieces except the hood and the front of the star where the glitter is.

Snowman Pin version 2

I bought this kit on Oriental Trading for the younger kids in my workshops. It was much easier to put together than the full beaded pin.

The only thing I am not thrilled with, is the beads are plastic.

Snowman Soup

The kids at work will be making Snowman Soup to bring home. I made a cute set of labels/postcards to go along with it. I put four of this pictures on a a sheet of notecard paper or you could just use a good cardstock.

The recipe for Snowman Soup:

1 individual pack hot chocolate mix
3 Hershey's chocolate kisses
10-15 mini-marshmallows
1 Candy Cane

Place all in a pretty Christmas clear ziplock bag or "goody" bag.

Attach the poem with a festive ribbon.