If you’re anything like me, you found yourself standing in your kitchen last weekend, with a tornado of kids running around you, feeling like you, yourself, were caught in the storm, thinking “How did this happen? How did we just celebrate Thanksgiving, and how is Christmas less than four weeks away?” And, again if you’re anything like me, you instantly went into panic mode and broke out in a cold sweat, thinking about how you were going to get everything done by the time Dec. 25th hit. Solution: keep it simple! I knew I needed super simple projects that could be used for multiple purposes, and would keep my kiddos busy, and these little snowflakes did just the trick! I’ve used them below in two quick projects, used as ornaments on a wire tree and strung on ribbon garland. I’m also featuring a third project on my blog…an adorable ornament or gift wrapping embellishment that you can whip up in under three minutes! My tips and tricks for punching the snowflakes and making the garland are included below! Happy Holidays!
Ornament Tree
*click on picture for larger view
I found this ornament tree a few years back and cringed when I saw the price tag. It was rather expensive, but I’m so glad I decided to buy it. Each year I decorate it with different things. This year it’s these adorable paper snowflakes, but last year it was handmade mini gift bags, filled with surprises for the 12 Days of Christmas. I also love the fact that’s it’s just not “Christmasy” enough that I can use it for other holidays. It looks adorable with paper hearts for Valentine’s Day, leaves for fall….you get the idea!. For this year’s tree, the kids and I sat and simply punched out the snowflakes from our scrapbook paper. When they grew tired of punching, I let them start the decorating. If you look closely, you can see some are glittered. We actually painted the entire piece of paper first, on both sides., let it dry, and then punched. Yes, it a little wasteful because you do end up painting a lot of paper you don’t actually use, but it’s very kid friendly! I squeeze the glitter paint onto a paper plate, and the kids can just smear it all over the paper, however they want. It dries clear enough that you won’t see any brush marks!
Snowflake Garland
*click on picture for larger view
This idea I love because it is completely made from items I found in my scrap stash. I had red ribbon left over from a previous project, and simply used a needle and thread to quickly sew the snowflakes onto it. You could use glue, but I like that since the thread is not pulled too tightly when knotted, they “dangle” a little bit. If you’re crunched for time tough, a dab of glue will work just fine! And on a side note, your local large chain craft store more than likely has all of their holiday ribbons on sale right now, so even if you don’t have some in your stash, this is still an inexpensive project. I saw some red ribbon marked as low as 50% off over the weekend!
Are you as completely in love with the snowflake theme as we are? Then click on over to Nikki, In Stitches for another fantastically fun project!
Nikki McGonigal is the crafter/writer behind Nikki, In Stitches. She designs, creates, and provides instructions for craft projects from all mediums; from knitting and sewing, to cardmaking and home decor, and everything in between. She sell kits to go along with many of her projects, and just started selling patterns for her original designs. She has just opened her Etsy shop where she sells a few finished products.
