I bet you thought I'd forgotten about our craft along project for December. Well no, I've just been too busy to put it together. Usually posted on the first of the month, this one is slipping in just before Christmas.
Ok, so you have a ton of nieces and nephews that will be visiting for the holidays, and everyone is tired of decorating gingerbread houses. What do you do to keep them busy and have fun at the same time? Gather pinecones. Actually if you gather some pinecones beforehand and do a little prep work, they'll be ready to roll when the kid's arrive.
Supplies: pinecones, 18-20 gauge wire, paint, fabric or ribbon, hot glue gun, glue sticks
Approximate cost: Less than $5
Directions: Pinecone Swags from Family Fun
My nieces and nephews aren't going to be around for Christmas this year, so I'll be doing this with all the preschool children at church Christmas morning. I made our ribbon (tore fabric into one inch strips) and glued the hangers onto the pinecones ahead of time. All they have to do is paint...
Suggestions:
- Make sure children wear a paint shirt/smock over their clothes. Acrylic paint will not wash out.
- An adult will need to do the gluing!
- Add a little glitter to your pinecone while the paint is wet for a little bit of sparkle.
- Use this idea to make individual pinecone ornaments.
- Write the year on the fabric/ribbon hanger.
- Hang these on the door, on the Christmas tree, on the stairs, in a window, on a bulletin board... pretty much anywhere!
If you try your hand at these, I'd love to see your creations. Upload pictures to the Kid's Craft Along Flickr group!
