Kids Christmas Craft - Clay Pot Snowman

This week of 12 Weeks of Christmas is another Christmas craft. My girls made this snowman out of clay pots when they were preschoolers. Now they are 19 and 21! And I still love putting this snowman out at Christmas!
First glue two clay pots together, one upside down on top of the other. Probably any type of glue that is permanent. Cover both pots with a "texture" paint - you can find "snow" paint or some other texture paint in the paint aisle of your craft store. After that dries, paint the whole thing white with craft paint.

For the hat, paint a smaller clay pot with the same texture paint. Then paint over that with black craft paint. For the bill of the hat I cut a circle out of poster board (use a plate as a circle pattern - you just need it to be a size that seems to fit with the sizes of clay pots you are using). Paint the poster board circle with the texture paint, then paint over that with black craft paint (both sides of the poster board circle need to be painted).

At this point you can paint holly leaves or some other decoration on the hat with craft paint.

Now glue the poster circle to the top of his head, then glue the small pot upside down onto the poster circle. (I think I used hot glue so that we didn't have to wait a long time for glue to dry.)

Because I was making this with preschool age kids, I painted circle outlines for his eyes, mouth and buttons. Then the girls filled in the circles with paint.

To make his nose, I twisted white copy paper into a cone shape and glued it together. Then the girls painted it orange. I stuffed it with tissue paper (and glued this into the inside of the cone) - this gave me a "flat" surface that I could apply glue to and then stick to his face.

Then we tied a Christmas ribbon around his neck to cover up where the two big pots meet. We glued this ribbon to him in a few places so that it would not slide off.

You could use any sizes of clay pots you want to - he could be tiny, or as big as you want him to be. For his body we used pots that are 4 1/2" tall, and for the hat we used a smaller pot that is 2 3/4" tall. So ours is about a foot tall.

He is very cute in person!

For more Christmas crafts, click below to go to Red Writing's!

Thanks for stopping by!

I am doing a little series on Holiday Tables right now, so go to my main page to find those posts.

Shannon

How to Make A Feather Wreath - Cheap!

I absolutely LOVE feather wreaths. But they are really expensive! I have an adorable little red feather wreath that is usually on my wreath hanger on the mantel. But this year I was trying to decorate my fall mantel in chocolate, green and silver. So I realllly wanted a brown feather wreath. Cheap.

So I thought I would try to use a cheap feather boa from Hobby Lobby. And one of these wire wreath frames from Hobby Lobby.

I just cut lengths of wire and wired the feather boa to the wreath frame - put a wire about every 2 to 3" so that it stays in a nice full circle shape.

I wired all the way around the outside wire of the wreath frame, then wired all the way around the inside-middle of the wreath frame.

One feather boa was the perfect length to go around twice on the 12" wreath frame from Hobby Lobby. The frame was $1.99. The feather boa was $6.99 (I think) - and you could use a 40% off coupon on the feathers!

It was a little tedious. So you might not want to do this on a day that people have been getting on your last nerve like I did. But even on a day when I had used up all my patience at work, this only took me about 30 minutes.

And then I had a great, cheap, chocolate-colored feather wreath for my fall mantel. It looks great!

I'm going to make a black one sometime soon! Because every room needs a little touch of black!

Shannon

How to Un-Paint Old Glass Christmas Ornaments

I have bought a few boxes of old glass Christmas ornaments at Goodwill lately and un-painted them to get this look. It's soooo easy!
The older the ornaments the better it works. I was trying to get an old mercury glass look. The old Shiny Brite brand seems to work the best. But other old balls will also work. Hopefully in these first few pictures you can tell that some of them have an old, faded silver look. Those are the Shiny Brite or other really old ornaments. The shinier silver balls are "newer" old ornaments that the color does come off of, but the silver inside is a more solid bright silver look.
I do not un-paint the balls that start out silver or gold, because a mixture of those two colors is what I am going for.

I love the old, faded look. And mixing it with the shinier silver gives more dimension. So - I will buy any of the old balls - but definitely the Shiny Brites.Just hold a ball UPSIDE DOWN under hot running water. You do not want the water to go inside the ball, because if it is one of the older balls, the hot water will wash all the silver out of the inside. After just a few seconds under the hot water, you will be able to rub off the colored paint. It usually just rubs off with your finger. Every now and then you may have to scratch at it with your fingernails. But it is really soooo quick and easy!


Thanks to Tales From an O.C. Cottage and Vintage Bella Studio for the instructions for this wonderful project!

Go to Goodwill!!! You will be glad you did!

Shannon

A Nester-ified Christmas Garland Planter Thingy

EDIT: This post is from a couple of weeks ago, (today is now Dec 10) and I am linking up to the Nester's Holiday Garland Show & Tell. This planter garland does now have white lights in it. And it really looks sooooo much better in person. I just can't get a good picture of it.

The Nester posted directions on making "The Most Wonderful Christmas Garland Ever." Be sure to go read her post. Great pictures, and step-by-step instructions. So today I decided to use her methods to fill the planter that is in my dining room. This is my finished product.(I hate to admit it, but it started out with these horrible P.O.O.P.I.E. plants in it that you see below. They are now in the trash. Yes. Your welcome.)I used what I already had. I started by laying this garland along the top of the planter.
This box is what I had to work with.
Next I added a few greenery stems.
Then I added four or five of these sugared fruit stems. I bought these at Hobby Lobby after Christmas last year for 80% or 90% off. These are tall stems, but I basically laid them down in the greenery base that I had, and tweaked the fruit and leaves till it looked like I wanted.

At this point it was getting close to what I had in mind.

Then I used some cheap picks to fill in any holes. I just stuck these in wherever I could see through into the planter.
Then I added a few of these glittery ball stems - because I am all about glitter and glitz. I also bought these at Hobby Lobby last year after Christmas - 80 or 90% off.
Finished. I'm happy with it. (Well - I might add a string of white lights. Do you think I should?)

EDIT: After looking at my pictures I realized that the greenery in back was way too tall - so I have scrunched it down now so that it looks proportionally correct - trust me, it's much better now!

Head on over to A Scrapbook of Inspiration for a Christmas Fair!

Shannon

I really like the way my little bulletin boards turned out. I finally finished and hung all four. I bought these frames at Hobby Lobby and took the glass out, added 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, pre-cut 12 x 12 cork board, put the backing back on, and had a quick, wonderful bulletin board. The frames are the perfect size for the paper and cork board. I may periodically change the photos or the embellishments. They look just the way I had hoped!

I also added this little cast iron soap dish to my desk and filled it with some vintage jewelry. I love the look of this. I wish I had a better digital camera. The one I am using does NOT take good close up pictures at all!!!! That may be on my Christmas wish list! By the way, Christmas is only 180 days away!!!!

I think I may try to make a trip to a couple of thrift stores today and look for more vintage jewelry.

Have a great Friday!