Paper Poinsettia Ornaments

The boys and I have Christmas fever. We can barely focus on our school work these days. Luckily, I had planned out this Christmas ornament craft ahead of time. We make homemade Christmas tree ornaments every year - usually out of scrapbook paper. This year we're making these gorgeous Paper Poinsettia Ornaments, both for our tree and to give away as gifts. The boys are so excited to give them out, and working on them a little each day is scratching that Christmas itch - along with copious amounts of Christmas music and the eating of many a Christmas cookie. 😊

Our Paper Poinsettia Ornaments turned out fabulous!

We mixed and matched different shades and patterns of red paper to really make the ornaments pop.




Here's what you'll need:
several sheets of various red colored and patterned paper (one scrapbook sized page will make about 2 flowers)
a printer
a pencil for tracing (see note below template)
sissors
a glue stick
red and/or yellow pipe cleaners (1 per flower)
red curling or mylar ribbon (6 to 8 inches per flower)
glue gun (optional)

Start by printing and cutting the template below. Trace the cutouts onto the back of your pretty red paper and cut 'em all out. Each poinsettia will require 6 large petals, 5 to 6 small petals, and one circular base.

For each petal, cut an inch up from the bottom, put a generous amount of glue on the back of one end and glue it over the other end to create a pucker at the bottom. Hold that pucker closed for several seconds to secure while also bending the petal back at the middle. Poinsettias are an open flower and you'll want the petals to tilt out instead of in. Allow the petals to dry.




To the base, glue a six inch piece of curling ribbon to make a loop for hanging. Let dry.

If you have smaller children, you'll want to do this preliminary glue prep for the petals and bases beforehand. It's a little tedious.




To prep the center of the flower, cut a pipe cleaner in half and then in half again to get 4 equal pieces. Curl in the ends of each piece. Then, twist all four pieces together at the middle and separate out the little tendrils.




To put the flowers together (this is the fun part), glue the large petals, one at a time, onto the ribbon side of the base overlapping them a little as you go.




Now glue the smaller petals in the center, also, overlapping them a little as you go.




Glue a pipe cleaner center smack dab in the middle. This is where you may want to use a glue gun if you have one. Pipe cleaners need a lot of glue to stay secure.

These paper Poinsettia Ornaments turned our little fake Christmas tree (we call it our "humble" tree) into something spectacular. Aren't they just gorgeous on the tree?

Here's that template:




Note: If you're using 8 1/2 x 11 inch colored paper, you can load the paper right into your printer, making sure to print the template on the back side, and then cut out the petals for use. No tracing! If you're using scrapbook sized paper, you'll need to print out the template (card stock is best) and cut out 1 large petal, 1 small petal, and the base to use for tracing.

Happy Christmas crafting!

Advent Drawing Journal

This year the boys and I are drawing our way through Advent. My guys LOVE to draw and I wanted to really engage them as we prepare our hearts for Christmas as a family. So, I put together a simple printable book to take us through each day.

This year we're drawing our way through Advent with this homemade Advent Drawing Journal.

Each page has a line for the scripture for the day, a box for drawing, and a few lines for jotting down any reflections we'll talk about together.

There are a few different lists of scriptures you could use for this project. I opted for my Anglican family prayer book's list:

Week 1 of Advent
Mark 13:33-37
Isaiah 2:1-5
Luke 10:21-24
Isaiah 25:6-9
Matthew 7:24-29
Psalm 27:1-6
Psalm 147:1-12

Week 2 of Advent
Isaiah 11:6-9
Isaiah 35:5-10
Matthew 18:12-14
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 11:7-10
Psalm 1
Psalm 80:1-3

Week 3 of Advent
Philippians 4:4-7
Psalm 25:1-8
Matthew 21:28-31a
Isaiah 45:5-8
Psalm 30
Isaiah 56:1
Luke 1:46-55

You could also use the traditional Catholic list of verses. If you want a more nativity focused story, you can use the list from John Piper's "Desiring God" website. I've left the top line of the journal page blank so you can insert the scripture readings of your preference.

Each day I'll read out the scripture reading for that day from a kid friendly version of the Bible, like the New Living Translation (you can use any translation you like). Then, we'll talk about what was read, what it might mean, what it has to do with Christmas, our thoughts and feelings, etc. After that, the boys will get a chance to draw and color anything they like having to do with the reading and our discussion. Finally, they'll write a couple of sentences about what they want to remember about that day's selection.

You can staple the book together or use a hole punch and weave in a pretty ribbon. Also, you may want to print the cover on cardstock. Here are my templates for printing:

Happy preparations y'all!

Summer Fun: Robot Piñatas

What da ya do when you have a whole buncha leftover candy and a whole lotta time on your hands? You make a piñata, of course. We still had a huge stash leftover from Easter, so the boys and I made mini robot piñatas out of tea boxes.

We made our robots so that each part could be stuffed with candy - the arms, the legs, the body, the head. We left the box tops accessible for candy stuffing. The arms, legs, and antennae got sealed up with grey tissue paper. That way you can still get at the candy without destroying the piñata. We can just punch through the paper, or open up the little boxes that are filled with candy, and get at the good stuff without ruining our awesome creations.

We started with our raw materials - tea boxes and toilet paper rolls. These are great building and creating materials. Storing them is sometimes a pain, but necessary for the kind of creative fun we like to have around here. I like to keep a large trash bag or box in my closet. When it gets too full, it's time to make something.





We visualized what we wanted our robots to look like and got to work painting the parts gray.

After the paint dried, we started decorating our robot parts with foil tape, duct tape, construction paper, and aluminum foil. This part was fun, but sticky.



We used a hole punch to make a couple of holes in the head and body, and ran some strong twine through them, so we could hang up the piñatas later.

Next, we used a glue gun to put our robots together. I squeezed the glue onto each part, handed it to the boys, and they held the part to their robot until it was just set. The glue sets surprisingly sturdy.

After the robots were completely set, it was time to stuff. This was the really fun part. Candy in the head. Candy in the body. Candy in the arms and legs, and ears. Yummy robots!

We sealed up the robot's toilet paper roll extremities by gluing a simple tissue paper circle to the end of each. I used a small baby food jar to make the circles.



Lastly, I gathered the twine we had strung through the body and head of each robot and tied them together about a foot above the robot's head. Now you have something to tie a longer rope to if you actually want to hit yours. You really need the twine through both parts of the robot for the best support and balance. You don't want your robot's head popping off before it's time for his festive bludgeoning, now do you?



Please read this next part in your best robot voice: These - cute - piñatas - are - ready - to - roll!!



This is what you'll need for this project:
- a plastic table cloth to protect your table
- 1 large tea box per robot for the body
- 1 small tea box per robot for the head
- 6 or 7 toilet paper rolls per robot for the arms, legs, neck, antennae, ears
- gray paint and paint brushes
- aluminum foil
- duct tape and/or foil tape (I found these at the dollar store)
- colored construction paper
- scissors
- pencils and crayons
- glue sticks
- a glue gun
- twine or thick string for hanging
- a hole punch
- a bunch of leftover candy
- gray or silver tissue paper

Ezra wanted to break his piñata the traditional way, so we strung it up, and let him at it.



We also printed out some robot coloring pages and turned our Thursday into a regular robot party day. Robot voice again: Party - on!