Favor Box Christmas Tree

Dollar Tree carries packages of these pyramid favor boxes, though they're easier to find in the spring. They come in a package of 5 for $1, mixed gold and silver. We were going to use them to make a Christmas snack at our Christmas Workshop this year, but decided the box was too pretty to use for food packaging that would be thrown away afterwards. So we made it into a Christmas tree instead...

The materials you will need are:

• 1 pyramid favor box (package of 5 for $1)
• 18" narrow ribbon
  
• 18" string bead garland or light garland
  
• 18" fancy yarn
  
• 1 gold star for the top of the tree (or tie a bow with the extra ribbon) on hand
• 1 clothespin
  
• gold paint
  
• glue
  

The tools you will need are scissors and glue.

Prepare your supplies. If you'd like, use the gold paint for the star and the clothespin.

Begin by sealing the top (bottom) of the favor box.

Glue one end of the bead garland to the bottom corner of the box. Begin winding the garland around the box.

Wrap the garland around the tree to the top, spot gluing as needed.

Repeat the process with the ribbon, going in the opposite direction.

Repeat again with the piece of yarn.

Add the star to the top of the tree, at an angle to the box.

Glue the clothespin to the bottom. That's it! Now it's ready to clip onto the tree.

Enjoy!

Chip Clip Penguin

This guy was a dollar store cutie I did for last year's Christmas workshop. Check out the instructions here.

Snowman TREAT Bucket

What a fun way to display your candy treats! Get the instructions for this cool character here.


Looking for the sock snowman instructions?  Go here.

Snowman Hot Tub Tutorial

Not the toasty and bubbly hot tub we might enjoy, but perfect for Frosty and his friends! This is a craft that kids just love, and a perfect way to re-purpose some dollar store items

The supplies you will need are as follows:
1 - 3" pail (find these with the favor bags)
3 - fingers from a white cotton glove
1 - handful of fiberfil
6 - 5mm black poms
3 - tiny pieces of orange felt
1 - 3" length of wired greenery/garland
1 - 6" length of 1/8" red ribbon
1 - 4" length of a wooden stick (dowel rod, popsicle stick, etc.)
1 - 1" x 2" piece of white cardstock
1 - 8" length of square acrylic garland or substitute with individual pieces of "ice"
2 - decorative snowflake embelishments
For tools, you will need scissors and glue.

Begin by stuffing the fingers with fiberfil. It's not necessary to close off the bottom.

Next, shape the orange felt into noses and glue to the face of the snowmen.

Attach the eyes.
Arrange the 3 snowmen in a bundle, offsetting the height so that the snowmen in back aren't hidden by the snowman in the front. Glue them in position.

Now, set the snowmen in the bucket. If they sink too low, just add a little filler to the bottom of the bucket to raise them up (fiberfil, tissue paper, etc.) Glue the snowmen into the bucket, but be careful to leave open the areas around the snowmen to put the ice cubes.

Fill the open areas with the ice cubes, slightly overflowing the edges of the bucket.

Form the piece of greenery into a circle.

Tie the ribbon into a bow and glue it onto the piece of greenery to form a wreath.

Position the wreath on the front of the bucket and glue in place.

Write up the sign on the piece of card stock. Glue the stick to the back.

Insert the sign into the bucket behind the snowmen. Add a few snowflakes to the corners of the sign. And that's it!

If you love this craft, I love comments!

Chip Clip SNOWMAN Tutorial

I have a "thing" for making something unexpected out of something else. I've somehow developed a fairly keen ability to think outside the box, which has really been fun and interesting in creating new ideas. Unfortunately, it's inside the box that I'm often not very good at.

For today's craft, I thought I would show you how to make a cheerful snowman out of a magnetic chip clip. I found these clips at the dollar store for 3 for $1.00.

The materials you will need are as follows:
1 - 3" chip clip (the sample shown was from Dollar Tree, 3 per card)
1 - 3" x 4" piece of fleece
1 - 1/2" x 8" piece of fleece
1 - brown chenille stem
1 - 1/2" white pom
1 - 1/2" x 1/2" piece of orange felt or craft foam
1 - 1/2" decorative snowflake
1 - small rubberband
For tools, you will need a scissors for the felt, wire cutters or a strong pair of scissors to cut the chenille stem, a fine black marker, and glue (hot glue is faster but white glue is safer for children.) You will also need to seal one side of the fleece for the hat, which can be sewed or glued.

Gather the supplies and tools. Take the 3" x 4" piece of fleece and fold it in half, so that you now have a piece that is 3" x 2". Sew or glue the open edge of the 3" side, which will form a tube 2" wide. If you're making these in quantity, such as for a classroom party, it's easiest to cut a long strip of fabric that is 4" wide folded to 2" wide, sew the whole length all at once, then cut the 3" lengths from the longer strip.

Next, turn the tube inside out so that the edge of the seam is turned inside. Place the rubber band tightly around one end of the tube about 1/2" from the edge of the fabric.

Use the scissors to snip the 1/2" length of fabric past the rubber band to form the tassels for the hat. Turn back the other end of the fleece to form the cuff of the hat.

Open the clip and slide the hat over the end of the clip, positioning only on the front half of the clip so that the clip will continue to open. Don't glue the hat in place until after you've positioned the scarf.

Open the clip and slip the 8" piece of fleece into the clip near the hinge.

Bring the two ends of the scarf to the front and tie. Lightly glue the scarf and hat in place.

The arms of the snowman should be about 6" long. Cut two additional lengths of chenille stem about 3/4" long each. Twist the short pieces around the ends of the long piece to form hands.

Insert the arms into the center of the clip and glue in place with the scarf.

Glue the 1/2" white pom into one of the hands of the snowman.

Position the other arm as a wave. Finish your snowman by trimming the orange felt to make a nose and glue in position on the face. Use the black marker to draw eyes, and optionally a mouth. Glue the snowflake to the hat.

That's it!!

If you can't find the exact chip clip, you might need to alter the measurements of the hat slightly. Just measure around the end of the chip clip where the hat would sit, and substitute the new measurement for the 4" length, adding 1/2" allowance for the seam. If you're adjusting by a lot, you'll also want to consider whether the height of the hat is adequate, as well as the scarf and arm length.

Let me know how this worked for you.

Give Someone a Random SMILE Today

With today's hectic and stressful lives, it doesn't take much to send someone over the edge. On the other hand, it doesn't take much to make someone's day either. Sometimes the simplest gestures leave the biggest impression, especially since they're more likely to happen. The school across the street once had a sign that read, "The smallest of actions is more valuable than the greatest of intentions."

The dollar stores around here have mylar balloons for a buck. One of them near me has a design that is a bright, yellow smiley face. The ones near you might have the same pattern, or certainly something similarly cheerful. For your pay-it-forward this week, buy one or a couple or a whole bunch, and then give them to people for an instant face lift. You can also tie an encouraging note to the string. This can be done anonymously or with full disclosure.

Some examples of people who might need a face lift:
- co-worker
- teacher
- mailman
- bank teller
- hair stylist
- next-door neighbor
- bus driver
- your child or spouse

Some ideas for attached notes:
- "Have a GREAT day!"
- "You are appreciated"
- "Smile, you're on camera"
- "You make the world a better place"
- "Thought you could use a smile today"
- "Don't worry, be happy!"
- "Be a kid today"

The great thing about a pay-it-forward is that it often does as much for the sender as it does for the receiver. In fact, I bet you're smiling already just thinking about who you might target.

NOTE: I would suggest not substituting with latex balloons, as you might not be aware of latex allergies or restrictions.

Paper DOILY Bird Tutorial

I thought I would post a simple idea that doesn't need much instruction, but which I thought was utterly wonderful. This is not an original idea but came out of my archives. Unfortunately, that means I don't have a source (could be grandma, could be something I saw at a craft fair years ago, could be something that morphed in my head.) In any case, I hope you enjoy it.

For this project, all you need is one paper doily, any size, and a 6" length of narrow ribbon. But I'd recommend having more than one handy, since they're so easy and I'm sure you'll want to do more than one. For tools, you'll need a pair of scissors and a hole punch.

Using the template below, or something similar, cut out the parts for the body and the wings. Fold the body in half from the tip of the beak to about half-way down the back. Cut a slit through the fold at an angle as indicated in the template. While folded, punch a hole past the fold into the section just cut, as indicated on the template.

Now slide the wing section into the slit, tie the ribbon through the punched holes, and that's it!

Since you can get paper doilies at the dollar store for about $1 for 100 doilies, you can make tons of these for just a few bucks.