Kids Holiday Crafts - Making Pinecone Pots Kids Holiday Crafts

Kids Holiday Crafts are such fun and they love making something that can

contribute to the holiday spirit, fun and decorations. This is one of our easy Kids Holiday Crafts that that the kids will love.

This is what you will need for your kids holiday craft:

• Pinecones
• Wood stars
• 1¹/₂ Inch terra cotta pots
• Paper napkins
• Acrylic paint in the desired colors
• Thick white crafts glue
• Paint brushes

How to do this crafts:

1. Paint your pots in the desired color
2. Let them dry completely
3. Choose another color to decorate the pots, you can decorate them with stripes, or dots or any pattern you like. Use as many colors as you please.
4. Remember to rinse the brushes well before you change colors.
5. Dots can be made very easily by dipping the back of the brush in the paint and pressing it to the pot.
6. Now the paint has to dry once again.
7. Meanwhile you can paint your pine cones white.
8. Let them dry.
9. Apply a second coating of white paint.
10. Let them dry
11. Now you can paint your stars to match your pots
12. Let your stars dry well.
13. Now you have to fill your pots with crumpled paper napkins so the pine cone will fit nicely.
14. Wet the paper with lots of crafts glue
15. Neatly set the pinecone in the pots onto the wet napkins to glue it in position
16. Glue a star onto each pinecone
17. Let all the glue dry very well before you use your pots in your decorations.

Fall Kids Craft - Acorn People

This is a fun autumn craft for children, kindergarten and up. The younger the child, the more

help will be needed. Those without the fine motor skills to

draw the little faces, may enjoy directing your drawing and gluing the acorns

and leaves. 

This acorn craft makes a great companion activity to a story or poem about the mighty oak and its humble beginnings. It also is a fun activity to a lesson about the oak tree and the uses of acorns in nature (such as how squirrels gather and store them) and by American Indians and other peoples. Check with your local children's librarian for book suggestions.

Supplies

• Acorns with their caps (loose caps can be glued). The various shapes will determine the shapes of the acorn people's faces.
• Fine tip markers.
• Glue.
• Wooden clothespins: With springs or the old fashioned, wooden, duckbill type, which are slightly bigger.
• Autumn leaves: These should be small and a bit shorter than the sticks or clothespins because they will be the acorn people's dresses.
• Optional: Tiny twigs (for adding hands and feet if you choose).

Directions

Before adding the bodies, we'll first make the acorn people's faces. Here's how:

1. Check the caps on the acorns to make sure they won't easily fall off.
2. Glue any loose caps so that the acorn people can keep their hats.
3. Using fine tip markers, draw eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth.
4. Using a fine tip marker, add any other features you want, such as a moustache, glasses, etc.*
5. After adding a face to the acorn, glue the acorn to the clothespin near the top, so that none of the clothespin rises above the acorn.

*When drawing the faces, you can make the expressions as cute or silly as you like. Give each of the acorn people his or her own personality.

Variation: Children may enjoy creating the facial features with natural items such as seeds from plants gathered on a nature hike.

If you want to give your acorn people arms that stick out from the leaf dresses, use the twigs and glue to create hands with fingers and arms. Then glue onto the

craft stick or clothespin before adding the leaf.

Next, glue the leaf to the front of the acorn person's stick or clothespin body.

Pants and shirt variation:

Using the old fashioned clothespin, attach the acorn so the clothespin facing in the direction that allows the two "legs" to appear side by side. Cut out a shirt and pair of pants from a leaf. Glue them onto the clothespin.

When the acorn people are completed, the clothespin legs will help them to stand up, but it's a good idea to prop them up against something so that they will not fall over. Also, if you want these to last longer than the leaves will, coat the leaves first with a leaf preservative (many crafts stores off and online carry these).

Another fu project for kids is: Pressing Flowers. Have a look at: How To Press Flowers

Easter Eggshell Crafts for Children

After spending so much time and care coloring all those pretty Easter eggs, it seems a

shame to throw away all those shells. Here are three Easter egg shell crafts that will enable the children to keep those pretty colors in the home year round, two from cooked and colored Easter eggs and from eggs especially colored for the craft.

The first two, the eggshell vase and picture, can be easily done by children pre-school age and up, while the last one, the eggshell tulips is easiest for slightly older children because it requires finer motor skills. 

Eggshell Vase

Supplies

• Crushed Eggshells (varying colors) that have been rinsed and dried.

• Vase or bottle (glass milk bottle, juice bottle, etc.).

• Glue that dries clear, such as Elmer's non-toxic school glue.

• Large bristled art brush (inexpensive type since this is just for glue).

Directions

1. Place eggshells in a paper or plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.
2. Using the brush, cover the outside of the vase with glue.
3. Apply the crushed eggshells to the surface.
4. Allow to dry.
5. Brush a coat of glue over the eggshells, allow to dry, and then brush on one more coat.

Fill with spring flowers – or the eggshell tulips described below!

Egg Shell Painting

Supplies

• Poster board or other stiff paper.

• Crushed eggshells (varying colors) that have been rinsed and dried.

• Clear drying glue (such as Elmer's non toxic school glue.)

• Large bristled art brush (inexpensive type since this is just for glue).

Directions

1. Place eggshells by color in separate bags and crush with a rolling pin.
2. Draw a picture on the poster board or paper.
3. Decide which colors you want to use where. This will be similar to painting with numbers.
4. One section at a time, paint with glue and then apply the eggshell pieces. If they are finely crushed, you can sprinkle them on.
5. After your picture has dried, hold upside down to see if any eggshells fall off, and apply more to any empty spots.

Now you have a nice, cheery picture to remind everyone of Easter, even when it's cold and gloomy out!

Egg Shell Tulips

Supplies

• Eggshell halves obtained from cracking open raw eggs to use in cooking. These should be gently washed and allowed to dry. You may want to collect them ahead of time whenever you use eggs.

• Green pipe cleaners.

• White glue or hot glue gun (for faster setting and to be used by an older child or adult only).

• Tempera paint or Easter egg dye.

Directions

1. Paint or dye the eggshell halves to resemble tulips.
2. Allow to dry.
3. Optional: Using fine tip markers or a fine tipped paint brush add details.*
4. Fold the end of a green pipe cleaner into a spiral shape.
5. Glue the spiral to the base of the tulip. Leave to dry (white glue will take a few hours to set).
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for each tulip.

*Looking at real tulips or close-up pictures of tulips will provide inspiration for the details.