December Crafting

Back in December, in honor of the snow, Kenly and I made coffee filter snowflakes. Kenly liked the craft so much that we repeated the process during our last batch of winter weather and this time Daddy got to play too. These picture are from December. The craft is really quite simple. Take ordinary coffee filter and fold them into a triangle shape. Trim the edges to make snowflake patterns on the filter. Open the filter and place it on a plate or other craft-friendly surface.

Then, turn the two year old loose to paint the snowflake with watercolors. The first time we did this activity, Kenly painted two filters by herself. Occasionally she would "command" me to help. I was never given complete artistic freedom, but I was instructed where I could add a specific color. I enjoyed painting a few of these myself.

I think it is completely adorable when children, especially my own, stick their tongue out while concentrating.


Here is one of the finished products. When the light shines through, the coffee filter has a stained glass effect.
I love the shape variety and the snow in the background. What would winter look like if all snowflakes were rainbow colored?
This snowflake was my attempt at Christmas colors. I liked how it turned out.
Some of our friends had an ornament party, and we made an ornament for their tree. We also made a smaller version to keep for ourselves. I can't remember what blog I "stole" this idea from, but it was a great idea. Simply take a light bulb of any size and decorate it with snowmen made from fingerprints. I made a snowman and I helped Kenly make a snowman using white acrylic paint. Paint a stocking or tree in the blank spaces and you have an instant family heirloom. We hot glued the ribbon on to the bulb to make a hanger.
We also made hand/footprint reindeer to give to our family members. I don't have a picture of this craft, but I can tell you that it turned out wonderfully. Kenly's foot was the face and her cute little hands made the antlers. Next year we might attempt to make Santa's beard with her hands. Who knows?

Many of Kenly's Christmas presents involved crafty stuff, so I'm sure that the new year will hold quite a few more projects.