This is a craft to make a paper chain Christmas tree. First you need long strips of paper. I used one inch by ten inches. My finished product was big enough to make a poster, so if you want to make a small Christmas tree, use smaller strips. Any kind of paper would be fine, but scraps of Christmas wrapping paper would be good.
Fold the strip in half.
Unfold the strip and then fold the ends into the middle. This is called a shutterfold (like a lapbook). Then fold the shutterfold in half like a small book. Make at least ten of these.
Then you'll notice that there are two holes or loop in each strip. Put the loops of one piece through the loops of another and pull it all the way.
Then you'll have a chain made from two strips. This can be the top of your Christmas tree. Then you can make a chain of three strips, then five, then six, etc.
To make the chain longer, keep linking on more "books," making a zigzag shape.
Then you can glue the paper chains on a piece of paper, making them look like a Christmas tree. I put a star on top, but you can do what you like.
I was studying Indians -- Northwest Indians -- and learned that they make totem poles. So my mom and I researched totem poles. We found some interesting craft ideas, and then I thought of this one. First find a tube of any size and wrap it with brown paper. (But you can choose your own color because I'm sure that Indians painted the pole many colors.)
Then draw faces or use this template for your totem pole's decorations. Normally the hawk/thunderbird/eagle comes at the top. Other animals you can use are seal, bear, frog, and whale.
Fact: if a figure on a totem pole has its tongue sticking out, it represents power. And if its lips are pursed it means he is a flesh eater, coaxing you to its lair to eat you.
Then cut the shapes out. I recommend tape for sticking them on the pole, but you can do as you like.
And there you have your totem pole. I have (top to bottom) a thunderbird, a seal, and a made up creature. Hope you enjoy this craft!
This craft is easy! All you have to do is get some craft sticks and markers. (HINT use permanent markers.) Draw clothes, eyes, hair, and faces on your sticks.
You can write their names on the back.
You can use them as bookmarks. Or you can use them for dolls or puppets.
This week I looked at my Sculpey clay and realized that I had a whole bunch. I wanted to make something, but I didn't know what. I asked my mom if she could find some instructions for making Sculpey critters. She found this good website, but it didn't have many animals on it. Then something caught my eye; a nativity. I immediately ran back to my room and started sculpting.
This is the whole nativty.
Tips for how to make your animals--
Ears are very fragile. As you can see, my donkey's ear is broken. So when you make the ear, make it as thick as you can.
The shepherd gave me trouble. I had to redo his face about three times. But don't give up because you will get it right eventually. For the sheep, I only made horns because making the ears made me so frustrated. I should've followed my own tip -- keep trying.
Jesus was kind of tricky because I didn't know how to make the straw in his bed. First I tried a flat yellow oval in the manger. It did not work. It looked like a blanket, not straw. So I made little balls and flattened them for straw.
Overall I thought my nativty was pretty good. Have you ever made a nativity? If you have, please comment. I'd love to use your ideas.
I wanted to make my own Guess Who game because there were not enough girls in the game. This is how I did it.
First, I measured how big the cards inside the rack were. And then I made gridlines that same size on a piece of paper. Then I drew 24 faces inside my grid. I also wrote a name for each face. My mom scanned my pictures and printed out three color copies on cardstock. One was for the red game rack, one was for the blue game rack, and one set was for picking up the cards. We cut apart the squares and put them inside the game racks.
Tips -- Don't let there be a single person with a unique characteristic. For example, at first Brandon was bald. Then I realized there was no other bald person. So I quickly grabbed the black marker and gave him hair. But then I realized that he actually had a brown beard!
Tip -- Be sure to color clearly and dark so that the scanner can pick up everything. For example, Lily's red lips did not show up.
This pet shop diorama was very tricky to make because I needed a lot of toothpaste boxes (and one mooncake box). I had to do these things to the boxes in order to make animals:
cut the ends of the boxes
cover them with paper
color the paper
attach pieces together (like the head for example).
I cut up rafia to make the hamster's bedding.
The cat the hardest because I ran out of toothpaste box ends. I had to make my own shapes. That was not easy. I used a piece from the middle of the box and then used another piece of cardboard to cover up the open end. I first tried glue, but that did not work. Then I tried tape, and THAT worked.
I had another idea to make a turtle, but I totally ran out of boxes. So I decided to do that when I had more boxes.
This craft is fun and simple. And in the end, you can put the fish in a diorama or make a background or something else. I chose to make a background.
Watch this video and the second one to figure out how to do it. Don't worry. My video is simple. A special thanks to Emily. She is the one who sent me the tissue paper and gave me the link for this craft.
No not of the Traveling Pants...though I know that is a popular movie right now. I am thinking more of the kind of sisterhood that brings moms together to each others homes for a good cup of coffee or tea and an afternoon of sweet Christian fellowship as they visit; talking about their homes and families and anything else important to them. The kind of day where the children enjoy just playing together as their momma's visit. As we get ready for the new school year and prepare to join in more with our favorite Homeschool groups, I wanted to remind moms how important it is for our children to see us sharing honest Christian friendship with one another. They are watching us and listening to us more than we think they are and the way that they will relate to others greatly depends on the way they see us relating to others. I hope you will also enjoy this article that I found on Faith Writers this morning:
Sisterhood of Yesterday By Heather Sargent
When did it become an 'every mother for herself' world? Didn't it used to be a sisterhood of women raising their children together once upon a time?
I think often of what that would be like. To have the women in your life around you supporting you and befriending you. And how you would do the same for them. I imagine children playing while their moms sit together giggling about what silly thing their husband said to them this morning. Or how little Johnny got in trouble again but always gets caught in the most unusual ways where you can't help but laugh. After you have disciplined him of course.
What would it be like to have the women closest to you understand that you too are just a mere human and are incapable of perfection? How you really do have the best of intentions but sometimes that hand basket from hell comes to take it all away. What if they understood that those things that appear to be bad parenting have a broken heart behind them that may just need a friend? Maybe there is an interesting story there of why things went the way they did.
A world where these sisters did not have one arm wrapped around you in a friendly hug with a knife in the other. A smile and friendly word to you, then biting, angry words at your back. A place where life was so simple that the person you saw in front of you, was the person you saw in front of you.
I long for the sisterhood of the days of old. This catty back-biting that women of today do just leaves me standing there scratching my head, wounds and all as I slowly drop the knife I hold at my sisters' backs.
Heather Sargent - 2008
A down-to-earth wife and mother of four, Heather Sargent has more than enough to write about. From the insanity of daily life to the quiet, magical moments which include sleeping children, she finds humor and joy in her chaotic life.
I went to Hong Kong Disney and decided to make a scrapbook. So I got out all my supplies and started.
Here are some of my finished pages. Stitch is my all time favorite as you can see because I wrote it.
Ariel is my favorite Disney princess. But she's not at Hong Kong Disney. She is on a float in the parade, but you can't get your picture with her or meet her.
