A Crafty Christmas

Christmas is almost here but it feels a little different this year. You know, 2020.

The school’s annual Songfest and Cookies event has been cancelled and there are no invitations to festive parties on our corkboard. I missed hearing Ella sing Jingle Bells in her favorite Christmas sweater, but I am super relieved to have a smaller to do list. We are home soaking up the holidays armed with hot cocoa , cozy jammies and our top five favorite movies.

The girls have been wearing their Christmas PJ’s since July, so we embraced the holiday spirit. For the first time ever our home was decorated and our tree was up before Thanksgiving. I think everyone is ready to fast forward to 2021.  We are planning a few socially distanced outdoor activities, but we must anticipate boredom during our captive time at home.

Now that I am channeling this new Zen mom vibe (Christmas edition) I dug deep and tapped into my inner Martha scouring Pinterest for ideas. Whenever I have these “I want to be a better, more hands-on mom” moments it tends to end badly but I persevere. Maybe this will be the year I am pleasantly surprised. I have zero artistic abilities therefore I keep it real and my expectations low when it comes to crafting.

I found two novice projects we can attempt at home.

Salt Dough Ornaments:

·        Preheat oven to 220 degrees

·        In a medium mixing bowl add 4 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt. Stir well.

·        Add 1.5 cups of water and mix until dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands.

·        Roll dough out of a flat surface approximately 5mm thick.

·        Use cookie cutters to cut out your shapes and then place them on a cookie sheet.

·        Use a straw to make a hole near the top for your hook or string.

·        Bake for one hour then flip them over and bake for another hour.

·        Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before painting.

Glitter Handprints

·        Make another batch of the dough using the recipe above.

·        Create a handprint in the dough, paint it and then let it dry. Remember to use a straw to cut a hole at the top.

·        Once the paint is dry fill in the handprint with Elmer’s Glue.

·        Pour glitter all over the glue completely covering it.

·        Dump excess glitter and use a dry paintbrush to brush off loose glitter.

·        Let the glue dry overnight.

·        Lay the ornaments on paper outside and spray with Mod Podge. I recommend applying two coats.

·        Let it dry overnight

·        Finish it off by adding a twine loop through the hole at the top.

·        Pour yourself a glass of wine. You survived arts and crafts

Seems easy right? Now I’m off to the arts and craft store for a ridiculous amount of supplies and a lifetime of memories - oh, and don’t forget the wine!