Glitter Princess Wands

Ok so this one has nothing to do with Christmas, but Roo is in a big princess phase, and while shopping for Christmas craft supplies, we came across some awesome wands and I just couldn't say no. I'm a weakling- I know.

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - Pre-made foam wands from the $1 store
     - glitter glue
     - finger or acrylic paint
     - assortment of decorating choices (stickers, puffs, etc)

Now, if the store near you doesn't have these wands you can EASILY make them by cutting out a shape from foam and adding ribbons and a plastic dowel. This is a really hands off craft, even for my not-quite-2-year-old. I set her up with a little bit of paint, the wand, and some stickers and let her do her thing.

After she was done, I took the liberty of adding a glitter border to make the wands a little more "magical." Here is how they turned out:

Stamped Gift Tags

Roo is all about stamps. I blame Gymboree for giving her stamps after every class. Also, some of the links from the Christmas Paper Chain we made got torn off. I thought they would be perfect to make gift tags with a little sprucing up.

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - Scraps of paper, re-use if possible!
     - stamps and ink pad

We let Roo practice her stamping abilities on some other papers for a while, so she could get used to the little stamps we got for this project. There aren't too many pictures from this night because she was being a stinker! As you can see, more ink ended up on her face and hands than on the paper!

After she was done, I folded the papers in half, cut to size, and labeled the inside with "To" and "From."

Stained Glass Ornaments

DAY ELEVEN:

Yes I am a day behind.. We had a very busy day Tuesday, so today we will do 2 crafts to catch up. Today's activity is something I spotted at the Dollar Store while I was hunting for Stocking Stuffers. Nothing beats a craft with no prep for only $1!

WHAT YOU NEED:
     - 1 Stained glass ornament kit (from $1 store)
     - tape

Just a note, it took me about 20 minutes, 2 knives and a bandaid :( to open the stinkin' paint palette. Loosely tape each ornament to a paper bag to avoid slippage. What worked for us was opening only one color at a time. That way Roo could paint a little of each color on all the ornaments without mixing the colors and ending up with 8 brown ones. After each color, rinse the brush and color section with water to avoid "cross-contamination." Let dry overnight and string them.

Roo REALLY liked this craft. It really surprised me how she was actually painting one part on purpose (see above, top section of the ornament, stars on the sleigh, and the snowman's hat, etc.) instead of just painting everywhere. At one point she even said "Hands! Hands! Hat!" as she painted the snowman's 2 hands and hat. Proud mom moment!

Here is the final product. As you can see, you get what you pay for. This project is great for entertainment value, but don't expect to get a good result. We had so much fun with this, I didn't really care that the colors were so weak and cracked. Disclaimer: I did the Christmas tree (below) and it didn't turn out much better than Roo's! :)