Winter creations

With the bustle of holiday celebrations behind us, our family loves nothing more than to slow down and master the art of cozy at this time of year.  We find ourselves naturally wanting to stay indoors more and this in turn often leads to digging out the old craft box and creating.  A much needed refresh of ideas led to some wonderful finds from Pinterest browsing.  I have tried to include ideas that even the littlest of ones can help with and the biggest of kids will find fun, as well as using materials that you will perhaps already have at home.

Icy sun catchers can be made with any found materials from either nature or the kitchen drawer.

Art work inspired by the winter outside.  This piece was made using pre-painted larger sheets cut into bird shapes (nod to Eric Carle here).  Really easy for toddlers to get involved with using their fingers.

Stick stars made from free, found bits. You could try binding yours with twine or rubber bands and decorating with yarn, ribbon or paint. Even the dog can help you collect the materials!

Adorable Pine Cone Snowman/Owl

This easy peasy Mitten Craft can be adapted for all seasons/holidays.  It is a really great craft for very small children (anyone old enough not to eat the tissue paper, ah hem, our 5 month old loved this tasty creation!)

Bird Feeder. This oldie but goodie is a wonderful way to look after our chilly feathered friends, make a mess and enjoy a craft all in one.  Variations on this theme are to smother peanut butter onto a pine cone and then rolling in bird seed or making another shape variation.

Watercolor snowflakes.  Simply draw invisible snowflakes with white crayon onto white paper, paint over and watch the magical snowflakes appear.

Scrappy Snow People made from old wrapping paper, holiday cards or magazines.

Borax snowflakes – the most amazing creation using 2 ingredients – pipe cleaners and borax!

Snowman Potato Printing.  Perhaps you could experiment printing with different fruit and vegetables – onions, oranges and apples work well.

Photo credits: Winter Trees (Juxtapost), Sun catcher (Garden mama), Tree (I heart crafty things), Stick stars (Babble), Snowmen (Babble), Mittens (Bing), Feeder (A Day in Bcas First Grade), Watercolor Flakes (Babble), Snow people (Little Wonders Days), Borax Flakes (A Girl and A Boy), Snowman (Growing a Jeweled Rose).