I am not your typical crafty mom, but once in a while I get a really good idea. My kids have been really into painting recently. We’ve been doing it several times a week, and that’s a lot if you consider the set up and cleanup work involved.
I’d already had the idea that I wanted to give some of their artwork to their grandparents for Christmas, but most of their painted pages looked a little… well, boring. What if I could transform them into a gift that still featured their art but would also be useful?
Voila, Christmas ornaments.
Materials Needed:
- Old artwork (preferably on thick paper – alternatively you could put a backing on it)
- Permanent marker for tracing
- Card-stock for creating stencils (or use store bought ones)
- Scissors
- Ribbon scraps
- Optional – glitter glue or squeeze paint for additional design
I created Christmas themed stencils using a black permanent marker.
Then I traced them onto the face of the artwork. I decided to do it this way because I wanted to see the black outline, but you could always use the back if you don’t want to see it. Note: Don’t aim for only colored areas, the white space provides a nice contrast. Also, look to capture defined features like hands and fingerprints – see if you can find my son’s in the final images below!
I added details on the front for the snowman and the wreath. Then, we added accent color to each set with glitter glue and some squeeze paint. My husband, who is especially not crafty, even got involved at this point.
I used the tip of the scissors to poke a hole in the top of each ornament and strung about 10 inches of leftover ribbon through it. Note: when you tie the ribbon, be sure to knot it in such a way that the opening of the ribbon is facing the same way as the ornament face. Otherwise it’ll hang crooked on the tree.
That’s it. This would be a fun project for toddlers at home or even for the classroom.
Additional thoughts:
These needed much more adult involvement that I thought due to the cutting and stringing. I might suggest creating a stencil that does not require a cut out in the middle to keep it more simple. Older kids than mine (2 and 4) would potentially be able to help with cutting and stringing if the designs were simple enough.
What do you do with your kids’ extra artwork? Would you be interested in a printable of my stencil outline?
Pin this idea for next year!
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