Hot damn do I love getting my craft on! I have been hanging out for kiddo craft time since ever, and while my two are still a bit little for organised stuff, we attempt it anyway. Every day I can see their co-ordination get better, and their capacity for concentration grow. However, it’s still a bit of a shambles.
I’m always on the lookout for kid activities for toddlers, or that can be adapted for them. I do give preference to stuff that is actually going to be pretty and useful, but they get plenty of scrap-paper-popsicle-stick fun too. The great thing about these terracotta tree decorations is also that it turns into two activities from the one idea – rolling and cutting the shapes, and painting and decorating them after they’ve dried overnight. Bam!
We used air-dry terracotta clay, regular Christmas cookie cutters, and kid’s acrylic paint. Plus a little glitter for sparkle, and Mod-Podged by mum later on to seal all that glitter goodness in so it doesn’t go all over the floor for the next 20 Christmases.
The teracotta clay is pretty stiff, so the younger ones will really just fiddle around with it rather than actually cut anything. I did the rolling and cutting, and they sat alongside with their own little bits that they poked and prodded. It dries REALLY quickly, but you can get it all moving again with a bit of water on your hands that you work into the clay.
I rolled them out fairly thick so they’d be quite sturdy, and then ran my finger over the edges to tidy them up. I also used a wooden skewer to poke a hole in the top for the twine to go. Then we left them in the lovely hot sun to dry.
The next day, we got our paint on.
Pepper was devastated that she couldn’t just tip the paint everywhere. I ended up giving her a palette of her own so she didn’t have to share with Abby.
Ahh, that’s better. Thanks mum.
I initially only gave them red paint, then only green in the hopes that the colours would stay separate and not end up in a brown blob.
Some of them ended up in a brown blob anyway. They got more glitter, haha.
We left these out overnight to dry, and then I painted with Mod Podge and dried again. A small piece of twine threaded through the hole, and you’ve got yourself some lovely decorations to pop up on the tree, or to tie onto presents. An excellent gift idea!
Goodness they’re sweet! Love the craft idea, might give it a whirl with Eve and hope she doesn’t eat it!
Oh they’ll eat it. I don’t think there’s anything I can keep out of Pepper’s mouth!
I did this with Salt Dough! We do a tradition of everyone makes a yearly ornament, my daughters favourite toy (A dinosaur named Saurus) had to have his own too. I made my daughters toy a Christmas decoration.
I know.
Haha I would totally do that! I already sit her Oscar Wilde doll up at the table during dinner like he’s real.
Yeah, Saurus sits in a dolls highchair at the table with us. I worry about how much of my day is about keeping the kid and her toy dinosaur happy. Mainly because only one of them breathes.
Whatever gets us peace and quiet. WHATEVER IT TAKES.
Up until now I’ve been one of those mamas who likes it when crafting stays as a playgroup activity (particularly when paint is involved), but maybe if we set it up outside this summer I could handle the paint/glitter fury at home. Abi and Pepper look so grown up in these photos! Hope you guys have a very Merry Christmas.
They are proper little kids! And I hear ya with the craft – I usually steer away from paint and chalk. I HATE CHALK.
Gorgeous. Great Idea think I have a block of this stuff from way back when I had time to craft. I must dig it out Pepper made me laugh her devastated face and then her lovely paint lipstick he he. Lovely picture. Thanks for sharing 🙂 Happy Christmas
She’s easily distracted, thank goodness 🙂
Lovely! We did something similar last year… x
I hope it was with less tears!
Ah! Pepper! She is too cute!
Those came out so well.
We went on a walk this morning and collected “treasure” to make a wreath out of…so all those bits of bark and pine cones will either a) be left on the verandah until the new year or b) actually be made into something that resembles a Christmas wreath.
haha was it B? mine wouldn’t have been B.
My gawd your girls are cuter than ever!!! But where has Abby’s chubbiness gone? Sadness, she is such a little lady now!
She is a legit grown up. So crazy. Tallest out of everyone 🙂
too cute!
hehe thanks x
Craft in a tutu!!! Love it!
’tis how we roll!
That red and green looks decidedly separate to me. Maybe our ideas of brown smush are a little different? Well done you and the girls, it looks like it was a lot of fun.
You can’t see the brown smush ones because I glittered the shit out of them!
What a wonderful idea i made similar tags for presents but used salt dough and did not have any cute bubbas to help me!
Salt dough is so handy!