I can feel it in cool air outside, in my spirit, that energy that the most wonderful time of the year brings, and if you’re anything like me, that brings with it an urge to nest and cozy up the home in the most wonderful of ways.
I always go to nature and simplicity for my inspiration. What is available to us during a walk with my kids. What is available in our craft materials shelf. What inspiration are we getting from the nature around us. What is something we can create that is beautiful, and that we can later compost and return to the earth with little impact to her.
And so, it leads me to this blog. A few nature inspired and easy Christmas DIYs we have completed over the years.
It’s less than a week ’till Christmas, and the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing. Whether you have had your shopping done since mid year, or still have a few more things to get, you may still need a few ideas on what you could give a loved one.
If you’re still looking for that idea, I share this DIY that makes for a super cute, special, handmade, and thoughtful gift!
How I did this?
Using some of the sticks the kids collect from outside, I cut a few pieces into different sizes to form the shape of a Christmas tree and secured them onto a stir stick using a hot glue gun. Once it was dry, I painted it with a light coat of white pain, and glued a few small jingle bells we bought at our local dollar store. Add a ribbon to the top, and you have the cutest mini Christmas tree that you can gift to someone special this season.
I hope this gives you any last minute inspiration you were looking for, but if you need more, two other ideas below!
One of my favorite scenes from the movie “Elf” with Will Ferrell, is the scene where he completely “Christmafies” the store before Santa comes. It’s such a magical scene, and I’ve always wanted to recreate something similar. I love the winter wonderland feel of the decor, but most of all, I love that to recreate the look, all you need is paper and scissors! The simplicity factor totally speaks to me, and I decided to give it a go.
My interpretation was to create a winter wonderland chandelier, and I am so happy with how it turned out. It didn’t take very long to make, the materials are something we all have in our home, and the end result is so beautiful and delicate. I hung the stars on the light above my dining room table, but you could tape them right onto a window glass, windowsills, mantels, ceiling; the options are limitless, and since they are so light, you don’t need much other than tape to secure them to a surface.
There are two types of paper snow flakes you can make, 2 or 3 dimensional, and they are both so easy to make. Pictures and steps of both below. You’ll need paper, scissors, and glue.
Fold a square sheet by joining diagonal corners together, and do this step twice. Then, imagine folding that triangle shape into 3 equal parts, and cut off the excess. Start to cut shapes out of the sides of the folded triangle shape. There are certain cutting patterns you can find online to achieve certain snowflake shapes, but honestly, even if you cut the most random patterns, you’ll get a beautiful result. Once cut, unfold slowly, and iron flat between two sheets of paper (if needed). Voila!
3D Paper Snowflake
Fold a square sheet of paper by joining diagonal corners. Do 3 cuts parallel to each side, but leave a space towards the top. Open folded sheet, fold over cut corners and glue together. Fold them facing opposite directions every time, and you’ll end up with an icecyle shape. Glue 5 of those together, and you’ll have a beautiful 3D paper snowflake.
I absolutely love how this turned out, and hope you found some inspiration here.
The best kind of memories, I think, are the ones you remember when you hear a song, when you smell a certain smell, or from the sensation on your fingers as you run them through an embroidery a loved one made for you. Tangible memories.
During the holiday season, a time when tangible is a very common theme, especially with gift giving, the idea of creating tangible memories stuck with me. Finding a way to make tangible something that my children associate to an experience or memory, rather than a gift.
With this craft, I hope I am creating moments with my children that they will remember whenever they touch or see a pine branch.
Materials
Pine Branches that we foraged during our walks
Flour and Glitter
Glue
Ribbon
The older Penelope gets, the more impressed I am by how well she is able to do crafts. On her own, she poured some flour and glitter onto a baking pan and mixed it. She was taking her craft very seriously, it was so endearing to watch. In the meantime, I cut a few pine branches and coated them with a thin layer of glue. She then pressed them against the flour mix and the result was quite beautiful. The flour mix creates a beautiful simulation of snow that looked quite magical. Once the glue dried, I grouped the branches into similar size lengths and by overlapping them, created the shape of a wreath. I secured the branches to one another using a hot glue gun, and mixed the greens with, and without the flour mix coat, together.
Once completed, I ran some ribbon through them, and they were ready to hang as decor for the holidays.
A fun and easy activity to do with the kids, and they turned out so beautiful!
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