3 winter crafts

Now is that time when the excitement of Christmas has passed... but here are our children, out of school, away from friends and (depending on which part of the world in which we reside) perhaps stuck indoors with little to do.  What a perfect time for some indoor winter crafting!

Naiya and I like to use this part of the season to return our home to some version of normal (although we do have two new kittens rampaging about) and also to sit in cozy comfort working on some old craft favorites and a few new projects as well.

One of our standard winter undertakings is glamming up all the natural treasures Nature is offering for us when we take our afternoon walks.











With a little glue, paint and glitter, we make baubles to hang from our seasonal tree, decor for our Nature Table or even a festive centerpiece that, although made by a child, looks like it might have come right out of a Pottery Barn catalogue.

New to us this year is pouring beeswax to make these cute ornaments.  We simply melted the wax in the mini crock pot we keep just for this purpose and Naiya poured it from a ladle into the mold herself.
(Alternately, one can melt wax in a double boiler.  Safety note: Beeswax has a melting point of about 145° F.  It can ignite if heated past this point, so don't put it in the microwave as temperatures there can be unpredictable.  Remove it from the heat source once it has dissolved.)

 

 The mold we used was a non-stick molded cookie sheet we purchased on sale at our local craft store.  We poured in the wax, let it cool for about 20 minutes and the snow flakes just popped right out.  We bored a hole into a few of these using a small length of wire coat hanger that we heated on the stove.  (We wrapped the "handle" end of the wire in duct tape to keep the conducted heat from burning our hands - safety first!)  The heat and a little pressure were enough to melt a small hole for stringing up these cute decorations.

Another of our winter favorites is making pomander oranges.  Actually, since the skin of oranges are a bit tough, for little hands we use satsumas or mandarins.  Children just press cloves through the rind in any pattern they wish.  I've seen very skilled and creative adults form very intricate and complicated designs on these.  Either way, the smell is divine and they're so bright and beautiful.
These can also be tied with ribbon and hung as a decoration or placed into a bowl for a festive display. 



What kinds of crafts are happening in your home during this post holiday lull?