Welcome to week one of the Pinterest Christmas series for 2015! I am SO excited to share my projects with you this month!
First up is a {pretty} simple project I did with Eloise. I like to include her in cards I send out, like her feet in the shape of a heart for Valentine’s Day last year, or her footprint on her birthday thank you notes. This was the first time we used paint on her fingers, & I am glad the paint was non-toxic…
{original Pinterest link – Toddler-Made Christmas Cards}
Supplies:
- {white} cardstock – for the cards; I cut each one into quarters
- Paint – I used acrylic craft paint in 5 colors
- Sponges (optional) – I picked up some cheap ones at the grocery store
- Green paper – for trees; I used one dark green & one light green sheet
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Marker – I used a fine point Sharpie which is my go-to!
- Wet wipes – to clean up messy hands!
This project is pretty straightforward, albeit messy, & I would suggest doing it with your toddler right after mealtime, or when he or she is the happiest!
First, I cut out all of the trees. I started by cutting my green paper into three strips (they were 12 x 12 sheets) & then eye-balled a good triangle shape. Then I cut out all of the trees. {In hindsight, I should have waited to cut the triangles out & let Eloise paint these longer strips. There may not have been as many “ornaments” on each tree, but she is little enough I think this would have been a better route.}
Then I cut my white cardstock into quarters. I was originally going to do a 4×6 or a 5×7 card, but it seemed so wasteful!
Next, I opted for painting. I squeezed a small blob of paint onto the sponge – three on one & two on the other. I let Eloise dip her pointer fingers into the paint (with some help) & then helped her press her fingers onto the trees. I tried to get about three or four prints on each tree. She was super interested in the sponge (so I gave her a clean one to play with in an attempt to keep paint from getting everywhere!) & also wanted to eat the paint. Big surprise. It was difficult for me to see her eat that paint (well, lick her fingers) because it definitely wasn’t organic, edible paint, but oh well!
Because there was paint, well, everywhere, I placed each completed tree on newspaper to dry. Once dried, I glued three trees on each card, alternating the light & dark green trees. Finally I added “Love, Eloise 2015” on the bottom of each card.
I saved one of the cards for our fridge (& it will ultimately go into Eloise’s baby box for safe keeping!) but the entire point of these cards was to include them with our holiday cards. We don’t have a lot of family that lives close by, so I think it is fun to send a little something special in the mail when we can!
Thinking about making this project? Feel free to leave questions in the comments or link your own in the Linky Party below! Also be sure to check out Kendra’s Pinterest Christmas projects over at The Gilbertson Family.
What are you DIY-ing for the holidays? Do you include your kiddos?
M
Here are the instructions if you are a new to linky-party:
•click on the blue button at the bottom of this post – the one with the frog
•add a link to your Pinterest Christmas blog post in the URL field (please do not link to your home page but the specific post page)
•for “name” write a short descriptive name for your post
•if you would like to put the Pinterest Christmas button on the bottom of your post, we would love to see it there!
