Sunday, December 12, 2010

snowflake Christmas tree ornaments



I decorate my tree in all white and silver decorations. It's just something I do. Probably because I grew up with a tree decorated only in white ornaments. It really is beautiful. I love making ornaments for the tree every year with my kids, but because of my limited colour selection it's proving to be a little difficult. Last year we made the ever so popular snowman handprint ornaments on silver balls which I'll share in a few days. This year I tried really hard to think of something to make with the kids that would stay in my colour theme. As I was walking through JoAnne's I found some white model magic and knew exactly what I was going to do. This is really so easy and they turned out beautiful. If your kids love playing with playdoh, they're going to love model magic. I had never used it before and I'm kind of regretting it. This stuff is so awesome. I love it so much more than playdoh and it dries beautifully. It's hard, but not fragile so I know it won't break. These ornaments should last for years. These would make great gifts for family members too! Here's how we made them:

What you'll need:

white crayola model magic
snowflake cookie cutter - I used a wilton comfort grip
rolling pin
straw (I forgot to photograph this!)
ribbon



Directions:

1. roll out your model magic so it's about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick.
2. using your cookie cutter, cut out a snowflake
3. using the straw, poke a hole at the top
4. repeat process for however many you want to make
5. allow to dry for about 24-48 hours, turning over halfway through.
6. hang with a ribbon.













Linking up to Tot Tuesdays
Linking up to ABC and 123
Linking up to Kids Get Crafty
Linking up to ABC and 123 Special Holiday Edition

51 comments:

  1. LOVE this idea. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have found your blog! My little ones are going to love the never-ending pipeline of fun crafts :)
    I fully intended on doing the reindeer thumbprints after I read your post yesterday, but first we went to LL Bean to buy a coat - long story short, they had a craft table set up in the children's area and they were making reindeer fingprint cards!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jill, I need to borrow that cookie cutter. The daycare made ornaments last week that I wanted to do with the girls next weekend, and that's the perfect cookie cutter. They mixed one cup of apple sauce and one cup of cinnamon to make a dough. Rolled it out and cut out shapes. Let it dry for a day or two. They smelled delicious!!! And I bet they would continue to smell delicious on the tree - especially if they were near the lights. They look kind of plain as is, but I thought I would bling them up a bit with some jewels or something.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is a wonderful idea. I will have to try this with Moo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Perfect! Your ornaments turned out lovely, and your kids look like they really had a blast making them! Good job, mom.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The ornaments look great. I'm going to look for that stuff next time we make a trip to Michaels. I'm thinking of all of the possibilities now!

    ReplyDelete
  6. These turned out so beautiful. I just love how the concentration shows in their faces. Too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great idea! We actually just used that Model Magic stuff to make handprint ornaments. I can't believe how nice it dried, and hopefully it lasts. Looks like the kids really enjoyed themselves!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Those are so pretty.. what a great idea too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my, these turned out beautifully and so "professional"!! Thank you so much for linking up :-)

    Maggy

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love this craft - simple yet so attractive! I featured it at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just wanted to mention that I found this cookie cutter at Safeway Grocery store:) Thanks for this idea Jill!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is such a great project! I'm making these for sure! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Does this product really stay as smooth as it appears in the pictures? Thanks so much; great project.

    ReplyDelete
  14. How beautiful! Those could be made of high-end porcelin they look so lovely. Gotta try that stuff. Thanks for the tute!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. awesome idea! :) And they look like they came straight from a high-end store!

    thanks for sharing- (over from sew mama)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks again ladies.

    Debbie - it really is that smooth. Just make sure when you're rolling it out that they're aren't any lumps in it. It really is amazing stuff if you haven't used it yet.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a simple and elegant idea. Thank you for sharing, this is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for a wonderful idea and the invitation to discover your crafts. you take such beautiful pictures

    ReplyDelete
  19. Just curious, but could kids also color on these ornaments as well? Maybe with paints or glitter??

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Amy!

    Yes, kids can colour on these. You can do just about anything on them. I hope that helps.

    ReplyDelete
  21. FYI: I found this cookie cutter at WalMart, in their holiday section. Love Love Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What do you suggest to paint or decorate them with? i'm going to use this as a party activity at my daughter's ONE-derland party this year!

    ReplyDelete
  23. about how many ornaments can you make with one bag? I was thinking of doing these as favors for a wedding luncheon but id need to do like 40

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thanks ladies!

    Genevieve - you could really decorate these with anything - markers, gliter glue, glitter, sequins, etc.

    Carrick - you can probably make about 4 with one bag so you would need to buy quite a bit. It might be cheaper for you to buy it in the large buckets rather than the smaller individual packets.

    ReplyDelete
  25. These are so cute! Love them! If I wanted to add glitter would you suggest doing that before they dried or after? Maybe just brush on some glue when they are dry and dip them in glitter?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks Christine! You're idea would probably work best of waiting until they are dry, brushing on some glue and sprinkling on some glitter. I hope that helps!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Found this on pinterest. Can't wait to try it! I'm new follower, I'm always on the lookout for fun activities!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thanks for a great Christmas decoration post
    Best Christmas Decorations

    ReplyDelete
  29. How many ornaments could the tub make? Looking for a school project - about 80 kids.

    ReplyDelete
  30. tamucka - unfortunately, you don't get a lot of model magic in a tub and it's pretty expensive. I think it would cost you a fortune to make 80 of these. I would say a tub (4 packages) wouldn't make more than 20, if that. Maybe you could use homemade salt dough instead?

    ReplyDelete
  31. I bought a bucket (4-8 oz packets at JoAnn's with a 50% coupon which made it around $11 for the clay. They also carry the cookie cutter which is 30% off this week (orig. $3.49). What I want to know before making mine, can I use a spray gloss coat over the finished (dried) cutout to make it shiny or is it too porous?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Found you via Pinterest. Such a great idea! I just ran to Hobby Lobby and picked up a bucket (4- 8oz packets... which is like 8 of the individual packets). My kids made some tonight. We used 1 packet, several different cookie cutters in medium sizes, and we were able to make 20 of them!

    We're so happy with how they look and I'm excited to tie on the ribbon and hang them on our tree when they are all set up! Thanks for such a fun idea. I love the smoothe texture of the model magic vs salt clay or other clays. Thanks again!!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thanks ladies!

    Wow Lori! I can't believe you were able to make 20 ornaments from 1 package!! The snowflake cutter I used must have been pretty large. That's awesome. I too love the smooth texture.

    Joy - I imagine you could spray a gloss coat over once it's dried. It really isn't porous at all. Let me know if it works! Maybe just try one to start so if it doesn't work they aren't all ruined.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thanks for the great idea! I'm going to package up some of these as gifts for my daughter's preschool class. Nice to have an alternative to all of the baggies filled with sugar and cheap plastic toys!

    ReplyDelete
  35. What a great idea Jennifer!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Just made 24 of these (using the large Wilton snowflake cutter purchased at Walmart) for friend/family/neighbor gifts with ~16 oz. of Model Magic (bought the 2# tub at AC Moore for 1/2 off--$10 for 32 oz.--so they're ~20 cents each!). I used an acrylic polymer clay roller and rolled them out on foil, and it worked well. It was easy to transfer the foil sheets from my kitchen island to my dining room table to dry. Thanks for the fun and inexpensive idea, Jennifer!

    ReplyDelete
  37. That's awesome Beth! I must have wasted quite a bit of the stuff because we didn't make nearly that many, lol. I'm glad you liked it.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Wait - I just realized my package was 4oz and you used a 16oz, so that makes a little more sense! Ha!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Oops, I meant to say thanks to JILL! So thank you, Jill! Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  40. PS The only trouble I had was with getting the snowflakes out of the cookie cutter. I ended up pushing them out with my pinkie, and some of the snowflakes ended up with pinkie indentations on them. Any tips?

    ReplyDelete
  41. Oops, I meant to say thanks to JILL! So thank you, Jill! Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Ha! So funny you called me Jennifer. I never even noticed. My sister's name is Jennifer, so I guess I'm used to it. As for getting the snowflakes out of the cutter - I always wiggle the cutter against the table before lifting it. This releases the cutter from the model magic and makes lifting the cutter up way easier. I hope that helps and Happy Holidays to you too!!

    ReplyDelete
  43. cute idea - great for cold days and awesome to decorate a tree!! I have also used model magic to make hearts for Vday!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Thanks Meredith! Love the hearts idea for Vday.

    ReplyDelete
  45. These are so beautiful! We just made some and were able to get 20 of the same Wilton snowflakes from one package of 8 oz. with about 1/4 of the package left over. So I would have no problem getting 24 from an entire package which means about 80 to 90 from the tub. Seemed like the more I worked the dough, the better, easier, and smoother it rolled out. Thanks for such a great project!

    ReplyDelete
  46. That's awesome Erica! The kids and I must have wasted quite a bit of it, lol. Or maybe we rolled it too thick? Who knows. I'm just thrilled that everyone is having success with it!

    ReplyDelete