Handmade Tree Topper for Christmas Tree

I made this Christmas tree topper with my 4 year old son last year. It was the first year we were decorating our Christmas tree with handmade ornaments made by  him ( of course with a little help from me). We used red card stock but you can use any color you like. We used 4 inch squares for the cones and 3 inch circle for base. 

You can choose the size of the square card stock for the cone based on the size of tree topper you want to make.

Supplies : 

- 4 inch square card-stock ( 20 nos.)

- 3 inch circle for base ( 2 nos.)

- Glue 

 Follow the following steps for making the  tree topper :

Here is our Christmas Tree topper on our tree.  We added a punched snowflake in the center. You can also use buttons or rhinestones. You can also add a loop in the back and use it as a decoration  in kids room.

My son was very happy after making this and kept telling everyone he made this amazing  tree topper. He still remembers the tree topper and told me yesterday we need to get our Christmas tree out and decorate it with all the ornaments and topper we made last year.  

Time to make some more holiday crafts  and wonderful memories to be cherished for years to come. Happy Holiday Crafting to all of you !

Chenille Stem Star Ornament

Like last year, this year also our Christmas tree was up on Dec 1st. The decoration is in progress. With a new baby at home I hardly get time to make ornaments. But my 4 yr preschooler is ensuring we are doing some or the other Christmas related craft almost every 2 days. I am not getting enough time to post all of them but I will definitely try to share these ideas as and when time permits. In my daughter's preschool class they asked every child - Who do you want to gift on Christmas and what?My daughter,who is usually Daddy's girl and a big sister to her little brother, replied 2 star ornaments for my Mom. Lucky me!! And who else will she ask how to make them? So here I am helping my kiddo to make 2 star ornaments to be gifted to me.

Jokes apart I really admire her eagerness to learn and create when it comes to crafts. She is a different kid when she is doing crafts.

Supplies you will need:
-Chenille stem or pipe cleaner- red (or color of your choice)
-Pencil -Golden wire or bow ribbon
-Star shape cookie cutter
-Fish line or mono filament
-Safety scissors
Instructions :
Step 1 Make a loop with pipe cleaner using pencil as shown.  
Step 2 Continue wrapping the pipe cleaner around the cookie cutter to get the star shape. Secure the end and cut-off any extra pipe cleaner.
Step 3 Wrap the golden ribbon or wire around the star shape so it looks filled and beautiful.  
Step 4 Hang the ornament with mono filament or fish line. You can use ribbon also if you prefer that.  
Note :  My daughter made this ornament herself with very little help. Some kids might need some more hand holding depending on how much practice they have for crafting. Some kids might find the ends of pipe cleaner a little sharp, parents please supervise little kids for this craft.

Christmas Decoration 3D snowflake or Star

With the holiday spirit all around us this weekend our Christmas tree is also up with some ornaments from past year.
Though it is not a festival that we celebrate religiously, we love the festivity of this festival. So every year it is becoming a tradition at our house that we put a Christmas tree and decorate it with beautiful handmade ornaments. We also love to make other beautiful Christmas decorations and put them all around the house. Now my soon to be 4 year old daughter is adding to the enthusiasm of making the ornaments. She demands we make one ornament everyday till December 24th. Let us see if we can fulfill her wish. With the holiday orders keeping us busy at our little shop Navanka Creations, will try my best to keep her spirits up. Even if I am not able to post it at the blog everyday, we will keep making it and will definitely share them with you as and when we will get chance. There are some popular Christmas decorations and crafts that are loved by all. We will share with all our readers what we love in particular. Sometimes it is not known who has made it originally but if  we find something interesting and worth learning we will share it with you with all the relevant details. You are also welcome to share any particular craft you like. You can leave the link in the comments or send us an email at craftideasforall@gmail.com

This particular project is a six point star or snowflake as some prefer to call it.
We have used dual color origami paper to get a better effect. You can also use single color or metallic origami paper for the project.



Supplies needed:
- 6 square sheets of origami paper( we used 5 inch square)
- Scissors
- Double sided tape
- Stapler
- Fish line

I found this video by kongo204 which shows how to make this star beautifully. I love the holiday music in the video too . Click here to watch the video.

Hope you have fun making this for yourself or another crafty friend.
Happy Holidays everyone.

Tip:
1. You can make it in a smaller size or bigger size depending on the size of the paper you have or your needs. Smaller stars make cute ornaments.

2. You can follow the steps with just one piece of paper and make that in a smaller size to make an ornament. They look cute too.

3. Make it all white or silver for it to be a Snowflake.

Easy and unique Christmas ornaments you can make

Purple Sparklie Bird Ornament: This is what my daughter calls this creation of ours. Made of glitter foam sheet and a free hand drawing. This christmas ornament is one of the fastest and cutest creations. Don't you agree. This is my daughter's favorite creation so far. She calls it Sparklie Birdie.

Last few days have been really busy. We were so busy with holiday shopping and crafting that could not publish on blog. However, I have been updating as and when I could.My soon to be 3 yr old daughter is very excited about Christmas this year. Since the day we got the Christmas tree in our house, she is talking about Christmas and all the things related to Christmas. The best part till now is making new ornaments with her. Eventhough our Christmas tree is not very big it still has ample space for many more ornaments. We had a few from previous year's Christmas and we converted some of the previous craft creations into ornaments and now we are making one ornament big or small, easy or complicated every day. It is like our own countdown to the D Day.

We are so excited to share some of our creations till now. We will be updating this post with more pictures,tutorials and tips as and when we keep making it.Making ornaments is fun. Do try it and share your experiences. Feel free to ask if you want to know more about making any of these.



The Classic Ball Ornament: The first ornament made by my daughter with her Dad. One fine saturday afternoon when I was busy shopping for craft supplies at Michaels, my toddler and her dad were busy learning how to decorate a transparent round Christmas ornament. Using some glue dots, glitter, some paint pens my daughter made this beautiful ornament with a little help from her Dad.


Glittery Yarn SnowBall: One of the most fun ornaments for kids to make. We used Yarn on a balloon, stiffened it with glue and let it dry. Blew off the balloon and viola we got this cute Snow Ball. We added the shine of the snow using a silver glue pen.



Photo Ornament: This one is the last year's Ornament. Some of you might have already seen the detailed tutorial for this, for other here is the link.



Paper Porcupine Ornament: This one is our take on the fabulous Polish Porcupine Ornament which we came across recently. We made a smaller version, circles we used were 2 5/8" diameter. We used fine silver glitter to add the sparkle. Detailed tutorial at Jessica Jane's blog How about Orange. Thanks to Ann Martin of All things Paper for inspiring us with creations from amazing artists from all over the world.



Butterfly Ball Ornament: This again is one of the most colorful ornament. Glue gun and Martha stewart Butterfly punch is the key element here. Glue gun makes it so quick and strong. We are really proud of our first glue gun application.



Painted Pine Cone Ornament: My daughter's one of the favorite things to do is to collect pine cones. We have atleast dozens of them. She decided that she has to hang one of these on the Christmas tree as it is a tree thing. So here it is, her pine cone painted yellow in her choice of color and hanging happily on the tree. Interestingly, when you paint the pine cone it shrinks and it again comes back to its shape once dry.



Origami Crane Ornament: Long back we shared a tutorial of Origami Crane. We converted those cute paper cranes into adorable paper crane ornaments. For tutorial click here.

4 Days to go...


Lucky Origami Star Ornament: Loved this one for the simplicity of making and the fact that this is lucky. Here is a video of how to make it. We made it with Japanese Washi Paper, which as a matter of fact I bought myself during my Japan Trip from the famous shop Tokyu Hands. This is one of those where multiples look even better. I plan to make more if time permits.

Other than these we have some wrapped candy canes, a lantern made at Children's museum last weekend, Woody of Toy story fame converted into ornament ourselves and some glittery red and golden ball ornaments.

Photo Frame Decorated With Felt Flowers

When we were kids we were always encouraged to make handmade gifts for our near and dear ones. With the festival season around, I thought of this quick and easy photo frame craft project. Kids can make this project themselves or with some supervision and it can be a great gift for family or friends.

Following supplies are needed for the project :
- Unfinished wooden photo-frame (easily available in craft stores)
- Felt ( red , orange and green)
- Acrylic paint (yellow)
- Varnish
- Paintbrush
- Embroidery thread(yellow, green) and needle
- Glue and Scissors


I painted the unfinished wooden photo frame with yellow acrylic paint. After the paint dried, I applied a coat of varnish to give it a finished look.

You can use the color of your choice or if you want you may even use a plain finished photoframe and embellish it using the felt flowers.


For the flowers I used red and orange felt and arranged them as shown in the picture. I also cut leaves using green felt.The felt I have used in this project has adhesive backing but that's not essential. You can simply use glue for sticking the flowers and leaves.

I also added back stitch detail to the flowers and leaves using embroidery thread. Here is a picture of the finished photo frame after sticking the felt flowers and leaves.

Add a picture and you special gift is ready. (The picture I have used is a cut-out from Parenting magazine.)

This is a very simple project but making it yourself and adding a photograph capturing your special moment with the person who will be getting this gift makes it personal and all the more special.

Snowman Christmas Wreath

Last night when I was back from shopping and was unlocking my front door it looked plain. That inspired this Snowman Christmas wreath. Luckily I had the plain Christmas wreath from my last visit to Michaels. This Snowman wreath is result of the supplies I already at home. Thanks to my various projects earlier.

Supplies you need
-Christmas Wreath (not decorated)
-Wired Ribbon or Bow
-Wire
-Snowman toy
-Christmas Ornaments Gold color
-Berry bunches
-Garland -Silver

The bow is made by making loops of the wired ribbon holding it between your thumb and index finger and then winding a wire at center. Cut the ends as shown in the pictures. The ornaments and the berries are joined together using wire and then tied on the wreath. Snowman is also fixed using wire. Pierce two holes about 1 inch apart at the base and pass wire through it. Use the wire ends to tie them to the wreath. The beautiful Snowman Christmas is ready to be hung.

Tip: You can decorate your wreath with pine cones, different colors of ornaments anything that you feel adds to festivity. Gold, Silver and Red colored ornaments are the most popular ones.

Simple Christmas Wreath

This simple christmas wreath is easy to make too. You can use this for your christmas decoration in multiple ways. As a Christmas wreath on your front door or to make your existing decoration extra special. I have used this as a decorative base to my wedding ring holder. You can use this as decorating any ceramic piece of art, eg a ceramic fairy.

Supplies you need:

Chrismas wreath (readymade basic)
Double crepe paper - Red
Pollens
Floral Wire- 12 pieces of 2 inches
Scissors
Glue

Plain green christmas wreath is available in craft stores in various sizes.
For making this Bouganvillea wreath you will need 12 bouganvillea flowers. You can increase the number of flowers if your wreath is bigger.

For making one Bouganvillea crepe flower you need to cut 3 petals from red double crepe paper.
Use the template in 100% size. As explained in detail in some previous posts attach pollen to the floral wire. Now using your thumb curve the cut petals outside. As shown in picture attach 3 petals around the pollen using glue to make one Bouganvillea flower. Repeat to make the rest of the flowers. At equal distances fix the flower on the wreath by winding the floral wire around it. The simple yet beautiful Christmas Wreath is ready.
Have fun and Merry Christmas.

Kitty Cat Refrigerator Magnet

Today was like one of those days when I end up making a quick and cute craft with my daughter with no previous plan. In fact I must say she was the one who inspired me for this craft. She has a Hello Kitty purse and said draw Kitty cat. She was not impressed by my drawing of it on Doodle Pro. She then said make Kitty cat.
Just like a flash I got an idea of creating a Refrigerator Magnet of Kitty cat inspired from the cute face of famous Hello Kitty series. This is how I made this craft with my 23 month old daughter.

Supplies you will need:
-Air dry clay white
-Acrylic Paint: Red, White, Yellow and Black
-Painting bush
-Craft Glue
-Magnetic strip
-Craft knife or Scissors
I used one pack of Crayola Model Magic Single packs. Just follow the illustrations to make this project. It is that simple. Detailed step wise instructions to make Kitty cat craft :Just in case you need them.
Use the existing width of the clay pack (roughly 1 ½”) cut a length of about 1”. Use the existing thickness of the clay (roughly 1/3”). If there are cracks use little water to moisten it and then you might want to roll it to a rectangle of 1 ½” by 1” and thickness of 1/3”.
To make two ears take around 1/4 inch diameter ball of Crayola Model Magic clay and then shape it like a pointed triangle. Use the rest of the clay to make the bow. Add two drops of acrylic clay to make it pink. Mix it well. Bow is made by sticking 3 pieces together. To a small ball of clay attach two ends of flattened clay as shown in the picture. The completed bow measures around 1”. Glue the ears and bow to the face. When dried (about 1 hour or so), paint the bow in any color you like. Paint the eyes, nose and the whiskers. You can make this completed Kitty cat face as a Christmas tree ornament using a hook or a refrigerator magnet by sticking the magnetic strip piece on the back. Voila! the cute Kitty Cat craft is ready for your toddler to enjoy.


Tips- With a little adult supervision Toddlers can enjoy this craft. It is okay if they smudge the paint a little. Idea is they have fun.
- If you do not have magnetic strip you can use the back of any other magnetic sample credit card or business card you get in ad mail. I used the back of a Subway Sandwich address card. Just peel the ad part with craft knife and what you get is self sticking magnetic strip.

Festive Theme Handmade Clay Flower Arrangement

I love making clay flowers. This flower arrangement is one of my favorites. It has just one rose but its simplicity is what appeals to me. The colors red and white remind me of the festivity of Christmas and Snow in winter season.

Following supplies are needed for the project :

- Air dry clay - Red, White and Green( I used Deco brand colored clay for red rose. You can add color to white air dry clay to get the colored clay)
- Floral Wire and Wire cutter
- Red Pollens
- Floral tape
- Pointed clay tool or a bamboo skewer or a toothpick (for white flowers)
- Acrylic or any water based paint (to color the clay)
- Scissors
- Flower vase

Refer our previous posts on clay flowers for instructions to make clay roses, cherry blossoms and the fillers. The only difference between the white flowers and the cherry blossoms illustrated in previous post is that I have not cut notches in the petals. Make sufficient number of white flowers to surround the rose in the center. I ended up making 16 of them. Add the green fillers and leaves to complete the arrangement.

Hope you get inspired to make one this festive season. Mine is proudly displayed as a center piece on our dining table.

Quick and Easy Handmade Christmas Photo Ornament

Like many of you I have already set up the Christmas tree and the lights are already twinkling. Every year I decorate the tree in my own way. Yes, you guessed it right - most of my ornaments are handmade. This year I made one with my daughter. She was more excited about this quick and easy Christmas photo ornament. Excited because it was her photo that I was about to put. The photograph we chose is the one where she is mere 6 months old and giving that perfect smile. I suggest you let your child pick their favorites if they are old enough to do so. Let me walk you through this project quickly.

Supplies you will need:
- Card stock white
- Child's photo
- Scissors
- Glue
- Paper Quilling strips : white and red
- Glitter
- Ribbon : Golden color
- Paper quilling tool or barbecue stick

This is a very easy project.Cut the photo into a 2" diameter circle and the outer card stock into 2 pieces of 2.5" diameter circle.

The lace is glued using all purpose glue. As it is a circle, making little pleats make the work easier and neater. I have used the easiest of the paper quilling shapes - the coil. Alternate red and white quilled coils are used to make the border.You can use any shape you like.You can have a look at our older posts on Paper quilling for basic shapes. I added glitter to the coils to make them more festive.

Follow the step by step illustration to complete the project.


Give the ornament to your kid to hang it on his/her favorite spot. Every-time my daughter looks at this ornament she is so delighted and says " Mommy made it", "Nice".Believe me it is the best compliment you can get for your craft project.

This project is worth a shot this Christmas. Happy crafting and Merry Christmas to you all!

Tip: Photo ornaments are better with pictures of close up faces.

Candle Stand Accents Creme de la creme

This is one of my favourite creations.
The base is metal candle stand. To which I have added cute accents made out of a set of cream colour roses made out of Double crepe paper. Since its done keeping Christmas theme in mind, I have used Christmas wreath leaves and some Gypsophilia or Baby Breath flowers to give a contrast.
Overall , its a piece which enhances the beauty of the candle stand with lovely cream colour roses which add style and sophistication with the leaves giving a Christmas feel to it. Now you just need a pair of candles to just lit up your center table or side table.