Our first year of marriage we bought a ton of new ornaments and decorations for the Christmas season. Now we kick ourselves for how silly we were and laugh about how are favorite ornaments aren’t the perfectly painted and glittered ones anymore. No. We prefer the hand printed, crayon scribbled, homemade Christmas ornaments made by our children.
This year we experimented with Plaster of Paris. It is a little messy to work with, but with the simple steps I used you can make beautiful keepsake ornaments! This post contains an awesome giveaway, for more information read my full disclosure.
We received an awesome stepping stone kit from CraftProjectIdeas.com and used it to make our ornaments.
I didn’t pay any attention to the directions that were included, but knew from working with it before that the key to plaster of paris is the amount of water you use. Here’s what we did…
Homemade Plaster of Paris Ornaments
First I had to find a mold that was small enough to make something that wouldn’t fall off the tree. Yogurt lids worked perfectly. I covered them with plastic wrap so they wouldn’t stick. Next, I gathered everything we needed in one place so we could work fast.
I poured half of a bag of plaster into a container and slowly mixed in the water until the mixture resembled pancake batter. If the mixture was a little runny, I added more plaster. I filled 2 yogurt lids with the mixture and let my daughter decorate one with the jewels that were included and a little glitter. I put little pieces of straws in the plaster to make holes so we could hang the ornaments after they dried.
I also received an Ultimate Box of Projects and the name describes it perfectly. How did they get all those crafts into one box? We had a great time at home making necklaces and heart mosaics.
It also came in handy at a family thanksgiving party. It kept the children busy for an hour making different crafts.
Enter to win one of these Craft Sets from CraftProjectIdeas.com!
What are your favorite ornaments to make with your kids?
For more Christmas Crafts and Activities for Kids, like me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest. Thanks for your support!
Looks like a fun idea!
Jodi recently posted…Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes
I’d like to see the clothespin Christmas characters.
Jodi recently posted…Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes
The cardboard soldiers are cute!!
Clarissa Hooper recently posted…Making Orange Pomander Balls (with Toddlers!)
The Foam Christmas Tree Craft looks like fun.
I like the Gingerbread House frame! TY very much!
I like the Gingerbread House Picture Frame.
I like the soldiers craft.
I like the clothespin characters!
Emma recently posted…Top 10 Building Toys for Preschoolers
I like the clothespin characters. They are adorable!
I like the Christmas Wood Stick Train.
The sequin covered ornaments! jessicapeeling@yahoo.com
The cardboard soldiers are cute!!
Love the angel
I love the cardboard tube soldiers! So cute!
My grandkids would enjoy the jingling Christmas tree and the north pole direction sign.
I like the Santa’s House made with skill sticks
Christmas Tree Shaker Card
heather loftus recently posted…The Loose Screw: DVD Review and Giveaway~Coming Home for Christmas
I like the origami christmas tree card best.
I like the Christmas Tree Shaker Card craft.
Gingerbread House Picture Frame!
Sequence ornaments
I like the foam ball garlands. 🙂
Holiday foam balls is so cute! I have a whole bunch of those foam balls roaming around, we’ll have have to wrangle them up!
I like the Gingerbread house pic frame
I like the Santa’s House made of Skill Sticks
My son is only 2, so we like to make salt clay hand prints.
I like the jingle bell wreath
Love this idea, this is such a creative unique idea for kids.