Chipmunk Charity

This ornament was inspired by a story from the Big Book of Character. Here is a little summary and why these acorn ornaments are so special!

There once was a busy Squirrel who was hard at work collecting acorns for the winter. As he was searching he bumped into something. At first he thought it was just a rock, but then he heard the sobs of a chipmunk. All of chipmunks food she had stored was stolen by a racoon and she didn’t know what to do. Squirrel was too worried about himself to help, but he assured her someone would probably help her and scurried off to hide his bounty. As he stuffed acorns into a hole in a tree stump, he worried that the chipmunk might have followed him and spied his secret hiding place. He thought he should secure it with a large rock, but as he was moving it another animal was watching.

Racoon offered his assistance to Squirrel and proceeded to lift up the rock and eat all of the acorns! Poor squirrel watched in dismay and gave up all hope of surviving winter after that. He laid down and closed his eyes as the first snow started to fall. There was a light blanket covering him as who would happen to bump into him, but Chipmunk!

Will she leave him to fend for himself like he did to her? I think you can guess, but if you want to read the whole story, you can download it for just 1 dollar or buy the whole collection of 5 different stories in paperback. Each story features reflection questions and a Bible verse or two that goes with the story. Like Hebrews 13:16 for Chipmunk Charity, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Kid Made Acorn Ornament

Before I came up with this one, I had the kids try to make an ornament with yarn, glue and balloons. Let’s just say, it didn’t go so well. So, I came up with this one on a whim. Pipe cleaners and wooden beads were the only things left in my craft drawer that went together and I love how the acorn ornaments turned out!

They are so easy and just gorgeous. Definitely a memorable ornament for your Christmas tree.

To prepare for the craft, you’ll need to cut the pipe cleaners. You’ll need one full length pipe cleaner for the acorn cap and one cut about 3/4ths length. The 3/4ths length pipe cleaner will be the one that the kids put beads on. You can also cut some short pieces to decorate the acorn cap if you’d like, but you don’t have to.

You may want to try and make a model ornament first so your children can see an example. Have your kids string the beads onto the 3/4ths length pipe cleaner, leaving room on both ends to attach to the cap.

Form the cap of the acorn ornament by putting both ends together and twisting about 2 inches down for the stem. Then put your thumb and pointer finger in between the folded part of the pipe cleaner and extend your fingers to make an elongated oval shape.

Attach the shorter, beaded pipe cleaner to the acorn cap by twisting the end onto the bottom. You can then add shorter pieces of pipe cleaners to decorate the acorn cap.

Hang the kid made acorn ornament on your tree and remind your children that no matter how little we have, we can always share it.

What to see more kid-made ornaments inspired by books?

Check these out:

Teach Beside Me – Christmas Music Tree

The Life of Jennifer Dawn – Patchwork Ornament

Kitchen Floor Crafts – Polar Bear Ornament

Arty Crafty Kids – Twig Christmas Tree

10 Days of a Kid-Made Christmas Series!

The post Teach About Charity with Kid Made Acorn Ornament first appeared on True Aim.

The short story is, I couldn’t find any so I made some. Here’s what I came up with; Stained Glass Nativity Ornaments.

They are pretty enough to laminate and keep for a while or give them to people on presents like gift tags. You could also use some clear tape and hang them in the window.

Stained Glass Nativity Ornaments

To be honest, I had fun coloring some too. I printed the ornaments on card stock and used my BIC permanent markers to color each little area a different color. Colored pencils or crayons would work great too!

I tried to keep each section the same hue; I used blues and yellows for the sky, greens and browns for the ground.

We tried adding some oil to the back of the ornaments in a few places so the light can come through them even more and make them really look like stained glass. The great thing about these nativity ornaments is that the Christmas story really shows through because they’re in black silhouettes. That means they look awesome on the tree!

These are definitely laminate-worthy and if you do use a little oil, or choose to oil the whole backside, it will help the oil from getting on other things.

Click the image below to download. Please do not copy, or share this file without linking back to this post. It is for personal use only. Thank you for following copyright law.

These are close to my favorite ornaments so far! How about you? What is your favorite handmade ornament?

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy the free printable!

The post Stained Glass Nativity Ornaments Printable first appeared on True Aim.

My dad taught me to fold my first Origami crane and I was hooked ever since. I’ve always loved the amazing things you can create with just paper and your hands. This Christmas, fold up some Origami Heart Cards for gifts and make them into ornaments so your loved ones can hang your messages on their tree.

I’ve been making a lot of gifts lately. First, some felt gift bags, then apple butter, now I’m making a pie and a note for a dear friend thanks to the #BICMerryMarking booklet of ideas. I didn’t want to make just any old note. I wanted it to be a gift itself.

Do you remember passing notes in school and kids would come up with all sorts of ways to fold them. That’s why I just knew an origami note would be perfect for this. So, I found this awesome tutorial on how to make a Origami Heart Card.

There is a free printable template included but I just used regular card stalk paper, made the first fold and cut off the extra paper on top. The card stalk will hold up better if you are making an ornament out of the card, but regular paper works better if you are just doing a regular note.

The heart card has a beautiful design on the back so it will look pretty on the tree. Then you can write a heart felt message on the front and a holiday greeting on the inside with your BIC Mark-It permanent marker in #PrairieBerry. It goes perfectly with my Pear Berry pie.

To make it into an ornament, I just used a hole punch and tied some string around it. I am definitely making more of these in different colors for other friends and family.

This was such a fun project, so I’m nominating 3 other people to join me; my Aunt Angela, Cousin Caitlin, and friend Amy, you’ve been chosen!  There are many more ideas in the BIC Merry Marking Booklet. To see another project in the Challenge, check out my Holiday Drink Stirrers.

Are you joining in the Merry Marking challenge? What are you going to make? Be sure get the booklet of merry marking and a coupon to start marking

The post Origami Heart Card Ornament first appeared on True Aim.

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!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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!

The post Homemade Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make and a Craft Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.