Personalize your holidays and make them enviro-friendly with homemade decorations. The following three projects are fun and easy to do. They’ll be sure to bring your home to life during this special season.
COOKIE CUTTER ORNAMENTS
There’s a two to one chance that you have some cookie cutters shoved into the back of a kitchen drawer. After making a tasty batch of frosting-worthy cookies, you can turn them into affordable and festival ornaments! Attached to your cookie cutter collection? Visit your local vintage or second-hand home store for some inexpensive and sustainable options.
Supplies:
When I was a kid, we would make construction paper ribbon chains for the tree every year. This project never gets old and is for "children" of all ages (including us adults). A quick way to add color to your holiday home, you can safely complete this activity with kids, grandkids, cousins, etc.
Supplies:
No prints, no pattern -- just a blank piece of paper and a chance for your imagination to take flight. Another project that’s perfect for the young and young at heart, using rubber stamps and colored stamp ink to create unique art is a good way to beat the winter blues. To add and extra eco-element to the activity, I suggest using paper with seeds in them - once the snow melts and the temperature rise, they can be planted in your garden or window box for more happy days.
Supplies:
Victoria Everman is a freelance writer, model, on-camera personality and founder of the San Francisco Craft Mafia.
COOKIE CUTTER ORNAMENTS
There’s a two to one chance that you have some cookie cutters shoved into the back of a kitchen drawer. After making a tasty batch of frosting-worthy cookies, you can turn them into affordable and festival ornaments! Attached to your cookie cutter collection? Visit your local vintage or second-hand home store for some inexpensive and sustainable options.
Supplies:
- Cookie cutters (plastic or metal) -- any shape
- Patterned paper or color pictures (eco option: old wrapping paper)
- Glue
- Ribbon (eco option: leftovers from last year; perfect for the second project as well)
- Beads
- Choose patterned papers or color-photocopy pictures onto card stock.
- Trace cutter on top; cut out. Dab white craft glue along cutter's edge. Press paper in place; let dry.
- Thread narrow ribbon through needle; poke between paper and cutter, and wrap ribbon around top of cutter. Slip a bead over ribbon's ends; knot.
When I was a kid, we would make construction paper ribbon chains for the tree every year. This project never gets old and is for "children" of all ages (including us adults). A quick way to add color to your holiday home, you can safely complete this activity with kids, grandkids, cousins, etc.
Supplies:
- Ribbon (or spare construction paper)
- Stapler
- Glue
- Staple a piece of ribbon (about 6 inches long), right sides together, 1/4 inch in from the ends.
- Glue the ends back against the ribbon with a glue stick, then turn right side out.
- Run another piece of ribbon through this link and repeat the stapling and gluing process until you run out of ribbon.
No prints, no pattern -- just a blank piece of paper and a chance for your imagination to take flight. Another project that’s perfect for the young and young at heart, using rubber stamps and colored stamp ink to create unique art is a good way to beat the winter blues. To add and extra eco-element to the activity, I suggest using paper with seeds in them - once the snow melts and the temperature rise, they can be planted in your garden or window box for more happy days.
Supplies:
- Plantable paper (available from Green Field Paper, Botanical Paperworksand Of the Earth
- Rubber stamps (spectacular collection and picture ideas from Impress Rubber Stamps
- Stamp ink (available in a variety of colors)
- Let the creativity take over! Add some hot cocoa and friends and hold a tree trimming party to create some holiday togetherness and cheer.
Victoria Everman is a freelance writer, model, on-camera personality and founder of the San Francisco Craft Mafia.
