Wax Paper and Crayon Ornaments

I forgot to take pictures of these before they were mailed to Grandma, so use your imagination!

First, I had the kids shred their old broken crayons using crayon sharpeners (pencil sharpeners are generally too small for crayons).  They put the sharpenings on wax paper, in a thin layer.  Then I put another layer of wax paper over top and ironed them until the sharpenings melted and ran together.  (Be sure to put an old rag underneath the wax paper and another over top of it so that if any crayon gets out, it won't get on your iron or ironing boards.)

Then the kids used cookie cutters to trace Christmas shapes on the wax paper (markers work best for writing on it), and cut them out.

Joseph did find that you can use a pen to score white lines on the paper, unfortunately, it tends to make the layers of paper and crayon separate from each other, too.

Even Michelle made a couple - she didn't get the sharpener bit, but it still looked good just with stripes of crayon that she had drawn on (the wax paper will stick to itself when you iron it, so don't worry about having holes in the layer of crayon).

Christmas Wreathe Ornaments

This was a fun one in my list of low-expenditure crafts. Some time ago, I decided to get rid of a couple of much-loved, but worn out maternity shirts. Then I realized that they were classic Christmas colors, so I hung onto them just in case they could be useful.

First, the kids helped me cut the shirts into strips, and then into approximately 3/4 in squares. (This was very approximate, neither shape nor size being an issue.)

After that, we took floral wire and strung the pieces of fabric onto the wire. To get through the fabric easier, I cut the thicker wire on an angle to give it a point, and I used a file to sharpen it a little. For the thinner wire, I found a large sewing needle and threaded the wire through it, using pliers to pinch it together just under the needle. Neither method was perfect, but my three-year-old was able to get the fabric onto her wire alright.

After we had about 8-9 inches of fabric on the wires, I wrapped them around in circles and twisted the two ends of wire together, being careful not to leave sharp ends sticking out. For two of them, I cut the ties off of one shirt and used a tie to make a nice bow at the top.

Voila!Mini Christmas wreathe door hangers (or Christmas tree ornaments)!