Yarn and cardboard…cardboard and yarn—2 things that you should hoard if you have little crafters around. These sweet star and gift ornaments are so easy to make, you can craft a tree-full while watching Elf on DVD.

Here’s what you do…

Cut 3” stars or 2” squares from cardboard. Stick glue dots to both sides of the points and corners, and begin wrapping yarn, making sure to cross the glue dots when turning corners. Wrap until the shape is fully covered and knot the end of the yarn when finished. Tie a yarn bow around the square to make a present. Make a hanger by tying on a piece of string to the back.

Play around with other shapes and fill up that tree!

After our month in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden this summer, craft inspiration was coming out of my pores. My husband and I chose this European adventure for a few reasons, and one of the main ones was because we are big-time lovers of Scandinavian design. 

When Gina of Willowday asked if I wanted to join her Scandinavian Holiday Creative Collective I was both flattered and intimated. I had to pare down the thousands of mental images I had of all of the beautiful things and places we had seen? I took a very long but amazing trip down iPhoto lane and looked back at pics of modern design, beautiful landscapes, and delicious pastries. I made a list of ideas with little drawings, but when I came to the one single photo I took that month that had to do with Christmas, I couldn’t help but be inspired by something more traditional and straightforward…ornaments!

These sweet little bead-and-pom-pom ornaments are super-easy, but they have a very modern, clean, yet soft feel to them. The combo of raw wood and beautiful yarn feel so Scandinavia to me! 

If you want to make some yourself, here’s what you’ll need:

• Wood beads
• Yarn
• Thin wire
• Wire cutters
• Scissors

Make it!

1. Make a 1-to-2-inch pom-pom. (I just use my hand as my pom-pom form, wrapping the yarn around 3 fingers.) Trim it down so it’s nice and even. Make sure to leave one long string attached.
2. Cut an 8-inch piece of wire and string beads onto it. Bend it into a circle so that it leaves the right amount of space for your pom-pom. 
3. Trim the ends of the wire and twist to seal. Wrap the long string from the pom-pom around this joint, and tie a loop to hang. 

If you ask ten people what their favorite moment of the The Sound of Music is, you’ll get ten different answers, full of hundreds of details and childhood memories. For some it’s the clever choreography of “So Long, Farewell,” or Julie Andrews twirling on a mountaintop, or perhaps something as specific as the dress that Liesl was wearing when she rendezvoused with Rolfe in the gazebo. But everyone has a distinct memory of what it was like to watch these scenes as a child—wishing to be a part of a family with seven kids with a magical nanny who can make a wardrobe out of curtains.

If you ask me, I’m partial to the puppet show scene. There is something about the magic of crafting characters and putting on show that stays with me. So you can only imagine my excitement when I partnered with The Rogers & Hammerstein Organization to create a Sound of Music puppet craft video. Obviously we don’t see these marionettes being built in the movie, but I can only imagine Maria organizing the children in an assembly line of production, crafting clothes, ears, noses, and strings.

So here is a version that you can make with your kids, while drinking hot cocoa, watching The Sound of Music.

What you’ll need:

• Green felt
• Scissors
• Glue
• 2 tongue depressors
• White straw
• Paint pens: black, red, blue, white, yellow
• One 1″ wooden bead
• Two 1/2″ wooden beads
• Seven 3/8″ wooden beads
• String
• 1″ tall wooden spool
• Needle for threading

1. Cut a 2″ circle from the green felt, and cut out a wide pie slice.
2. Fold the two cut edges over one another and glue to form a small cone.
3. Use the paint pens to create a face on the 1″ bead, and a torso on the wooden spool.
4. Thread a double-strand of string up through the painted body, a 3/8″ bead, the head, and the hat, making sure the 2 strands are hanging out the bottom.
5. Paint about 2 inches of a straw yellow.
6. Cut the straw into two 1″ segments.
7. Thread the 2 yellow straw pieces onto the two strings, followed by a 3/8″ bead and another 1 1/4″ piece of white straw.
8. Flatten the ends of the white straw pieces and fold up to make feet.
9. Tie the strings into double-knots and trim off the excess.
10. Cut a 20″ long piece of string and knot just under the head/neck. On either end, string on a 1″ piece of white straw followed by a small bead, another 1″ piece of white straw, and then the 1/2″ bead.
11. Double-knot the strings at the hands to secure the arms.
12. Glue the tongue depressors in a “+” shape and tie the hands to either end of one stick and the head string to the center.
13. To make a stage for your goatherd, cut a 1.5″ slit in the top of a shoebox. Paint a mountain backdrop and add yellow curtains with fabric, felt or paper.

Pin this project as you start to plan out the DIY Christmas ornaments you are going to make with the kids this year. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1″ wood bead
• Wine cork
• Felt
• Tacky glue
• Craft wire
• Small beads
• Paint markers

1. Glue a 1” bead on top of a wine cork wrapped in felt.
2. Tie a ½” by 3 strip of felt where the bead meets the cork as a scarf.
3. To make the hat, roll and glue a 2½” by 1” triangle of felt into a cone; glue to the top of the bead.
4. Cut small slits in the sides of the body felt and press two 1½” pieces of craft wire into the cork as the arms.
5. Slip small bead over the ends and twist to make hands.
6. Insert 3” pieces of wire into the bottom of the cork as the legs and slip 2 barrel beads over the ends and fold as feet.
7. Draw on face with paint markers.

From Parents magazine; photo by Aaron Dyer.

This post was sponsored by Kid Made Modern.

Hanukkah is a holiday that suffers from a lack of cute, wearable gear— antlers, santa hats, and elf ears do not coordinate with the dreidel-playing spirit. But as a holiday that’s super festive and magical in its message, it’s about time we change that. Enter, the menorah headband…a quick little craft that you can “light” as the eight days progress.

Start with a simple, drugstore headband, and grab your Arts & Crafts Library for the rest. This project will take you less than 15 minutes, but the adorableness will last forever!

What you’ll need from the Arts & Crafts Library:

• 9 felt strips
• 9 gold paillettes

Other tools and materials:

• Scissors
• Hot-glue gun
• Thin headband

Let’s make it!

1. Choose a felt strip to be your center candle, or your shamash. Fold it over the headband and hot glue each side together. Trim the top into a point.
2. Fold 4 felt strips on either side of the center candle and hot-glue securely on.
3. Trim the 8 “candles” about a ½-inch and then into a point.
4. Glue the paillettes in between the two layers of felt or behind the felt to make the flame.