Tutorial for Shrinkable Plastic Christmas Ornaments: A Perfect Project for the Kiddos

Three-Year-Old Self-Portrait: "Me with my hands in my pockets"
"Emerson-partner-Maggie in a crazy shirt"
"Mommy with a sixth invisible finger"
"Daddy in a tie-dye shirt" (he has glasses and facial hair)

I've posted on Shrinky Dinks before (I love them by the way), but now my son is getting into the action.

I had some Grafix ink jet printable shrinkable plastic (available on amazon.com) that I cut into squares and allowed my son to decorate with Sharpie permanent markers.  He decided to draw a portrait of each member of our family.  How perfect - and priceless - will these be as Christmas ornaments on our tree!?!

Be sure to punch holes in the plastic before baking (with a regular hole punch).  Follow instructions on package for oven temperature and baking time.  This is a fast project that can be completed in under a half hour.

My son also used this technique to make bookmarks and ornaments for his teachers as a holiday gift.  As he was only three years old at the time, I took the liberty of writing his message to his teachers onto the back of the shrinkable plastic before shrinking it in the oven!

Have fun with your holiday gifts this year; after all, you can't start too early!

Inspired at the holidays

I've been inspired by all of the new blogs that I found recently. Far from being diaries or forums to explore personal issues, these blogs have been such a source of inspiration and creativity. I am inspired to add more of my creations to my own blog!

How do we mark the holidays - especially now that we are making traditions

for our children? I was excited this year to make an advent wreath. The purple and pink candles burn with nostalgia of my youth. Created as a "reservoir" wreath (that can be watered), it took on a life of its own. It ended up a little more "wild" than intended as though the wreath won our small tug of war in which I was bent on "sculpting" the piece.

Alas, even with my oldest child only being 2.5 years-old, our advent wreath was a welcome addition to our crafting of a family holiday tradition.