Hanging Moose Craft

I decided to do a moose themed Storytime this winter and wanted a cute moose craft to go with it.  You can print out what I made here.  I found the moose head picture here.  

What you need: 

• Card stock
• Crayons
• Hole punch
• Yarn
• Beads (with large enough holes to fit the yarn through)

Print out and cut the moose pieces.  Have children color in their moose.  

Punch a whole in the top of each piece.

Cut a piece of yarn.  It does not need to be too long.  Each moose will need two beads.  I did not use the beads shown in the picture above.  They were too long and made the moose appear floppy.  Instead, I used round ones that were about half that length.  String the legs of the moose, bead, body, bead, and then the head.  Tie the yarn together and now you have this cute little moose.

Moose books to share:

Moose Tracks! by Karma Wilson

 If You Give a Moose a Muffin  by Laura Numeroff
This Moose Belongs To Me by Oliver Jeffers
 Duck Duck Moose  by Dave Horowitz
 The Invisible Moose by Dennis Haseley
 Z Is For Moose  by Kelly L. Bingham
Making the Moose Out Of Life by Nicholas Oldland
Moosestache by Margie Palatini

Moose On the Loose by Kathy-Jo Wargin

Enjoy!

Winter Craft Round Up

Here is a round up of some of my favorite winter crafts from the past couple of years:

Click on the pictures below to learn how to make each craft.   

Glittered Diamond Ornament

Here's a fun craft I recently did with my Teen Art Club.  We made diamond ornaments using cardstock and the template below. I used this template here.  After some trial and error I decided it was easier to print the template directly on some thicker cardstock.  

The teens thought it would be fun to add glitter to the diamonds-I agreed.  We used Elmer's glue and applied thin layers to small sections at a time adding glitter as we went.  The paper warped slightly, but the dried stiff.  It's very important to use a SMALL amount of glue.  Mod Podge would work to, but I only have a matte finish and didn't want to lose the sparkle of the glitter.

Here's what the glued together diamond looks like before glitter.

And here's the glittered out diamond!  If you want to make this into an ornament poke a small whole into the top of the diamond and slip thread or thin fish line into it and tape secure on the underside.  Glue your diamond shut with the string hanging out of the top.

Enjoy!

Foam Penguin Magnet

This foam penguin makes a great storytime craft or winter program craft.  

I cut all these pieces out prior to the program and put them in little bags for the kids to help keep all their pieces contained as they assemble their penguin.

Here's what you need:

• Foam-black, white, and orange
• Scissors
• Wiggly eyes
• Glue
• Magnets
• Foam markers

Cut out all your foam pieces.  You will need one large black circle, one medium white circle, and one small black circle.  These make the body and head.  You can make your stencils easily in a word document and print them out on cardstock.  I drew the circles using the shapes and found a clip art hat that I liked..  The wings and feet I drew by hand.  You can keep all the shapes very simple.

First, glue your medium circle to the large black circle.  Layer the medium black circle onto the large black circle to make the head of the body.  Glue the wings, feet, hat, eyes, and beak to your penguin.  Color your hat, add a magnet to the back and you're done. 

Enjoy!

Foam Snowman Magnet

Here's a fun craft to do with kids this Winter.  The kids will have fun picking out hats, gloves, and a scarf for their snowmen. 

Here's what you will need:

• Foam in a variety of colors
• Markers-I use foam markers, they do not smudge off the foam
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pipe cleaners
• Wiggly eyes
• Small hole punch (if you have one)
• Magnets
• Cardstock (for stencils)

I made my own stencils in a word document using clip art and shapes and then cut them out of some card stock.  Cutting the foam can be a bit tedious.  I used some volunteers to help cut trace and cut out the pieces.

I cut out all the foam pieces ahead of time.  For the program I made a plate of hats, gloves, and scarves.  The kids had a blast designing their snowmen and picking out colors.  

For the arms I used two pieces of a  pipe cleaner cut in quarters.  Simply stick one end into the small hole on the snowman body made by a small whole punch or the tip of your scissors and fold the short end around to secure it in place.  

I gave the kids markers to add designs to their snowman pieces and make a face.

Once the snowman is done, add a magnet to the back and you're done!

Enjoy!