Christmas is an exciting time of year for children but it can also be very expensive. To minimize your costs and to create some fun activities for the kids to partake in there are a wide range of gift and decorative ideas that you can make for little to no cost. Here are some great Christmas crafts for kids.

Jar Christmas Tree

Collect empty baby food jars of the same size. Remove the lids, spray paint them green and allow them to dry. Hot glue the sides of each jar making a Christmas tree or a pyramid shape, use two jars for the base of the tree. Cut out the pieces of 7 inch long gold star garland, make each one into the shape of a circle and place them one into each jar. Using a box knife, slice the shape of a large “V” into the top of each lid and then screw the lids back onto each jar. Pull the first light on a string through the V shape in the lid weaving the string through the jars sticking the lights in one by one. Plug in the light strand at the end and you will have a wonderful decorative Christmas crafts for kids.

Beautiful Christmas Stockings

Cut the shape of a sock out of two pieces of felt. You can choose any colors that you like, staple the edges together and leave the top open so that you can put the presents in. Cover the staples by gluing rick rack over the top. Sow a felt loop to the top of the stocking so that you can hang it up. Decorate the front or the back of the stocking using buttons, glitter, or anything that will make a pretty decoration, these make some fantastic Christmas crafts for kids.

3D Christmas Cards

Cut two circles out of light cardboard paper the color of your choice. Bend one of the circles in half and stick one half in the middle of the second circle. Cut out a paper ornament topper and glue it to the top of the circle, glue a strand of string to the back of the topper and then glue it to a piece of cardstock. Tightly pull the string down and glue it to the back of the card. These will make some excellent Christmas crafts for kids.

Snow Globe

Find an empty jar with a lid tight enough to hold water so that it does not spill out. You will need waterproof glue, a plastic figure of your choice, glitter and liquid glycerin. Glue the figure to the lid of the jar and allow it to dry, pour water into the jar, add a squirt of glycerin (it makes the glitter swirl easier). Screw the lid onto the jar tightly, flip it over and you have some fantastic Christmas crafts for kids.

You can be adventurous as you want with these ideas, adding and taking away materials and colors as you please. The important thing is that you have fun with your children whilst you are making them.

Halloween is coming so now is a great time for you to take a look at getting your pumpkin carving ideas up and running. There are plenty of great things that you can do when carving pumpkins but you should think carefully about how well you can handle some of these assorted ideas. There are plenty of great things to do with pumpkins but it’s great to see just how well you are able to handle these concepts so you can get the most out of your pumpkins. You will be amazed at how great your pumpkins look when you prepare them right.

Carving With a Drill

One of the best pumpkin carving ideas to consider involves carving your pumpkin with a drill. A drill may be used by providing you with a solution for creating even patterns or some special lantern-like effects. This will create an appealing pumpkin that has a consistent look all around while letting out plenty of light. This is good if you are looking for something that is not too unusual in appearance and simply adds a beautiful decorative style. This is especially a versatile choice for how it offers a variety of great design choices for you to opt for based on how you make it look. See more creative ideas at cutediyprojects.

Mixing Pumpkins

Another popular choice among pumpkin carving ideas is to consider mixing multiple pumpkins together. Having a smaller pumpkin inside of a larger one, whether it is directly inside the other pumpkin or incorporated into the design, will certainly be a fun idea to have. This will give you a fun look that offers an added sense of detail. The detail will especially incorporate a second layer as the smaller pumpkin can be carved in any way you see fit. An added light can be included in your second pumpkin to create a muted light effect that is particularly covered up.

Trimming the Skin

The skin on the pumpkin doesn’t always have to be there. Cutting apart the skin layer on the pumpkin helps to add a new dimension to carving your pumpkin. This is smart among pumpkin carving ideas in that you can use this to create different design features where the pumpkin looks worn or to just create an artistic flourish. When making this work, you should cut a few millimeters off of the pumpkin to make it work well while still having a strong foundation for the design to be supported. This will create a better and stronger look when chosen right.

Using the Top Right

The top part of the pumpkin is usually cut open to clear out the seeds and innards before carving. You can do something a little different by using the top as the foundation for the carving. The stalk at the top may be used as the nose, for instance. You would have to cut the bottom part of the pumpkin open to create this effect while keeping the pumpkin on its side for this to work. This works among pumpkin carving ideas when you actually keep the back side hidden from public view while also adding a good light to weigh it down so it will not tip over or rotate while on display. Find more awesome pumpkin carving tips and ideas at homebnc.