Chocolate Reindeer - DIY

Here is a fun and easy DIY for Christmas time! It is great for kids, or even adults! It is even great for a fun stocking stuffer!!

Here is what you'll need:

Hershey's chocolate bars

Brown construction paper

Red construction paper

White or Off-white construction paper

Googly eyes

Brown pipe cleaners

Scissors

Hot glue gun

 

1.  I started off by cutting the brown construction paper down to size, in order for it to wrap around the candy bar without having extra paper to hang over the sides. I just measured one, then cut all the pieces of brown construction paper to match. 

2. I then wrapped the brown construction paper around the candy bar and only used a small dot of hot glue on the corners of the paper, so that it didn't melt the chocolate bar at all.

3. I then folded one pipe cleaner in half, making a V shape, I then took two small pieces of another pipe cleaner and wrapped them around the ends of the V shaped pipe cleaner. I put a small dot of hot glue on the point of the V and stuck it inside the back of the brown construction paper that I had already wrapped around the candy bar.

4. I cut out cloud shapes from the off-white paper and sized them to the candy bar. I then used a small dot of hot glue to attach that.

5. I cut out off-white circles and smaller red circles and glued them together. (This is the reindeer's hair.)

6. I then placed them on the candy bar with a dot of hot glue as well. (This is the nose!) I added googly eyes between the hair and the nose, and TAH-DAH!!

You now have adorable and edible reindeer treats to pass out!

 

 

I passed these cuties out to all of the kiddos at our Christmas parties this year. They were a huge hit! Even some adults asked me for one to take home!

So make sure you make extra! Because everyone will want one!

These would even be great for your child's classroom or sports team around the holidays! As long as the chocolate is approved! But in all honesty, you could make smaller versions around granola bars and other rectangular snacks!   

If you make some of these, or a different version, please remember to share a picture in the comments below or even tag #CVA on Instagram! I would love to see your creations!

Mom's Christmas Place Mats - DIY

 

I helped my mom make these adorable Christmas themed place mats with my nephew today! They were quick, easy and fun for all of us!

The items you need are:

Place mats (a lighter color works best)

Brown paint

Green paint

Red paint

Black sharpie or black paint

Red Sharpie (optional)

A hand and a foot!

First, you take the place mat, and lay them out. Paint the foot being used green, and place it towards the bottom left corner. Then take the hand being used, paint it brown and place it just above and to the right of the foot print. Then repeat that step two more times. (Or even more if you'd like!)

Next, take the red paint and just use a small amount. Dip in a thumb and a finger tip to make the Santa in the sleigh! Let the paint dry.

After the paint is dry, we then used a black sharpie to draw in the detailing of the sleigh and reindeer. Ropes, antlers, the bottom of the sleigh, and of course Santa's face!

My mom used a red sharpie to write Merry Christmas, however you can also use some red paint if you want to! When it was all done she wrote his name and the year on it, so that they will remember forever.

  

My momma made these as a surprise gift for my nephews parents. This is a fun project to do with kids of all ages! It is also a great way to watch the kids hands and feet grow over the years!

If you make a Christmas place mat of your own please remember to share them in the comments below or even tag #CVA on Instagram! I would love to see your creations! 

Bead Obsessed!

The other day, James bought me a ton of wooden and acrylic beads.... I had some stretchy elastic at home in our craft-office already and so I got to beading immediately! I made over 200 stretchy beaded bracelets... of all colors, sizes and styles. It is clear to say... I am obsessed. I did not do a tutorial on any of these... however, I still wanted to share them with you all because they are so self explanatory and so easy!  ( oh and fun too! ) All you need are some beads... ( wooden beads.. pony beads... paper beads... homemade beads... clay beads... any kind of beads! ) and some elastic or stretchy jewelry thread. Slide the beads on the string in the pattern you want and make it the perfect size for you or a friend as a gift... then stretch out the string a little as you tie the knot and bah-bam! you are done! So simple... easy and fun!

Below are a few pictures of the beads that I have been using and also some pictures of a few bracelets that I have made.

If you make some please share them! I am excited to see what styles you come up with!

 

DIY Party Hats

I originally made these party hats for my nephews 2nd birthday party that was Spongebob themed. However... I decided not to use them at the party, because well.. to be honest... I felt a little out of place doing so. I wasn't the one throwing the birthday party so I decided to just leave them home and save them for a rainy day I guess. ha. But I still wanted to share them. I only used construction paper to make these and a thin elastic string from my beading kits. 

I rolled a piece of construction paper to make a cone. Then I trimmed the bottoms of the cones to make them flat. I glued them shut and added eyes, nose, eye brows, etc. It was really that easy! For Spongebob himself, I used a yellow sharpie marker to draw on his sponge pores. But other than that these hats are all paper!

I put a layer on Matte Modge Podge over the entire thing after I glued on the eyes and facial features, etc. Just to seal it. And the Modge Podge also added some durability to the hats. Made them a little stronger. This was fun and easy and cheap. I like cheap! :) 

One thing that I really love about these DIY party hats are that the possibilities are ENDLESS! You can do any type of party theme and make your own hats to match perfectly!

I will defiantly be making more DIY party hats in the future!