As we watched the snow falling outside our window the other day it seemed like we were looking at a giant snow globe.

It inspired this fun paper plate snow globe craft.

Last week’s snow, followed by super cold temperatures, meant we did a lot of staying inside and just looking at the winter wonderland outside our window.  Thank goodness for these fun ways to beat cabin fever!

Kids crafts are always a fun way to beat boredom caused by being stuck in the house.  You might want to check out this beautiful snowflake painting craft, too!

Affiliate links are used below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Paper Plate Snow Globe

Materials Needed:

• Paper Plate
• Blue Construction Paper
• Plastic Wrap
• Markers
• Clear Tape
• Glue Stick
• Silver Glitter Glue 
• Fake Plastic Snow 

To make your own snow globe craft, start by cutting the center out of a paper plate.

Use the center of the plate to trace a circle on blue construction paper.

Have your child use markers to draw a scene for their snow globe on the blue paper.  My kids chose to draw a tree.  Your child could also draw a snowman or Christmas tree.

Use the glue stick to secure a piece of plastic wrap to the inside of the paper plate so it covers the hole you cut out.  Make sure to hold the plastic wrap snugly in place.  Use a couple pieces of clear tape to help hold the plastic while the glue dries.

Once your child has finished drawing the scene for their snow globe, lay the construction paper on the plastic wrap.

Make sure you can see the drawing through the plate’s center.

Before taping the plate to the construction paper, it’s time to add a bit of snow to the snow globe!

We tried two different ideas.  You can see how they worked out below and choose the one you like the best.

My daughter chose to paint the inner portion of plastic wrap with glitter glue and then sprinkle a bit more glitter on for a sparkly winter wonderland.

My son chose to use a bit of fake snow (you could also use a small amount of white confetti).

First he painted a bit of glitter glue onto the plastic wrap, and then he carefully sprinkled the snow on top.

Once your snow is in place, use clear tape to secure the construction paper circle to the paper plate.

If desired, your child can also decorate the outside of the paper plate.

This paper plate snow globe craft looks beautiful hanging up.  It’s a fun winter decoration your child will be proud to show off.

You may also like these posts:

• Adorable Snowman Crafts
• Fizzing Snow
• Water Beads in Snow
• Melting Snowman STEM Activity 

Originally published January 12, 2015.

The post Paper Plate Snow Globe Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

When it comes to kids winter crafts, snowflakes and snowmen are always popular.

My daughter had so much fun mixing painting, her favorite type of craft,  and cutting snowflakes out that we couldn’t wait to share this fun snowflake craft with relief painting.

This craft is perfect for those cold December – February months.

You might also like this sparkly snowflake craft idea.

And if your child loves slime as much as my daughter does, be sure to check out this simple DIY snowflake slime recipe.

Snowflake Craft with Relief Painting

Affiliate links have been provided below.  See my full disclosure here. 

Materials Needed:

• Construction Paper
• Paper Plates
• Sponges (Snips of clean kitchen sponges will work.)
• Acrylic Paint (I love these washable paints!)

Start  by cutting out several snowflakes from construction paper.  The thicker paper holds up better with the paint.

Older kids can do the folding and cutting on their own.

For younger kids you may want to fold the paper and draw triangles, half ovals, etc. along the paper folds and allow the kids to then try cutting on the lines.  Make the shapes super simple for the youngest ones!

Or, you could even have the snowflakes pre-cut.

Once you have your snowflakes cut out, it is time for the real fun.

Pour a little paint, in “winter colors,” onto several paper plates.  (We chose to use white, blue, and purple.)

Give each of your artists a thick sheet of paper, suitable for painting, and a small sponge.

Using the cut out snowflakes like stencils, lay the snowflake on the paper and use the sponge to dab paint along the snowflake’s edges.

Start with the largest snowflakes first.  This allows you to layer smaller ones on top.

You can lift up the snowflake once you have finished dabbing paint on and around it.  Then you can place the snowflake down on the paper again and use a different color paint.

Or you can use different snowflakes and layer them.

Just like real snowflakes, each picture comes out unique and beautiful!

My oldest chose to use her small snowflakes, mixed with the larger one, to create this lovely design.

As a bonus, you can let the paint dry on your snowflake stencil and then hang them with a pretty ribbon.

This simple snowflake craft, using relief painting, looks beautiful hanging on the doors.

You may also like:

• Shaving Cream Paint Snowman
• Fizzy Snow Winter Science
• Melting Snowman STEM Activity

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The post Snowflake Craft: Relief Painting first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Over the years we have had quite a few puzzles.  Usually we are pretty good at not losing the pieces, but there have been a few that have disappeared (with the dog’s help).  Like the crafting hoarder that I am, I’ve saved them, waiting for the perfect craft.  This week we recycled the puzzle pieces into this pretty puzzle piece wreath ornament!

The number of puzzle pieces you will need for your puzzle piece wreath may vary depending on the size of your puzzle pieces.

For our wreath we used 7 pieces that are approximately 1 1/4″ long.

Using plenty of Elmer’s School Glue, we glued the pieces together to form a circle.

We let our wreath dry overnight.

Once it was dry, we painted the wreath with green acrylic paint.

Again, we let it dry.

We wanted a bit of sparkle, so we painted it again, this time with some gold glitter glue.  (After all, glitter makes it all better!)

Then we glued on small red beads.

Once it was dry, we tied on a piece of red yarn to hang it with and glued on a small red bow.

An alternative idea, for kids who may not want to wait, or for doing this in a larger group setting, is to have the puzzle pieces painted ahead of time, ready to glue together.

This simple puzzle piece wreath ornament is the perfect way to recycle old puzzles this season.

You may also like:

• 25 Homemade Ornaments
• Jingle Bell Bracelets
• Candy Cane Hunt (Our top post this year!)

The post Puzzle Piece Wreath Ornament first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

And when it comes to winter crafts for kids, there are so many fun snowman crafts to try.

My preschooler had lots of fun making this adorable shaving cream snowman.

The texture of the finished shaving cream paint is unlike anything I’ve felt.  It’s puffy, soft, and a little fuzzy feeling.

The best part is, making this homemade puffy paint is so easy to do!

Shaving Cream Snowman 

Affiliate links have been provided below for your convenience.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Materials Needed:

• Shaving Cream
• White School Glue
• Construction Paper
• Sequins, Buttons, and Fabric Scraps (for decorating your snowman)
• Paint Brushes
• Small Bowl

Start your puffy paint snowman by mixing up your snow paint.  To do this mix equal parts of shaving cream and glue in a small bowl.  

You want to be sure to use a foaming shaving cream (not a gel), and white school glue so your paint is white when mixed.  

If you are working with only 1-2 children, 1/4 cup of each will be more than enough.   

For larger groups, try 1-2 cups of each and divide it into small bowls that 3-4 kids can share at each table.  

Puffy Paint Snowman

Once the paint is ready, have your child use a paint brush to paint a snowman on construction paper.  They may want to add a bit of snow at the bottom of the paper for the snowman to stand on, too.

Allow the paper to dry completely.  (We had to wait overnight.)

Once the paint is dry, your child can decorate their snowman.  

Sequins and small buttons are perfect for adding eyes to the snowman.  A tiny piece of orange construction paper can form a carrot nose.

If you have fabric scraps they can fashion a scarf or even a hat for their shaving cream paint snowman.

I hope you have as much fun making snow paint as we did.  

Looking for other snow crafts and activities?

• Melting Snowman STEM Activity
• Cotton Ball Snowman
• Fine Motor Egg Carton Snowman Craft from Sugar Aunts
• Fizzing Snow — Simple Winter Science

The post Shaving Cream Paint Snowman first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

A few days ago I shared with you our latest winter sensory bin, and I mentioned that I already had some other ideas for that artificial snow.   It turned out to be such a fun crafting material!  Yesterday we had fun with this simple snowman craft while watching the snow fall.

I traced 3 different sized cups to create the circles for our snowmen.

Then the kids used paintbrushes to thoroughly coat each circle with glue.  

Once each circle was covered in glue, the kids had fun taking handfuls of artificial snow and sprinkling it onto the glue. We pressed it down a bit to make sure it would stick, and then I carefully tapped off the extra snow into a bowl to use later.

We let the snowman’s body dry before adding accessories.

I pulled out some ribbon for scarves, felt to make hats, and a few pipe cleaners for arms and carrot noses.  My daughter suggested buttons for the eyes, and so I hunted out some matching buttons.

I loved watching them sort through the items and coming up with their own unique snowmen!

My daughter went all out, adding a coat, belt, and pom-pom ear muffs to her snowman craft.

Artificial snow created a fun 3-D snowman craft the kids were super proud of.

You may also like:

• Paper Plate Snow Globe Craft
• Shaving Cream Paint Snowman
• Melting Snowman STEM Activity

The post Snowman Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

With the snow falling outside, I was looking for something fun for the kids and I to do together.   As we watched a huge flock of birds land on a tree in our backyard, my daughter got excited and ran to get her copy of  Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire!   “Let’s make bird feeders!”

So I gathered our materials together:  a few of the pine cones we collected during one of our walks this past fall, peanut butter (I put a few spoonfuls in a bowl ahead of times so we wouldn’t contaminate the jar), some pipe cleaners, and, of course, some birdseed.

Then we got crafting, following the directions in that favored book.  (We LOVE Fancy Nancy books!)

Each of them carefully spread a thin layer of peanut butter on their pine cone.  (I had to show them what a thin layer versus a glob looked like.)  I loved watching my daughter slide the table knife into each groove, making sure she really had it coated — great fine motor skills practice!)

Then they rolled the pine cones in the shallow bowl of birdseed, gently pressing down as they went.

Once the pine cone was covered in birdseed, we wrapped a pipe cleaner around one end and headed out to hang them on a few trees in the backyard.

Have you ever made pine cone bird feeders with the kids?

The post Pine Cone Bird Feeder first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.