Snowflake Party!

My friend Andrea invited me and the kids over for a Snowflake Party yesterday. Since my little boy is still sharpening his scissor skills we did some practice snowflakes the day before. I found a bunch of great ideas to share about snowflakes and how to make some really fun designs. 

We made a great big mess (standard with any of our little projects) both at our house and at Andrea's.  Bonus: a snowflake party makes its own confetti too! Add some hot chocolate and you are in for quite the treat. It was so fun-thanks Andrea for the great idea and all the fun! Also, in all this snowflake making I made some fun SNOWBALLS! Look for a tutorial coming soon!

Have you wondered about how snowflakes are made?  Here are some fast facts.

This snowflake curtain makes a perfect backdrop for your winter wonderland! There are paper snowflakes for kids. And then there are paper snowflakes for adults. I've included links both so that everyone gets to have fun :)

These are the WOW! kind. Make one of these for a friend and their jaw will drop. There is a tutorial Here. For added inspiration check out the flickr "The Great Paper Snowflake Group"



We had fun creating colorful paper snowflakes by using double-sided scrapbook paper. It is a fun twist on the traditional white ones. Here are some patterns for the kids to get you started. And a VIDEO tutorial.

If you love crochet, you will love creating this kind of Winter Wonderland


Here is a fun way to do homemade snowflake window clings
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If you want to add some 3D snowflakes do these with beads, pipe cleaners, and pom poms! The kids could help you make these snowflakes. Hang them from the ceiling for a fun affect.


This is a fun tutorial for a snowflake garland cut from newspapers!


Wouldn't you just love to have these snowflake soaps beauties in your soap dish!


We had a fun time creating a winter wonderland with This Little Project, hope you do too!  Look for the snowball tutorial soon!  

A Mobile For All Seasons

I have had the idea for this mobile for a long time and I FINALLY sat down and made it-and just in time to put these funny turkeys on (my son has been BEGGING for this!)

My big plan is to make something for each season/holiday to hang on the mobile. Be sure to check back for Christmas hangings. If you have some fun ideas for hangings, please do share too!

My favorite part is how inexpensive this Little Project was! Just a few wooden embroidery hoops (mine were 50 cents each) and some clear nylon thread (I wanted it to hang from thin air :)

I bought my little turkeys at the dollar store a few years ago, so no tips on that. But really, if my son weren't so intent on them, I think I would hang some of those cute little pumpkins I posted about.

To make your Mobile For All Seasons you need:
nylon thread
glue gun
scissors
3 different sized embroidery hoops
I used Pooch yarn for the fun texture for the hangings.
(you can disregard the plastic circle in the photo. I ended up not using it :)



Each embroidery hoop comes with 2 pieces. You actually only need one of the hoops from each size. I used the one without the metal piece.
I tied 2 pieces of nylon thread across each hoop so that they crossed in the middle evenly.  It basically looks like a hoop with a big + sign in the middle of it.
Then I tied a length to the middle of each of the hoop crosses. The nylon thread is slippery and moves even after you tie it. It is important to make sure that it is centered first (hold it from the thread and see how it hangs) and then put a dob (if that is a word) of hot glue to hold it centered in the hoop. It is important that it hangs LEVEL. So be sure to do this step!! After it is hanging level tie the other end of the length to the other hoop of the next level
Repeat for each level. You can make them as far apart or as close together as you please, depending on how high your ceiling is.
I used the Pooch yarn to attach my hangings (in this case turkeys :) Note: The Pooch yarn can unravel. Just knot it to stop it. The knot fits right in with the fun texture.

I used the wood embroidery hoops. You could also cover the hoops or paint them the color of your choice.

I think this would also be a fun little project for a mobile in the baby's room. I think I might try that next :)


Fun how they hang in mid-air, don't you think? :)