Making Christmas trees- upcycle cardboard

I saw that they were selling cones that were like Christmas trees in our local store and thought how we could make those but better and sparklier.  The activity uses cardboard up-cycled from cereal packs (something that we have plenty of). I also saw the idea later on Pinterest!

I got the cones ready the night previous so that Little Boo just had to decorate!

The first of the trees we decorated using thin tinsel just wrapping it around the cone which had double sided tape on.  We then added some small ball balls with foam pads.

Little Boo enjoyed this but seemed to want to colour so for the next tree she coloured in, used stickers on a green piece of card then added tinsel.

The other tree used loads of pom poms.  I got a massive pack for 99p! Little Boo and me just added the pom poms onto the cone which had double sided tape on it.  I think this is my favourite tree as it is the one that Little Boo seemed to enjoy making the most.

The start of Christmas Craftiness!- Our ball ball wreath

I have decided that it is about time that I started to share with you the Christmas crafts.  Apologies to readers who do not celebrate Christmas. I have been doing lots of cooking with Little Boo just recently so have decided to post these ideas as well alongside.  This year it is brilliant as Little Boo is capable of doing so much more than last year! Her attention span has increased, she can use scissors better and even starts to suggest what we could do.  I will make sure to add in what we did last year when I open up the decorations box.

First I am sharing with you our ball ball wreath.  I saw this posted on Pinterest and just had to have a go at making it with Little Boo.  All you need to have is

• Hot glue gun
• 80 or so ball balls (you could upcycle some that are no longer used for the tree,this is the cheaper option, we brought ours from the £1 shop 12 for £1)
• wire coat hanger/thick wire

First of all you need to secure the ball ball and hanger with hot glue.  I did this part of the activity whilst watching the Television (I was also procrastinating from writing my assignment, whoops). 

After this I got the wire coat hanger (thanks to my mother in law) and bended it into a circular shape.  Then it was just a case of getting Little Boo to thread the ball balls onto the hanger.

There was no specific order or anything just go for it! It really made me realise how much she has developed her fine motor skills. It was nice as we were chatting as we were doing the activity about Christmas and Santa then about the colours that we were using.  It was funny as Little Boo still has a Mommy and a Daddy one for everything! so many of the ball balls were placed on in that way one Mommy then a Daddy then the baby ones. Anyway after this, I just (well my husband actually, I am weak) twisted the coat hanger back together.

We added a ribbon at the top and there you go a wonderful wreath for your house.  Many people who make these use ball balls that have been in the family for a long time as a way of showing them off in a nicer way than putting them on the tree.  Anyway I love ours even if the ball balls were only cheap, it would also make a fantastic gift for someone at Christmas.

The upcycle pig

Little Boo loved the up cycling activity, so much so that we had to do some more today (think she likes playing with the sequins).  Yesterday it was very funny as there was a lid on the table and she put one of the milk bottle lids inside then some eyes and said "it is a piggy mommy".  How amazing I thought it definitely could be a pig (she always comes up with the best ideas).  So the pig creation started...

Glue was put into the lid.  Little Boo enjoyed squeezing this in.

Sequins and googly eyes added.  There is also a milk bottle top

I drew some ears and Little Boo wanted to cut them out.  She can not cut on the lines yet but it is all good practise!

Double sided sticky tape was placed on the back of the foam paper.  Little Boo loves peeling this off.

And then the completed piggy!

I am actually considering using this as a magnetic memo pad as I will put some paper to the back of it with a few magnets. 

Upcycle bottle tops into magnets

As part of our up-cycle challenge me and Little Boo have made use of the bottle tops and made them into magnets! This is a very simple idea and the possibilities are endless.  We decided to put sequins and glitter inside the bottle tops to decorate them.  However, many items can be used such as photographs or small old toys.

Here is how it went

First, we had to give the bottle tops a "bath" very funny that Little Boo said that herself and enjoyed cleaning them.  This led to discussion on how the bottle tops were "floating in the water".  Little Boo then counted them onto the towel to dry and dried them by hand.  The bottle tops could be left overnight to dry if needed.  I was thinking of doing this bit myself but I am glad that I decided not to as little Boo has so much fun.


Once dry we started making

First squeezing out the glue

Then adding the sequins

Little Boo also wanted to cut up some straws to use

Leave them to dry for a day and add a magnet on the back. We decided  to add a feather to this one.  As you can see once they are dry you can not see the glue

You could chose to add a magnet on the back, use them as counters or for matching games. This was very simple to do we have loads of bottle tops so watch this space I am looking at more things to make. 

Upcycle Challenge!

It is really strange that since I have started to do crafts with Little Boo that everything starts to be used as something else. A toilet roll for example has been made into a pair of binoculars, a puppet, a chute for pouring activity and a stamp for painting.  The possibilities are endless! Therefore I have set myself a challenge how much of our household usual waste can we up cycle to make wonderful crafts? So far the contents of the bag is photographed above there is plenty to crack on with. Any inspiration would be appreciated.  I have started a pinterest board to help with inspiration. So far we have used old magazines and an egg carton.