Tuesday Tips: Crafting Tips & Gifts with Mallette

Tuesday Tips: Crafting Tips & Ideas with Mallette

by Alice Shaffer

Mallette Perry is a professional nanny in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota as well as the President of Twin Cities Professional Nannies (TCPN) I have known her for years and she has some of the greatest ideas for holiday gifts for her charges and parents. Today she shares some with us.

Many of these activities can use items you have on hand at home or from the local craft store. If you have a Michaels or AC Moore Craft Store near you, make sure you are signed up for their email lists. They will email you the coupons weekly along with the ads. You can use the AC Moore coupons at Michaels and vice versa. Be sure to sign up today so you can save more money while making holiday crafts.

Some of these projects take time to dry, there fore you will want to work on them during the month of November and early December so that you and your charges are not rushing.

For Kids or Adults:

Snowman Sweatshirts/T-Shirts

What you need:

T-shirt/Sweatshirt (light blue works great)
White fabric paint
Fabric pens
Snow flake stamp or use fingers if you don’t have one
cardboard or wax paper

What to do:
1. Put some white paint in a dish pan

2. Put a piece of cardboard or wax paper between the shirt to keep the paint from leaking through to the back of the shirt.
3. The child puts their foot in the paint. May need to paint if not all covered or if the child is younger.
4. Then with their toes pointing down put on the sweat shirt. This makes the snowman’s body.
5. Put the snowflake stamp in the white paint and stamp away. If you don’t have the stamp the kids can use their fingertips to make the snowflakes.
6. Once dry decorate the t-shirt with the markers. You can personalize your Snowman.

Reindeer Shirts

(2 hands as antlers and the foot as the body)

What you need:

Sweatshirt/T-Shirt (I used a light green)
Brown paint
Fabric pens

What to do:
1. Paint the foot and then with toes down put on the sweatshirt
2. Paint both hands for antlers and put them on the sweatshirt
3. Once dried decorate the reindeer.

Gift Ideas for Parents, Grandparents & Teachers:

Glass Plate (great wall hanging item)

What you need:

Mod Podge/sponge brush/paint brush

Glass plate

Paint -acrylic works

Porcelaine 150 Marker (marker used to write on glass/porcelain –found at craft stores)

What to do:

Paint the child's hand make a handprint on the back side of the glass paint.
2. You can write the Child’s name or whatever you want on the plate and the year on the back of the plate as well. This can be tricky as you have to write it backwards. So when it is turned over it is read the right way. Practice on a piece of paper first.
3. Once dry, take tissue paper and put it on the back side of the plate. You can make a mosaic with it with torn pieces or cut squares or just use one color, your choice.

4. Then you will paint Mod Podge over the entire back of the plate to cover the tissue paper. This holds it down.

This was a big hit and right away it was put up in the hallway.

Vase:

Same as above but use a vase instead of a plate.

Picture Frames:

What you need:

Wooden frames

Paint

Glue

Buttons, wooden letters, stickers beads etc whatever you have around or decide to buy

What to do:

1. Have kids paint frames

2 Have kids decorate the frames with the various items.

3. Then to fill in some of the spaces you can put words about the mom on there.

Puzzle Picture Frame

What you need:
Picture frame

puzzle pieces (dollar store, or use one from home that has missing pieces)

Glue

What to do:

1. Have the child glue puzzle pieces onto the picture frame.

2. Let dry