Create a nature-inspired holiday ornament for decorating the tree or giving to a loved one with the help of twigs from the yard and a little glitter.
Start by collecting twigs from the yard and then grouping them according to shape and size. You can create big thick twig ornaments or tightly-packed skinny ones – either way, the ornament looks really cool. Now, trace around a coffee mug with a washable marker to make the base of the ornament and cut out the circle. Your kids may need some help on this next step – using the end of the scissors, punch a hole somewhere along the outside edge of the inner circle to use for threading a ribbon for hanging later.
Create a smaller circle in the middle by tracing around a smaller glass. Take the glue and spread it on all around the outside of the inner circle. This is a great project for younger kids and introducing the concept of staying in or outside of the lines (if you’ve got older kids that are comfortable using a hot glue gun, they can use that instead). Next, cut or break the twigs so they are all around the same size.
Line up the twigs around the outside edge of the inner circle, packing them in tightly next to each other. Continue moving around the circle until you’ve got a full ring of twigs. Now, cut and paste a small circular picture in the middle, use a little glue, sprinkle with glitter, and let the ornament dry overnight. Or, leave off the glitter and you’ve got a fully nature-inspired holiday ornament! Once things are all dry, gently shake the ornament over a sheet of paper to release any excess glitter. String the ribbon through the hole, give it a tie, and you’ve got a creative homemade holiday ornament!
