DIY Stickers (plus Youtube tutorial)

DIY Stickers (plus Youtube tutorial)

by | Mar 8, 2022 | Craft Tutorials

Want to make your own stickers? Come watch our latest Youtube tutorial on how to make these fun and super easy DIY stickers! You can draw your own designs, or download our free pdf printable to get started.

(Please scroll down to get your free printable.)

Supplies: clear packing tape, scissors, paper (or our printable), non-stick parchment paper (the baking type), pen or pencil, and markers or colored pencils.
diy sticker supplies
Watch our quick Youtube tutorial and have fun making your very own stickers!
Click on the image below to get your free pdf sticker printable.
diy sticker page
Saint Patrick’s Prayer Shamrock Garland or Wreath

Saint Patrick’s Prayer Shamrock Garland or Wreath

by | Feb 25, 2022 | Craft Tutorials

I love the Saint Patrick’s prayer.  It is such a beautiful reminder of how God’s love surrounds us!

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

To make this shamrock garland or wreath, you can cut out shamrock shapes and copy lines of the prayer onto each one.  If you would like a printable version, please visit our Etsy shop.   (Your purchase helps us to cover blogging expenses so that we can continue to bring you more fun craft and baking ideas.  Thank you!)

shamrock cutouts

Cut out shamrock shapes with a verse from the Saint Patrick’s Prayer on each one.  (Our printable on Etsy has lines from the prayer on each shamrock, plus a page of blank shamrocks if you want to include some blank shamrocks or write your own words.  The shamrocks are a pdf of a hand watercolored shamrock.)

string of shamrocks

We find chunky yarn or 1/4 inch wide ribbon works well for the garland.  It fits well through a standard hole punch hole, and allows the shamrock pieces to stay in place in the way you would like them to be spread.  

shamrock wreath

You can create a circle out of pieces of cardstock or cardboard or a paper plate, then glue on shamrock shapes for a pretty indoor wreath.

window shamrock garland

Garlands can be a nice way to decorate a window, a mantel or any wall space in your home.  This garlands brings a bit of greenery to our windows, where the trees are still bare at this time of year.

diy shamrock garland

Of course, our favorite part is making it our very own, with decorations done by the children.  We find this can be a fun time to talk about the beauty of the prayer.  We hope you and your family can enjoy making a Saint Patrick’s Prayer Shamrock Garland or Wreath to decorate your home this season!  Enjoy!

Are you looking for more Saint Patrick’s Day fun?  I love the way the CCC cartoon version of Saint Patrick’s life imagines how Saint Patrick first composed this prayer.  It shows him as a newly captured slave tending the sheep.  Imagine how lonely and scary that would feel!  He shows his trust in God, etches a cross in a tree, and calmly says this prayer.

If you are looking for a fun activity for your family this Saint Patrick’s Day, you may want to check out this beautiful movie.

P.S.  If you have a formed.org account, this movie is available for free.  Many churches have an account for everyone in their parish to access Formed for free, but you can also get an individual subscription (the last we checked, there was a free trial option too).

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Snowflake Crayon Resist Watercolor

Snowflake Crayon Resist Watercolor

by | Feb 13, 2022 | Craft Tutorials

snowflake art

Last week I looked at the weather and saw there was snow in the forecast for the weekend, so I decided to get some non-washable crayons.  Why?  I was thinking it would be fun to make watercolor resist snow scenes this weekend, and we don’t keep the non-washable crayons needed for this project in our house.  Years ago, a very wise friend of ours said that she only allows washable markers and crayons in her house.  We thought this was a great idea, and we have done the same… it has probably saved us from a lot of impossible cleaning jobs over the years.

As our 3 year old is a budding mural artist and furniture decorator, I hid the crayons when I got them.  When the snow was falling today, I thought it would be a perfect time to do this project… but I had forgotten where I hid the crayons.  Fortunately, I eventually found the crayons, and we had a wonderful time drawing snowflakes and painting together.

With art projects, it’s great to have inspiration.  Today, we were able to be inspired by looking at the falling snow.  Another way we love to find inspiration is through looking at illustrations in children’s picture books.

We’ve been guided in letting books inspire us through Five in a Row (a lovely picture book-based curriculum for preschool and early elementary) and the Read Aloud Revival (they invite wonderful published authors to give really inspiring online classes to kids, and they also have amazing book lists).  Whether you are a homeschooling family or not, I highly recommend Read Aloud Revival for their book ideas!

Ella Bella Ballerina Nutcracker

Here are a few of our favorite books with great snow illustrations:

Ella Bella Ballerina and the Nutcracker

Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas

Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day

Books by Lita Judge: Red Sled and Hoot and Peep:  a song for snow

 

 

We hope during the next snow fall where you live, or the next time you are dreaming of snow, you can have fun making crayon resist watercolor snowflake scenes too!  Let’s get started…

Gather your supplies:

Water color paper

Crayons (the non-washable kind)

Watercolors

Paint brushes (wide brushes are probably best for this project)

Cup of water (a cup that is not tippy is best)

Paper towels (to clean up spills and dry the paint brushes if needed)

supplies snow

Let’s create!

crayon resist

Draw snowflakes (and other pictures) with your crayons - be sure to press hard

watercolor wash

When you are done with your crayon drawings, brush with watercolors and watch the snowflakes appear.

ella bella book inspiration

You can use the snow you see outside or a picture book to inspire your painting.

snow image

Sometimes little ones like to create a painting together with an adult or older sibling.

snowflake crayon resist

Happy Snow Day!

Note:  The book links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. 

Unicorn Valentine

Unicorn Valentine

by | Feb 4, 2022 | Craft Tutorials

We are excited to share with you our first ever Youtube tutorial for this sweet little unicorn Valentine!  So gather up your supplies and come make a Valentine (or a bunch of them!) with us!

valentine supplies

Click on the Youtube video and have fun making Valentines!

Extra note:  Our oldest daughter has been working through a wonderful class from Film School For Teens.  The online classes are created by a Christian family with expertise in film and Youtube.  If you have a child interested in film, you can check it out here:  FS4T