Crafts

Question: I need ideas for christmas crafts for a group of older ladies who are very uncrafty.?

(Posted by: Louis on 2010-07-29 16:45:35)

They can't paint and small detailed projects are beyond them. No beads.

Posted by: Grosvenor on 2010-07-30, 03:21:16

Collect a whole bunch of used Christmas cards. You will need just the fronts of the cards. Since everyone has different tastes, all shapes, sizes and pictures will be fine. Take a hole puncher and make holes around the sides of the card, top and bottom. I would say about every inch. Then, take a piece of yarn, red, green, silver or gold - whatever matches the card better (this is where it could get a little sticky - judging how much would be needed - but if you just keep the yarn on the ball until you get to the end and then cut, there shouldn't be a problem) and take the yarn and weave it in and out of the holes around the card. At the end, cut the yard, leaving enough to tie a little bow. Then, make a hole in the middle of the top of the card and tie a short little piece of yarn through that. Voila! Instant Christmas decoration or ornament for the tree - depending upon how big the card is.

Posted by: incurs on 2010-07-29, 18:06:17

Cut potatoes into shapes and use ink blotters or acrylic paint to make patterns on large sheets of paper. Use metallic acrylic paint to give it more of a holiday appeal. You can also make xmas cards the same way.

Posted by: thejanith on 2010-07-29, 18:13:06

This sounds pretty simple, but is strikingly pretty when done. Using tacky glue, you can glue pretty buttons onto a pretty fabric backing in the form of a tree. Trace the simple triangles onto the backing material before giving it to them (fake velvet is best, but even felt works well -- use a dark green for the best effect) and have the ladies fill the triangles with buttons. Have them add four dark buttons (two by two) at the bottom for the trunk. Add something on the back, like a dowel at the top, to hang it, and the ladies have a very pretty decoration. You can also put these into simple frames (with no glass) to make really lovely Christmas gifts.

Posted by: Miz T on 2010-07-29, 18:38:24

The first thing that came to my mind is braided yarn "wreaths " and "bell pulls. " You'll need worsted-weight acrylic yarn in your choice of color: Red, white, and green or all white or all green or whatever yarn you like. Cut lengths 36 " long. Take 24 strands of each color (or three 24-strand segments of one color), fasten them together at one end, and braid them loosely. Then decorate with bells, glitter, ribbon, tiny ornaments, or whatever you like. Tie a bow at the top and bottom. For wreaths, you need to start with 50 " strands to make a wreath 15 " in diameter. Braid the same way, decorate the same way or with plastic holly leaves and berries and top off with a bow. Second thing is decorated can lids. I use a can opener that breaks the seal on the lid rather than cutting through the lid, so there are no sharp edges. It doesn't take long to collect a stack of can lids of different shapes and colors. You can hot-glue (or even cold glue) glitter, ribbon, sparkly rickrack, and such to the lids. Put a ruffle around the bottom and create a "coaster. " Or punch a hole and hang for an ornament. Third is making candy wreaths. The ones I've done involve pinning cellophane-wrapped peppermints to a Styrofoam wreath and topping with a bow. Or follow these directions: associatedcontent.com/ article/ 450301/ holiday_family_craft_how_to_make_an.html?cat= 24 Here are links to web sites with other ideas: allfreecrafts.com/ christmas/ index.shtml enchantedlearning.com/ crafts/ christmas/ santaland.com/ arts.html angelfire.com/ fl3/ greeneyeszchristmas1/ craft.html scoutingweb.com/ scoutingweb/ Program/ CraftsHolidays.htm (scroll to the bottom)

Posted by: Lorita on 2010-07-29, 19:07:54

One of my favorite "crafts " is creating sand-gardens. I bought a bunch of shallow bowls at Big Lots, a bag of sand, "river rocks, " and popsicle sticks from the craft store, then gave each person a cup of sand, let them pick their own rocks, and go at it. Bonus points if you can find little plastic birds, dragons, or buddahs to make it more "authentic " for them. The popsicle sticks served as thier rakes, so no glue involved. If you can keep the sand under control it's quick, easy, and doesn't require too many fine motor skills. I did this with residents back in the day when I was a RA on campus. A friend of mine did it recently at a girl's home she works at and said it went over well there, too. Another thing that my grandma does a lot of is blank cards. She decorates the outside with pressed leaves, flowers, and bird feathers that she spends the year collecting. Often she'll glue those onto a piece of bright paper, tear the edges, then glue that whole lot onto the outside of the card. She'll decorate a boarder with felt-tipped marker. Then she uses them as cards herself, or she bundles them up and gives them away as gifts. This one involves glue and way more things, but there still isn't any cutting involved, and not too many fine motor skills. Hope one of these helps!

Posted by: depressible on 2010-07-29, 22:06:25

You might want to consider checking Amazon.com for "children's crafts " under "Books " (of course). :) My daughter works in a care-home and that's what the activity director uses.

Posted by: Emma on 2010-07-30, 07:58:33

Here are some Christmas Craft Ideas - Christmas Crafts - craft-kits.net/ christmas-crafts.htm Crafts - ornament-shop.net/ holiday-recipes.htm (under Crafts) Most are very simple and inexpensive to make (some use household items) Enjoy!