This Christmas we opted for a handmade holiday. We turned our little creative space into Santa's workshop and settled in for some merry-making. (It seems we're not alone -- check out this article). I chose projects that I thought would be simple enough for Jack to help with; I really wanted it to be a joint effort. In the next few days I'll post some of our favorites. You can be sure if we did them you can too -- I only attempt projects if I'm pretty sure the process is kid-friendly and non-frustrating and the product is cute enough to be worth the work.
Case in point: the daisy pencil pot. We made this for my sweet three-year-old niece Courtney, inspired by this one from Family Fun.
We used artificial daisies from the craft store, pencils, a flower pot, a bag of beans, a glue gun, and a hole puncher. Here's the basic how-to: As I pulled the erasers out of the pencils, Jack pulled the flowers and leaves off the stems. Then, as I hot-glued the flowers to the tops of the pencils, Jack punched holes in the leaves with a hole puncher. He poked a pencil through the hole in each leaf and slid the leaf up under the flower. We filled the flower pot with beans (covering the hole in the bottom with a sticker), arranged the pencil-flowers inside, and personalized it with another sticker.
How do-able does that sound? And how cute is the finished product?
Honestly, it makes me happy just looking at it. We might just have to whip one for everyone we know (and one for me too!).
The added benefit, of course, is that this gift is such a fun way to encourage and inspire young writers. What a cheerful addition to a child's desk! I'm sure this will make writing irresistible. (This would also make a great teacher gift, or a present for a classroom's writing center...)
Is there a budding writer out there who wouldn't love this?
