Adults:
- Mittens - Have some “ugly” old sweaters lying around the house that you’re a little too sentimental to donate? Try repurposing them into cute and unique mittens! Simply line up a mitten pattern (you can find and print these with ease online via search engines. You can also draw one over your own hands, leaving a half an inch or so as extra room) along the bottom edge of your sweater, or over part of a design you would like to incorporate, and be sure to cut through two layers as you follow your pattern. Turn your fabric pieces around so that the desired design is facing inside and flush against each-other before beginning to sew along the edges, so that when you’re all finished you’ll be able to hide your thread by turning the mitten inside-out! Keep in mind that depending on where on your sweater you cut out your pattern some extra sewing may be required along the bottom to keep your new mittens from unraveling.
- Snowy Candle Jars – If you’re the kind of person that keeps all sorts of jars stored away “just in case” here’s an idea: visit your local craft store and pick out some white glitter, tiny white beads, or other loose white decorations and some clear-drying glue. Coat the sides of your jar in glue and roll it in your desired decoration until you’ve achieved a desired snowy look, then let it dry. To complete the look tie a bit of classic brown twine into a bow around the top of your jar and add other festive features here such as bells or small faux pine branches.
- Water-less “Snowglobe” Jar – Still have some spare glassware and glitter lying around? Maybe you have a spare sprig of faux pine that fell off other decorations? Cut it short and make it into a tiny pine tree to fit in your jar, or find a fake pine tree in the “miniatures” aisle of your local craft store! Use some sturdy craft glue to secure your “tree” to a scrap piece of wood or another decorative “base” of your choosing, provided it’s larger than the mouth of your mason jar. Fill your mason jar with a good amount of white glitter or other “snow” substitute and line the mouth of your jar with more glue. Place your “base” and miniature tree upside-down into your jar and weigh it down with a few books while you wait for the glue to set, securing it to whatever base you’ve chosen. Once everything has had a chance to dry turn your new project upside-down and give it a shake to make it snow!
Children:
- Wall Snowflakes – Rather than sticking to the usual paper snowflakes you can take it a step further with a bag of popsicle sticks, glue, and some string! Find a snowflake pattern online or use your imagination to make a unique snowflake all on your own by gluing the ends of popsicle sticks together in fun patterns that you can even hang on your walls! Optionally, you can add glitter, paint, or patterns to your snowflakes to give them an even more vibrant and festive feel.
- Tea Light Snowmen – If you have some leftover electric tea lights from Fall, one of the best ways to repurpose them for Winter is to make them into Snowman faces! Using the “flame” in place of a carrot nose, give your “snowman” some eyes and a mouth with paint or a permanent marker, then if you’re still in the mood for decorating you can give your creation a construction paper hat or earmuffs, and even maybe glue a ribbon around the bottom to make a scarf! You can get creative with cotton balls and buttons for bodies and even glue a piece of string to the back of your repurposed candles to hang them up!
- Water Bottle Penguins – Start saving plastic water bottles to repurpose as cute penguin decorations! To get started tear off any plastic labeling to leave your bottle completely clear. Bottles with black caps work best, but if your cap is another color you can fill it in with black permanent markers or acrylic paint, or simply cover it with black construction paper. Glue two small googly eyes and a construction paper triangle “beak” to your bottle cap to complete your penguin’s face, then if you’re still feeling crafty find some colored felt and string to make your penguin a warm winter hat! Fill your bottle with white cotton and cut out a black strip of paper to cover the back of your bottle and give it a penguin’s distinctive “tuxedo” look. Finish with a pair of felt or paper feet, some black flippers on the sides, and maybe even a colorful scarf!