These collaged paper candles were crafted by kindergaten, 1rst and 2nd graders.
So many candles and such variety! Print out my nostalgic version of a candle below and have your little ones paste all kinds of things to it to create their own version of this popular Christmas craft. Below I have compiled a list of things that teachers or parents may collect for the project: pasta, plain or dyed, rice, plain or dyed, ribbons, buttons, pom-poms, sequins, chenille stems, silk flowers, seeds, beans, beads, stickers, foam shapes, clippings of fabric or felt, feathers,tiny bells, shredded paper, wrapping paper, sea shells, tissue paper, wooden shapes, pressed leaves and flowers, air dry clay, tin foil.
Download and print this free Christmas candle graphic for your little ones to decorate.
I took a traditional children's craft, a paper plate wreath with candle, and made it a bit more interesting by crafting it three dimensionally. With these additional steps, this craft has become challenging enough to inspire a third or fourth grader. (students 9 to 10 years of age)
Above is a series of step-by-step photos for this Christmas wreath project. You will need the following items to complete the craft:
scissors
white glue
2 sturdy white paper plates
a toilet paper roll
masking tape
tin foil
child's tempera or acrylic paints in: green, yellow, blue, pink, orange, black and purple
narrow tinsel garland
a permanent ink, black felt tipped pen, thin nip
green and pale blue construction paper
tissue paper in orange, yellow and red
Directions for this Paper Plate Wreath With a Candle Inside:
Cut a toilet paper roll in half, and paste it down to the lower end of one paper plate. Tape it also to the paper plate so that the glued surfaces will be given time to dry in place. This tube shape will later become your 3D candle.
Then take the second paper plate and cut the center out; following the indented circular edge of the plate. There is usually a raised embossed center circle on inexpensive, white paper plates. Your edge need not be perfectly cut. It will be eventually covered by added details.
Then glue the two paper plate together with their top sides facing each other. See the picture above.
Crush 3Dimensional balls with flat back from the foil. Mask the flat sides with the tape so that these will adhere to the paper plate well.
Glue the foil balls to the front side of your wreath and allow the entire form to dry thoroughly over night before painting it.
Layer masking tape over the foil balls so that paint will adhere to these easily. Paint them bright colors: orange, purple, yellow, and pink.
Paint the interior of the wreath black and the surrounding leafy green parts of the wreath with green paint.
Let the paints dry.
Now draw some pine twigs similar to the one shown just below with the black marker onto the green construction paper.
Cut out the pine twigs and glue these to the surface of your pine wreath randomly. Also draw pine twigs where ever there is not a random layer of construction paper twigs added.
Glue torn pieces of pale blue construction paper onto your candle shape and add the warm colored tissues for a flame. (see detailed photos below)
Twist a gold metallic garland in and out of the wreath for added bling! I had to punch a few holes to the backside of my paper plate wreath in order to weave the garland through.
Add a little hook or loop of twine onto the back of your wreath and hang it onto a door or wall after this Christmas art project has dried.
A drawn example of a pine twig.
Close up of the Christmas baubles attached to the wreath and made from foil, masking tape and paint.
A close-up photo of the paper candle made from a toilet paper tube and tissue paper.
Did you know that lighted candles were a feature of the ancient Jewish Feast of the Dedication or Feast of Lights. This was held about Christmas-time, and it is likely that lights were twinkling in every Jewish home in Bethlehem and Nazareth at the very time of the birth of Jesus. This custom was probably merged into the Christian celebration of Christmas. Other authorities claim that the candles are a survival of the huge Yule candle used as a sign of the Light that came into the world as prophesied by John the Baptist.
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
A cupcake (also British English: fairy cake; Australian English: patty cake or cup cake) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, icing and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, may be applied.
The first mention of the cupcake can be traced as far back as 1796,
when a recipe notation of "a cake to be baked in small cups" was written
in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. The earliest documentation of the term cupcake was in "Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats" in 1828 in Eliza Leslie's Receipts cookbook.
In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name cup cake or cupcake. In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins,
or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in. This is
the use of the name that has remained, and the name of "cupcake" is now
given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup. The name "fairy cake" is a fanciful description of its size, which would be appropriate for a party of diminutive fairies to share. While English fairy cakes vary in size more than American cupcakes, they are traditionally smaller and are rarely topped with elaborate icing.
Far left, chocolate cupcakes decorated with fresh raspberries. Center left, cupcake topped with a gumdrop turtle. Center right, cupcakes iced to look like miniature cherry pies. Far right, cupcakes decorated with the aid of frosting tips.
These Cupcakes Recipes Are Perfect for Christmas Holiday Celebrations:
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts.
It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the
lives of four sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March – and is loosely
based on the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters. The
first volume, Little Women, was an immediate commercial and critical success, prompting the composition of the book's second volume, entitled Good Wives, which was also successful. Both books were first published as a single volume entitled Little Women in 1880. Alcott followed Little Women with two sequels, also featuring the March sisters: Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Little Women was a fiction novel for girls that veered from the normal writings for children, especially girls, at the time. Little Women
has three major themes:” domesticity, work, and true love. All of them
are interdependent and each is necessary to the achievement of a
heroine’s individual identity.”
Little Women itself “has been read as a romance or as a quest,
or both. It has been read as a family drama that validates virtue over
wealth.”Little Women has been read “as a means of escaping that life by women who knew its gender constraints only too well.”
Alcott “combines many conventions of the sentimental novel with crucial
ingredients of Romantic children’s fiction, creating a new form of
which Little Women is a unique model.” Elbert argued that within Little Women can be found the first vision of the “American Girl” and that her multiple aspects are embodied in the differing March sisters.
"Little Women" is a 1994 is also a drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong. The screenplay by Robin Swicord is based on the Louisa May Alcott novel of the same name. It is the fifth feature film adaptation of the Alcott classic, following silent versions released in 1917 and 1918, a 1933 George Cukor-directed release, a 1949 adaptation by Mervyn LeRoy, and a 1978 adaptation by Gordon Hessler. It was released exclusively on December 21, 1994, and was released wide on December 25, 1994, by Columbia Pictures. It is one of my family's favorite movies to watch at Christmas time. Read more . . .
This little Chrismon ornament is made with cut-up egg carton parts, a bit of air-dry clay, gold spray paint and gold beads. You will also need to acquire a paper pulp egg carton, masking tape, white glue, transparent glitter and a pair of scissors to begin the craft with. This chalice has a fluted edge at it's base. The base was made by pressing tin foil into a tiny tart tin. Then the foil was covered entirely with masking tape so that CelluClay would adhere to it.
Cut out the small segments of your egg carton until you have stacked a similar looking shape to the one on the left above. Mask each shape separately and glue these together with tacky white glue. Some egg cartons have cross shapes inside the cups. You can see one of these in the photo on the right. I pressed two small pieces of air dry clay into this cup and pulled them out. The imprint made my cross shape that I then glued onto both sides of a circular piece of cardboard to fit into the cup. This is the communion wafer. I dripped glue into this cup and firmly pressed the wafer shape into it to dry over night.
Above is a photo of my CelluClay, papier mâché pulp, both before and after I have mixed it with water. The mixture should have a sticky thick consistency after stirring the water in. It is important to mix these two ingredients well in order to dampen thoroughly the glue that is added to the pulp at the factory. Mixing the correct proportions will take some getting used to. This is a process that you do by experimentation. Don't throw out the mixture if it is too loose, just ad more pulp. If it is too dry add more water. Then layer a thin amount over the communion cup minus the wafer. Let the cup dry for a couple of days and then spray paint it in a well ventilated area, outside is best.
Next you will need to add a touch of white paint to the wafer and a touch of transparent glitter to the sides of the cup. I then bored a tiny whole through the wafer and strung a gold beaded hanger for the Chrismon to finish my ornament for the Christmas display.
One Bread, One Body
Scriptural Reference for the Chrismon is Luke 22:14-20 14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” 17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
