Handmade Navidad: Tote Bag Craft

by Betty Galvan

This past weekend was all about the children. It normally is all about the children, but Jose and I were extra conscious of our little blessings. We went into the city on Saturday to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and spent some time in our old neighborhood of Tribeca. We wrapped up the weekend on Sunday by making book tote bags for Diego's older cousins. One is finishing up high school and the other one college (!), yet Diego (only in Kindergarten) adores the two and he can't wait to see them at Tita and Tito's house in Chicago in less than a week!

Inspired by an amazing apron Diego made at school for me, I thought that tote bags would be a perfect homemade gift for two young ladies who love to read. I stopped at Michael's to purchase the $2.99 bags, iron on rhinestones, fabric markers and fabric paint.

For the first step, I had Diego stand WAY back as I ironed on the rhinestones. You simply stick the plastic with the stones on the front of the bag, turn it inside-out and iron for about 30 seconds. Once it cools and you pull the plastic off, the stones should be set and your little one is ready to decorate as he or she pleases!

Diego wrote his cousins' names on the bag, drew some hearts, and felt it was important to label, "Books Only!" on the back of the bag, "just in case they don't know what the bag is for."

I painted his hands with a brush so he can leave his hand prints and "signature" on the back of the bags.

I let him make mistakes and helped him correct, after all, this was his special gift project.

Notice the hearts around the word "books"? They are there because he used an apostrophe! Ha! So cute.

The project was simple! My two year-old Santi was running around trying to help, but because this was so easy, he was able to help without us having to direct him to something else. Diego was so proud of his work and he can't wait to see Lisa and Cindy's faces when they open up their homemade gifts.

You can do the exact same project for others! Teachers can also use a tote, abuelitas can use an apron, and siblings can use t-shirts! The possibilities are endless and your little creator's project is memorable, unique and special. Happy Holidays!

Your friend,

Betty

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Betty Galvan, is helping her readers "find the positive and seek the benefits" over at her blog, MyFriendBettySays.com.

She is the mother of three beautiful little boys and a teacher.

Las Posadas Craft: Luminarias

One of the crafts associated with las Posadas, is the luminaria. These paper lanterns often line the sidewalks, porches, and driveways of the home hosting las Posadas. They light the way for the peregrinos outside, who will sing as they are pidiendo posada. Be sure to check out my post Las Posadas Lesson Plans, Crafts, Activities, and Music for a lot more information and resources on this Mexican Christmastime tradition.

Today's Posada craft was so simple to create! My kids had a blast making their farolitos...and I think they all turned out beautifully.

This post contains affiliate links.

Supplies for making your own luminarias

Here's what you'll need to create your luminarias:

- Paper bags (any color, though, white is nice!)
- Punches with different designs - Try to get at least one all over the page punch
- Wavy scissors
- Stick-on gems (optional)
- Battery-powered tea lights

Directions for DIY luminarias

The key to this craft is finding a magnetic all over the page punch. I happened to be looking through the Marth Stewart section in Michaels the other day and found this one on sale for $11. (If I had used my 50% off sticker it would have been cheaper!! Oops.) But there were MANY more designs to choose from! (I sense a lighter wallet in my future.) If you can't find an all over the page punch, don't worry. You can still do this craft with the ones you have.

First, remove the top portion of your punch, and center your bag on the base plate.

Next replace the top. You don't have to worry about centering it; the magnets will pull it into place. 

We did find it helpful to hold the paper bag in place, though, with one finger as the motion of the punch sliding into place can pull the bag off to the side.

Then your child can simply push down on the top! It should punch very easily.

Next, let your child use smaller punches to decorate the edges. Be sure to save the punched out shapes for future craft projects. (They also make great confetti...ahem. Cascarones!)



If he/she wants to, your child can then use their wavy papercraft scissors to make a decorative edge along the top. I have one child who likes to do it willy-nilly, and the other who likes a perfectly straight edge. If your child is like this, then you can help them by showing them how to draw a line across the top using the bottom edge of another bag as a ruler as shown...

Open your bag and stick in a battery-powered tea light (I don't like to use candles in paper bags with the children around - fire hazard!) And you're done!

If you're kids are artsy like mine, they may enjoy embellishing the outside a little bit with some stick-on gems or stamps/stickers.

Have your children make a small stack of these for gift giving. Abuelitas are sure to love them!
Oh, and they make good night lights, too!


Happy crafting!

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Downloads for Celebrating Las Posadas
  
  
• Tutorial: Fast & Easy Papel Picado Banner
  
  
• Las Posadas Craft: Piñata Ornaments
  
  
• 4 Children's Books to Celebrate Las Posadas

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Las Posadas Craft: Piñata Ornaments

Las Posadas is coming up! So we decided to create some crafts that would remind us of this nine-day tradition. We started by making these ornaments that you can fill with candies or other small goodies. Inspired by elements most closely associated with Las Posadas, we went shopping at our local craft stores. Then came home and tinkered with prototypes until we settled on a good pattern. I hope you enjoy this Las Posadas craft of piñata ornaments!

Las Posadas Inspired Piñata Ornaments

Materials

Here's what you'll need to make your own piñata ornaments:

- Different colored cardstock
- 3 different colored ribbon
- Piñata cone pattern
- Scissors
- Tape
- Ruler
- Toothpick (or small crochet hook)
- Round DIY ornaments (the best ones are round, but flattened, not the globe-shaped ones)

Directions

First, wash your ornaments out with warm, soapy water and let them dry.

Next, print out your ornament cones on the different colored cardstock using our template, and cut them out along the OUTER lines. Be sure to leave the inner solid line uncut as shown below.

Then take your ruler and lay it over the tab portion of your template lining it up with the solid line...

...and then fold up the larger portion.

Once you've made this initial straight-line fold, it will be easier for you to simply fold this tab down against the larger portion of the template.


Next, curl and tape the template into a cone shape, making sure to keep the tab tucked on the inside. Do not put tape over the pointy end. Don't worry about making it perfect! Younger children may need help with this part.

Next, have your child measure and cut the ribbon into 6 inch lengths. (Por favor, ignore the stain on my son's sleeve. I always make them wear old clothes when we do crafts!)

 

Now knot the ribbon in the middle to hold them all together. You will need 3 of these tassels per ornament.

Now carefully fold the ribbon at the knot and tuck the knot into the gap at the pointy end of the cone. We used a small crochet hook to push the knot into the gap, but you can use anything like a pencil point or toothpick. The tab should help hold the knot in place and keep it from falling out. Do this with THREE (3) of the cones for a 4-pointed piñata, or 4 of the cones for a 5-pointed one.

Now fill your ornament with jelly beans or M & Ms or other colorful items.

Now cut one length of ribbon long enough to make a big loop that will go through the hoop at the top of your ornament, and stick out the end of your FOURTH (4th) cone. (This length will vary depending on the type of ornament you use.) Then go ahead and tie the ribbon through the hoop. Now you can thread the loop through the large open end of your hoop and out the gap at the small pointy end. I used a small crochet hook to push it through, but you can use a pipe cleaner to pull it through.

Now lay your ornament on the table and arrange the cones around it to determine if you'd like to have a 4-point piñata or a 5-point one. If you are using a flattened ornament like we did, it helps to squeeze the cone un poquito to make them cup the plastic and touch all the way around.

Once you are happy with your arrangement, simply tape the cones in place on both the front and back! If you use clear tape, it will disappear nicely. Be sure you DON'T tape the top cone! It will rest in place, but will easily slide up the loop to allow the owner easy access to the goodies inside!

Now just hang them on your tree or use them as decoration around your house during the holidays as a joyful reminder of Las Posadas! They also make wonderful handmade gifts...

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Las Posadas Lesson Plans, Crafts, Activities, and Music
  
  
• Las Posadas Craft: Luminarias
  
  
• 4 Children's Books to Celebrate Las Posadas
  
  
• MommyMaestra's Three Favorite Versions of the Las Posadas Song
  
  
• Tutorial: Fast & Easy Papel Picado Banner

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Bilingual Christmas Decorations {Printable}

2011 has been an incredible year. I still can't get over how fast MommyMaestra has grown, and am so grateful for our growing community of Latina moms who are concerned and dedicated to their children's education.

I am going to end this year by spending some serious bonding time with my familia, so I will be mostly offline this coming week. I do have a few posts scheduled, but I'll be happily disconnected. Los abuelos will be arriving on Christmas day, and we have some serious fun planned for this coming week. I'll be devoting all of my attention to that.

I would encourage ALL of you to take this final week of 2011 and spend it completely, whole-heartedly, and joyfully focused on enjoying your families. Get away from the computer, get out, and make it a point to laugh 25 times a day.

But before I go, I wanted to give you all one last gift this year. It is a simple packet of bilingual decorations that includes:

• 1 reversible, bilingual banner (Merry Christmas on one side, Feliz Navidad on the other)
• A set of 4 napkin rings/water bottle labels
• A set of 4 place cards
• And 4 nutcracker cut-outs.

It is not fancy, just fun for the kids. Something to do to help decorate and prepare for Sunday's festivities. To download the pack, click on the image above.

Until next year, un abrazo a todos!

Felices fiestas....

Handmade Navidad: From la Cocina

Okay,  we're getting down to the wire. Time to raid the kitchen (and maybe the grocery store) and start a bake-a-thon in la cocina.

We're getting a little tired of the traditional chocolate chip cookies we usually bake (okay, we're not really tired of them, but we're trying to be adventurous!) so we are mulling over some of these fabulous recipes we've found online. Some of them have to be made outright and packed in a decorative container, but others could simply be gifts in a jar with the ingredients attractively layered.


Ingredients in a Jar as Gifts:



by Sweet Life Bake

Polvorones de Chocolate by Sweet Life Bake. I think these dry ingredients would look lovely layered in a mason jar. Don't forget to include a recipe card!


Mexican Hot Chocolate by Una Taza de Chocolate. I would shave the chocolate tablets, put them in the bottom of an icing piping bag, and then sprinkle them with the salt, chile, and cinnamon with a final layer of the semi-sweet chocolate pieces on top. Don't forget a recipe card!



Ready-Made Food Gifts:

After reading Marta's post about how she likes to give Creme de Vie, or Cuban eggnog, I started noticing some of the posts my other amigas Latinas were sharing with their own versions of eggnog. Here is a little list of some great recipes for making this popular drink. Just package them in beautiful bottles from Pier One or World Market and give to your favorite amigos...

• Rompope: Mexican Eggnog from Sweet Life Bake

• Ponche Crema (Venezuelan Eggnog) from Mami Talks

• Coquito (Puerto Rican Eggnog) from Modern Mami

• Also, Sazón Boricua has several recipes for coquito - and they ALL look incredible.  



from Multicultural Familia


I also LOVE Multicultural Familia's recipe for Tortilla Snowflakes with Cajeta. And while I think these would be great to make and give, I also think it would be fun to put together a little kit for making these that includes tortillas, snowflake cookie cutters, your homemade cajeta from Monday's post, and the other ingredients!

Bizcochos by Muy Bueno Cookbook. I had a hard time deciding which category to put this in, but since the recipe makes 300 cookies, I thought it might be best to make them with your children and then slide the finished biscochos into an icing piping bag and close with a beautiful ribbon.

Happy cooking!

Handmade Navidad: 5 Fun and Easy Pine Cone Crafts

There is no scarcity of pine cones around our place. One little walk through our front yard will yield a bucketful of cones of all different shapes and sizes. This year we've decided to put them to good use and I've been searching the web for clever gift and decoration ideas. Here are a few of my favorites:


from MamiTalks.com

If you are looking for decorations, I love these little pine cone trees that my friend, Dariela, shared on her blog, Mami Talks. They are so simple to make, and yet they look lovely with the little splash of color from the small pom-poms.


Mummy's Busy World teaches you how to make sparkly, festive pine cones with just a little bit of paint and glitter. These could be used as decoration, or given as gifts.


Last year, The Magnifying Glass shared easy directions for making cinnamon-scented pine cones. We love this idea and are making some to give as aromatic fire starters. We've even gone a step further to create peppermint potpourri using the same directions, just a different essential oil and a variety of cones of different shapes and sizes.

from MarthaStewart.com

Also on the gift-giving front, I think these pine cone picture frames are genius! Naturally, they are from Martha Stewart (how does she make things look so classy and why can't I think of them first?!) Her site doesn't mention the hanging pine cone ornaments in this picture, but I think they would be terribly easy to make using real pine cones. A little white or silver spray paint and some velvet ribbon, no?


Have you visited The Magic Onions blog? She has two tutorials for creating wax-dipped pine cone ornaments. One of them uses crayons and the other uses beeswax. Both are beautiful and worthy of gift giving.

Con mucho cariño...

Latin-Inspired Ornaments

Today's post is a collection of my favorite Latino-themed ornaments on the web. I've been so pleasantly surprised by the creativity and the ingenuity that has gone into making them! I especially like how these can be given as gift sets, or used to decorate your own tree. And I think every child might love to make their own versions of these ornaments.

Happy crafting!

Muy Bueno Cookbook found some easy buñuelo tree ornaments on Chef Marcela's blog. I love how they turned out, and I think the red velvet ribbons go perfectly. Don't you think these would make a lovely gift set? Just carefully pile them into a decorative tin and give...

Ruby from Growing Up Blackxican recently shared her miniature posada piñata ornaments on Spanglish Baby. They are adorable and easy for your children to make.  

Oh Happy Day also teaches you how to make some adorable mini-piñatas. I think they could easily be made into ornaments with a little bit of yarn or twine. These are a little more complicated and probably best suited for older children.

First Palette has a simple poinsettia ornament craft that I really like. I'm thinking of having the kids make some of these using tiny, gold bells in the middle.

I also like these stained glass poinsettia ornaments made out of paper towel tubes on the Crafty Crow!! Gorgeous, no?

My friend, Lisa, who recently created a tutorial for MommyMaestra on making your own traveling nacimiento, has also created a tutorial for New Latina on making felt ornaments.

Con mucho cariño...

Handmade Navidad: Dulce de Leche

Madre mia! Do you realize that Christmas is only ONE week away?!? We still have people on our list that we haven't bought any gifts for! Two little problems: We don't know what to buy some of them, and we've run out of dinero. (Ay, that second problem really stinks.)

Okay, here's another problem: My kids are now old enough to want to give gifts, too. But they haven't got any dinero, either (or at least none that their mami will let them spend. "No, m'ija, you may not touch your savings."), AND they want to MAKE their regalitos.

What's a mami to do?

Lucky for me (and you), I have a magic list of ideas - all inexpensive or free, depending on what you have on hand around the house. So relax and enjoy this week of MommyMaestra's Handmade Navidad!

To begin, Marta shares with us her culturally inspired, super easy - yet classy! - handmade gift idea: Homemade Dulce de Leche...

Could it possibly be any easier? ¡Creo que no! This is such an easy gift to make with your kids. But please be careful and let mami be in charge of removing the cans from the hot, hot water.

Marta says:

"You can load up multiple cans in the crockpot. The time is the same. There's NO DANGER OF EXPLODING CANS. I make these ALL THE TIME. I sometimes use a pressure cooker if I'm in a hurry. No explosions yet.

Also, be sure to wait until the can is cool enough to touch. About 30 minutes. The may still be on the warm side, and the dulce may still be hot (it's amazing that way), but if you can handle the can, you can open it."

You can read more about what inspired Marta's making dulce de leche video in her article on the Tiki Tiki blog.

The amazing and talented Marta also gives Cuban eggnog, otherwise known as Créme de Vie, during the holidays. The recipe is also very simple (but includes a wee bit of rum, which I imagine you can leave out if you are making it for children).

And to make things even better, Marta has created and shared some free printable labels to attach to your Dulce de Leche and Créme de Vie regalitos. [Insert squeal of pleasure here.] If you download them, please take a moment to leave a comment on the blog thanking her for her generosity and creativity!


Con mucho cariño...