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Winter Craft Ideas How to Make Fun Pinecone Flowers

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

If you’re looking for winter craft ideas for a winter season unit study, your kids will love these fun pinecone flowers.

These pinecone flowers are adorable and add a sweet touch to your table or bookshelf.

Creating an entire bouquet is a great way to fill a chilly fall or winter afternoon with your nature lover. 

Winter Craft Ideas How to Make Fun Pine Cone Flowers

I just love the mix of the natural and the handmade.

This activity can be done as a standalone or as part of a tree or pinecone unit study.

All you need to do is gather up some pinecones from the yard and a handful of small sturdy twigs and you are ready to get to creating a beautiful bouquet.

Favorite Nature Winter Craft Ideas

If you want to include this craft as part of a unit on pinecones or trees in general here are some of my favorite resources for nature study.

The Nature Anatomy book is always a goldmine of information.

There are plenty of pages on bark, leaves, pinecones, tree rings, etc.

Another great pinecone activity is this Easy and Fun PineCone Snowy Owl Winter Craft for Kindergarten.

  • This is a cute and well done Pinecone Unit Study that you can do.
  • Nature lovers should have a copy of Peterson First Guides Trees on hand. This is a great reference for home or to pack for nature walks.

Safari LTD Trees Toobs are great as a reference especially trees you might not see in person but they can also be used for dioramas and sensory bins.

Finally, explore this simple activity: Why Do Pinecones Open and Close While you have pinecones gather up.

Pinecone Facts

Winter Craft Ideas How to Make Fun Pine Cone Flowers

Also, here are a few pinecone facts.

  • The main purpose of a pinecone is to keep the tree’s seeds safe.
  • The inner bark can be sliced and fried, it is a good emergency food option.
  • Pinecones can stay on pine trees for more than 10 years before falling to the ground.
  • The large pinecones you see are the female pinecones.
  • Pinecones are the official Maine state flower.
  • Pine nuts can be used in coffee, jam, tea, and seasoning.
  • Pinecones are a natural barometer for predicting severe winters and forest fires. A pinecone on the forest ground is an indication of moisture and could mean a wildfire risk. The closed scales on a pinecone indicate damp conditions while open scales mean the forest floor is dry.
  • Pine, spruce, firs, cedars, larches, hemlocks, yews, etc. are all conifers and produce cones, but pinecones only come from pine trees.
  • The reason that pinecones close their scales is to protect the seeds from cold temperatures and the wind.

Other Winter Craft Ideas

Also, look at a few more craft ideas.

Now, look at how to make these fun pinecone flowers.

How to Make Pinecone Flowers

You will need:

  • Pinecones
  • Sticks
  • Craft paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Toilet paper rolls
  • Pruning shears/cutters
  • Hot glue gun/sticks
Winter Craft Ideas How to Make Fun Pine Cone Flowers

Go on a nice leisurely nature walk and gather pinecones and twigs.

If you can’t find any in your area, they are easily found at craft stores in bags.

Clean the pinecones with soap and water to remove dirt, bugs and loose pieces.

Allow to dry completely. Use pruning shears or loppers to cut pinecones into about 3 pieces. Pull off loose leaves.

Winter Craft Ideas How to Make Fun Pine Cone Flowers

Cut empty toilet rolls into rings and use them to prop up your pinecones.

This will help them dry quicker from underneath.

Paint pinecones completely inside and out, top and bottom and allow them to dry. 

Repeat with a second coat to get nice coverage, allowing it to dry completely.

If you like, add dots of yellow paint to the center to create the center of the flower the pistil.

Once all the paint is completely dry choose a twig to fit with the size of your pinecone and attach it to the bottom with a generous amount of hot glue.

You will need to hold each one in place while the hot glue cools and hardens. Repeat for each flower.

Once all stems have been added you can arrange them in a simple jar or lay them on shelves to brighten up your home.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

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Geronimo Stilton Out of Time The 8th Journey Through Time we make a visit to Sir Francis Drake. You’ll love the other Geronimo Stilton Books and crafts on my page.

I am so enamored with this little mouse and his wild adventures through time to meet famous figures.

At least we get to have a peek through his stories, right? 

In this book, Geronimo visits Alexander the Great, Queen Cleopatra, Mozart, and our focus today Sir Francis Drake. 

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

If you are not familiar with Francis Drake, he was an English explorer.

But he was also a sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. 

His biggest claims to fame are having a major role in England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

He was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth.

About the Geronimo Stilton Series

Geronimo Stilton is full of fun facts presented in a colorful and interesting way for even the child that is reluctant to read.

The series is a younger version of a graphic novel and a great way to introduce history to your child. 

This book has jokes, a seek and count page, maps, and lots of fun pirate terms to learn.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

Too, colorful words in different fonts and sizes keep kids interested in the story while learning new vocabulary and placing emphasis on what is important.

Activities for Learning About Sir Francis Drake

Besides the wonderful activities in the book, look at some other ideas for learning about Sir Francis Drake.

Then, add some information about the differences between a pirate and a privateer.

What is the difference between a pirate and a privateer?

A pirate attacks and robs ships at sea for their own gain.

Privateers are pirates that were hired by the government to do the same thing.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

However, they keep part of what they steal for themselves.

Other Geronimo Stilton Chapter Book Activities

Next, look at these other crafts to go with the books.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

Finally, look at how to make a Sir Francis Drake ship craft.

How to Make a Sir Francis Drake Ship

Here is a list of supplies.

  • White Paper plate
  • Brown craft paint
  • Black, white, and brown construction paper/cardstock
  • Two wooden skewers
  • Red marker
  • Hot glue gun/glue sticks
Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

First, cut a paper plate in half, hot glue the two sides together.

You can do this with regular glue instead of hot glue if you’d like it to be an entirely child lead craft but it does take a lot longer for the glue to dry.

So, you may choose to just hot glue it so they can get on with the craft quicker.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

This is what it should look like at this point.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

Let your child paint both sides of the boat as well as the inside if they like and allow it to dry completely.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

While you’re waiting for the boat to dry cut out three small circles of brown construction paper.

And cut three slightly smaller circles out of black construction paper.

Then layer them to create the little portholes on the ship.

Next, take white card stock and cut two smaller trapezoids.

Also, cut two larger trapezoids for the sales as well as a small rectangle for the flag and you can see what that will look like below. 

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

Help your child to poke the top and bottom of the trapezoid through the skewer.

Bend it out a little bit to look like it has a little wind and it sails of course with a larger trapezoid on bottom and the smaller trapezoid on top.

Attach the flag to the top of one with glue.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

Glue portholes to the side of the ship.

Geronimo Stilton Out Of Time Fun Sir Francis Drake Ship Craft

Slip the skewered flags inside the ship and attach with hot glue, this will make certain it is secure and allow it to be ready faster.

Once the glue is cooled your ship is ready to set sail for adventure.

What do you think? Ready to try another fun Geronimo Stilton activity?

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

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If you’re looking for Egypt crafts for kindergarten, you’ll love this kid sized mummy. Grab my other craft ideas on my kindergarten homeschool curriculum page.

Here is a fun hands-on way to teach younger children about Egyptian mummies.

This activity literally puts them in the middle of it and they are able to complete it mostly on their own from start to finish. 

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Those types of activities have a lot of value for learning as well as enjoyment.

Also, add in a few Ancient Egypt activities to make your day a fun learning day.

More Egyptian Crafts for Kindergarten

Make a fun mini sensory bin to explore more.

I have some great figures below that would go perfectly with this activity.

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Then, below are some facts for you to share with your eager learner.

Fun Egyptian Facts

  • What is a mummy?  The body of a person that has been preserved after death.
  • Why did Egyptians make mummies?  They believed that preserved bodies could be used in the afterlife.
  • Was everyone made into a mummy? No, just those who were rich and could afford it.
  • Who did Egyptians believe was the god of mummification? Anubis with a human body and the head of a jackal was the god of mummification.
  • Were mummies buried with anything else? Yes. Often they were often buried with personal items, games, food, and more so they could use them in the afterlife.
  • Where were the mummies placed? In a Sarcophagus, which is an elaborate stone coffin.
  • Do people still make mummies today? Mummification is not very common but there are a few places that still practice it like Papua New Guinea.

Also, add in more kindergarten learning ideas below.

Other Tips and Crafts for Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Finally, look at these hands-on ideas.

In addition, you can grab a roll of shipping paper at Dollar Tree (well the $1.25 Tree now) as well as a 4 pack of toilet paper and the paper plates to complete this project with plenty left over to spare for other crafts.

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

All three come in handy for many things so it is totally worth the few dollars investment to have them on hand.

How to Make a Kid Sized Mummy

You will need:

  • An excited little learner
  • Brown roll of paper
  • Toilet paper, crepe paper, or torn copy paper
  • 2 paper plates
  • Gold paint
  • Scissors
  • Markers

Roll out your brown paper as long as your child and trace around them with pencil.

If you have more than one child you might let them take turns tracing one another.

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Darken the lines with a black sharpie marker so that it is easier to cut around the lines later on.

Have your child brush glue all over one section of the outline.

It’s okay if they go over the lines, this will be cut out later.

Have them press pieces of toilet paper all over the glue, pressing in well.

Tear off different lengths of squares from 1 piece to longer strings of 5 or 6 with your child to cover different areas.

Again don’t worry if it overlaps the outline.

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Repeat the glue and papering process until it is completely covered. 

They can put on one layer or more, just keep adding glue.

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Allow your “wrapped” mummy to dry.

While you are waiting for it to dry completely, cut the center out of one paper plate and cut out the curved strips of the ruffled edges.

Paint one paper plate gold all over as well as the two strips you made.

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Let the gold paint dry.

When dry, have your child draw on the death mask details with a marker or paint pen.

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Add the two strips underneath the sides of the full plate and let them hang down, glue in place.

Cut out your completely dried mummy or let your child cut it out on their own.

Egypt Crafts For Kindergarten Create a Fun Kid Sized Mummy

Apply a mask over mummy’s face.

Your child’s mummy is all ready to go on display.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

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This Geronimo Stilton Time Travel book has your kids going back in time through the Medieval time. If you love the Geronimo Stilton Books, you’ll love this medieval stained glass window cling.

Let’s ride off with brave Geronimo Stilton through the Medieval Period straight into Camelot.

This first book in the series takes you through prehistory with the dinosaurs, and through Ancient Egypt and the Great Sphinx of Giza, and finally into Camelot.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel: How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

The Medieval period is where we are going to hang out today with a colorful hands-on activity that you will love.

After reading Geronimo Stilton: The Journey Through Time (Geronimo Stilton), we decided to make a stained glass window craft.

This is a DIY window cling that you can use over and over and move it around as you like.

Start with a simple design like a window with big areas to fill in.

However, once you get the hang of it you can create beautiful flowers, swords, a coat of arms and more to deck your windows out in style.

About the Geronimo Stilton Time Travel Series

And the time travel series are a unique series. Like most all the books they have unique sections and pictures full of facts for the time period.

They are filled with maps that show your child where events are taking place.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel: How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

Also, facts about the time period, detailed and labeled buildings, in this case a castle.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel: How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

Throughout the reading there are important tidbits woven in like what they ate and wore during the time period.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel: How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

So, the series is more than just fun reading, but a way to make science, history, and geography a meaningful part of the story.

Again, we’re focusing on only one section of the book.

History Middle Ages Hands-on Activities

Then, add a few more activities and fun items.

And you can create a simple and easy Middle Ages unit study that your royal knight will thoroughly enjoy.

In addition, here is a fun role-playing costume.

Too, you’ll love these other Geronimo Stilton activities to go with the books.

Other Geronimo Stilton Chapter Book Activities

Finally, here are some tips to keep in mind before doing this craft.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

How to Create a Medieval Stained Glass Window Craft

Before you get started, know this.

  • Keep a couple wet q tips on hand to clean up drips and overflow.
  • Start with a simple design for your first one, keep it large and with minimal detail.
  • Don’t use paint in place of food coloring or it will not have the translucent effect. You can use liquid food coloring though if that’s what you have on hand.

List of supplies.

  • Black craft paint
  • White craft glue
  • Gel food coloring
  • Dish soap
  • paint brushes
  • Gallon ziploc bag
  • paper
  • Paint palette or a paper plate

Start by designing your window by drawing it with a pencil on a sheet of white paper or cardstock.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

Once you are happy with the design darken the lines by drawing over them with a black marker.

Slip your drawing inside a gallon sized ziploc bag.

To create the leaded paint lines, mix black paint into white craft glue.

This part does not need to be translucent and we want thicker lines here.

Just add enough paint to the glue to turn it black. Add 2 drops of dish soap and mix well.

Smooth out your plastic bag and “draw” over the outlines of your picture with the black glue mixture.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

You will need to let this dry probably overnight so that it is completely dry and will not smear for the next step.

Once the black lines are dry you can add your color.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel Stained Glass Craft

To do this, mix a drop of gel food color and a very small drop of dish soap to a couple teaspoons of glue.

Repeat this for as many colors as you would like.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

Fill in all the open spaces.

Make the spaces solid or swirl to get a different effect.

Be sure to add a thick layer of paint so that your cling is sturdy and doesn’t fall apart when peeled off.

Use a wet q tip to clean up drips off the black paint if needed.

You will need to let this next step dry for a day as well.

Geronimo Stilton Time Travel How to Make a Medieval Stained Glass Craft

Once everything is dry, carefully peel the window off the plastic bag.

Clean the window where you want to put it with a bit of windex and leave slightly damp.

Apply your stained glass to the window.

It will stick until you peel it off and can be stored in a plastic bag when not in use.

If you have them, separate multiple window clings with pieces of waxed paper.

What do you think? Ready to try another fun Geronimo Stilton activity?

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

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If your kids are looking for winter watercolor art projects, they’ll love this easy diy salt project. Add it to a winter season unit study for more learning fun.

If you live in Texas like I do, you won’t see a lot of snow unless you’re vacationing somewhere else.

But it’s still nice to dream about beautiful forests under a blanket of snow.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

So, today we are going to create our own winter watercolor art project to capture some of that snowy magic with a few different types of paint.

I’ve seen a technique like this done using snow but obviously that’s not an option for us.

Instead, I set to thinking about how I could make it happen here and turn into a fun art lesson too.

Over and Under the Snow

And my solution was a spray bottle filled with water instead of letting the snow melt over my picture.

You will probably want to take this one outside or put a plastic tablecloth on the table under your craft to help contain the mess.

No matter what you’re studying this winter or where you live, snow or not, it can still be fun and informative to learn about snow.

Topics like snowflakes, ice, hibernation, glaciers, icebergs, and everything else winter entails keep it fun.

Add a fun book to this winter watercolor art project like Over and Under the Snow to investigate what happens when that white blanket of snow covers the earth.

As a matter of fact, the book which inspired this project progresses from day to dusk to night as the child and father ski over the snow noticing it all.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

I love the darling images of creatures sleeping beneath the earth.

Winter Subnivean Zone

And above there are busy people, squirrels, owls, and a big full moon.

It is a great way to introduce snow, hibernation and terms like subnivean zone (it’s the network of open spaces and tunnels between the snow and ground) to your kids.

The word subnivean comes from the Latin “sub” (under) and “nives” (snow). 

There is a fantastic appendix of animals at the back of the book.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

It introduces animals and gives a bit of information on each spotted throughout as well as suggestions for more winter books.

More Winter Season Unit Study Resources

Then, here are some other winter unit study resources you’ll love.

Add in a few of these activities to make a fun learning about winter day.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

Let’s make this watercolor art project.

How to Make DIY Winter Water Art Project

You will need:

  • Watercolor paper. It really makes a difference with this paper.
  • Fine Salt
  • Food coloring
  • Black craft paint
  • White craft paint
  • Paint brushes
  • Water in a spray bottle
  • Baking sheet
Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

First, place watercolor paper on a baking sheet and spritz the entire paper well with water.

Pour a few tablespoons of salt into a small container.

Mix with a few drops of food coloring and repeat for as many colors as you would like to have.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

Scoop colored salt all over paper randomly and in different sized piles with different thicknesses to create a mottled watercolor effect.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

Spray the colored salt until completely saturated with the spray bottle.

You want to make sure that the salt is very wet so that the food coloring can absorb into the paper.

Allow it to sit undisturbed for 20 to 30 minutes.

The longer it sits the more saturated the image will be.

Too, you can let it dry overnight if your little one has the patience to wait.

Flip over your paper quickly to remove all the salt and use a dry brush to remove excess or just wait until it dries naturally and brush then.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

Now you should have a beautiful watercolor paper that resembles a dusky night sky or the aurora borealis.

Winter Crafts

Allow your paper to dry completely.

Then, paint a few straight lines straight up from the bottom using a thin flat brush. Draw any amount of trees you want, just leave room for the branches.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

Take the same brush dipped in black paint and start at the top line and drag it away from the line in a downward stroke.

This creates the shape of an evergreen tree.

Also, draw some scraggly spindly trees with just limbs and branches using a small, pointed tip brushed if you like.

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

Finally, allow your black paint to dry a little and then dip your paintbrush in white paint.

If it’s thick, add a tiny bit of water to loosen it up.

You’re gonna want your paint a little runny so that you can tap it on your hand over the paper and create splatters for snow.

Paint a moon if you’d like up in the corner. 

Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids

Let your completed painting dry.

Because the paper was so saturated it may crinkle up a bit. Lay a couple heavy books on top once it’s dry to help smooth and flatten it.

What do you think? Easy winter art?