There are about four thousand things to do around the Christmas season and we know that we need some other project to start and give out to people as Christmas presents, so we landed on this nifty little craft to give to our loved ones. It's easy and thoughtful and quick to put together so you'll still have enough time to watch all of those Die Hard movies. Plus, it has pictures of your favorite people on them making it a treasure for all recipients. This craft is little sleds with the kids attached to them. Now here in Florida, we are not really familiar with sleds, but I've watched enough TV to know generally what one looks like and that's good enough.
The art supplies that you need are:
Popsicle sticks (buy the bag, don't try to eat that many popsicles)
A hot glue gun with about 10,000 extra glue sticks (it goes quick)
A camera (a disposable one is ok), and a nearby printing facility (we used Walgreens)
An Xacto knife (and Bandaids)
Paint
A paint marker
Hot chocolate (not required)
Step 1:
You'll need a picture of your kid on a solid background looking up like they are riding on a sled. We used the sidewalk, but anywhere outside with plenty of lighting will do. It's best not to take the pictures while the neighbors are out watching or their suspicions of how crazy you are will then be solidified in their minds and they won't bring you cookies for Christmas.
Step 2:
Print the pictures at your local 1 hour photo shop like you used to do back in 1999 and go home and play Nintendo 64 for a while. We are more up to date so we uploaded the photos to the internet and had Walgreens print them out. It's best to get a few extras incase of mishaps or if you need to quickly build another sled because that one estranged relative surprised you by visiting for the holidays.
Step 3:
Gather your popsicle sticks and build the sled like so using the power of hot glue to hold it all together. You want to cut some of the sticks so they fit across the sled to hold it all together and arrange them out before you start gluing everything together.
Step 4:
Paint your sled the desired color. I was thinking of a nice natural stain that would really bring out the different wood grains of the great northwest pine of the popsicle sticks, but it is easier just to use acrylic paint and paint it all red or green.
Step 5:
With an Xacto knife, carefully cut your kid out of the picture making sure not to cut off any of their fingers or legs. If you cut off a finger, go ahead and give that one to one of your loved ones that can't see very well.
Step 6:
Glue the picture to the sled with hot glue.
Step 7:
Write a message on the sled such as the current year or something witty like, "Sliding into Christmas like...'
Step 8:
Give them out as gifts for Christmas to the ones that you love and bask in the glory of their endless gushing praises on how creative you are and how these sleds will be treasured for years to come.
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