Free Christmas Card Coloring Download

I love the illuminated letters at clipartETC.com and I've used 
them to create this template for a last-minute Christmas card.
Click here to download your free pdf file.
1. Print on 8.5x11 card or cover stock in the landscape orientation.

2. Use fine point markers or colored pencils to color in the letters.

3. Fold the paper horizontally and you are ready to add your personal greeting inside.

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How To Draw a Santa Stamp

I had really good results with this Santa drawing today. Any colored paper works, but my favorite is just a swatch of a brown grocery bag for that earthy, recycled look.

1. With a 6" square of brown...

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Draw a Christmas Ornament Card

I made this Christmas ornament drawing using a set of fine tip markers. If you draw the edges of a shape lightly in pencil, fill in the inside with lines, and then erase the outside pencil, the look can be rather sophisticated.
1. Lightly draw three straight lines of various lengths from the top of the card, and then add the outer shapes of an ornament.
2. Fill in little circles for the chains, add sets of horizontal lines and shapes to fill each ornament. Erase all pencil lines.

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Cut & Tear Candle Card

This is a very simple paper project that has been my holiday staple for kinder classes for many years. Just change the colors to blue and gold for Hanukkah, or pink or blue for custom birthday cards.
1. Tip: Test the grain of the paper...

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Tinted Christmas Tree Painting

This picture looks best with just white crayon lines (no pencil) so my lesson plan calls for tracing cut-out shapes instead of drawing them.
1. Each student needs to draw three trees on a smaller sheet of scrap construction paper and cut them out. They may use...

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Mosaic CD Picture Frame

Looks like mosaic glass, right? It’s actually just an old CD cut up and glued to a wooden frame and painted with green metallic paint.

1. I used a heavy duty scissors to...

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“Stained Glass” Holiday Candles

 I’ve found that a candle theme works well for the holidays as so many religions celebrate with them. This is simply drawing candles and then breaking up the background for a faux stained glass look.

1. The students drew one candle...

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Gingerbread “Cookie” Painting

This is a good way to turn ugly brown construction paper into something pretty cute. The white tempera paint looks a lot like real frosting, and oil pastels are an easy way to add details.
With an 18" x 12" sheet of...

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Nutcracker: Watercolor Painting

I like to have students create one really special piece of art for the holidays, and I remember having good results with this nutcracker drawing last year. My only dilemma is figuring out which media to use. I have some Crayola Mixable Watercolor trays and watercolor paper, so this is a sample of how that media would look. I like the vivid red, the only catch is that a lot needs to be mixed (combining the violet and orange) and I’m not sure if I’ll get a lot of splotchy nutcrackers that way. More tests to come...

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Homemade Christmas Card

There’s nothing like a homemade holiday card. I tried this method to make a quick “quilted” card that didn’t actually call for any sewing.

Start by giving students...

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Abstract Snowman Card

I needed a simple and quick card project, and was inspired by some stock snowman art. After deliberating on all my options, I settled on using Sharpie markers to get the brightest color for the least amount of cost.

I began by giving each student...

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Tissue Paper Poinsettias

Tearing shapes from tissue paper can create some very organic shapes, and end up looking pretty similar to poinsettia leaves.
1. Give each student some rectangles of red, green and yellow tissue paper (the craft kind, NOT any that says ‘bleeding paper‘). Show them that there is a grain to the paper which makes it easier to tear in one direction than the other. They are to tear petals, leaves and a center for 3 flowers.
2. After all the shapes are torn, give each student a brush and 50/50 water+glue solution. They need to cover a white sheet of paper with the glue, and then arrange their flowers on top of it. When complete, another layer of the glue goes over the entire paper to seal the shapes down to the paper. Let dry for a few hours.
3. With an oil pastel, color around all of the torn shapes, leaving a bit of white edge around the tissue for a more dramatic effect. I like the Portfolio pastels for this because they are so smooth to color with, and make a nice contrast to the bumpy leaves.

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Homemade Holiday Gift Box

I admit I get an urge to make more crafty things this time of year. But when I am looking for a good gift project, I tend to end up more in that camp. But hey, it’s all creative, which is the bottom line for me.
1. I found a box pattern online that I adapted to fill a standard letter paper. You can download my template here. I recommend that you copy it on at least cover, if not card stock paper.
2. After cutting out the top and bottom, it really helps to score the fold lines. This can be done by taking a ruler and semi-sharp edge like that of a butter knife, and running it several times over each fold line. Try to make a ridge, but not any tears.
3. After all 8 dashed lines have been scored, make the 4 cuts on the solid black lines. Fold on all the dashed lines in towards the middle of the box. See diagram for illustration on how the ends need to stand up like “C” shaped walls, and then the long sides go up and over, and then get tucked inside. These edges may be glued in place once you see that they fit.
4. The sleeve is easy as you just need to score 4 lines, and then wrap around the box bottom, overlap one side, and glue or tape in place. Once you see where the fold lines occur, the sleeve sides can all be colored in and decorated. Now you just have to decide what special goody to put in your homemade match box!

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Nutcracker Painting

One way to have students draw LARGE is to instruct them that their art must touch the top and the bottom of a piece of paper.
1. This project requires 10" x 18" paper, tempera paints, black sharpie marker and a gold opaque metallic marker. Have the students fold the 10" x 18" paper in half, crease, and open.
2. Show them how to draw in pencil a nutcracker that has a hat that touches the top edge, a belt that is on the fold, and shoes that are sitting on the bottom edge. Fill in the nutcracker with details such as boots, shirt button detail and face. The shoulders should nearly touch the sides of the paper.
3. Paint the nutcracker with tempera paints. Lots of red and black make for festive holiday colors.
4. Once the paint is dry, trace over the pencil lines with a black sharpie marker.
5. Use a gold opaque poster marker to fill in detail such as the buttons and cuffs.

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