Christmas angels!

Today, I had a spontaneous urge to make (painted!) Christmas crafts to attach to some teacher gifts this year... I felt like making angels, using paint, my children's hands, and wooden pegs (only because I found heaps today while "de-cluttering").

I started with Jonathan. Thankfully, he enjoyed smooshing his hands into paint, which made the process far less painful (and messy) than I originally anticipated.

Though I made it up as I went along (with the "idea" in mind) I needed:

- Wooden pegs

- Sticky dots/tape

- Yellow paint & paper

- Angel faces

- Co-operative children (optional, but definitely helpful).

I started with the painting part (as it could only get easier after that, right?). One hand at a time, I collected  my 3-year-old's handprints:

While they were drying, I stuck the angel faces to the tops of the pegs:

Once the handprints had (mostly) dried, I needed to figure out how I was going to attach them to the pegs... This was idea #1:

With some thought (and more time for the paint to dry completely), I decided to cut around the fingers, so there would be less white. And, instead of attaching the handprint wings at the palm, I thought they looked a bit better joining the thumbs together, which makes idea #2:

The handprints were then taped into place, and the pegs attached (I used sticky dots for that part for extra strength).

Before I started, I'd wanted each of my children to make these for their own teachers. But, looking at the size of Jonathan's handprints against the pegs, I figured that perhaps the others can do something different. Plus, there's so many Christmas crafting ideas on the internet! Footprint Rudolphs, handprint Christmas trees/Santas/elves, fingerprint Christmas lights etc.

Today's craft has certainly gotten me excited about Christmas crafts! Maybe we'll do some more next year.

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid!

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people.

A Saviour has been born for you.

He is Christ the Lord!"

Luke 2:10-11

Christmas: The beginning of a wonderful love story :)