Nature Crafts for Winter

This is a fun time of year to create artwork and crafts that celebrate the season. Using nature as an inspiration, we have found some cool art projects to decorate your home and help you get into the spirit of winter!

Ice Suncatchers
What you'll need: Natural items, a container, twine, freezing temperatures

1. Go outside and gather twigs, leaves, berries, pebbles or any other natural material you would like to include.
2. Fill a cake or pie tin with water and place the objects you found in the water. If you would like to hang your suncatcher, remember to include a piece of twine in the pan, placed halfway in and out of the water so it won't completely freeze.*To create different shapes, you can place a cookie cutter in the pan and place your objects inside the shape. 

3. Let freeze outside overnight. Alternately, you can place the container in the freezer overnight. 

4. When the pan has completely frozen, let it thaw for a few minutes or run under hot water to loosen it up. 

5. Hang the suncatcher from a tree or on the outside of your window.
Source: Mommy Poppins blog

Salt Painting 
What you'll need: Pastels, thick paper, watercolor paint, salt

1. Draw a wintry scene on paper using the pastels. 

2. Paint over your creation with the watercolor paints

3. Sprinkle salt over the page to create the effect of falling snow. 

4. Once the paper has dried, rub off the excess salt.

*As an alternative to the paint, you can create an image using tape. Arrange the tape in a shape or pattern, then paint and sprinkle the salt over it. When the paint has dried, carefully remove the tape for a unique tape-resist look.

Source: The Artful Parent blog 

Twig Snowflakes
What you'll need: Found twigs or small sticks, glue (or glue gun)

1. Head outside and look for small sticks or twigs on the ground of various sizes.
2. Arrange your sticks in the shape of a snowflake, using the larger pieces for the base and the smaller pieces to add more detail. If you would like to hang the snowflake, attach some twine to the top.

3. Once the glue is dry, hang the snowflake from the door or place in a window. 

Source:  U Create Crafts