Nostalgic Christmas Craft Project
Bringing Back Childhood Wishes and Dreams With Ornament Craft
How can you not love little red wagons and baby dolls?
We are going to make ornaments that resemble little red wagons. After that we will be making one larger wagon to act as Santa's sleigh.
Small Wagon Ornament
Materials needed:
- Macaroni and Cheese box
- Red paint
- Scissors
- Glue gun
- Glue sticks
- White 1/4 inch stick on letters or white paint with fine paint brush
- Ribbon
There are many ways to do this and they range from very fancy to simple. We are going to do the simple wagon because once you have the basic idea you can go back and alter the concepts to make them your own.
Cut off the bottom of the macaroni and cheese box so that the sides come up about 3/4 of an inch. From the remaining cardboard cut a strip 1/4 of an inch by one inch and another strip 1/4 inch by three inches. Cut out 8 one-inch circles for wheels. Cut out a triangle that measures about a half inch in height by a half inch in width. Gently cut out the center of the triangle leaving an eighth of an inch of cardboard all the way around.
Do not paint yet. If you paint before gluing, the glue will only be glued to the paint surface.
Glue two circles together for each of the four wheels. Glue the one-inch strip to the underside of the wagon so that it sticks out in the front center about a half-inch. Glue the three-inch strip so that it is attached to the piece you glued onto the underside. Instead of straight out, tilt it back to rest on the wagon. This should look like the arm of the wagon handle tilted back and resting against the wagon. Glue where it touches the wagon. Now glue your triangle to the top of the 3-inch strip overlapping the point with the strip. Make sure the point is on the underside. Glue on the wheels. Paint the whole thing cherry red. Using stick on letters or if you feel comfortable paint on with white paint the words "Radio Flyer". Attach an eight-inch ribbon loop to the front under side.
Extra Large Wagon
Materials Needed:
- Four sweater gift boxes
- Scissors
- Glue gun
- Glue sticks
- Red paint
- Masking tape
- 2" White Lettering or white paint with fine paint brush
This wagon is made almost exactly the same but the measurements are changed. The only real difference is you will need to put one box inside of the other for strength. Use masking tape to join the top edges all the way around. We will be doubling everything for strength because these boxes are not the strongest.
Cut two handle braces 6" long and 3" wide. Glue them together to be double strength. Use masking tape on any piece where you want to hide the edges. Cut 2 pieces 12-14 inches long by 3 inches wide. Glue them sandwiched together. Cut two triangles 5" high by 5" wide. Cut out the center of the triangles prior to gluing. Glue together. Cut 12 to 16 four-inch circles for wheels and glue them three or four deep for strength depending on if you cut 12 or 16. Twelve will give you three circles per wheel. Sixteen will give you four circles per wheel. Assemble the same as the small wagon. Paint red and add lettering. This is for the floor at the base of your tree.
Place an old embroidered linen in the wagon. Then add a Santa or old-fashioned baby doll. You can decorate around them with toys from your childhood or hunt down toys from your grandparents youth.
