Quick and Easy Crafts: Welcome Sign for Santa Claus

Christmas is coming and the kids are getting excited. Young ones always ask how Santa Claus can find their little house, but the parents always know why. Santa is magical.

Do your children ask you every year if Santa will make it to their house? Do they always want to put up signs that point to their house or where the cookies are that year? My son loved to do that every year and we began to make a game of it. This year, though, we decided to make a sign for Santa and hang it on the wall. Leave it to me, and my crafty ways, to make it into a project and a picture frame!

To make this adorable picture frame/ sign for Santa, I used the following supplies:

- Elmer's School Glue
- Apple Barrel Pure Gold Craft Paint
- 1 medium sponge brush
- Foamies Glitter ABC Foam Stickers
- Scribbles Fabric Paints: Shiny Black, Glittering Silver, Iridescent Tropical Yellow, Iridescent Shamrock Green, Shiny White and Shiny Christmas Red
- Foamies Glitter Sheet 9 in. x 12 in., 2mm thickness: Glitter White, Glitter Red and Brown (one of each).
- 1 oval wooden frame
- 1 4½ in. x 6 in. corner sign wood shape
- 2 4in. strips of red ribbon
- Scissors
- Pen
- Paper plate
- 6 in. ruler
- Hot glue gun

This quick and easy Christmas craft is great for kids and adults, too. The hardest part is finding all of the foam letters of the same color! I purchased the glitter multicolor 1.05-ounce box (the large one) and it still took a bit of time to organize the letters. Depending on the box you get, the colors might vary. The kids might even want to use many different colors to make the sign resemble a candy house. The possibilities are endless.

Making the "Welcome Santa" Frame

The first step is to use the gold paint and the sponge brush to apply three coats of gold paint to the oval frame. This is an excellent color, but is rather thin, so it takes three coats to make it nice and even. (Each thin coat dries in about 8 minutes, so it goes pretty fast.)

While that dries, you can choose the colors for your lettering. I used green for "Welcome", and alternated red and green for "Santa". When the last coat of gold is dry, then it is time to apply the stickers to the frame. Arrange them on the frame prior to sticking them on. Remember: It is easier to move the stickers before they are stuck! These foam stickers have strong adhesive, so being prepared is best.

Making the "Cookies This Way" Sign

The first step to making the "cookies" sign is to take the corner sign wood shape and lay it on the wrong side of the glitter white foam. Using the pen, gently trace around the shape and then cut it out with the scissors. Using the Elmer's glue, glue the foam to the wood shape, glitter side out. Let dry.

On the wrong side of the glitter red foam sheet, draw an arrow and cut it out. The arrow should be roughly 3 inches in length. Put aside.

Take the brown foam and draw two circles roughly 1 inch wide and cut them out. Using the shamrock green fabric paint, draw a Christmas tree in the center of one of the circles. Use the shiny Christmas red to put tiny ornaments on the tree. Carefully use the tropical yellow to put a dot, or if you are good, a star, on top of the tree. Put aside to dry. Take the other circle and, using the Christmas red, draw a candy cane in the center. Lastly, use the shiny white fabric paint to carefully paint stripes on the candy cane. Put aside to dry.

The "Cookies this way" sign is easy to make, but I do recommend using a paper towel or paper plate to practice your writing first. Using the black fabric paint and the above photos for reference, carefully paint "Cookies this way" on the glitter white sign. Let dry. The next step is to attach the arrow with the white Elmer's glue. To finish the cookies, glue them to the sign and then take the silver fabric paint and draw around the edges of the circles to resemble icing on the cookies. Again, use the above photos for reference.

Putting the Project Together

Attaching the ribbon to this adorable sign is simple. Take your ruler and place it at the bottom center of your completed frame. Find the center and measure out roughly 1½ inch out on either side to make the distance between the ribbons roughly 3 inches. Take your hot glue and put two dabs on the back of the frame where your marks are. Let dry. Take your cookie sign and measure roughly ½ inch inward from the top edge of the curve. This will be the perfect distance to for the ribbon. Use the hot glue to attach them to the top sign.

Your project is now complete! Now it is time to find your favorite Christmas picture and hang up your new sign to show Santa where to find his cookies. Merry Christmas!

For other great quick and easy Christmas projects, try No-Sew Homemade Christmas Tree Skirt and Kid's Homemade Christmas Presents for Grandpa.

Sources:
Personal Experience
Michael's Craft Store
Joann's Fabric and Craft Store and www.joann.com