Wood Christmas Crafts: Easy, Quick & Inexpensive Holiday Crafts

The Holidays are a time for caring and sharing our wealth of home and family with others and animals too. These three ideas are quick to make, fun and require a very minimal use of power tools. If you are lucky enough to be able to use them, or can get someone to help, you can turn out a batch of these gifts in no time.

1. Mitten Dryer: In our neck of the woods, northern Minnesota, the Holidays, mean cold and snow. Heck, June means snow up here sometimes! I love to make these with children and since they are so simple, just about any age can make them. For each dryer you will need a 6 x 8 by 1 inch piece of pine board. This measurement can be altered to fit the pattern as need be. You will also need two pinch wooden clothes pins, wood glue and some latex or acrylic paint, in any color you would like. The pattern is simple to draw. You can personalize each dryer by tracing around the child's hands. What you want is two hands, side by side with the thumbs facing out. Make the shape simple and rounded, You do not need to cut each mitten shape separately. If you can't cut them from the wood, just trace two mittens on an appropriately sized board and paint them on. Once the double mitten shape is cut out, use the wood glue to attach one clothespin to each mitten. You can center the clothespin towards the bottom edge of each mitten. Make certain, the clothespin does not hang over the bottom. It is best to let them dry overnight. This step could be done ahead of time, and have the children just decorate them. Paint the mittens and the clothespins with a good acrylic paint, or leftover latex exterior paint. Latex, is easy to clean up, fewer fumes and dries faster, than oil based paints. They are safer around children too. Once the front and sides of the mittens are painted, set them aside to dry. You do not need to paint the back unless you would like to. The mittens can be painted one color, or decorated with snowflakes, stripes or snowman. Once thoroughly dry, holiday stickers or decals can be applied. If using stickers or decals, add a thin protective layer of polyurethane to the front to avoid moisture damage. When you are finished, add a hanging bracket to the back or attach to the wall or back of a door however you like. To use the dryer, as soon as your little snowmen and snowladies come inside have them hang one mitten from each clothespin and let them drip dry. You may want to add a catch bucket or boot tray under this mitten plaque to control the drips. This rack works for scarves too!

2. Recycled Bird Feeder. Finally we are doing more recycling in the world. This bird feeder recycles and feeds the birds. For each feeder you will need one 2 liter soft drink bottle, you know a pop bottle, or is it soda, or cola or.... Anyway. one bottle, three pieces of pine board, a scrap of rubber, like from an old innertube, a few nails and a scissor. This design is simple, and blends easily with nature. First of all you will need to cut the pop bottle into two pieces. Cut along the line just above the bottom of the bottle. It will make a dish about 2 - 3 inches tall. Don't throw the top half away, you will need that too. For the boards, the measurements are flexible. For my first feeder, I used scraps of wood I got from a box factory. But in general you will use a 6 x 6 square for the bottom, a 6 x 12 rectangle for the side and a 6 x 8 rectangle for the top. All boards should be about 1 inch thick. Remember, the boards are measured before they are dried at the factory, so the actual thickness you buy at a lumber yard will be closer to 1/2 inch. Use what you have. Assembling the feeder is very simple. Attach the 6 inch square to the long rectangle by over lapping the ends at a 90 degree angle and nailing along the joint. If your nails are too large they will split the wood. You can also dull the end of the nail, by hammering the tip slightly. This helps prevent splitting also. If you are really hammered impaired, you can just as easily use wood glue and glue the two pieces together. You will have to let them dry overnight before continuing. Once you have these two together, it should look like a capital L . On the foot of the L nail or glue the bowl from the pop bottle. Use short nails, so they don't poke out the bottom. The bowl should be centered on the square board, but pushed all the way to rest against the upright board of the L. You can tap in a few tacks or small nails to hold the bowl against the back board. Next turn the other half of the bottle upside down. Attach it to the back board with small nails, or tacks. The neck of the bottle should be level with the top of the bowl. The upside down neck is where the seeds will come out to fill the bowl. Clever huh? To protect the seeds from winter weather you will need a top. Here is where the 6 x 8 rectangle comes in. Cut two strips of rubber, about 2 x 4 inches each. Attach them to the top of the 8 in rectangle, halfway over the edge and spaced a few inches apart. Place this rectangle on top of the bottle. You will want to slant the roof slightly to help rain and snow run off. To do this lift the end with the rubber about an inch higher than the bottle. Nail the ends of the rubber to the back board. The rubber strips now form hinges. I like to leave the boards to weather naturally, but they could be stained, or painted before assembling. To use the feeder, attach the top of the back board to a tree or post. You can put in a eye hook at the top of the feeder if you want to hang it. Once the feeder is hung up, lift the top hinged board and fill the pop bottle with seed. It will flow into the bowl and keep it full as the birds eat the seeds. Refill often. With rustic boards and clear bottle seed holders this bird feeder is Out of Sight!

3. Here comes the Postman, or should I say Snowman? I like to line my drive way with these stalwart gentlemen. They handle the weather come sleet or rain or sun and never complain. For two snowmen you will need one round fence post, latex exterior paint in white and black, a small amount of orange acrylic paint or a wooden carror, two 6 x 24 inch scraps of wood, for a base and two flat circles about 6 inches wider than the post for the hat and 3 inch nails. Lumber posts are readily available at lumberyards and home improvement stores. Many of these stores will cut the posts for you for a small fee. Be aware that the ones of treated wood sometimes do not take paint well, but since these are so easy to paint you can give them a second coat next year, or go for the rustic aged look. To begin have the post cut in half and then cut two 8 inch long pieces off each half. You will have two long posts and two very short posts. Use large nails to attach the rectangle to the bottom of a long post. You can center to post or have it at one end, depending on where he will be set up. This will give your snowman some stability. You can place rocks or sandbags over the ends of the rectangle to hold it down or in snowless areas place heavy pots filled with greenery on the boards. Paint the entire post and outrigger "feet" with the latex exterior paint. Let dry completely. Next paint the wooden circle and the short piece of post black. Turn the short post upside down and center the circle over the top and nail them together. You could use wood glue if you would prefer, Just make sure glued pieces dry thoroughly before setting outside. Go back to the long plain white post. Decide where you would like the face and paint on eyes, mouth and a nose. If you found a suitable wooden carrot, paint it orange and nail it to the face or glue. Nailing in sideways is tricky, don't be afraid to ask for help. You can paint on buttons, or add real buttons or attach cut circles of wood. Add as many details as you like. Once your snowman is finished being painted, attach the hat. Nail to the top of the white post or use generous amounts of wood glue. After he dries, he or she is ready to greet your holiday guests. How you decorate your Postman, is up to you. Toss a real scarf around his neck, add a different hat to make a lady snowman, she would look great with a set of faux pearls wrapped around her neck. You could drill holes on their sides and insert branches for arms. Let your imagination go wild. Pretty soon you will have a whole driveway full.