Playing with Food for Christmas

I know, I know, we're always told not to play with our food. Most of the time that's true. When it comes to crafty ministry, though, you'll find fun ways to play and have a tasty treat.

Snowman Cake

Long before all of the fancy shaped pans were available, cake mix companies offered ideas for cutting layer cakes to create fancy shapes. This was always one of my favorites, because I love coconut cake. It makes a lovely presentation, and serves a good sized group.

Supplies
* White cake mix or recipe for two-layer cake (two boxes or recipes)
* Fluffy white frosting (enough for the double cake recipe)
* Shredded coconut (optional if allergies are a concern or you just don't care for coconut)
* Gum drops for features and buttons
* String type red candy (licorice, Twizzlers or Red Vines) for scarf
* Nine-inch cake pans (two)
* Muffin tin (one tin of six or twelve holes)

Step 1

Cover a platter or cutting board with aluminum foil, waxed paper or any desired food-safe covering.

Step 2 - Baking

Prepare the pans as directed by the cake mix or recipe. Make one box or recipe of cake batter.  Fill one muffin hole half-full and set aside. Divide the remaining batter between the two cake pans. Bake and cool as directed. Repeat with the second batch, except bake the two muffins as well. (Note: If you have sufficient pans and a large enough oven, feel free to do all of the mixing and baking as one step.)

Step 3 - Assemble layers

Level two of the layers across the top.  Spread frosting on these two layers. Add a plain layer to each of the frosted layers.

Step 4 -  Shaping the snowman

Cut a shallow arc from the side of the two cakes. Make the arcs as equal as possible because these will become the arms. Frost the cakes along the cut line.

Place the cakes as shown in the diagram - cut side to cut side - to form the snowman's body. Frost the top and sides of the cakes.

Trim the muffins as necessary to form the head and be the same height as the body. Frost the layers of muffin together.  Place it at the top of the snowman's body. Frost head.

Align the cut arcs on the sides to form arms and frost in place.




Step 5 - Dressing the snowman

If you are a coconut nut, as I am, this is the time to sprinkle on lots of coconut snow.

Use gumdrops to form the facial features, for example, a line of red ones for the mouth, an orange one for the nose, green ones for the eyes. Black gumdrops make great buttons on his chest. Form a scarf from string-type candy such as licorice whips, Twizzlers or Red Vines.


And there you have it, a snowman layer cake ready to brighten your table and your palate.

Miscellaneous tips:

If your crowd isn't large enough to need the two-layer version, just use one box of mix or recipe and make it a sheet cake. Don't level the layers - the dome effect makes it look more like a three-dimensional snowman.

Other candies can be used to decorate - basically anything round and colorful will fill the bill.


Individual Snowmen

Little individual snowmen make fun party favors, desserts, place cards or projects for kids at a party.

Supplies
Regular sized marshmallows
Miniature marshmallows
Food coloring
Graham crackers
Toothpicks

Pretty simple to assemble: skewer two regular and one miniature marshmallow on a toothpick. Use a toothpick dipped in food coloring to add features. Two more toothpicks form the arms. Stick the end of the toothpick holding the snowman together into a graham cracker.

Add more miniature marshmallows around the base for stage-setting.

Miscellaneous tips:

For very young children, use uncooked spaghetti instead of toothpicks.

Use white frosting to cover the graham cracker and secure the snowman in a fluffy field of white. (You can add coconut, too!)

Dots of hot fudge ice cream sauce (but not heated) work as features and buttons.

Use cupcakes instead of graham crackers to make the little snowmen even more festive.

John 3:16 Poster

This time of year can become a little crazy, and it's easy to lose sight of what we celebrate. I first made this poster more than 40 years ago.

I was away at college and there was a door decorating contest in the dorm. I had no decorations with me and no money to buy any. What I did have was a shallow box, just the right size to hold a piece of paper bearing John 3:16, the description of the first, best and most precious Christmas gift ever given. While I didn't win the contest (and didn't expect to when I saw the many fancy tinsel and ribbon decorations around the dorm), I did feel good about the number of people who thanked me for the reminder.

These days, I have word processing and desk top publishing to help me make the poster fancy, but it doesn't change the importance of the content.

This one was created in Microsoft's Publisher 2007. You can create one in virtually any publishing or word processing program you may have. You can add artwork or a different background, change to whatever font you prefer - make it your own vision of God's Gift.

If you're short of time, here is a .pdf version you can download and print: John 3:16 Poster

Have a most blessed Christmas!

Reindeer Games

Candy Cane Reindeer

What would Christmas be without reindeer? Bring Santa’s team to your party or table display with just a few minutes work. They are also adorable peeking out of Christmas stockings.

This is another of those projects I’ve been doing for nearly 40 years and don’t remember where I first learned it. Have fun!

Supplies:

* Full-sized, individually shrink-wrapped candy canes (approximately ½ ounce each and measuring 5 to 6 inches long) – 1 per reindeer (but get a few extra to allow for breakage)
* Pipe cleaners, aka chenille strips, in a shade of brown – 9 to 10 inches per reindeer
* Glue-on eyes – 2 per reindeer
* Chenille poms – 1 per reindeer (I like the 10mm size)
* School glue or craft glue
* Scissors or wire cutters
* Ruler

Step 1

Cut the pipe cleaner into three pieces: one measuring 5 inches and two measuring 2 to 2-1/2 inches each. These will be the antlers. Bend each piece in half.

Step 2

Place the bend of the 5 inch piece of pipe cleaner under the crook of the candy cane. Bring the two free ends of the pipe cleaner above the candy cane and twist tightly together where they cross the cane.

Step 3

Place the free ends of the pipe cleaner horizontally at 90 degree angles to the pipe cleaner. Bend the ends up by 90 degrees to form the antler base.

Step 4

Twist a 2 inch piece of pipe cleaner at the bends of the antler base. Bend each of those ends to 90 degrees, at a 90 degree angle to the base.

Step 5

Glue two eyes on the short side of the candy cane, about ¾ of the way to the curve. Glue a chenille pom for the nose.


Miscellaneous tips:

The pipe cleaners I bought were about 12 inches long. So cutting 5 and 2 inch pieces gave me two 5 inch and one 2 inch piece, or six 2 inch pieces per strip. Mix and match as necessary to get the most without waste from your pipe cleaners.

Poke holes in a piece of Styrofoam or the back of the empty candy cane box to stand your reindeer for safekeeping as the glue dries.

The antlers don’t have to be perfect – if you have children helping you with this project, don’t get hung up on the angles.

Chenille poms come in all sorts of combinations. I had a bag of assorted colors and sizes from other projects, and I purchased a bag of the 10 mm black poms.

Because of the small pieces, use caution around very young children. You may prefer to dab eyes and a nose on the wrapper with acrylic paint for little ones.

Things to Save for Crafty Ministry

The idea of shoestring ministry is to make the best use of the resources God has given us. Recycling items rather than purchasing is good stewardship. Sharing from our abundance is showing love. Keeping stuff out of landfills is caring for the earth God gave us.

To share with shelters:

First, the golden rule of ministering on a shoestring – never turn down something free; never leave behind something you paid for.

Those little soaps and cosmetics from hotels – you may have brought your own, but someone in a homeless shelter or safe house can use these personal care supplies.

Sample sizes of nearly anything – food samples can go to food ministries; child care items help crisis pregnancy centers and homeless shelters; personal care items can go to homeless shelters or safe houses; pet care items to humane societies or pet rescue organizations.

For crafting projects:

The silver rule of ministering on a shoe string – clean thoroughly if there is any chance that food stuffs or human fluids (such as saliva) have been in contact with the surface. A good wipe down or wipe out may serve for some items. Others need soap-and-water washing or even soaking for a little while in a mild bleach solution. Safety first!

As I add projects to the blog, I’ll place links under the appropriate item used in the project. I’ll be happy to add links you might suggest in comments, as well. This document will be an ever-changing resource for you.

If you have space to store saved items, you’re ahead of the game. Class leaders may want to consider asking parents each to submit the item or items for their own child, if they can’t come up with enough of a needed item on their own.

Bottle caps (with thanks to Crafts for the King!): Musical instruments


Cardboard inserts

Cardboard rolls from toilet tissue, paper towels, food storage wraps and wrapping paper: Cardboard tube crafts; Musical instruments

Coffee cans and tubs, with lids (wash and air dry thoroughly): Musical instruments

Cotton from aspirin bottles


Dryer lint


Empty soda and milk containers (wash and air dry thoroughly): Musical instruments

Empty tissue boxes: Musical instruments

Fabric and trim scraps

Hinged boxes, such as sneaker boxes

Ice cream sticks (wash and air dry thoroughly)

Individual-sized yogurt containers with or without lids

Milk jug rings

Nature magazines

Newspapers and ads printed on newsprint

Old socks and nylons


Out-of-date calendars

Plastic drink cups from restaurants

Plastic lids to discarded containers (Wash and air dry thoroughly)

Potato chip tubes: Cardboard tube crafts; Musical instruments

Ribbon scraps

Salt containers

Small boxes, including cigar boxes

Small jars, including baby food jars (wash and air dry thoroughly)

Styrofoam meat trays (wash and air dry thoroughly)

Styrofoam packing pieces

Twist ties

Yarn scraps

If you have items to add to the list, please tell me in a comment. I’ll add it and credit your suggestion.

Ghosties and Ghoulies - Halloween Ideas

October brings Halloween, and with it the presence of little ghosts (friendly and otherwise) for parties and activities. Here are some quick and easy ghost ideas.

Supplies:
White napkins (paper to give away or fabric to last) or white facial tissue – up to 2 per ghost
Thanks to CraftsfortheKing - Any white fabric or handkerchief will work
White yarn or pipe cleaners, cut in six inch lengths
Crayons or markers
Round head lollipops (optional)
Cupcakes (optional)
Popcorn balls (optional)
Styrofoam balls (optional)
Balloons (optional)


Let’s start with party activities:
Give each child two napkins. Have them wad one up in a ball (Watch the fun as they squeeze and shape the napkins!).

Center the second napkin over the first and gather around the balled up napkin. Tie with white yarn or a white pipe cleaner to form the ghost’s neck.

Use crayons or markers to draw eyes on the ghost’s face. (Younger kids might do better to draw the face near the center fold of the second napkin before wrapping it.)

Presto! There’s a little ghost to take home as a remembrance of the party. (Special thanks to Dr. Karen Romito of HobbyTown USA in Folsom, CA for reminding me of this activity!)

Working with children in the sticker-crazy phase? Use colored sticker dots as the eyes.


Party favors:

Center a quarter-folded paper napkin over the head of a round lollipop and tie under the head to make ghosts that can stand up in a piece of Styrofoam. It’s a tasty little party favor that serves as a decoration in the meantime.


As dessert:
Stand the lollipop ghost in a cupcake to make individual desserts/decorations for your party attendees.

Wrap a napkin around a popcorn ball (wrap it first in plastic wrap) for a larger version of a dessert ghost.


Party decorations:
Add a yarn loop at the top of the ghost’s head to hang the little fellows as decorations. Use the cloth napkins for outdoor décor – they’ll hold up to weather better.

Use balloons to form the heads for a more ethereal look if there will be light shining on them.

Use a Styrofoam ball as the form for the head for a larger ghost decoration. This is a more expensive version, but may be just the centerpiece you need.



Remember, you can adapt these projects to fit your budget, group size and skill level. Please let me know how you use this with your group.