This super handy match jar not only looks beautiful, but is soooo useful as well! It’s very accessible since it is left out as a decoration and is a great conversation piece. It also cuts down on clutter and combines a match holder and striker, into one nice container. 

I also love that you can reuse a small condiment jar to create this cute match holder. You can decorate the jar however you would like, but of course I instantly reached for my pressed flower stash! They make everything so pretty. 

Ready to give it a try!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies for the Match Striker Sticker Jar Craft:

• • Jar- Reuse an old jar or purchase a cute vintage jar from the thrift shop! Check out how to remove labels from jars HERE!
  • Mod Podge- I used the matte version for the lampshade. 
  • Pressed flowers– You can always press your own flowers if you have them available in your garden! If you currently don’t have flowers to press, then I suggest going with Amazon. I’ve used many pressed flowers from Amazon for my crafts and am happy to recommend them as well. I love this set from Amazon, this set, and this set! There are a ton of options available! Just type “pressed flowers” in the search bar and a bunch of options will show up. 
  • Match Striker Stickers- Here are the different sizes and shapes available: 2 inch circles, 1 inch circles, variety pack, and a cute rainbow match set with a 2 sizes!
  • Strike Anywhere Matches

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Here’s How I Made the Match Striker Jar:

Step 1: Think of a pressed flower design. 

You have a blank slate on the jar, so play around with different flower designs before you add Mod Podge. 

Step 2: Mod Podge

Apply a layer of Mod Podge on your jar. I prefer to use a small foam brush for this step, but I only had a paintbrush available. 

Step 3: Pressed Flowers

Place pressed flowers on the layer of Mod Podge. A tweezer is always helpful if you are having difficulties picking up the pressed flowers. 

Step 4: Mod Podge

Apply a layer of Mod Podge over the pressed flowers. Let the jar dry before the next step. 

Step 5: Match Striker Sticker

I got the 2 inch stickers and they were a bit too big for my jar, so I cut them down to size and placed them on the bottom of the jars. I also thought it would be cute to cut the sticker into a heart shape for Valentine’s Day!

Now your jar is all set and ready to use! Strike the match against the sticker and light your candle!

This jar is meant to be decorative and looks beautiful on the living room or a bathroom shelf. 

Pin it and save it for later!

I hope you enjoy this useful craft as much as I do!

-Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

Frozen Fruit Bowl for Animals

DIY Sun Art Paper Lanterns

The post Match Striker Sticker Jar Craft appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

These boredom-buster outdoor scavenger hunt ideas are sure to become favorite activities in your home or classroom! These scavenger hunt activities range from simple checklists to fun scavenger nature crafts. There is something here for all interests, age and ability levels.

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RELATED: Check out 10+ Simple and Beautiful Stone Activities for Kids

Check out the Outdoor Scavenger Hunts!

1.  Nature Hunt Printables (With a Real Magnifying Glass)

These nature scavenger hunt printables are unique and so fun to use! Children love the peek through magnifying glass that is conveniently placed right on the printable. No more fumbling around with a magnifying glass, clipboard, scavenger hunt sheet and pencil, this scavenger hunt has everything you need right on the printable! You can keep the magnifying glass empty and use the center as a focal point. OR…

You can add a real credit card sized magnifying glass and tape it to the cut out area on the scavenger hunt printable. As you can see in the links below,  I included outdoor scavanger hunt printables for all seasons and interests!

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

Find the outdoor printables HERE.

Find the credit card sized magnifying glasses HERE.

Get the scavenger hunt printables at a discounted price HERE.

2. My Wild Finds- Collect and Craft with Nature

Love the idea of crafting with the pieces of nature that you find? These nature printables offer fun ways to search for nature, collect it, and create art with the most lovely crafting supplies around! Crafting with nature is the perfect way to connect kids with nature and helps you ditch plastic crafting supplies for natural and biodegradable material. Here’s how this outdoor scavenger hunt works: First collect nature using an egg carton and fun printable prompt. 

Next, use the pieces of nature to make a flower crown or cool nature mask! I even included pictures that are perfect for decorating with nature. 

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

Find the outdoor printables HERE.

Get the printables at a discounted price HERE.

3. How to Make Nature Mandalas with Kids and the Muffin Tin Scavenger Hunt

As seen on Good Housekeeping, this fun nature hunt and activity will keep kids busy for a long time! Kids will love collecting nature with the muffin tin scavenger prompts, then turning their treasures into nature mandalas. 

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

Find the outdoor printables HERE.

Get the printables at a discounted price HERE.

4. Nature Collection Scavenger Hunt and Journal

This is a great low-prep outdoor activity that will keep kids of all ages busy for hours. Kids will have fun while they craft, color, and learn with collected pieces of nature! Perfect for fall, winter, spring, and summer, this nature journal for kids will keep your children away from the screen and enjoying all that nature has to offer. The cover is a paper bag so it doubles as a collection bag for nature treasures! 

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

Find the outdoor printables HERE.

Get the printables at a discounted price HERE.

5. Nature Hunt Printables for Indoor or Outdoor Use

If your children love getting outdoors and exploring nature, then these nature activities are for you! Just pick one out of the 16 scavenger hunt options, print on card stock, cut out and head outdoors! It’s ok if you don’t find all objects, just have fun and explore. Children will also love using the fun true to scale ruler conveniently placed on the magnifying glass handle! This opens up so many opportunities for learning and exploring. 

With the addition of the circular nature hunt pieces, this scavenger hunt printable pack can be used both indoors or outdoors.

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

Find the outdoor printables HERE.

Get the printables at a discounted price HERE.

6. No Prep Outdoor Scavenger Hunts- Just Print and Go!

Here are over 20 outdoor printable activities you can try in your own backyard or during your next nature walk around the neighborhood. These no-prep nature scavenger hunt pages and checklists are perfect last minute activities and require no extra work or effort on your end. Just print and head outdoors with your kids! 

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

Find the outdoor printables HERE.

Get the printables at a discounted price HERE.

7. Sticky Flower Scavenger Hunt for Spring and Summer

Here is a fun and easy flower scavenger hunt to try with kids! This activity will help children learn nature identification right in their own backyard. The cardboard piece is reusable for endless scavenger hunts.

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

8. Sticky Leaf Scavenger Hunt for Fall

Try this sticky leaf scavenger hunt in fall! This leaf activity is awesome for teaching children leaf identification at a young age and will help them learn the shapes of different types of leaves. 

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

9. Nature Vocabulary Word Scavenger Hunt

This fun outdoor educational scavenger hunt is fun for kids of all ages! The winter word search activity offers a fun and hands-on way for children to learn basic seasonal vocabulary words and expand their knowledge of the seasonal differences in the natural world. Weather isn’t cooperating? That’s okay, you can easily bring this activity indoors!

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

Find the winter scavenger hunt printables HERE.

Get all four seasons at a discounted price HERE.

10. Butterfly Scavenger Hunt and Identification Activities

Hide these butterflies and search for them with your handy printable scavenger hunt! This is a fun reason to get outside and helps children learn all about butterflies. 

Learn more about this activity HERE. 

Find the winter printables HERE.

11. Rainbow Flower Threading Boards

 This is more of a scavenger hunt craft! Search for flowers that are all colors of the rainbow and display them on a cardboard rainbow! This reusable cardboard rainbow takes just minutes to set up and will be loved throughout the spring and summer seasons! Kids will love decorating the rainbow while working on color recognition, hand-eye coordination, and strengthening fine motor skills. 

Learn more about this activity HERE.

12. Easy Egg Nature Walk for Spring

This fun outdoor activity for spring will have children looking for different colors in nature. This activity is so easy to prep and will lead to hours of outdoor play and exploration for kids! You can make any cardboard frame to fit any learning theme or area of interest for your child. I added colors on the side our board to encourage a nature color scavenger hunt. 

Learn more about this activity HERE.

Pin it to save it for later!

I hope you give these outdoor scavenger hunt ideas a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love them as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature activities for kids?! Check out:

A Simple and Beautiful Nature Craft to Try Today!

The post Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We’re getting resourceful today and using some of those toilet paper rolls we have been saving! Reusing objects always makes crafting more rewarding and it’s fun to see everyday items transform into something useful. Kids will love helping with this process, but enjoy using their binoculars even more!

Ready to make this DIY binoculars craft? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies:

• 2 Paper Towel Rolls
• Washi Tape or Marker
• Single-Hole Puncher
• Twine or String about 18-20 inches (45-51 cm) long
• Craft Bond Tacky Glue
• 45-50 Straight sticks, about 3.5 inches (9 cm) and about 1/8 inch (.5 cm) thick. Test out one stick on your roll first. Make sure the stick sits under the washi tape line so it doesn’t poke your child’s eyes.
• 6 medium sized rubber bands and 1larger rubber band

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RELATED: Use These Binoculars with the Sticky Scavenger Hunt

Here’s How We Made This Beautiful Tic-Tac-Toe Game:

Step 1:

Put a washi tape border on one end of both paper rolls. Not only does this look nice, but will also protect your eyes from the sticks. If you don’t have washi tape, try drawing a border with marker! We used weeping willow sticks from a tree in our backyard.

Step 2:

Snap sticks by hand to the size you need. You can try scissors if your sticks are thin enough. Make them long enough to fit right under the decorative tape to the other end of the paper roll. Once you have one stick measured out to the correct length, snap the rest the same size.

Step 3:

Punch one hole under the washi tape on each of the binoculars. Take one end of your twine and thread it through the hole you made. Tie a knot to secure the thread to the paper roll. Use the same piece of twine and repeat with the other binocular.

Step 4:

Put glue on about 1/3 of your paper roll and place sticks on the binoculars. Press each stick on the glue for about 10 seconds. This part can be a little tricky and will require helping hands.  If one or two sticks fall off during this process, just put it back in its spot and press the stick for 10 more seconds. I found it helpful to cradle the part of the binocular with drying sticks in my hand to keep them in place. Repeat this process until the entire binocular is covered with sticks.

Step 5:

Put three rubber bands around each binocular to keep them in place while drying.

Step 6:

Once the binoculars are completely dry, take the rubber bands off and glue a stick in the middle of the binoculars to connect them. This stick can be just as long or a bit shorter than the other sticks. Place a larger rubber band around the binoculars to keep them in place while they dry.

Don’t they look great when completed?! 

They are perfect to take outside during any season, but we LOVE them for winter bird watching!

Want to make more nature binoculars? Try stone or pressed flower binoculars! If you have extra time, try painting the sticks to make colorful binoculars. We love our pressed flower binoculars pictured below.

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you give this nature craft a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this activity as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature craft ideas?! Check out:

Homemade Pencil Case with Nature Prints

How to Decorate Pumpkins with Pieces of Nature

The post DIY Binoculars Craft with Real Sticks appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

It’s super easy to make your own crayons out of old, broken crayons. If you have a large project, you might want to consider buying bulk crayons, but I like to reuse old ones we have around the house and classroom. My boys loved helping with the process and were so excited to test them out!

Ready to make some crayon shapes? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies:

• Crayons– Melt old crayon pieces or buy new crayons for large projects
• Silicone molds- We used these molds: large pine tree, small pine tree, pine cone, mushroom, and stars (I don’t have a link for the stars, but there are many options on Amazon)
• Container for soaking crayons
• Paper towel
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheet

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RELATED: Check out 10+ Simple and Beautiful Stone Activities for Kids!

Here’s How We Made These Nature Crayon Shapes:

Step 1:

First you need to peel off the labels on the crayons. We soaked our crayons in soapy warm for about 20 minutes. If they the labels don’t fall off, let them soak longer. I found the labels on washable and generic crayons were more difficult to peel off. 

Step 2: 

Peel off all of the labels and let the crayons dry. 

Step 3:

Place a piece of parchment paper on your baking sheet to protect it from melted crayons. Brake the crayons into pieces that are small enough to fit inside the molds. I suggest trying different crayon color combinations! You can’t go wrong and it’s fun to see how they turn out. 

Step 4:

Place the molds in the oven. I set my oven for 225 degrees Fahrenheit and baked the crayons for about 20 minutes. The time will vary depending upon the size of the molds and the amount of crayons that are inside the molds. You might need to add more crayons during the melting process, so keep and eye on the crayon level as it melts. Remove the baking sheet from the oven once the crayons are completely melted into a liquid. 

Be very careful when taking the baking sheet out of the oven because the silicone molds and wax will be very hot! I placed the entire baking sheet on a cooling rack, but you can also place it on the stove top. 

Step 5:

Pop the crayons out of the mold once they are completely cooled down and they are ready to use! 

We added little white dots to our mushrooms! First make your mushroom crayons and let them completely dry. Then melt a white crayon and add little white dots with a Q-tip!

It doesn’t need to be perfect! 

We loved making these and it’s so tough to figure out our favorite crayon shape! Which one is your favorite?!

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you give this crayon project a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this activity as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature craft and activity ideas?! Check out:

DIY Pebble Art

Easy Porcupine Nature Craft

The post Nature Crayon Shapes appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We made beautiful pressed flower beeswax bowl luminaries a few months ago and have been enjoying them ever since. I recently got the idea to use temporary tattoos on the these cute beeswax bowls and I’m so happy I tried it! Temporary tattoos allow you to personalize your luminaries any way you would like. You can spell words with letter tattoos, try bright and colorful prints, or keep it simple with black line tattoo designs. I personally love the simplicity of the black lines. Our beeswax luminaries turned out so nice and look like items you would find in a boutique shop!

Ready to make a beeswax luminary or two? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies for the Beeswax Luminaries:

• Beeswax– I like this brand of yellow pellets. 
• Mini Crock pot– I have a mini crock pot designated for beeswax crafts! We use beeswax quite a bit, so when we are done using it I just let it harden in the Crock Pot and save it for another day. This seems to be the perfect size for all of my beeswax crafts. I don’t suggest using one that is bigger because you will need to use A LOT of beeswax to fill it up. If you don’t want to invest in a Crock Pot, many people use a double boiler for this craft. 
• Water balloons
• Temporary Tattoos– My boys are really interested in summer insects at the moment, so I purchased this pack! This pack includes a wide variety of black line and colorful buggy designs. You can also work on insect identification when making your luminaries:) 
• Flameless candles

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RELATED: Check out 20+ Pressed Flower Crafts

Here’s How We Made Our Beeswax Luminaries:

First melt your beeswax. It takes about 30 minutes for about half the bag to melt in the Crock Pot. Don’t fill your entire Crock Pot with beeswax or it will overflow when you dip your balloons!

This Crock Pot is great for beeswax crafts because it’s safer than the stovetop and I feel more comfortable with my boys helping!

Step 2:

Fill a water balloon with water. Never use a balloon filled with air because you sill pop it! Make sure your water balloons are skinnier than your Crock Pot, so they don’t hit the sides during the dipping process. This will smudge the beeswax and will limit the amount of times you can dip the balloon.

Dip your water ballon about 15 times in the beeswax to the same level. You can dip it more if you want to make a stronger bowl. 

In between dips, let the beeswax dry for about 10 seconds or until the beeswax stops dripping. Give your beeswax luminary about 5 minutes to dry after this step. 

Step 3:

Next pop the balloon over the sink, making sure the balloon doesn’t go down the drain. Dry out the beeswax bowl.

Last, line a pan with foil and heat it on low. After you give the stove top a minute to warm up, quickly run to top edges of the bowl on the warm foil to even the edges. 

Flip the bowl over and warm the base to give it a small flat surface to sit on. 

Step 4:

Now it’s time to decorate your bowl! There is no trick to this step. Use the tattoos just like you were applying them to your skin. Choose the temporary tattoos that you would like to use for your luminaries and follow the decorations on your specific temporary tattoo packaging.

We made one with just bees!

Here are the other designs. I love the butterfly, moth, and dragonfly prints in the pack as well!

Now your beeswax luminaries are finished! I like to add a flameless candle to the bowls. The warm glow looks so beautiful!

These are a bit delicate, so I taught my boys how to handle them carefully. 

Don’t these make the perfect natural decoration for your home? I hope you love them as much as we do!

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you make some beeswax luminaries soon! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this craft as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature activity ideas?! Check out:

DIY Pebble Art for Kids

How to Preserve Fall Leaves With Beeswax

The post Beeswax Luminaries with Temporary Tattoo Decorations appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We have a large nature collection! We collect cool sticks, rocks, pinecones, flowers (that we press), moss, shells, and other unique pieces of nature. I love the idea of creating memories with these pieces of nature by turning them into a beautiful piece of nature art! Pebbles create the perfect pieces of art because they don’t have an expiration date and will last forever. If you are looking to make a beautiful piece of art that will last for years to come, try this DIY pebble art project!

Ready to make one or two? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies:

• Pieces of cardboard- If you don’t have a steady stream of Amazon boxes coming in , these cardboard sheets are handy to have for cardboard crafts!
• Paper punch and twine
• Scissors or crafting knife (for adult use only)
• Stones and other pieces of nature- Here are some stones if you don’t have access to any in nature
• Tacky glue

This post contains Affiliate links for your convenience.

RELATED: Check out 10+ Simple and Beautiful Stone Activities for Kids!

Here’s How We Made These DIY Pebble Art Projects:

Step 1:

First, cut out pieces of cardboard. Our pieces measured out to 8×6 inches each. You can keep the cardboard like this and hand them out as a card or place them on a shelf. If you would like to hang them, then punch holes through the cardboard and thread a piece of twine to make a hanging loop.

I love that this craft doesn’t require a store bought frame. It’s a good reminder that we can often reuse items around our house to make art!

Step 2:

Move the pebbles around to make different designs and pictures to see which ones you like the most. You also want to make sure you have the specific stone shapes to suit your picture idea. 

Step 3:

Last, glue your pieces of nature in place. I love using Tacky Glue for nature crafts! It has a strong hold, dries clear, and young children can use it. Let your glue dry for about an hour before you move your pictures. 

You don’t need to make a complicated picture. We decided to glue our collection of heart shaped rocks to a piece of cardboard and this one turned out to be my favorite!  This will make a perfect Valentine’s Day gift next year! What design ideas do you have? 

What design ideas do you have? Tag your DIY pebble art pictures at @littlepinelearners on Instagram so I can see them! Here are a few more close ups of our designs. Here are the birds!

Check out this beautiful dragonfly.

And more more! I love these sweet butterflies. 

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you give this DIY pebble art project a try! 

∼Tara

Looking for more cardboard nature craft and activity ideas?! Check out:

A Simple and Beautiful Nature Craft

Easy Porcupine Nature Craft

The post DIY Pebble Art for Kids appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

If you are looking for a fun new center for your classroom or learning invitation for home, this is it! I will be sharing with you the easiest way of preserving flowers in resin and some fun ideas for how to use them. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A CRAFT FOR ADULTS ONLY! DO NOT LET CHILDREN HANDLE THE RESIN BOTTLES, LIQUID, OR PIECES UNTIL THEY ARE FULLY CURED. 

Ready to make a set? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies:

• Epoxy resin– This is enough to make the alphabet letters, numbers, and more! There are little finger protectors in the kit. I suggest rolling those over your gloved thumb and pointer fingers on your dominant work hand. You might want to purchase additional gloves because this can get pretty messy!
• Molds– Make sure you order molds specifically for resin! The inside of the molds need to be shinny. Don’t use molds with a matte finish, or the bottom/sides of your cured resin pieces will have a frosted finish. We made numbers, hearts and stars this time around. 
• Dried flowers– It’s the middle of winter for me, so I purchased some from Amazon! I’ll share how to dry flowers below if you want to go that route. 
• Tweezers– This kit has great resin tools.
• Measuring cups– The resin kit linked above comes with small measuring cups, but I found it difficult to read the measurements on the cups. These 3 cups are great for measuring, mixing, and pouring into the molds.
• Sandpaper- I used a fine sandpaper

This post contains Affiliate links for your convenience.

RELATED: Check out 20+ Pressed Flower Crafts

Preserving Flowers in Resin:

Step 1:

First, choose how you want to dry your flowers. It’s important that your flowers are 100% dry or they will turn brown or yellow with timed. Click on the techniques below to learn more: 

1. Press your flowers. 
2. Microwave your flowers.
3. Or purchase them already dried. This is great for the winter months when you might not have flowers available. 

Step 2:

Next, take the time to prepare your work station! This is SO important. This is a rather messy project, so I suggest laying a plastic garbage bag flat on your work surface to protect your table. Also, make sure all of your supplies are in order and ready to go. I suggest choosing the flowers and leaves you would like to use and lay them on the garbage bag. Make sure the flowers aren’t too big for the resin mold. If they are too big, cut them in half or trim them down before you get started. 

Step 3:

Make sure you put on your gloves before you start working with resin! If you happen to get some on your skin, try to wash it off with soap and water right away. If that doesn’t work,  you can try soaking a cotton ball in vinegar or acetone and rubbing it on your skin. To be on the safe side, I also suggest working in a well ventilated room and wearing a mask when handling resin to protect yourself from the fumes. The type I used is low scent, but it’s always smart to be extra safe! Don’t allow children near you when you are working with the resin. 

Now you are all set! Make sure to carefully follow the instructions on your epoxy resin bottles. Most are a 1:1 ratio but yours may be different. I mixed equal parts resin and hardener and slowly stirred for 2-3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixture cup multiple times during the stirring process. 

Step 4:

Pour a little resin into the mold, then use a tweezer to place the pieces of nature into the mold. Make sure your flowers are facing the correct way when you place them into the mold. My mold is backwards, so I put the front of the flower facing down in the mold. Now add more resin over the flowers and leaves. When preserving flowers in resin, make sure you entirely cover the pieces of nature with the mixture! You can use a toothpick to press the nature bits down if they float up to the surface. 

Step 5: 

Lastly, you need to pop any bubbles that come to the surface. I used one of the resin tools in the tweezer kit linked above, but you could also use a toothpick. Check back every 5 minutes or so during the first 30 minutes of curing to pop bubbles.

Now is the hard part! Let your resin cure. My resin took 24 hours. I tried to take one out at the ten hour mark and it was way too soft. Just be patient and WAIT! Once they are ready, just pop them out of the molds. If you are having a hard time getting them out, pop them in the freezer for a bit and try again. Luckily, I had no problems with this. 

Kids will LOVE holding, learning, and playing with these! If you have any rough or sharp edges when you pop the resin pieces out, make sure you sand them down. I only had a few that needed some sanding on the edges.

These make the best loose parts! Check out this fun heart mandala made by my 7 year old.

Children will love lining up the numbers in order.

You can also hide resin shapes in a sensory bin and invite children to find the correct amount of shapes to match the numbers!

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you try preserving flowers in resin! I promise, your little nature lovers will love these gorgeous pieces as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature craft ideas?! Check out:

Nature Collection Journal for Kids

How to Make Nature Pinch Pots

The post Preserving Flowers in Resin appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

This sweet DIY flower vase is my new favorite craft! My boys loved helping me with this and it looks gorgeous in our home. It makes me smile each and every time I walk past it:) 

Ready to give it a try!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies for your Flower Vase:

• • Jar- Try a pasta sauce, juice, or jelly jar.
  • Mod Podge– I like the matte variety for this project.
  • Foam brush– These are super helpful for spreading mod podge on the jar! 
  • Pressed flowers-If you don’t have flowers available to press, then try these! I used this exact set for this vase. 
  • Flameless tea light candles- Optional

This post contains Affiliate links for your convenience.

RELATED: Check out 20+ Pressed Flower Crafts

Here’s How to Make This DIY Flower Vase:

Step 1:

First take the label off your jar. It’s easy to remove that sticky glue if you follow these steps in my mason jar lantern post. 

After your label is off, add a layer of Mod Podge to the clean jar. I highly recommend using a foam brush for this step. It helps the Mod Podge go on smooth and even. My boys love helping with this step!

We used a pretty juice jar for our vase. I love the detail at the top of the jar! 

Step 2:

Next add pressed flowers to the layer of Mod Podge. The thinner flowers and leaves are easier to work with, but you can use the thicker pieces of nature too. Just add a little more Mod Podge over those pieces and press them to the jar for about 10-20 seconds. 

These pressed pieces of nature are pretty fragile, so take care when picking them up!

Step 3:

Last, add one more layer of Mod Podge over the pressed pieces of nature. Be gentle with this step so you don’t tear the thin pieces of nature. Let the Mod Podge dry completely before you add water and flowers!

We added simple baby’s breath and eucalyptus. I wanted the flowers on the vase to stand out and be the focal point! Wouldn’t this make a gorgeous Valentine’s or Mother’s Day gift?! We’re so happy with how this DIY flower vase turned out!

My five year old made a beautiful discovery! He put a flameless tea light candle behind the vase and I couldn’t believe how GORGEOUS it looked! Now we can enjoy our vase during the day and at night!

Do you like this DIY flower vase more with or without the candle?! I can’t decide!

Pin it and save it for later!

The post DIY Flower Vase appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

This beeswax craft was 100%  inspired by a gorgeous post on the Facebook group Wildschooling. I saw a beautiful photo of these beeswax decorations and knew I had to try it for myself! I headed straight to Amazon and searched for cute silicone molds to test out. My boys absolutely LOVED making these with me and were so proud of their beeswax creations!

Ready to make a beeswax decoration or two? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies for the Beeswax Craft:

• Beeswax– I like this brand of yellow pellets. 
• Mini Crock pot– I have a mini crock pot designated for beeswax crafts! We use beeswax quite a bit, so when we are done using it I just let it harden in the Crock Pot and save it for another day. This seems to be the perfect size for all of my beeswax crafts. I don’t suggest using one that is bigger because you will need to use A LOT of beeswax to fill it up. I purchased my Crock Pot at a second hand store, but it is also available on Amazon. If you don’t want to invest in a Crock Pot, many people use a double boiler for this craft. 
• Something to help pour the beeswax. We designated a metal measuring cup for beeswax activities.
• Hangers or string
• Silicone molds, here are a few that I purchase- Crescent moon and wolf, pinecones, snowflakes, forest animals and mushrooms (These are REALLY small, but a few of them worked) We are waiting on this sun/moon mold! The fun thing about molds is you can choose whatever figures you want depending upon the time of year and your interests. 

This post contains Affiliate links for your convenience.

RELATED: Check out Rolled Beeswax Candles That Kids Will Love!

Here’s How We Made Our Beeswax Craft:

First melt your beeswax. I like using a Crock Pot for this craft because it’s safer than on the stovetop and I feel more comfortable with my boys helping!

Step 2:

Once your beeswax is melted, ladle the liquid into the molds. Be careful, the beeswax is very warm! My boys are comfortable working with beeswax because we use it so often and I’m always right there with them.

Don’t worry if you spill beeswax on your silicone tray because you can easily pick it off after it dries. Remember to toss it back in your Crock Pot! It will melt back with the rest of the beeswax the next time you use it. 

Step 3:

Let your beeswax dry for about 3-5 minutes. Just enough that it changes colors and the top layer is dry. Then gently poke your hanger or string through the beeswax about halfway into the mold. Don’t poke it through to the other side!

Step 4: 

Let the beeswax dry for another 30 minutes or so. At this point, you should be able to pop them out and flip them over to dry a bit longer. The forest animal and mushroom molds required a little trimming with scissors. The molds are so small that the wax overflows. I just cut off the excess beeswax and they looked great! 

I’m trying to decide what to do with these beautiful beeswax decorations now that they are all complete! My boys love playing with them and hanging them on our Christmas tree, but that won’t be around for much longer! We might collect small branches from our yard, put them in a mason jar, and hang them on the branches. 

Or we are thinking about hanging them on twine to make a pretty garland! I might wrap fairy lights around the garland because light brings out the beautiful detail in the decorations! Just remember, don’t put them near a fireplace or anywhere hot because they will melt. 

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you try this beeswax craft soon! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this beeswax craft as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature activity ideas?! Check out:

DIY Bowls Made Out of Beeswax

How to Preserve Fall Leaves With Beeswax

The post An Incredibly Easy Beeswax Craft appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

I first saw these DIY bowls made of beeswax over at Woven Childhood on Instagram and then I quickly tumbled down the Pinterest rabbit hole to find the easiest way for me to make these beauties! There are a few step involved, but they are incredibly easy to make!

Ready to make a beeswax bowl or two? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies for the DIY Bowls:

• Beeswax– I like this brand of yellow pellets. 
• Mini Crock pot– I have a mini crock pot designated for beeswax crafts! We use beeswax quite a bit, so when we are done using it I just let it harden in the Crock Pot and save it for another day. This seems to be the perfect size for all of my beeswax crafts. I don’t suggest using one that is bigger because you will need to use A LOT of beeswax to fill it up. I purchased my Crock Pot at a second hand store, but it is also available on Amazon. If you don’t want to invest in a Crock Pot, many people use a double boiler for this craft. 
• Pressed flowers and leaves– If you don’t have any on hand, you can also purchase these on Amazon. I use these for a TON of crafts!
• Water balloons
• Glue– I used Tacky glue, but think typical Elmers glue will work too. 
• Flameless candles

This post contains Affiliate links for your convenience.

Here’s How We Made Our DIY Bowls:

First melt your beeswax. It takes about 30 minutes for about half the bag to melt in the Crock Pot. Don’t fill your entire Crock Pot with beeswax or it will overflow when you dip your balloons!

I like using a Crock Pot for this craft because it’s safer than on the stovetop and I feel more comfortable with my boys helping!

Step 2:

Fill a water balloon with water. Never use a balloon filled with air because you sill pop it! Make sure your water balloons are skinnier than your Crock Pot, so they don’t hit the sides during the dipping process.

Dip your water ballon about 15 times in the beeswax to the same level. You can dip it more if you want to make a stronger bowl. 

In between dips, let the beeswax dry for about 10 seconds or until the beeswax stops dripping. Give your DIY bowl about 5 minutes to dry after this step. 

Step 3:

Now it’s time to decorate your beeswax bowl with dried pieces of nature! If you don’t have any on hand, you can purchase a set of dried flower and leaves from Amazon in the link above. 

Add a tiny dab of glue directly on the bowl or pieces of nature. 

Once they are glued on your bowl, dip your balloon one more time to create a thin layer of beeswax. You don’t want to dip it more than one time, or the pieces of nature will be completely covered and you won’t be able to see them as well. Make sure you completely cover the pieces of nature to preserve them! 

Step 4:

Next pop the balloon over the sink, making sure the balloon doesn’t go down the drain. Dry out the beeswax bowl.

Last, line a pan with foil and heat it on low. After you give the stove top a minute to warm up, quickly run to top edges of the bowl on the warm foil to even the edges. 

Flip the bowl over and warm the base to give it a small flat surface to sit on. 

Your DIY bowls are finished! I like to add a flameless candle to the bowls. The warm glow looks so beautiful!

These are a bit delicate, so I taught my boys how to handle them carefully. 

Don’t these make the perfect natural decoration for your home? I hope you love them as much as we do!

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you make some DIY bowls soon! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this craft as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature activity ideas?! Check out:

How to Preserve Fall Leaves With Beeswax

Simple Leaf Lanterns to Make With Kids

The post DIY Bowls Made of Beeswax appeared first on Little Pine Learners.