Welcome back to our 12 Days of Crunchy Christmas Crafts for the whole family! So far, we’ve made: pinecone bird treats, gingerbread nativities, “snowed-in” candle crafts, fruity festoons, foraged ornaments, some homemade bathtime bliss, repurposed Christmas card boxes, ornaments for book-lovers, and glitter-storm snow globes! There’s a mouthful.
Today, we have three ~I SPY, Christmas is Nigh~ picture hunts to share with you!
While perhaps not *technically* a craft, this is something the kids have been asking to do for a long time! We all pitched in and made one picture hunt together and then split up for a boys-versus-girls competition. It got fierce.
The challenge of putting together a hidden items display is decidedly more difficult than we had anticipated but what a fun and memorable activity to take on with the family! Plus, we discovered quite a few tricks of the trade along the way that make creating the scenes so much easier…. hindsight, you know. We jotted them down for this tutorial so you can avoid some of the mistakes we made. Now that we know what we’re doing, at least somewhat, we’re excited to make more picture hunts together. In fact, this may just become an annual Christmas tradition on our little homestead!
TWO TINY FAVORS TO ASK TODAY:
- First, will you please VOTE in the comment section for if you prefer the boys or the girls’ entries for the competition? We have high stakes on the line: massages and Christmas beverages have been mentioned!!!
- Second, if your family takes on the ~I Spy, Christmas is Nigh Challenge~ will you pretty-please share your picture(s) with us? We’d LOVE to see them!
~I Spy, Christmas is Nigh Challenge~
DIFFICULTY (aka Happiness Meter): difficult
MESS METER: fairly extensive clean up
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- Any number of little things to spy!
- camera
TIME NEEDED: 1 hour at least
KID RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars;) The kids loved this and I’m pretty sure they will treasure the picture hunts we made together forever!)
PARENT RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars;) While a bit time-consuming and definitely on the messy side, this is an incredible thing to experience doing with your kids and makes a LIFELONG KEEPSAKE ALL IN ONE PHOTO. Talk about minimal crafting.)
1.) Dream up a theme and scheme.
Do you want to do a Christmas ornament extravaganza? A stockings hung by the chimney with care display? An outdoors, wintry scene? Or… look around your house. Do you already have a Christmas display mostly ready to go that you might add some things to?
2.) Think about scale.
Either go big or go small, keeping most things within a size category. For example, you could go big with real-life items like sleds, snowboots, socks, and stuffed animals, and then hide in and around lots of medium and small-sized objects. Or, you could make your entire scene in a shoebox and make your “big” items only what fits in your palm.
3.) Consider lighting and shadows.
Natural light is always your best bet. But of course, there can definitely be too much of a good thing. When I take indoor photos for this blog, I try to take them in the morning or the afternoon and always set up my shots where the light is directed.
4.) Decide on a backdrop.
You will need a good backdrop for whatever you do. And of course, the best backdrops are ones that also have things to spy already on them, such as paintings, quilts, bulletin boards, or the Christmas tree!
5.) Make the scene, adding your main items, players, and characters.
6.) Layer in lots of little (and big) things.
Some little ideas to get you going: pins, tacs, buttons, marbles, jingle bells, ornaments, blocks, beads, dollhouse accessories, coins, nuts, bolts, puzzle pieces, game pieces.
7.) Think about duplicates.
A great I Spy picture puzzle often has multiples of the same thing for extra challenge!
8.) Write your rhyme! (See an I Spy book or our examples below)
9.) Crop, edit, and share!
Here’s ours! 😀
The whole family’s: All Aboard the Christmas Train!
At Christmas junction, the four of us see…
Two yo-yos, fourteen things to ride if you please,
Five acorns, five pins, and fifteen green trees.
We spot six snowmen, five snowflakes, and five little tacs,
Three steam trains, the word ROAD, and five happy cats.
Two birds that waddle, three more that sing,
And seven bells to jingle and ring!
Team Boys: Away in a Gingerbread Nativity
Pssst!!! Don’t forget to vote below!
In this nativity scene the four of us spy…
Seventeen cents, and two pictures of the Charlie Brown guy.
A bear wearing stockings, two cowboys, seven stars,
A Russian lady, four camels and two little blue cars.
One jet, one red car, three train engines that toot,
Three jingle bells and a misplaced drill bit to boot.
A Christmas tree with a red dot on top,
Two candy canes, two dogs and two horses that trot.
Three camels with humps, four acorns, and three nuts.
Make sure that this Christmas you’re not greedy butts!
Team Girls: White Christmas in the Barnyard
Pssst!!! Don’t forget to vote below!
In the White Christmas Barnyard, the four of us spot…
thirteen snowflakes, two grain sacks, and the lid of a pot.
Three marbles, a thumb tac, two things you can push and flip,
A lettuce head, three Lego bricks, and a white paper clip.
Two q-tips, three Light Brite bulbs, and a raccoon’s rear,
A hippo, the word LITTLE, and an elusive male deer.
How did we do?? We’d love to hear from you! (Wow, I’m stuck in rhyming world.)
Thanks for dropping in on us today! PLEASE SHARE YOUR PICTURES WITH US IF YOU MAKE SOME! 😀
Love, ~Candace Arden
Email me at: candacearden@our-holistic-homestead.com
