Candy Cane Reindeer

This project brings back so many childhood memories. :) My mom used to make these with my younger sister and I to give away as gifts to friends in school. Now my own little girl is going to continue the tradition and pass them on to her entire class Friday. :)

This is a very inexpensive project for a classroom- it could even be done as a classroom take-home project. I bought the candy canes at Wal-Mart for 88 cents; the rest of the items I bought at Michael's. The pom poms have 100 in the package for $2.49, the 7mm wiggley eyes were on sale for $1.49 and have 282 in the package, the chenille stems have 25 in the package for 99 cents.

If you wanted to make more than 1 dozen reindeer, you would have to buy 1 package of chenille stems for each 1 package of candy canes; you have enough pom poms to make 100 reindeer and enough eyes for 141 reindeer. :)

Supplies (will make 12 reindeer)
1 box of the larger candy canes- we used peppermint, but any flavor would work for this
1 package of beige chenille stems (pipe cleaners) you could also use dark brown (or any color- red, green, white, black, etc.)
1 package of 7mm wiggley eyes
1 package of 10mm red pom poms (you can use any color- I've used different colors with different candy canes to make them coordinate.)

Tools:
Glue
Scissors



For 1 reindeer you will need:
1 candy cane
2 chenille stems
2 wiggley eyes
1 pom pom




Step 1: Fold one of your chenille stems in half.

Step 2: Hook your candy cane through your folded in half chenille stem. Refer to photo below.

Step 3: Twist your chenille stem (like a bread bag twist tie) until secure, should be about 3 times.

Note: Make sure you twist close to the candy cane, but be careful not to snap the candy cane.)

Step 4: Bend each half in half again. (It should look like rabbit ears.)

Step 5: Twist each of your chenille stem halves (like a bread bag twist tie) until it is entirely twisted. Refer to picture.

Step 6: Take the remaining chenille stem, cut in half. Cut each half in half. You should have 4 pieces that are the same size.

Step 7: Fold each of the 4 pieces from Step 6 in half.

Step 8: Place one of the folded pieces from Step 7 around one of your chenille stems. Refer to photo below for clarification. Twist this smaller piece (like a bread bag twist tie) in place.

Step 9: Repeat Step 8 only this time place smaller stem higher on the same side. This is your reindeer's antler on one side.

Step 10: Repeat Step 8 and Step 9 for the other side. Refer to picture for clarification.

Step 11: Glue your eyes and nose in place.

That's it! :) 1 down... 23 more to go! ;)

December Blog and Challenge

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, good food, and memory making!

My goal for the month of December is to post at least one new craft idea each day up until Christmas Day. So you will have lots of choices for your holiday and many options to create a present that can be both a keepsake and memory for your family. :)

I welcome any and all questions from you; if something isn't quite clear, or if you would like to ask "what can I/you make with these items I have around the house?" then pass them on to me. I will try to answer all of your inquiries and questions as soon as possible, if I get too many, then I will answer them in the order I receive them. :)

Have a great day, and I look forward to sharing ideas with all of you this holiday season! :)