There are so many wonderful possibilities out there for excellent winter art projects and crafts. There are basic winter art projects and crafts like cutting out snowflakes or drawing Santa Claus, but there are also many other fun and interesting ones, as well. You can use your own ingenuity to get yourself started. You can even pose the idea of interesting winter art projects and crafts to your students or children you may be surprised at what creative ideas a child can think of.

Here are some fun ideas for some great crafts, organized by the supplies that you may want to use.

Cotton balls and gauze

Cotton is a very useful tool when

it comes to winter art projects. If cotton balls were just a bit colder, they would seem exactly like mini snowballs! A child can draw a wonderful winter scene and then take cotton balls and rip them and fluff them and glue them down in places where snow should be. Or, maybe a child may want to draw two people having a snowball fight the cotton balls are already in great snowball shapes as is.

Marshmallows

What is winter without marshmallows? Marshmallows are added treats in hot chocolate, but they are also great to use for winter crafts. A child can take three giant marshmallows and stack them on top of each other

to make a mini and tasty snowman. Toothpicks can be used to hold the marshmallows together and also as arms. Mini marshmallows can make fun snowballs when attached to winter collages.

Plaster of Paris

Plaster of Paris can be used in so many fun ways, not just for winter crafts. One way that plaster of Paris can be used is to make footprints in the snow. You simply need to fill a box lid or some negligible item with plaster of Paris. Once it settles and dries a little bit, students can make all different footprints in the snow. They can use the side of a fist to make footprints

that look like a baby s footprints, or they can draw in footprints of birds or other animals.

Pine Cones

Birds that stay in places all through the winter need food. One winter craft that students can do is to make a pine cone bird feeder. Students simply need to cover a pine cone in peanut butter and dip it in bird seed. After tying a bit of string to one of these pine cones, it can be hung up on a tree outside. These pine cone bird feeders do not just feed the birds, they act as beautiful ornaments for an outdoor tree.

Glitter

Glitter can be added to make any basic winter art project

even more fancy and beautiful. For instance, a child can cut a snowflake out of paper and then add silver glitter to make it even better.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on craft ideas, please visit [http://www.homeroomteacher.com]Teaching Supplies.