This year I will again be leading the handicraft portion of our Charlotte Mason co-op. In the past we have done this in various ways, either doing a different project each time we meet, or spending a whole term on one project.  This term we will do a combination of both. We will have a theme, but we will be doing several different projects each time we meet.

Our theme is going to be Christmas gifts that the students can make. We will meet three times to work on these together, but I still want to encourage the moms in our group to try a few projects on their own.

Of course, I cannot very well suggest they try a project, before we try it ourselves, so today we did just that. I taught the kids a craft that I learned years ago: Iris Folding. The finished product could be turned into an ornament, framed, or used as a lovely Christmas card. It is amazingly simple, but the finished product makes you seem like very talented!

This project took less than an hour, from watching the how-to video to cleaning up.

I had my little girls start with a simple pattern and just one color of paper.

Britany stayed with the Christmas theme with this ornament pattern.

Alli (age 7) and Gracie (age 9) did these with just the smallest amount of help. I have to say that the picture does not do them justice!

Lizzie was disappointed later that she didn’t use a solid color for her background, but this was their first try.

First you might want to get a little better understand of what Iris Folding is.

Then take a look at these example to get an idea of what is possible (simple to complex):
Simple Flower
Simple Design
Christmas Bubble
Christmas Tree
Christmas Lights – Good example of a fancy Christmas card.

HOW
This video does a very good job of showing how to do Iris Folding.
You might prefer written instructions though.

PATTERNS
There are thousands of patterns on the internet for free. Here are a few free iris folding patterns to get you started.

NOTES
You may want to cut out the “window” for your child. (This will make sense if you have watched the video or read through the instructions page.) Really they can be sloppy on everything else, and it will still come out great.

Check out the rest of the ideas I’ve collected for Christmas gifts the students can make.