We’ve been waiting for snow around our neck of the woods, but no luck. In fact, our winter so far has been a pretty mild one. The kids keep peeking out the window first thing in the morning in hopes of seeing a white covered yard. Nothing. So when I mentioned to them about creating a winter journal, where they could draw and write about anything they saw around this time of year, they were ecstatic. And why not make it a snowflake themed journal? After all, it seems those are the only snowflakes we’ll see around here for a while.
Would you like to make one with the kids? It’s pretty easy!
DIY Kid’s Craft: Winter Snowflake Journal
Materials needed:
- 1 marble composition book (any color, you’re going to cover it)
- 1 or 2 pieces of a wintery solid color cardstock (my girl used blue for her’s and my little guy used black)
- 2-3 empty toilet paper rolls
- Elmer’s glue
- Sharpie or pencil
- White washable tempera paint
- Paint brushes
I got all of my supplies at my local Walmart. (A little saving’s tip: During back to school sales, I like to pick up marble composition books by the bulk and have the kids use them throughout the year as different kinds of journals – school, travel, favorite quotes, seasonal, stamps, and sticker collections are just some ideas.)
How to make a kid’s winter journal:
1. Start by gluing the cardstock to the top of the marble composition book (see photo above). Make sure to flatten out all air bubbles. Then, open the notebook and follow the steps below. If you like, you can repeat the same steps for the back cover.
When you are done, it should look something like this:
2. Now, it’s time to prepare the snowflake stamps.
Using an empty toilet paper roll, draw lines (about an inch long) around one of the ends. Then cut and fold. Follow the steps below.
If you notice on the last photo above, we made two types of ends. The one on the left has a pointy end, and the one on the right, we left straight. Once you’ve completed these steps, make sure to also cut off every other strip. This will help the stamp look more like a snowflake and less like a flower.
3. Let’s decorate those journals!
Let your little ones have fun stamping away. It’s okay if the snowflakes aren’t perfect – what snowflake is? Then with the paint brush, have your kids paint some dots around the cover. Finally, add the word ‘Winter’ and the year.
DIY Winter Snowflake Journal for Mom
Materials needed:
- Moleskine journal
- White tempera paint or a white-out pen
- Thin-tip paint brush
How to make a winter journal for yourself:
As cute as the kids’ winter journals are, I wanted to make something a bit more sophisticated for me. I used a white-out pen to draw snowflakes of different sizes and shapes. I then wrote the word ‘Winter’ and the year. I love the contrast of the white and black. Don’t you?
Make sure to let the journals dry for about 24 hours before you head outdoors to explore your wintery surroundings and document it all.
Have fun!
Lisa Renata is a proud multicultural Latina of Mexican, German and Japanese descent. She and her husband of German, Scott-Irish descent are raising their two lovely kids bilingual and in a home full of diverse traditions. She holds a degree in Cultural Anthropology and is a certified Interpreter. She is also the creator of SaboraCajeta.com, where she shares her craft ideas, and her passion for sewing and photography. You can find Lisa occasionally sharing simple and fun crafts here on modernmami.com.Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, modernmami™ received compensation for the time and effort in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are our own.
We are going to do this for a summer activity and use yellow paint instead of white to make suns instead of snowflakes!
That’s wonderful! Great idea for a summer journal. 🙂