Homemade String Art Kit: A Great Stocking Stuffer or Last-Minute Gift

Doing it all just can't be done.  That is a lesson I continue to learn this year.  The women I admire most already recognize that and focus on top priorities, letting others go.  So it has been a while since I've done much crafting, much less posted about any.  But for the sake of friends and family, some crafting inspiration returned this month.

A new friend of mine had a baby this fall, and I was able to visit her in the hospital and meet her sweet newborn daughter back in November.  I didn't prepare a gift ahead of time, so I baked some goodies and picked up some helium balloons for her other girls.  However, I still wanted to send a baby gift, so this week I finally got a package together.

But what could I tuck in for the older children this time?  A craft kit made perfect sense (and it was one of the ideas in this article about gifts for kids). Friendship bracelets seemed a tad complicated, so I decided to print out instructions for string art stars.  To wrap it up, I notched the ends of a cardboard tube.  Here was the result:

These simple kits would work well for so many occasions!  I only wish I had thought of it before we bought gifts for the class Christmas parties at school this week.  Since I had some embroidery floss and cardboard tubes on hand already, I did not have to buy a thing!  String art kits would also make great stocking stuffers.  Or you could bring these along as gifts to open and enjoy on any holiday car or plane trips coming up (but make sure you bring along some notched cardboard discs).  Would any kids you know enjoy a kit like this?

Materials Used:

• Cardboard paper towel tube
• Scissors
• Embroidery floss or colored string
• Printed instructions* for string art 

         *I used these instructions by Creative Jewish Mom.

Directions:

1. Wrap the printed instructions for string art around the tube.  Trim the tube so that it is slightly longer than the paper for the instructions.
2. Optional: Cut notches in the ends of the tubes and wrap extra string around the tube so that the paper is tied onto the cardboad tube with decorative string art.
3. Tuck skeins of embroidery floss or string inside the tube.  Give with a smile.