How to make Holiday Paper Chains

TEMPLATES ARE NOW WORKING....YAY!!!!! There is something about making paperchains or paper dolls....once you start it is hard to stop. So if your kids are driving you crazy with all that excitement before the Big Day and you have too many things to do to help them with a big project...sit them down and get them to start making paperchain decorations. They can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. After some basic instruction they will be off...and soon the house will be covered in Holiday Paper Cheer!! Materials Required: paper scissors pencil templates SNOWMAN GINGERBREAD ANGEL PENGUIN tape colored paper markers glue stick any other embellishments that are lying around ie. doilies, sequins, stickers Cut some paper in half the long way. Now you can use computer paper, construction paper, newspaper, wrapping paper, etc. The possibilities are endless but you want it to be about 4-5 inches wide. If you need to tape these together. The longer the strip the longer your chain. Do a quick measurement to figure out where your first fold should be. Rather than trying to divide the whole long strip into segments...I make a mark for the first one. I want it to be 4 and 3/4's of an inch long and then I just start folding. At the end if there is a piece that is too short for another fold I just cut it off. You can always join two chains together. You also don't want it too long when you are decorating it as it gets in the way. Accordion fold your paper trying to get all the pages to be the same size. If you have an extra piece at the end just cut it off. Using the templates or making your own design trace it on the paper. If making your own design just remember they need to be connected either by hands and arms or looped together on a drawn in rope on either side. Cut out your design ensuring that the sections on the side where they will be joined are not touched by the scissors. Open up your chain and start decorating. You can use markers or colored paper and add some pizazz to your chain. The possibilities are endless and addictive. Once your kids get the hang of it they will be everywhere. Good Luck and Merry Christmas!! I don't think I'll get another post in by the 25th so I hope everyone has a great holiday with their family and friends and don't forget to make a craft or create some art. I will be at our cabin between Christmas and New Year's but I plan to do a post or two from there. God Bless gail