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Kids Get Crafty: Ice Ornaments with Nature Items

February 9, 2021

This is SUCH an easy Preschool Craft, you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner! As the UK experiences what some would say is a “proper winter”, let’s embrace the snow and ice and use it to make some beautiful Ice decorations. The perfect Winter Activity for Preschoolers!

ICE ORNAMENTS - a super easy and simple STEAM experiment for kids. Exploring nature finds and science at the same time. Combine it with weather temperature charts, making this not only a super pretty Winter Craft for Kids, but also a great Homeschooling process and experiment! #ice #icescience #science #steam #winter #ornaments #preschool

How I wish this was my idea.. but of course it wasn’t! I saw it as part of a discussion over at Mumsnet – Winter Ice Decorations. They are simple and OH SO CUTE: Ice Decorations. A fab, fun, easy, quick craft, that also teaches a tiny bit of science (the whole bit about water freezing).

ICE ORNAMENTS - a super easy and simple STEAM experiment for kids. Exploring nature finds and science at the same time. Combine it with weather temperature charts, making this not only a super pretty Winter Craft for Kids, but also a great Homeschooling process and experiment!


christmas-ornaments-3d-images-1a

These ornaments feature in our new Christmas Ornament Book. 30 of our favourite ornaments brought together in one place. Sorted by age. Each craft is shared on one page – making the perfect worksheet print outs. Lovely to have them all in one place too!

Only $7.99

Get yours todayfollow and keep it forever!

These are incredibly easy to make

To make Ice Ornaments you will need:

  • dishes,
  • some bits & pieces* (we had berries, holly, helicopter thingies, a shell and some sticks),
  • some string,
  • water

I think it is lovely to keep these bits and pieces as nature finds from your local walks. Or you can add bird seeds, as food for when the ornaments melt!

How to make Ice Ornaments

1) Fill the dishes with water

2) Add a piece of string (make sure it is properly submerged or nice and long. One of our decorations fell of the tree as the string wasn’t frozen in properly. Not a disaster, we used it for our snowman

3) Place your items in the water – no point faffing too much, as they just float off anyway. In Red Ted’s words though “I like playing with water” and needless to say this was his favourite step

4) Place outside overnight to freeze  (we woke up, to them all being covered in snow)

5) Hang and enjoy!

(and don’t be too sad when the temperatures rise and they all start melting/ dropping off… all part of it!)

Happy Winter Ice Decorations!

Looking for more great Winter Activities for Preschoolers? Try these:

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Filed Under: Kids Craft, Nature, Winter 95 Comments

Comments

  1. Adele says

    December 29, 2010 at 7:19 am

    We haven’t done any thing in the last week lol

    Reply
  2. Salma says

    December 29, 2010 at 7:58 am

    oh so nice! Cant wait to get real cold again! ha ha ha!
    Love it!

    Reply
  3. Luschka @ Diary of a First Child says

    December 29, 2010 at 9:44 am

    These are sooooo beautiful. Weren’t they featured in Get Crafty a few months back? I think they are beautiful, and would make awesome outdoor party decorations – maybe hung outside the windows in winter!

    Reply
  4. Luschka @ Diary of a First Child says

    December 29, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Never mind me! It was the lemon cups I was thinking of, from Garden Mama in nature get crafty. Sorry! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Amanda says

    December 29, 2010 at 12:41 pm

    Those are really cute, and your little guy is such a doll 🙂

    Reply
  6. Little Wonders' Days says

    December 29, 2010 at 12:42 pm

    Maggy those are beautiful. Wonderful craft!

    Reply
  7. JDaniel4's Mom says

    December 29, 2010 at 1:03 pm

    What a great way to decorate the trees! It would be a great science tie-in too.

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth @ Ucreate with Kids says

    December 29, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    These look so fun! Just featured them!

    Reply
  9. sherri says

    December 29, 2010 at 5:08 pm

    these are awesome!

    Reply
  10. KJ@letsgoflyakite says

    December 29, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    These ice ornaments are a great idea. On Christmas Eve, we made an “ice wreath” filled with carrots and cranberries for the reindeer, but I like your smaller ornament better as the wreaths are quite heavy.

    Reply
  11. Red Ted Art says

    December 29, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    Elizabeth – thank you for the feature! Much appreciated!!

    KJ – oooh, the wreath sounds lovely! Can imagine that it was heavy!!!

    JDaniel4’s Mom – yes, definitely a great little science project too – funnily enough, Red Ted actually asked me whether we were making them “for the birds” as it is the same tee we hang popcorn and bird feeders in! Bless him.

    Reply
  12. Jae says

    December 29, 2010 at 8:13 pm

    Great idea! We are trying that this afternoon. Will let you know how they turn out.

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      December 29, 2010 at 8:37 pm

      Oooh good luck! Make sure you leave the out long enough to freeze, I almost ruined one as I check on it too early… Like a kid myself!

      Reply
  13. NIna says

    December 29, 2010 at 8:54 pm

    I love this. I saw some of these the other day at a preschool I was visiting. I must get around to doing them with the kids.

    Reply
  14. Garden Gifts says

    December 30, 2010 at 10:17 am

    much appreciated!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  15. fabmums says

    December 30, 2010 at 10:55 am

    oh they are so cute!

    Reply
  16. Christy says

    December 30, 2010 at 12:00 pm

    We make ice decorations every year too. We usually use a bundt pan to make an ice wreath. We haven’t done it yet, but probably soon. Yours came out great!

    Reply
  17. Jennifer @ Life with the Lebedas says

    December 30, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    Oh how fun!! Great idea! 😀 Thanks for linking this up to Craftify It Thursday!

    Have an awesome day!
    Jennifer

    Reply
  18. JDaniel4's Mom says

    December 31, 2010 at 12:34 pm

    Listened to you interview yesterday. It was really fun to hear your voice.

    Reply
  19. Chris at Thinly Spread says

    December 31, 2010 at 5:09 pm

    We love making these! We got a bit carried away with our ice lanterns pre Christmas but will definitely be making a few to pop in our apple tree to mark the new year! Thanks for linking to festive Friday! x

    Reply
  20. SnoopyGirl says

    December 31, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    Oooo… I can’t wait til it gets cold again. I want to make some of those! We are having a warm spell today, but winter is not over! I saw something similar where they spelled out noel with the berries and branches and made luminaria from them. Such fun! Happy New Years!

    Reply
  21. JDaniel4's Mom says

    December 31, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    I stumbled your post. Thanks for linking up.

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      January 1, 2011 at 10:37 am

      Thank you! Must really look into stumbled upon more!

      Reply
  22. Pamela Manes says

    January 1, 2011 at 6:46 pm

    How very clever! Love it.

    Reply
  23. To Sew With Love says

    January 1, 2011 at 8:11 pm

    you always come up with great ideas! thanks for linking up at Crafty Saturday at TSWL! happy new year!

    Reply
  24. Darcey says

    January 3, 2011 at 12:16 am

    Great post! I love that you can put just about anything small in these ornaments. they came out great! I’ve included your post on my favorites for the week here: http://play2grow.blogspot.com/2011/01/weekly-favorites-for-january-2-2011.html

    Reply
  25. Natalie says

    January 3, 2011 at 3:23 am

    Yes, this is classic. I wish we could do it, but on the other hand, I rather enjoy staying above 0 Centigrade 🙂 Thanks for joining WMCIR!

    Reply
  26. Judy says

    January 3, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    That looks like so much fun…I’ll just have to wait until it’s actually cold enough for those to stay frozen for any period of time here 🙂

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  27. The Prudent Homemaker says

    January 3, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    Fun! We would have to put these in the indoor freezer here and then find the one or 2 days a year when it froze for a few hours outside–but they look fun! Might as well take advantage of the change in weather for some fun!

    That is a beautifully illustrated book; so darling!

    Reply
  28. Mary says

    January 4, 2011 at 5:40 am

    Thank you for participating in the very first Masterpiece Monday! I hope you’ll come back again, it was fun having you share! Take care, Mary

    Reply
  29. Audra says

    January 7, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    This is outstanding! I mean, really outstanding!!
    How I wish it would snow where I live, just so I could do this with my kids.
    Thanks for linking up to Socialize with me Monday til Sunday.

    Reply
  30. Carrie says

    January 9, 2011 at 5:04 am

    I miss those days that I got to craft with my kids! Thanks for sharing and enjoy your days while they last.

    Reply
  31. Dorie says

    January 11, 2011 at 11:43 am

    What a neat idea with fantastic results!

    Reply
  32. Julia says

    January 11, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    Nice! We tried something like this but haven’t taken ours out of the mold. It’s great way to use the evergreen and cranberry decorations we’re taking down this week.

    Reply
  33. joyce:waddleeahchaa.com says

    January 12, 2011 at 4:43 am

    Just came across this wonderful winter art, science, fine motorskills and great language building activity not to mention HOW FUN! I will be sharing this with the teachers at my school and also my family members who homeschool. Thanks for the post and I am a first time visitor. We are featuring winter on our blog this week hope you will stop by and visit. 🙂 joyce

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      January 12, 2011 at 9:16 am

      Hi Joyce! Thank you so much for your very kind comment! Will definitely come and stop by your blog! Maggy

      Reply
  34. Michelle Willow says

    January 14, 2011 at 4:48 pm

    We’re definatelly trying this!

    Reply
  35. Rosi Jo' says

    January 16, 2011 at 10:54 am

    I just love it.
    It looks easy, but the effect is amazing!
    Unfortunatly, or maybe fortunatly, where I live isn’t cold enough to create theese wonderful ice ornaments

    Thanks, Rosi

    Reply
  36. Red Ted Art says

    January 16, 2011 at 11:02 am

    We are “Lucky” enough that you can do these most years, but only for a few days: i.e. we get a short cold spell and that is it! Best of both worlds!!

    Reply
  37. Julie says

    March 6, 2011 at 1:41 pm

    Morning… decided to drop by to find something me and my munchkin could do today and found this. I LOVE it, however, we live in Texas, so it would only last a day or so when it is really cold. Maybe we will have to visitthe grandparents next winter to do this, because this is just uh-mazing!!! Hope your having a wonderful weekend!

    Reply
  38. Red Ted Art says

    March 6, 2011 at 4:39 pm

    Ah Julie, lovely of you to say!! 🙂 we don’t get quite enough cold weather either – ours lasted about a week? But as it is “free” and so easy, it is worth doing anyway! Even if you do it in the freezer!!!

    Reply
  39. Chrissy @ The Outlaw Mom Blog says

    December 23, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    Coolest ornaments ever – wow. Wish it were colder here for just this reason 🙂

    Reply
  40. sparkling74 says

    December 26, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    THose are a great idea and I love how they are totally recyclable!

    Reply
  41. Actually Mummy... says

    February 9, 2012 at 10:45 pm

    Oh look yours have berries and stuff *gets competitive*! Must try harder!

    Reply
  42. Angell @ Passionate and Creative Homemaking says

    July 8, 2012 at 8:45 am

    I featured the ice ornaments today on my Christmas in July Celebration
    http://passionateandcreativehomemaking.blogspot.com/2012/07/day-8-christmas-in-july.html

    Reply
  43. Jennifer says

    November 28, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    Terrific ornament! Share your ornament (or more) on our Linky List to get exposure for your own blog and share with your community. http://muddymonkeys.me/2012/11/28/wanted-homemade-christmas-ornaments-for-children-and-kids/

    Reply
  44. Trisha @ Inspiration Laboratories says

    January 26, 2013 at 3:43 am

    I love these, Maggy! I’ve been wanting to make some for us before it gets too warm.

    Thanks for sharing at the Sunday Showcase!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      January 26, 2013 at 10:52 am

      Yes, they are lovely! Weather her just not cold enough to do them this year. We have tried 3-4 times already!

      Reply
  45. Ness @ One Perfect Day says

    January 26, 2013 at 11:15 am

    Oh my goodness these are beautiful. That’s it. We are taking a family holiday to the snow this year so I can make all these fabulous winter crafts that I am seeing all over the place. (As I write this we are melting in a heatwave!)

    Reply
  46. Red Ted Art says

    January 26, 2013 at 11:22 am

    Wonderful! You get to craft whilst on holiday!

    Reply
  47. Bella says

    January 7, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    They’re beautiful!

    Reply
  48. Swedish mum says

    November 9, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    Gorgeous ornaments! With this article going around again I just have to point out that the book is Swedish – not German.

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      November 9, 2014 at 1:29 pm

      Indeed… it just happens to be that I have it in German!

      Reply
  49. Agneta says

    November 9, 2014 at 1:41 pm

    Great idea and fun for the kids!
    All the books by the Swedish author Elsa Beskow are very traditional and so so beautifully illustrated!

    🙂

    Reply
  50. Megan says

    November 15, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    Beautiful. Is there an English version of this story as well? Sadly, my German and Swedish are both quite rusty, and in my area, kids are more inclined to know Spanish.

    Also, please note, with little ones be careful as I believe holly and mistletoe are both poisonous (although so pretty) so if you use them, use a close eye, both when creating and when they defrost!

    One could put birdseed in it for the little birdies to munch on as it defrosts too! Or I wonder if flower seeds, once frozen, would sprout …oh the possibilities!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      November 15, 2014 at 9:13 pm

      Oh yes, thanks for the warning!! Here is a whole set of Elsa Beskow’s books – Ollie is amongst them (Ollie’s Ski Trip) http://amzn.to/1xILDBp

      Reply
  51. Kelli says

    December 12, 2014 at 10:00 pm

    I am definitely doing this next time we get a freeze! Also, you can do use filtered water, boil it (twice, if you’re up for it), and it will produce clearer ice.

    Reply
  52. Shannon says

    January 25, 2015 at 7:07 pm

    Hi! Great craft! I think I saw you are from Germany. We are doing a booth at my daughter’s school multicultural night for our German culture. Wondering if u have any ideas for crafts, props, food, etc?

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      January 26, 2015 at 9:20 am

      From Austria, but close enough 😉 I have lots of Austrian Christmas Cookie recipes – the three at the bottom of this recipe are v traditional – http://lifeatthezoo.com/2012/11/presents-kids-can-make-cookies-ornaments/. I also consider most of our walnut crafts as being v Germanic – https://www.redtedart.com/tag/walnuts/ particularly the walnut mouse/ baby and boat! Have fun!

      Reply
      • Shannon says

        January 26, 2015 at 1:55 pm

        Great! ! Thank you!

        Reply

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