(As shared on Note-able Scraps Blog, 2015.)
Looking for some fun gift ideas for your kids to make and give to their friends? One of the most popular crafts I've had on my blog was the life-saver men tree ornaments.
1) To make each set of arms and legs, wind about 20 lengths of red or green yarn length-wise around a six-inch ruler.
2) Slide the yarn off the ruler, tie shorter pieces of yarn around each bunch near each end, and cut the ends so that all of the yarn ends are loose.
3) Cut one long piece of yarn for each life-saver man and tie one end of it around the middle of the leg piece, forming two legs.
4) Thread the long piece of yarn on a long needle and push it through the center of the life-saver candy roll. We used the large life-saver candy rolls, so we actually had to tie the yarn around a crochet hook or knitting needle to get it all the way through.
5) Tie the long piece of yarn around the middle of the arm piece, forming two arms.
6) Thread the long piece of yarn on a long needle again and push it through the center of the styrofoam ball for the head. For this one, we used a plastic kiddie-needle for plastic canvas. It was long enough to go all the way through and had enough of a point to go through the styrofoam.
7) Keep the long piece of yarn on the needle and push it through the center of a small shape cut from cardstock or felt for the hat.
8) Tie a loop for hanging in the top of the long piece of yarn.
9) Use markers to draw a happy face on your life-saver man!
Happy Crafting and Merry Christmas!