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Sharla Kostelyk

Christmas Toilet Paper Roll Crafts

12 Christmas Toilet Paper Roll Crafts

By Sharla Kostelyk

In a large family like ours, there is never a shortage of empty toilet paper tubes. We like to use them for crafts and activities year-round and we especially like to make Christmas toilet paper roll crafts.

I know that toilet paper rolls are recyclable, but it does seem a shame to just always throw them in the blue recycle bag, especially when I remember making crafts with our paper tubes as a child. It’s funny how the memory works.

In my mind, my brother and I made something out of every empty toilet paper roll in our childhood, but I’m sure that can’t be true. It was probably only a handful of times that we used them for crafting. I’m sure my mom threw the rest away, but I only have memories of the things we made with them and of the bag she used to collect them in for future projects.

It is precisely because of those memories that I feel a small measure of guilt in getting rid of empty toilet paper rolls, so I am always on the lookout for craft ideas that use them. They are also a very inexpensive craft supply!

This Christmas season, we have made a few new t.p. roll crafts and we will be making our annual homemade Christmas crackers with empty toilet paper rolls. All the great craft blogs out there make it so much easier to come up with ideas.

Christmas Toilet Paper Roll Crafts perfect for doing with kids #Christmascrafts

 

Christmas Toilet Paper Roll Crafts:

Cardboard Tube Gnomes from Crafts by Amanda

Toilet Roll Reindeer from Happy Hooligans

Santa Going Down the Toilet Paper Roll Chimney from Crafty Morning

Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Trees from Reading Confetti

The Three Wise Men at Red Ted Art

The Grinch Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Craft for Kids from Crafty Morning

Homemade Christmas Crackers from here on The Chaos and The Clutter

Toilet Paper Roll Advent Calendar from Danya Banya

Snow Owl Ornaments from Pam’s Party and Practical Tips

Adorable Toilet Roll Snowman over at Red Ted Art

Toilet Paper Roll Holiday Elves from Kitchen Counter Chronicles

Cardboard Tube Christmas Tree Ornaments from I Heart Arts and Crafts

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Ornaments from Happy Hooligans

Easy DIY Christmas Ornament for Kids from DIY Inspired

Cardboard Tube Children and Snowmen from Crafts by Amanda

Cardboard Tube Painted Poinsettia from The Preschool Toolbox

Christmas Candle Craft for Kids at Happy Hooligans

Toilet Paper Roll Angel at I Can Teach My Child

Fabric Scraps Nativity from Jessica Lynette

Toilet Paper Roll Advent Wreath from Easy Peasy and Fun

Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Tree Craft from The Resourceful Mama

With all of these ideas and easy access to the main material, the hardest decision will be which one of these Christmas toilet paper roll crafts to make with your kids or students first!

Other Christmas crafts you may like:

Paper Plate SnowglobeSimple Pipe Cleaner OrnamentsSimple Pipe Cleaner Candy Cane Ornaments

Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts and Activities

5 Chicken Dump Recipes

Chicken Dump Recipes - 10 meals in one hour!

By Sharla Kostelyk

Usually, when I make freezer meals, I make a variety of different things including casseroles and various meat and seafood dishes. This method works well when I have a lot of time and have prepared ahead of time. But when I just want to throw some meals together quickly and don’t want to spend hours planning and shopping for ingredients, I make chicken dump recipes. Most of them can be cooked in the crockpot which saves even more time!

These time-saving recipes are just a sample of the ones I have in my ebook, Chicken Dump Recipes.

Chicken Dump Recipes - 10 meals in one hour!Chicken dump recipes are fast to make and they often include ingredients that I already have in the house. They are perfect to make if I happen to find some spare time. These dump dinner recipes are perfect for freezing and make a wonderful gift for someone who has just had a baby, is experiencing an illness, or going through a hard time.

To get the recipes in this article along with free printable labels and full shopping lists, sign up here.

Last week, I had some appointments booked for Wednesday but then found out that my sitter for that day couldn’t make it. I had to cancel my appointments and found myself with sort of an extra day. I went on Tuesday and bought a lot of chicken and Wednesday made two sets of ten chicken meals. Since each session took me about an hour so, subsequently  I had 20 meals made in two hours!

In my morning chicken dump session, I made Chicken Hurry, Caribbean Chicken, Lemon and Garlic Chicken, Sticky Chicken, and Cantonese Chicken. I made two of each of the five recipes, therefore, I had ten meals in one hour. In the afternoon, I made Teriyaki Chicken, French Canadian Chicken, Cindy’s Chicken, Pepper Lime Chicken, and Lemon Mustard Chicken.

It is such a feeling of accomplishment to look in your freezer and see so many meals ready for busy weeknight dinners!

More Chicken Dump Recipes

For all of my chicken dump recipes, printable grocery lists, and printable labels, you can purchase my Chicken Dump Recipes. You can read more about it here.

You asked and it is now available! Beef Dump Recipes!

You also have the option to purchase all the chicken dump recipes and beef dump recipes together at a saving!

The key to successful chicken dump meals is having all your ingredients out before you start assembling. This saves time and aggravation!

Steps to making Chicken Dump Meals:

  1. Get out all ingredients.
  2. Label resealable freezer bags (you can use a permanent marker or print labels to stick on) with the name and cooking instructions.
  3.  Press the bottom of the bags to lay flat and then fold over the top in order to keep them open.
  4. Add chicken into each bag. You can use boneless, skinless thighs or breasts.
  5. After the chicken is in all of the bags then you dump the remaining ingredients into the bag.
  6. After all the ingredients are in each bag, you then remove the excess air, seal the bags, lay flat, and freeze.

5 Chicken Dump Recipes

Chicken Hurry

  • chicken
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. dry onion soup mix*

*I use an MSG-free, gluten-free dry onion soup mix

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Caribbean Chicken

  • chicken
  • 8 oz. can pineapple chunks with juice
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup raisins

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Lemon and Garlic Chicken

  • chicken
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 Tbsp. of olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
  • 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Sticky Chicken

  • chicken
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce**
  • 3 Tbsp. peanut butter
  • 3 Tbsp. ketchup

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes. **if you are making these gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free soy sauce

Cantonese Chicken

  • chicken
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup melted honey
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce**
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Bake at 350° for one hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Notes:

  • The recipes work best with 3-5 chicken breasts or 8-10 thighs per bag. If you use a lot more or a lot less chicken, you will then need to adjust the recipes accordingly.
  • Plan the meals so that they have some common ingredients, which saves even more money, given that there is less waste.
  • All dump dinner recipes can be made gluten-free as long as you follow the notes indicated.
  • I heard from a reader who suggested using slow cooker liners. I had never heard of such a thing, however, given that it eliminates the cleanup of the crockpot, these are another time-saving strategy.
  • Don’t forget to check out the other chicken dump recipes for even more options!

To get the recipes in this article along with free printable labels and the shopping lists, simply sign up here.

Buy my Chicken Dump Recipes book which includes 25 recipes divided into 5 plans. Each plan comes with printable grocery lists and printable labels. Read the list of included recipes.

You can also purchase both the Beef Dump Recipes and Chicken Dump Recipes together for more meal options and savings!

spinach and baby tomatoes next to a bed of rice topped with chicken
Print
Chicken Hurry
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken
Servings: 6
: 255 kcal
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. dry onion soup mix*
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place all ingredients into a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Recipe Notes

*I use an MSG-free, gluten-free dry onion soup mix

5 Chicken Dump Recipes
Print
Caribbean Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Caribbean
Keyword: Caribbean, chicken
Servings: 6
: 295 kcal
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 1 can 8 oz pineapple chunks with juice
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place chicken and all other ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Print
Lemon and Garlic Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
 
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken, garlic, lemon
Servings: 6
: 280 kcal
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 2-3 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley chopped
  • 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Add the ingredients into a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

two chicken breasts on top of a bed of rice
Print
Sticky Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Cantonese
Keyword: Cantonese, chicken
Servings: 6
: 264 kcal
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce**
  • 3 Tbsp. peanut butter
  • 3 Tbsp. ketchup
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Add all ingredients to a large resealable (gallon sized) freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes. 

Recipe Notes

**if you are making these gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free soy sauce

5 Chicken Dump Recipes
Print
Cantonese Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
 
Ingredients
  • chicken
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup melted honey
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce**
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place the chicken and other ingredients to a large resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake at 350° for one hour or in the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours.

Filed Under: Cooking in the Chaos

17 Recycled Christmas Ornaments To Make

Christmas Ornaments made from Recycled Materials

By Sharla Kostelyk

Making Christmas ornaments from recycled materials is a great way to use up things that you have around the house that you might otherwise just throw away. The list of items used in these projects includes things such as single socks (because we all have lots of single socks around the house!), old CDs, Christmas cards, used clothing, puzzle pieces, corks, can lids, and newspaper.

Christmas Ornaments made from Recycled Materials

 

Christmas Card Ornaments

Christmas Card Ornaments use old Christmas cards and the outcome is worthy of giving as a holiday gift. All that’s needed for this is greeting cards, a pen or pencil, scissors, glue, a hole punch, and string or ribbon. 

Plastic Shrinky Dink Ornaments

This viral activity has now been made by tens of thousands of kids. It’s easy to set up, extremely inexpensive to make, and the results are lovely. All that’s needed to make your own Plastic Cup Ornaments are clear plastic cups, markers, a hole punch, and some string or ribbon. 

I love how each one is so unique. This craft is great for all ages from preschool up to adults. 

Shrinky Dink Christmas Ornaments made with Plastic Cups. This is a great craft to make with multiple ages from preschooler to adult.

More Christmas Ornaments from Recycled Materials:

Simple Ornaments made from Recycled Materials from Teaching 2 & 3 Year Olds

Cork Snowmen from Red Ted Art (pictured)

Paper Mache Tree Ornament from Buggy and Buddy (pictured)

Mixed Media Christmas Ornament from Sunshine and Hurricanes (pictured)

Christmas Tree Ornament made from Old Clothes from Teach Me Mommy (pictured)

Snowman CD Ornaments from Happy Hooligans (pictured)

Puzzle Piece Snowflakes from Red Ted Art (what a great thing to do with old puzzles that are missing pieces!)

Christmas ornaments made from recycled materials

Sparkly Tinsel Christmas Ornaments from Powerful Mothering (pictured)

Puzzle Piece Frame from Buggy and Buddy (pictured)

Button Snowflakes from Red Ted Art

Wrapping Paper Ornaments from Simple Fun for Kids (pictured)

Glittery CD Ornament from Happy Hooligans (pictured)

Cupcake Liner Christmas Tree Ornament for Kids from Raising Little Superheroes

Sock Snowmen from I Heart Crafty Things (pictured)

Recycled Can Lid Snowman Ornament from Things to Share and Remember

Filed Under: Christmas

Winter Wonderland Sensory Bin

Winter Wonderland Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

For the start of our holiday season this year, I thought I would create a sensory bin with a winter wonderland theme. It’s a stark difference from our usual Christmas sensory bin with bright holiday colours, but the kids were delighted by it.

Winter Wonderland Sensory BinI used a large foil roasting pan as the bin because I thought the silver looked best with what I was planning. For the bin’s base, I used shredded snow. I bought a bag of it from the dollar store and when I examined it once I got home, what it looked like was shredded bubble wrap, so it would be easy enough to make your own.

I added silver candles, silver puffy snowflakes, large clear plastic snowflakes, silver beads, jingle bells, silver ribbon, small white pompoms, a clear plastic ornament with white and silver detailing, and a white poinsettia clip.

Playing with Winter Wonderland Sensory BinMy kids have been enjoying the bin.Dancing Queen gravitated towards exploring the sounds by listening to the jingle bells and the crinkle of the beads. Granola Girl was initially after a more tactile experience and found the texture of the clear snowflakes very appealing. She kept touching them to her face as well as running her fingers over the ridges.

The boys were most interested in the feel of the fake snow and they may have had a small “snowball” fight with the white pompoms! Such funny creatures boys are! They can even find a way to make a sensory bin an action packed adventure!

If you are looking for more sensory ideas or information, you may be interested in my book and by following my Sensory Bins board on Pinterest.

The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Bins

Join our free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities and get our Sensory System Behaviours Easy Reference Cards.

Winter Sensory Tray

Gluten Free Candy Cane Playdough

Winter Sensory Bin

Filed Under: Crafts and Activities, Sensory, Sensory Bins Tagged With: sensory bin, sensory play

Gluten Free Candy Cane Playdough

By Sharla Kostelyk

Growing up, one of my neighbours had the Playdoh Barber Shop, you know the one where you could make their hair grow by pushing play dough in and then cut it with really dull plastic scissors! We played it almost every time I was over. I also had a friend from school who had the Playdoh McDonald’s set and I had fun playing it when I went over to her house. My parents didn’t have extra money for things like play sets, but my aunt used to make us play dough that was perfect in its consistency and I had just as much fun playing with a rolling pin and cookie cutters with homemade play dough as I did with their fancy play sets!

Gluten Free Candy Cane Playdough

My aunt’s play dough recipe has been my go-to for making play dough for my kids. I’ve altered the basic recipe to create a few of our own favourites such as our calming lavender playdough and our delicious smelling chocolate playdough.

Usually for the holidays, I make the kids gingerbread playdough but I thought I would change things up this year and attempt to make gluten free playdough, something I’ve never tried. We have a lot of different gluten free flours because Einstein is on a gluten free diet so I reasoned that I could adapt my aunt’s recipe and make some scented candy cane dough.

Gluten Free Candy Cane Playdough Recipe:

1 cup rice flour
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup salt
3 Tbsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. or more peppermint extract or 10 drops of peppermint essential oil
1 cup boiling water
food colouring or food paste
optional: glitter

Mix the dry ingredients in a pot and stir in the oil, peppermint extract, water. Note: If you are only making one colour, you can add your food colouring to this step but if making multiple colours, knead the colour in at the end.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, being sure to scrape the sides and the bottom. Cook until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat. Place it on a piece of wax paper. Knead. If you are adding glitter, this would be the time. Let cool. Store in an airtight container or in a resealable bag.

Working with the gluten free dough was quite different than regular dough. I made one attempt at a non-cook version and ended up having to repeatedly heat it up in the microwave so went back to the stovetop method. The rice flour doesn’t bind the same way regular flour does so if you find it is too sticky, try adding more cornstarch.

Scented Gluten Free Candy Cane PlaydoughI only made one recipe and split it into three sections. I left one white, made one red and the other green. Between the colours and the peppermint scent, this dough is perfect for shaping into candy canes, candy sticks and holiday wreaths.

Looking for other playdough recipes and ideas? You may be interested in following my Playing with Playdough board on Pinterest.

Follow Sharla Kostelyk’s board Playing with Playdough on Pinterest.

Gingerbread Playdough Station

Free Printable Playdough Mats

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough

Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts and Activities, Sensory Tagged With: sensory play

Christmas Fun with Disposable Cups

By Sharla Kostelyk

All you need for a bit of Christmas fun are some disposable cups. You can create decorations, play games, serve snacks, and make your own Advent calendar and all just using cups. These are great ways to reuse cups. Simply wash the cups out after your holiday party and use them for these other projects.

The idea of using plastic cups to store your ornaments until you need them again is such a smart one. This keeps them separate and cuts down on breakage and helps with organization. I am planning to do that this year when we take our tree down.
10 Ways to Have Fun over the holidays with Disposable Cups!

  1. Plastic Cup Shrinky Dink Ornaments from here on Chaos & Clutter (pictured)
  2. Lighted Nativity Ornament from I Can Teach My Child (pictured)
  3. K-Cup Advent Calendar: Make it a Thoughtful, Thankful Holiday from Teach Mama
  4. Christmas Ornament Storage Idea from Come Together Kids
  5. Santa Snack Cups from Sugar Aunts
  6. Snowman Popcorn Cups from Creative Kid Snacks (pictured)
  7. Super Simple Advent Calendar Idea from Red Ted Art
  8. Simple Neighbour Gift {Christmas Potpourri with free printable tags} from East Coast Mommy
  9. Christmas STEM Activities Christmas Tree Theme from Little Bins for Little Hands
  10. Snowman Craft from Foam Cups from Kids Activities Blog (pictured)

10 ways to have Christmas Christmas fun with Disposable CupsIf you are looking for more ideas for the holidays, you may want to follow me on Pinterest and sign up for email updates.

Filed Under: Christmas

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