Ornaments Made From Nature
December 12, 2008
Ornaments made from an old cardboard shipping box and some of nature’s art supplies. More photos below.
Everyone seemed to love last week’s paper snowflake ornaments so here’s another ornament idea. These rustic beauties take a little longer to make, but order all your holiday gift baskets from Elizabeth W. Gift Baskets, and you’ll have plenty of time left for crafting.
To make an ornament: Use cookie cutters as templates for ornament shapes. Trace onto corrugated cardboard (I used an old shipping box, but craft stores have heavy art paper that will be easier to cut.) Cut out shapes with a craft knife or scissors. Using photos as a guide, arrange assorted natural elements (list follows) on front of cardboard shape and glue in place. Cut an 8” length of country twine or cording. Fold in half; glue ends to wrong side of ornament for hanger.
Here’s a list of some of Mother Nature’s art supplies. Take a walk through the woods or a spin through the kitchen spice cabinet and I’m sure you’ll find some new ones that I didn’t think of.
Feathers
Acorns
Oatmeal
Small twigs
Red, white & black peppercorns
Dried beans, berries and split peas
Cardamom pods
Star anise
Tapioca pearls
Tiny pinecones
Whole cloves
Star Anise makes a great tree-topper or ladies hat. Cardamom pods and Tapioca decorate the tree.
Green split peas and red peppercorns decorate the moose and trees. Use country twine for a garland.
Craft a Paper Snowflake Ornament
December 5, 2008
Many of my holiday gift baskets are highlighted with elegant, glass snowflake ornaments. Traditionally however, my own tree is decorated entirely with handmade items… some made when I was just a child. In fact, the snowflake ornaments shown here, are simply a grown-up version of those fold-and-cut snowflakes we all made in grade school. The only difference is that I used fancy vellum instead of those sheets of manila paper from 3rd grade.
To make a snowflake: Cut a square of vellum paper. Fold the square in half, then in half again to make quarters. Cutting along the unfolded edges, cut spokes of snowflake. Unfold paper. Sew hanger onto one spoke with silver embroidery thread. Glue a craft store gem into the center, if you like. Use the snowflakes to decorate a package or greeting card, or to hang on your tree.
FIND A GIFT FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST AT www.elizabethwgiftbaskets.com
Craft a Holiday Wreath
November 10, 2008
COOKIE RECIPE! A few months back I mentioned that my recipe for Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies had been chosen to run in a round-up of best fast recipes in Food & Wine magazine. My sister emailed me and said a friend had just seen it, so I guess it is in the current (December?) issue. Check it out. Meanwhile, you can also find the recipe here.
HOW TO MAKE A RUSTIC HOLIDAY WREATH
I am including fancy wreaths in some of my holiday gift basket designs, but when it comes to my own front door, I lean toward something a bit more rustic. This will be a snore for seasoned crafters, but the recipe for making this festive wreath couldn’t be simpler. What’s more, the wreath shown here will take you from fall through winter and all the holidays in between.
Start with an inexpensive vine wreath from a craft store. Assemble all the items you want to decorate your wreath with… pinecones, feathers, unshelled nuts, tiny dried gourds, paper or silk leaves, dried citrus or quince slices, acorns, dried berries, etc. Now simply hot glue them to the vine wreath with a glue gun. You’ll find that once you make your move and glue on that first item, all the rest will fall into place. Really! In fact, that’s the best part about this little craft project. It is virtually impossible to make a mistake! It’s perfectly OK that parts of the vine wreath show through. That’s the beauty of working with nature’s craft supplies. When it feels finished simply tie on a fancy ribbon and hang your masterpiece!
FIND THE PERFECT GIFT FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST AT www.elizabethwgiftbaskets.com!
Wreath Detail:
