Decorating
Ideas
Holiday Fruit
Wreath
Sun-loving garnishes -- oranges, kumquats, and lemon leaves -- put a happy spin on this doorway decoration. For a well-balanced display, cluster the largest objects (in this case, three oranges) just off center at the bottom of the wreath. Then, evenly space groupings of smaller items, such as kumquats and orange slices, up the sides.
Detailed Instructions
Materials
Garden clippers
Branches of fresh lemon leaves
14-inch-diameter grapevine wreath
Medium-weight florist's wire
4 pinecones
5 small oranges
25 kumquats
4 dried orange slices
24 cinnamon sticks
Clip lemon leaves into 8- to 10-inch branches. Push branches into the wreath, working around the wreath in one direction; completely cover the grapevine. Wrap a length of wire around each pinecone, twisting the wire ends together into a long tail.
Skewer each of the three oranges, the kumquats, and the orange slices near one end with wire; twist ends together as directed for the cones. Gather and twist the kumquats into bunches of five.
Referring to the photograph, arrange and secure whole oranges, kumquat bunches, and pinecones to the wreath. Insert cinnamon sticks. Drape citrus curls, cut from the remaining oranges, around the lower part of the wreath.
Quick and
Easy
Christmas Wrapping Paper
Materials Needed:
1) Roll of Brown Postal/Kraft Paper (2-l/2 ft x l0 yds)
(Can be found at your local supermarket)
2) Stamp of your choice
3) Black Stamp Pad
4) Template
Let's Create our Wrapping Paper:
1) Place your template on the brown paper, per our picture.
2) Ink your stamp pad.
3) Stamp your paper on the cutouts of the template. (Make 2 templates to keep the design even)
4) Make sure to apply even pressure.
5) Repeat the above procedure for the amount of paper needed.
You have created your own unique wrapping paper to use for all of your Christmas needs.
Don't forget, just by changing the stamp, you could create wrapping paper for any occasion needed.
One other tip, if you do not have the brown kraft paper, try using tissue paper, but be very careful, this paper is very thin an easily torn.
Happy Stamping!
Dreamy" Christmas
Tree
Materials:
two yards of white netting
two bags of potpourri (pine scent is good for the "real tree" effect, also apple cinnamon spice is heavenly)
gold ribbon
scissors
Cut netting into about 12" squares. Place a handful of potpourri in the center of the square. Bring the corners together and tie with gold ribbon. Make sure the ribbon is tight. place these "potpourri balls" in your tree. The more potpourri balls you have inside your tree, the greater your tree smells, and the more "dreamy" the tree looks.
A Bright Christmas
Tree
Centerpiece
Materials
Thirty-three 3" baby-food jars with lids
String of 35-bulb light set
50" of 3" Christmas ribbon
Double-sided tape
5-1/2" x 9" finished board for base
Small package of silver roping tinsel
Tube of Liquid Nails Adhesive
Drill & bits
Instructions
Prepare the jars. Wash and dry all jars and lids.
Drill the holes. Before drilling holes in lids for the bulbs to fit into, drill practice holes in a board to determine appropriate bit size. Bulbs should fit snugly into holes. Drill holes in the center of all 33 lids. Place tinsel in all jars and replace lids.
Glue the jars. Line up 7 jars with caps up next to each other along a straight edge on a flat surface. Use Liquid Nails to glue jars together. Tie string around the row of jars to hold them in place. Let dry over night. Turn glued jars on side. Glue a row of six jars on top of the 7. Let dry overnight. Continue to glue a row each day until the last jar becomes the top of the tree. Make the tree trunk in the same way.
Assemble the tree. Glue tree trunk to the finished board. Let dry overnight. Glue large section of the tree onto the trunk. Let dry overnight. To attach ribbon to tree, start at top of tree trunk and apply double-sided tape around tree, ending on the opposite side of tree trunk. Place the ribbon over tape.
Insert the lights. Starting at the top, insert a light in each hole. Set the completed tree in a location of your choice, plug it in, and light up your life!
ANGEL
ORNAMENT
Angel "body"
8" long x 6" high piece of tulle (Lace, tulle and satin ribbon should be same color)
8" long x 3" high piece of lace
1/8" satin ribbon
1/8" ribbon with gold edging
mini-craft pearls
ribbon roses, any color
craft glue
Fold tulle in half and sew to the top edge of lace. Stay stitch along top edge of lace.
Pull threads to gather lace tightly. Wrap around angel at the waist and sew ends together.
Wrap gold-edged ribbon around wing frame and secure ends of ribbon underneath with glue.
Loop gold-edged ribbon from waist over each shoulder and secure with glue.
Glue pearls onto hands and up around arms underneath head. Glue pearl "halo" onto head.
Glue two 6" strands of pearls onto front of hands and then secure one strand with glue
onto each side of the skirt about 3/4" from bottom.
Make bow in middle of each 12" piece of satin ribbon and 12" piece of gold-edged ribbon.
Glue bows over pearls to cover hands and glue ribbon ends to same spot as the pearls on
side of skirt. Glue a ribbon rose on each side of skirt and one onto front of ribbon bows
covering hands.
Candy
Cane
Candles
This is an easy project that you can make quite quickly. It will last for a while, but make sure no one eats the candy canes on your candle.
What You Need
1 small, round candle
Candy canes (as many as you need to go around the candle) at the height of the candle
Masking tape or Elmer's glue (I suggest the glue.)
Red or green ribbon
How To Make It
If you are using masking tape, put the sticky side up around the candle. Make sure the ends are long enough so that they overlap each other. (The tape must be the width of the candle.)
Put the candy canes all around the candle. Glue them on if you are using glue, stick them on if you are using the masking tape.
Once you have finished that, tie the ribbon around the candle, and finish with a bow.
You are done!!
Christmas
Card Christmas
Tree
A fun project for ages four and up using old Christmas cards to make a lovely new Christmas Tree Table Centerpiece that can be packed away in a cheese box or shoe box and be used for many Christmases to come.
What You Need
A 1/4 inch wooden dowel 13 1/2 inches long
A 4 1/2 inch circle or square of wood (at least 3/8 inches thick)
Sand Paper
Green or Brown Paint (optional)
Drill with 1/4" bit (adults usage only)
One Styrofoam 1 1/2 inch Ball
Three dozen Common Pins
Twenty Tri-beads
Three dozen Sequins
Paper Punch
Stapler and Staples
About 50 old Christmas Cards (Picture Calendar Pages or plain green construction paper would work, also)
Scissors
How To Make It
Drill a 1/4" hole 1/4" deep in center of piece of wood and in the styrofoam ball.
Sand the 4 1/2" piece of wood and wood dowel smooth.
Paint the piece of wood. (Optional) This is the stand (base) of your tree.
Decorate the Styrofoam Ball by putting a common pin through a sequin and then a tri-bead and poke pin all the way into top of ball (opposite where the 1/4" deep hole is drilled). Continue decorating the ball until all the beads are used up. Next, poke a common pin through a sequin and poke into ball here and there for extra color. This will be the top of your tree.
With your scissors, cut the following pieces by using the center of your Christmas Card Fronts as the guide for where you want your pictures cut out:
Six 7" X 5" pictures
Six 6 1/2" X 4"
Six 6" X 3 1/2"
Six 5 1/2" x 3 1/2"
Five 5" X 3"
Five 4 1/2" X 3"
Five 4" X 3"
Five 3 1/2" X 2 1/2"
Five 3" X 2 1/2"
Five 2 1/2" X 2 1/2"
Five 2" X 2"
Overlap corners on one end of each of your 59 pictures until you have a sharp point. Staple those two corners together to hold the point in place.
Take your paper punch and punch a hole 1/2" in from the other edge of your picture opposite of the pointed end. Try and center that hole.
Start to assemble your center piece by pushing the dowel into the hole in your wood base.
Start stacking your pictures (pretty side up) onto the wood dowel by sliding each hole over the dowel. Start with the largest pictures cut out of your Christmas cards and work down to the smallest ones. Stagger your points around the tree and leave space between each layer. The pointed pieces should come within a 1/4" of the top of wood dowel. Slide the decorated styrofoam ball on top. Your center piece is complete. Just add a pretty tablecloth or doily underneath it.
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