CREATIVE CRAFTING

Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

Nothing warms up a home during the holidays than candles.  Something about the warm glow and fragrance that makes one feel relaxed and content after a busy day of shopping or getting home from work.

Using small winter squash as molds creates graceful shapes for these candles, and they can be made at home quite easily. Choose various colors of tablets to represent the range of harvest tones.

Materials and Tools:

• acorn and hubbard squash (and others, if available)
• beeswax or regular paraffin candle wax (allow about 1/2 lb. for each candle)
• yellow, orange, coral and/or purple wax color tablets
• candle wicks
• wick tips
• melon baller
• double boiler

Steps:

1. Cut off the tops of the squash and hollow out the insides. (For hubbard squash, scrape out the seeds with a large spoon. For acorn squash, use the melon baller to scoop out the flesh, following the natural grooves of the squash, making the grooves as deep as possible, and smoothing them with the back of a spoon.)

2. Melt the wax in the top part of the double boiler over–not in–boiling water.

3. As the wax melts, add color tablets. If you want to make different colored candles, melt the wax in batches, adding various color tablets each time.

4. Meanwhile, cut lengths of wick a few inches longer than the squash are tall. Attach the wick tabs to the wicks.

This shadow box decoration is a wonderful holiday craft for the whole family.  It is easier than you might think and a wonderful keepsake.

Use small ornaments and Christmas figures to make a Christmas scene, with shifting snow, in a shadow box. This would be a nice activity to do with your children – let them play with the figures until they create a pleasing arrangement, then help them to glue everything in place.

You Will Need

• shadow box – at least 1½ inches deep (available at craft stores or dollar stores)
• assorted Christmas figures and small decorations
• optional: alphabet blocks
• strong craft glue or glue gun and glue sticks
• crystal snow or fine artificial snow

Project Instructions:

Remove the back of the shadow box and set aside.

Collect an assortment of Christmas figures and decorations and, working from the back, start to play with different arrangements until you create a Christmas scene that you like when seen from the front.

Begin gluing in the various pieces. If you’re using alpabet blocks, as we did, make sure they either sit firmly against the glass, or have enough clearance to prevent fake snow from getting trapped in front of them. Some possible short letter combinations for the alphabet blocks include NOEL, XMAS, SNOW, ANGEL or JOY.

Make sure all the pieces are glued in firmly; you don’t want them coming adrift after the shadow box is filled with snow and assembled. Let the glue dry.

With the holidays almost coming up faster than some of us would like it is time to start thinking of ways to wrap our gifts.  Gifts should be presented to be one of a kind and a good way to do this is by using unique, personalized gift bags.

Gift bags do not have to be generic store bought items.  But should reflect your tastes and that of the person to whom you are giving the gift.  For that reason I suggest you dig out your scrapbooking papers, embellishments and other doo-dads and get to work having some fun and making personalized gift bags!

The Basics

Begin with simple, plain gift bags I have found that if I use a plain bag such as tan-colored I get better results. These plain gift bags come in a variety of colors and can be found at any craft store and even some scrapbooking stores. Once your bag is complete, stuff in some matching tissue paper to give your bag an extra burst of color!

Here are some ideas for different individuals in your life! Since I haven’t started mine yet I borrowed some ideas from Kayla Richards Filip at Scrapbook.com.

For Teachers

• school-themed patterned paper
• black-and-white dotted grosgrain ribbon
• assorted buttons
• red organdy ribbon
• plain #2 pencil

You may come across with various definitions of what a scrapbook is. And you may even have set one for yourself. But you see, of all those meanings associated with scrapbooks, there will always be one thing central to it- keeping memories.

Just like photos, scrapbooks are keepers of precious moments that you would always want to return back to. The moments that you have captured in photos and the moments of your creativity, deeply embedded in every page, note, captions and journals in your scrapbook.

One day, you’ll take a look at the scrapbooks you have created and they will deliver you back in time.

Not all of us are avid scrapbookers. Many may not even have tried starting one. However, we all have an idea of how to preserve our past. Well, scrapbooking is like that, only you would have to add up some creativity and art concepts into it.

The hardest junction might be to start from scratch. Scrapbooking may look simple for some yet the hours and the ideas you have to invest on them are so enormous that many find themselves initially frustrated. Or possibly, on wits end before an idea crops up.

We have prepared some guidelines in here that you may modify and apply in your own experiences. Basically, this is just a collection of ideas that will help shed light on the thoughts bugging in your mind.

Somehow you have to know your own style.

Easy Ideas For A Creepy House Halloween night Decorating OptioAuthor: Carla Wise

Ever wonder what to do with those left over blocks?  The ones that show up and you have no idea which building set they belong to?  Or how about the little matchbox cars that no one wants to play with anymore?  Doll accessories?  Puzzle pieces?  I can think of a hundred uses for this simple craft projects.

The size of the magnet is going to be determined by the size and weight of the toy.  For instance a matchbox car/truck will take more than one magnet, it might take two or three to hold it up.  Whereas the Lego blocks should only take a small amount.

The end result is limited only by your or your child’s imagination.   Make Christmas gifts for the grandparents out of leftover toys.  As a would be grandparent I can safely say that anything made especially for me by one of my grandchildren would be cherished.

So have fun with your creativity!

Materials and Tools:

small plastic toys
strong, quick-setting glue
disc magnets

Steps:

1. Gather small items to turn into magnets. Building blocks (shown) work great as do any lightweight toys such as dice, plastic figurines or puzzle pieces. Other options are sea shells, smooth river rocks or glass gems.

2. Add a blob of glue to magnet and attach item. Press firmly until the two pieces begin to bond then set aside and allow glue to fully cure.

This an easy project for you and your children to try.  There are different variations and I have found that you can use gourds, small pumpkins, or apples to make this wonderful centerpiece.

Remember any craft is made up of your imagination.  There are no set rules to a craft project.  As they say “It is in the eye of the beholder”.

Use different color tapers, different bases, ribbons, glitter…imagination is the key element.

Materials

• Large Rome Beauty apples (that will stand straight on the table)
• Candles
• Waxed paper

Instructions

1.Using an apple corer, make a hole about halfway through the middle of an apple. Make the hole as straight as possible and remove the core piece.
2.Insert a candle into the hole. It should fit tightly; if the hole is too large, wrap waxed paper around the candle’s end.
3.Older kids can decorate the apples by carefully carving designs in the skins with the tip of a potato peeler (to prevent the designs from turning brown, rub them with lemon juice).

4.Arrange the candleholders in a circle on a plate or cutting board.

Straightforward red pillars play into the peppermint scene when decorated with polka-dot ribbon or candy-cane sticks. Heavy-duty double-stick tape adheres the embellishments to the candles.

I love candles at Christmas; who doesn’t? Candles add a warmth to the season like no other decoration. No matter where or how you use them these are a economical addition to any holiday decor.

I did make these, but the picture is not mine. My camera is having trouble taking pictures, so I gave it a holiday.

I made some with holiday ribbon and some holly leaves from the craft store. They turned out beautiful and no one will notice they are handmade, and if someone does then take it as a compliment to your wonderful craftsmenship (is that a word? It should be!)

What You Need

• Pillar candles
• Double-stick carpet tape
• Candy canes
• Holiday Ribbon
• Holly, Small Pinecones, Small Bows (use your imagination)