Jewelry Crafting

General supplies: Choose your beads plus wire cutters, jewelry pliers and crimp beads.

General directions: Follow this tutorial.

Our necklaces:

• Bob's Necklace (top left) - Use jewelry wire and make 3 or 4 strands of equal length, interspersing slightly larger beads for variety. Thread pendant onto necklace. Attach all strands to a multi-strand clasp.
• Jess' Necklace (top right) - Thread all beads onto jewelry wire and close with a lobster claw clasp. Symmetry is important.
• Stacy's Shell Necklace (above) - Follow directions for Jess' necklace.
• Stacy's Crochet Marker Bracelet (above) - Use six large lobster claw clasps to make crochet markers and attach them to jewelry chain. 
• Stacy's Yarn Spinner Necklace (right) - Attach yarn spinner and beads to a long crocheted strand.

Sugar Cookie Gingerbread Sculptures/Houses

Stacy and I baked sugar cookies. They baked up a lot wider and rounder than expected.

• To make the red and black cookies we used gel food coloring. We used liquid food coloring for the green cookies.
• For the pine trees, we made 2 trees, cut one in half, and spackled with icing.
• For the black tree, we made a small circle cookie, cut it in half, and used it as a tree stand.
• For the Charlie Brown and Lucy cookies, we dyed white icing with food coloring to get yellow, blue, black and pink.
• For our mortar/icing, we used white Betty Crocker Easy Squeeze Decorating Icing

Note: We'll add shaved coconut for snow to the Snoopy display. We use cake-takers to transport the cookies.

Holiday Wreaths

For Stacy's Wreath
See this example from Martha Stewart.
Steps: Get a foam wreath shape and wrap it with green ribbon, securing ribbon with hot glue. Then make flowers with red ribbon - cut three strips and secure them together in the middle with floral wire to create a six-petaled flower. Hot-glue the flowers to the wreath and use white straight pins for the stamen. Afterwards, wrap small white ribbon around the entire wreath. Using larger ribbon, make three large loops and secure in the middle to make a large bow. To finish, tie three bells in the center of the bow.

For Bob's Wreath*

See this example from Eddie Ross.

Steps: Open a wire clothes hanger. String copious amounts of ornaments onto the wire. Use smaller ornaments to fill in gaps. Finish with a bow like Stacy's.

Optional: Before stringing ornaments, use hot glue to secure each ornament's metal hanger to its ball so the ornament cannot pop off. Wait until the glue is dry before stringing.

For Jess' Wreath*
See this YouTube example. Jess' wreath is similar to Bob's except it has a smaller circle (less ornaments) and it has a long metal and ribbon hanger.
Steps: Thread medium-sized ornaments onto circle made from clothes hanger. Tie on smaller ornaments. Wrap large white ribbon around wire. Tie on more ornaments where needed for fullness using floral wire. Wrap white feather boa around wreath (you can use tinsel instead). Wrap ribbon around rest of hanger to form vertical wreath hanger and secure ribbon with hot glue. To finish, make a bow by forming two loops and use a small piece of ribbon to bind them in the middle.

*Notes on Ball Ornament Wreaths:

1) The Dollar Store is a great source for inexpensive ornaments.

2) Consider getting Styrofoam ornaments because they can't shatter when dropped.
3) Jess' wreath used 27 medium-sized and 20 small-sized ornaments. Bob's used at least 50 ornaments.

Handmade Books

Supplies

• Bookbinding glue (can use any white glue)
• Foam brushes (to spread glue)
• Cardstock paper (for book pages and covers)
• Scrapbook paper (for covers)
• Paper-cutter and cutting mat (scissors work but are much slower)
• Xacto knife (a box-cutter will work)
• Book (to use as a base for drilling holes)
• Electric drill
• Ribbon (to bind book pages together)
• Yarn needle
• Stickers (optional)

Process

• Cut letter-size paper or cardstock in half horizontally with the paper cutter to make your pages
• To make your front cover, take a piece of letter-size cardstock and cut it in half. Then apply glue to it and wrap your decorative scrapbook paper around it. Secure your folded scrapbook paper with glue. Cover the inside of your cover with another sheet of cardstock and glue down for a finished look. Do the same for your back cover.
• To attach all the pages together, drill three holes through the entire stack. Put a phonebook or other disposable book underneath to avoid drilling through your table.
• Use the ribbon to tie everything together and finish with a bow.
• Place the entire book under something heavy until it is completely dry, then crease the front cover so you can open your book easily.

Photos: Jessica's (top), Jen's (middle), Stacy's (bottom)

Stepping Stones with Pawprints

You could do this project with pawprints, handprints, or any other kind of print.

Procedure: First, mix cement with water in a large bucket. We got a 60-pound bag of cement from Home Depot. We used a long thick-diameter wooden dowel and a trowel to mix the cement with the water. Then we coated our molds with cooking spray to prevent sticking and poured the cement into them. You can use pie dishes or any disposable plastic or aluminum container. The mixture should be difficult to smooth, but not so grainy that you can’t smooth it all together and get rid of air pockets. Excess water rises to the top, so place a paper towel on top of the freshly laid and smoothed concrete and blot it. Then we firmly pressed each toe of the animal’s paw into the wet concrete. After making a print, we thoroughly washed the animal’s paw. We added glass marbles to our design which are best to add when the concrete is rather wet, so that the stones can be properly nestled into the concrete. We also added letters to our stepping stones using stamps.

Tip: The letters were best to add when the concrete was a little drier in order to avoid water pooling in the cavities of the freshly stamped letters.

Tissue Paper Flowers

For a fun party activity, why not make tissue paper flowers? If it's a holiday party, you can do them in holiday colors (ex. red and green).

To make these flowers, take a sheet of tissue paper, fold it accordion style, secure in the middle with string*, then unfold. To see detailed instructions, visit Sew Sweet Stitches. You can make a vase of flowers or a garland!

*Note: You can use raffia or floral wire to tie them.

Batik Dying: Skirt and Purse

Skirt project: We used red, purple, and black dye in that order and a paint brush. Before dying the fabric, a design was painted on with wax. After the skirt was dyed red, the excess dye was rinsed out but the wax was left on. Next, more designs were painting on with wax and the skirt was dyed purple. Then too the skirt was rinsed and allowed to dry without removing the wax. Finally, more designs were painted on with wax, and the skirt was dyed black. The skirt was rinsed with water to remove the excess dye, and then run in the washing machine on the hot cycle to remove the wax.

Note: The red dye came out more pink than red, and the black dye came out more purple than black.

Purse project: We used a star stencil, a paintbrush, and blue and yellow dye. Using the stencil as a guide, I painted wax along the inner edge of the stencil. When finished with the design, I added blue dye and yellow dye in a ratio of approx. 2 parts blue to 1 part yellow. Using two colors created a more muted color when the project was finished – I think the more different colors you mix in one dying bath, the more muted the final color of the dyed fabric will be.

Note: Before the wax was hot enough, the painting was more difficult and the wax didn't get into the fabric as well. Try to get your wax really hot so it glides across the fabric.

For those who do not know how to Batik: Get beeswax and heat until it until it's very runny. Meanwhile, you can draw your design on your fabric with a pencil (the marks will wash out). Use paintbrushes to dip into the wax and “paint” with it on your fabric. The areas you paint with wax will not absorb color when dyed. You can also use metal cookie-cutters as stencils. When you are finished painting your design, it’s time to dye the fabric. Get a large bucket. We used an old kitty litter bucket. Fill 3/4 full with water and add dye according to package directions. We used Rid dye – it’s available at Walmart and Michael’s. Immerse fabric and stir several times over the course of 20 minutes. The longer the fabric is in the dye, the richer and darker the color will be. Also, you can combine more than one packet of dye in order to get a mixed and/or more subtle color. Next, toss out the dyed water and rinse your fabric in water in the sink or bathtub to remove the excess dye. Finally, boil water and remove it from the heat source, then put your fabric into the boiled water to remove the wax. You can add a bit of detergent to the boiled water to make removing the wax easier. For us, we chose instead to remove the wax by running the fabric through the washing machine on the hot cycle. However, the wax may clog your washing machine, so weigh that risk when deciding what you do.

Notes: For us batik-dying was a multi-night project. Also, the fabric ended up lighter than when it was first pulled out of the dye bath. Be aware of that when choosing how long to leave your fabric in the dye bath.

Beginner Crochet Projects

Starbucks Cozy project: Crochet a row that is the height you want your finished cup cozy to be. Continue crocheting rows until your cozy can fit snuggly around a cup. To close and finish your project, just crochet into your original row and tie a knot or bow.

Crochet Bracelet project: Crochet about 6 chain stitches to begin this project. That will be the width of your bracelet. Turn and crochet the subsequent rows until the bracelet is a comfortable length for your wrist. To switch colors, just knot the new color of yarn to the old yarn, cut off the old yarn after your knot, and continue to crochet.

For those who do not know how to crochet: Repeatedly make a chain until you have your first row. Now you’re going to crochet the second row from right to left. Make an extra chain stitch. Now dip your needle into the top of the last loop of your first row. You will now have two loops on your needle. Next, hook yarn on your needle and drag that yarn back through only the first loop on your needle. At this point you will have two loops on your crochet hook. Now hook yarn on the end of your needle and drag that yarn through both of your loops. Now you will again have only one loop on your needle. Time to start over! Dip your needle into the top of the next loop to your left so you have two loops your needle and continue by pulling yarn through the first loop only and then through both loops. When you get to the end of your second row, flip your piece 180 degrees so you’re once again starting on your right. Make an extra chain stitch. For your third row, and any row you start after that, dip your needle in under the V-shape of your last regular stitch. You will now have one V and one loop on your needle. Pull yarn under the V only, resutling in two loops on your needle. Pull the yarn through both loops and get ready for your next stitch! Dip in under the next V-shape and continue!!

For those with advanced crochet skills: Check out Stacy's website, Crochet Kitten!

Clocks

We bought clockwork kits from the craft store and wood (for the base) from the hardware store. We drilled a central hole through the base before decorating.

To decorate the base, cut strips of tissue or scrapbook paper and use mod podge to secure them.

Use clear acrylic spray to seal clock and add shine.

Paint edge of clock with acrylic paint. Glue coins or buttons for numbers. Use letter stickers as desired.

*Note: This was a two-night project.

Dream-Catchers

Procedure: We purchased bendable floral twine from the wreath section of Michaels and used it to create the circular outline of the dream-catcher. We wound it around a few times to make it stronger. Then we used white embroidery thread to make the inner webbed design. We tied one end of the thread to the top of the catcher, then pulled it and wrapped it around the catcher (forming a line) to make about six lines going the full way around the circle. That was level one, the furthest away from the center of the catcher. For level two, instead of looping the thread around the circle, we looped it around the thread from level one. This pulled the thread from the previous level and gave it a nice tension. We then did the third level of thread-wrapping and tied the thread off at the end to close the web. We made sure to leave the center of the dream-catcher open because in theory that is supposed to be the spot where dreams pass through. The last step was to hang three trailing strands of beads and feathers from the bottom of the catcher.

Tip: Stacy’s cats went crazy for the peacock feathers, so keep pets in mind when designing and hanging your dream-catcher.

Note: For my dream-catcher, I actually strung beads on my embroidery thread all the way around when doing the webbing for a unique effect.

Hair Pins

Get artificial flowers at a craft store like Michael’s. Look for ones that will lie rather flat on your head and avoid those that have a larger round bulb at the point where the flower’s head meets its stem. That way, your pin won’t look like some sort of alien creation sticking up out of your head. Also buy hair clips at a supply store like Sally’s Beauty Supplies. Figure out the flower arrangement you want for your hair clip including leaves, which you will use to camouflage and cover the silver hair clip. Separate your flower(s) and leaves from their stems. Crop the flower very close to its stem so that it will lie as flat as possible on top of the clip. We used gardening clippers. Now open your hair clip and place something in its teeth to catch the excess glue so that your clip will not stick together. We used excess leaves. Next, hot glue your leaves on top of the clip, covering its silver shape completely. Now glue on your flower(s). When the glue was dry we removed and discarded the excess leaves we used to catch glue that seeped through.

Note: If your flower starts to come apart, just glue its bottom layer to the leaves and glue each successive layer to that until you’re done building the flower back up. Also, if you want to do a hair pin with a peacock feather or other non-floral centerpiece instead, you can use scraps of fabric to cover the sliver clip instead of leaves.

For another example of hair pins see this example.