The Sheave of Wheat Chrismon

Above, you can see that I've painted the final
 Chrismon with gold metallic paint but you
could leave it natural looking if you like.

       A description of this Sheave of Wheat Chrismon it at Christian Clip Art Review.

       This faux sheave of wheat is made by first covering the outside of a paper tube with wheat stalks before gluing on the choicest kernals onto it's surface. By doing this you will: stretch your  budget and make the Chrismon lighter weight. 

       Note also that there is a difference between a sheave of wheat symbol and a singular wheat stalk Chrismon in symbolism. Although their meanings are related, these two symbols are not necessarily interchangeable. Many stalks bound together refers to a group of people.

Supply List:

• hot glue gun and hot glue
• preserved wheat stalks (pricey, I know)
• cording to tie the stalk off
• paper tube
• masking tape
• scissors
• metallic spray paint (optional)

Step-by-step Directions:

1.  First cut the length of a paper tube and shape it to the thickness you desire your sheave to have. Tape that shape in place. 
2. Cover the tube entirely with masking tape.
3. Cut the straw parts of the wheat to cover the tube entirely using hot glue. It isn't necessary to measure these so much; they are easily cut even after applying them to the tube. 
4. Select the nicest kernels and leaving these attached to an identical straw length to that of your "sheave" tube, proceed to hot glue these to the ornament every 1/4 of an inch around the outside of the tube.You will need far fewer of them to make your Chrismon sheave look full, had you simply bound a giant handful of wheat stalks. This way of making the ornament may be a bit fussy but it allows for the finished product to be considerably lighter weight.
5. Tie a rough looking cord around the sheave and trim.
6. Spray paint the Chrismon metallic gold to match the traditional color scheme of a Chrismon tree if you like. I actually prefer the natural gold color.

Left, the cording and preserved wheat stalks for my project. Center, paper towel tubing cut and
masked prior the hot gluing the straw on them. Right a finished Sheave of Wheat Chrismon unpainted.

Sculpt Miniature Cotton Batting Pumpkin Ornaments

      You don't need much money to craft Thanksgiving heirloom treasures from recycled egg cartons and cotton batting. All it takes is a bit of imagination, glue and confidence to shape and paste cotton batting pumpkins like these.  My miniature pumpkin ornaments are also hollow so that I can include a small token, scripture or money gift inside of each of them for my guests and family members.
      From October through November I decorate my Blessing Tree with small delicate ornaments like these little cotton batting pumpkins.  

Left, a finished cotton batting pumpkin. It's hollow so that I may add a message.
Right, Here you can see it hanging from a very delicate branch. Cotton batting
ornaments are very light weight!

Supply List:

• egg cartons
• white cotton balls
• white school glue
• thin wire
• scissors
• pencil
• acrylic paints: red, orange, yellow, white, gold and green

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut dome shapes from paper egg cartons to use in this Thanksgiving Tree craft. You will need two dome shapes per pumpkin.
2. Glue the two halves together to shape a round pumpkin. Use tacky glue for this process and also add a bit of white cotton around the seam to give it strength. Brush the surface again with white glue and then let these forms dry over night. 
3. Cut out a shape at the top of each pumpkin with a small pair of very sharp scissors. I cut out a cross shape at the top of my pumpkins.
4. Now you will need to roll in the palms of your hands some log-like shapes from your cotton batting in order to form the ribs of your pumpkins. Pinch down on either side of the log shapes  to taper off the ribs at both the top and the bottom of the pumpkin. Glue these to the sides of your egg carton shapes. Let them dry.
5. Now brush on a layer of white glue and let this dry.
6. Pull of more cotton from your cotton balls and gently add this with another coat of glue to the surface of your pumpkin in order to shape a final layer of the batting. Let this dry.
7. Add a final coat of white glue and stick a pencil into the bottom half of your pumpkin. Pushing and twisting gently in order to give the pumpkin a more organic shape. 
8. Glue a whole clove into this indention and let the pumpkin dry. 
9. Now you may paint the surface of your pumpkin using gold, orange and red acrylic paints. I mix these together roughly while applying paint to the surface of my ornament. Paint the crevices with darker shades and the ribs with lighter ones.
10. Take your sharp scissor points and make two small hole on either side of the opening at the top of the pumpkin.
11. Insert a cotton coated wire and shape a handle. Paint this handle green to mimic a "vine."
12. I will insert a scripture in each of my hollow pumpkins for every guest I treat this year. I've listed a few popular blessing scriptures below.

Egg cartons make excellent craft material.

Left, I've cut out the cup shapes of an egg carton in order to shape my miniature pumpkins. Middle, Glue two of the egg cups together to form a hollow pumpkin shell. Cut a hole at the top so that you can insert a little treat, gift or message inside the pumpkin shell. Right, Glue a thin layer of cotton batting around the seam to conceal it and make your ornament stronger.

In these photos you can see how I shaped the cotton batting to form an organic looking pumpkin. A small clove is glued to the bottom of each miniature shell where the blossom end would normally be on a real pumpkin.

Here I have added handles to each pumpkin so that these may be hung from my Blessing Tree.

I used acrylic paints to color these old fashioned, hand sculpted ornaments.

Just a Few Blessing Scriptures to Include Inside The Pumpkin Ornaments: NIV versions

• Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:9
• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9
• Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord. Proverbs: 16:20
• A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Luke 6:45
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
• But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:27-28
• Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalms 34:8
• Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you. Exodus 23:25

More Pumpkin Crafts for Your Thanksgiving Table:

• Quilt a lovely pumpkin table runner.
• Adorable turkey, pumpkin and corn stalk place cards for kids to color

Craft a Simple Cotton Batting Acorn Ornament For Thanksgiving

      Here are some simple acorn ornaments for Thanksgiving displays. These ornaments are made from homespun cotton batting, a little paint plus glitter and they don't take long to shape. Young children will also enjoy collecting acorn caps from the woods in order to help craft these charming little decorations. Leave the nuts behind for the wildlife folks.

My little pilgrim decoration along
with acorns.

 Supply List:

• white cotton balls
• acrylic paints: red, orange, yellow, gold and brown
• acorn caps
• white glue
• transparent glitter

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1.  Pull apart several white cotton balls so that you can work quickly.
2. Add a bit of white glue to the center of a wad of cotton and roll this between the palms of your hands to form a small cotton ball.
3. Hold this ball up next to your acorn cap to determine how much bigger the ball needs to get in order to fit into the inside of the acorn cap. Add additional glue and cotton as needed.
4. Pinch off one end of the cotton ball to create the tip of your acorn.
5. Glue the ball to the acorn cap and let it dry overnight.
6. Paint your acorns in what ever color you desire and let the cotton batting ornament dry.
7. Apply a bit more glue with your finger tip and roll the acorn in glitter.
8. I twisted a fine copper wire around the stems of some of my acorns so that I may be able to hang these from my Blessing tree. I scattered some of the acorns throughout my Fall displays around my home.

Left, Acorn caps a plentiful where I live. Center, Here you can see my cotton batting acorns unpainted. Right, I've painted the acorns and have also rolled them in transparent glitter.

Left,  A close-up of one of the cotton batting acorns hanging from the delicate branches of my Blessing tree. Center, A little pilgrim and a few scattered acorn decorations at the base of my Blessing tree. Right, These acorns have attached caps.

Photocopy Leaf Prints for Your Blessing Tree

      Who doesn't like to go for a walk in the fall leaves? For this project you will need to do so, however, I've included just a few samples of leaves you may print out that were found not far from my own home just below.

      Take your little ones for a stroll through the park or neighborhood to collect some lovely fall leaves. Spread these face down on your printer's screen and close the lid, scan, and print in full color. Cut them out and back these with a bit of glue and a few nice fall themed papers. Insert a wire between the layers while you are pasting. I used a cotton covered wire and then painted my stems with brown and gold acrylic paints to mimic the real stems of leaves. These little delicate beauties may be hung from the very tips of a fragile Blessing tree; their colors will not fade for a few years nor will they shrink, crack or fall from your own indoor tree.

Left, xerox prints of my Fall leaf collection. Middle, cotton batting covered wire. Right, My leaf stems are ready for painting as soon as the paper ornaments have dried.

Because my blessing tree is so very delicate, so must my ornaments be. Leaves are by their very nature light weight and so are the my leaf ornament versions for this year's tree.

I collected these beautiful Fall leaves in my neighborhood for my Blessing Tree.

You can capture their color and shapes with a scanning bed, no problem!

There are many yellow leaves in our little community as well.

You should see the magnificent Maple tree this one came from!

More Fall Leaf Crafts for Your Home:

• Kirigami Fall Leaves
• Fan folded leaves for kids to craft
• DIY Giving Thanks Golden Leaf Garland
• Glitter Leaf Garland

Thanksgiving Ornaments Made From Indian Corn

Indian corn comes in many colors.

      I chose to hang a few miniature Indian corn from my Blessing tree this year for the Thanksgiving holiday. As I was shopping for supper one night, I found their warm golds, bright oranges and varied brown tones to be irresistible. So instead of buying tomatoes and lettuce, I splurged and purchased these little cuties.

      I trimmed the bulk of the husks off of their tops; these would be a bit too over-powering for my delicate little tree. Then I simply twisted some twine around their stems, added a bit of tacky glue to a few remaining husks and then pasted these around the stems to cover the knots. Wrap a few tight rubber bands around the husks so that these stay in place while they are drying. I also trimmed off the tips so that the corn looked more attractive.

Here are just a few of my Indian corn ornaments hanging on the Blessing Tree.

More Decorating With Indian Corn for Thanksgiving: 

• A Trip to the Farmstand - What to do with Indian Corn 
• Thanksgiving Table Settings - Indian corn resting in wheat  
• Corn related content for young students here

My Blessing Tree for Thanksgiving

      This year I decided to craft a "Blessing tree" or as some folks might call it a "Thanksgiving tree." I took the opportunity of using branches my husband trimmed from our overgrown fire bushes this month. These branches needed to be reinforced with wire and masking tape so that they could hold the weight of ornaments. 

      This is actually a very easy process if you have a proper pair of wire cutters. Simply bend your wire to match the curves of the branches and then twist the masking tape around both the wire and branch firmly. Then use a decorative paper to wrap the branches with while applying white glue along the length of every branch.
      I brushed on a second coat of glue and let the branches to dry completely before displaying them along with a store bought branch that I had purchased for it's silk autumn leaves. If I had purchased more than one of these prefabricated branches, my project would have cost more than I had budgeted for. Besides, I think that my Thanksgiving ornaments will look nicer among the bare branches. 

      I also covered the prefabricated branch with the same paper and white glue in order to give a cohesive look to my display.

Left, the fancy brown paper I selected to paper mache my branches with. Center, the wired branches in progress. Right, the lovely silk, Autumn leaves attached to my one prefabricated branch. I purchased this one from Hobby Lobby.

I decided to set my Fall display with Indian corn, a few Shaker boxes and some very large pine cones.

Here is my final result. I will post more pictures here as soon as I have decorated this little Blessing tree.

Left, My Blessing tree for Thanksgiving 2014. Center, Glass blown cross painted in copper, there are 3 on this tree. Right, My husband added a delicate bird's nest to the arrangement for luck which is a German tradition.

      "My name is Sarah Noëlle and this is my cover of Robert Robinson and John Wyeth's hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (1757). I was given the opportunity to sing this song at my sister's wedding and I fell in love with it!" (What a lovely voice this young lady has!)

Related Links:

• A Thanksgiving Tree Prayer by Mary Caroline Merrick 
• You can visit my Easter pages to see an Egg tree that I made with a similar process here.

Craft Cinnamon And Spice Dough Ornaments

      I found this cinnamon dough recipe on the internet and used it to mold leaves and acorns for my Thanksgiving Blessing Tree. Their spicy smells remind me of apple cider, pumpkin pie and cinnamon infused maple flavored cookies and candies.

Left, the mold that I used was plastic. Molds like these may be easily purchased in your local hobby store. Right, you can see what my molded acorns and leaves look like after these have hardened in the oven.

I tied the acorns and fall leaves made from cinnamon dough
together with a brown and white cotton ribbon. I will hang
these aromatic molded pieces from a Blessing tree this fall.

Supplies:

• 1 cup cinnamon
• 1 cup applesauce (drained through a fine mesh sieve)
• 2 Tablespoons of white school glue
• wire and ribbon for hanging
• Tools you will need include: wax paper, glass bowl, rolling pin, counter or chopping block and molds or cookie cutters.

Directions:

1. Mix together 1 cup of cinnamon, 1 cup of drained applesauce and two tablespoons of white school glue. The dough should be a firm consistency. If it is too soft add cinnamon; if it is too dry and doesn't stick together add a bit more glue.
2. You may either roll out the dough between sheet of wax paper before cutting it with a cookie cutter or you can press dough directly into a plastic mold and then remove it immediately to dry on a cookie baking sheet. 
3. I put my molded leaf and acorn shapes into a 200 degree oven to dry out. This took approximately one hour and thirty minutes. The length of time needed to dry out the molded cinnamon dough ornaments depends upon the humidity of the room and the amount of heat used inside the oven. The thickness of your ornaments will also predetermine the amount of time needed to dry out the ornaments.
4. I poked a small hole into each of my molded pieces before drying them out so that I could string them together afterwards.
5. Shape and insert thin wires into the holes provided for hanging. 
6. Tie on the ribbon. 

More Aromatic Ornaments:

• Chai Tea and Salt Dough and Whole Spice Ornaments
• Making Dried Fruit Christmas Ornaments
• Orange Rind Blossoms and Pine Cone Strung on a Garland

Aromatic Wreaths and Center Pieces:

• Fragrant Fruit Wreath
• Apples, Pine Cones and Acorns on A Wreath

DIY Corn On The Cob Cotton Batting Ornament

My finished cotton batting corn on the cob.

      If you have never made a cotton batting ornament before, this is a nice little project to begin with.  In it you will learn the most basic skills needed in order to complete a cotton batting Christmas ornament.

      I know that some of you may think this is a strange subject for a Christmas ornament, however, it is very ordinary to see one or two corn cobs hanging among the branches of a glass collector's Christmas tree. To find a cotton batting one is not so very ordinary, at least not until now. Perhaps it will become traditional to those people learning this old craft? Only time will tell.

Supply List:

• cotton balls
• white school glue
• tacky white glue
• newsprint
• masking tape
• wire for hanging
• yellow, gold, green, white and brown acrylic paints
• tiny paint brush

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Crush the newsprint into a small narrow cob shape, approximately two inches long. (pictured below)
2. Wrap this newsprint form in masking tape.
3. Insert a wire for hanging at the wider end of your cob. Tape and glue in this wire firmly.
4. Unravel a couple of cotton balls and take a very tiny piece between your finger tips with a small bit of glue and roll this wad into a tiny ball. (picture just below) 
5. Repeat this process until you have made approximately twenty of these kernel sized balls.
6. Use the tacky white glue to begin sticking one, two, three kernels side by side in a spiral pattern at the very tip of your corn cob. Press these kernels together as you go. Take your time and let these dry as you go. It helps to work near a warm light or heater. As long as the tacky glue is holding the kernels of cotton batting together you can proceed to add to your "cob."
7. As your cotton cob kernels multiple you will be able to deduce how many more of the kernels are needed. Perhaps thirty more depending upon the size of your wrapped form. This is different for every project.
8. You will also need to keep squeezing together the kernels adding additional ones with tacky glue and then as these dry add a couple of more layers of white school glue to the surface of the corn cob. 
9. After you have covered the cob, layer a few fine strips of rolled "narrow, leaf shaped" cotton for the "husks." glue these directly to the top of the ear of corn, twisting them around the wire hook.
10. Let your finished cob dry overnight.
11. Paint the corn cob using multiple yellow and gold colors on the kernels. Use a very tiny brush to get down inside the cracks with paint. 
12. Use greens and browns to paint the husks.
13. Let the cotton batting ornament dry and then seal it with a acrylic gel (Matt finish) to keep your ornament looking clean over time. 
14. Store your cotton batting ornaments between white tissues inside a tin box with a tight sealing lid. These boxes are the types used to store butter cookies and sometimes candies.

The beginning of a corn cob, cotton batting ornament. Left,
unraveled cotton ball.  Center, a masked corn cob.  Right,
 are the rolled cotton kernels before they are pasted to the surface
 of the corn cob.

This is what your corn cob should look like prior to painting it.
 I have photographed it from different angles so that you may get
an idea about how it looks "in the round."

Related Content:

• Bronner's sells little glass corn cobs.
• Name that Vintage Christmas Ornament
• Search The Christmas Haus for glass corn ornaments