Showing posts with label Sweet Tooth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweet Tooth. Show all posts

Saturday, December 17, 2022

How to make mini cotton batting candy canes...

Mini cotton batting candy canes for feather tree.

       Candy canes are very old-fashioned theme for a Christmas tree. These petite "shepherd" hooks in peppermint colors red and white are simple made and look charming on any feather tree.

Supply List:

  • thin wire
  • cotton balls
  • chenille stem
  • red and white acrylic paint
  • tiny brush
  • translucent glitter
  • white school glue
  • fine gold cord for hanging
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Bend and cut the candy cane shape in the size and proportion you prefer. My mini candy canes for the family feather tree measure approximately two inches.
  2. Unravel two to three cotton balls.
  3. As you work with the batting and white glue it is easier at first to unbend the candy cane and cover the full length of the chenille stem with a even distribution of cotton. I made mine approximately 1/4".
  4. Now bend one end into a hook shape again. Let the batting and glue dry and harden.
  5. Roll a thin layer of glue and cotton batting down a foot length of wire between your finger tips. Make it an even coating of cotton as you go.
  6. Next paint the candy cane hook red. Let it dry completely.
  7. Wrap the white cotton coated wire around the red hook using white glue to attach it. Let dry.
  8. Smear a bit of white glue on the mini candy cane and sprinkle it with glitter.
  9. Attach a thin gold cord for hanging

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Make a calico gingerbread person for the Christmas tree...

        To sew these cute stuffed gingerbread people your will need the following supplies: white embroidery floss, white yarn, white ribbon, white beads for the eyes, a white button, white eyelet lace, scrapes of brown calico, cotton batting and a needle with both brown and white spools of thread.

Above on the left, is our gingerbread boy sporting a button shaped belly button and a
straight stitched bow tie. On the right, is our girl version using the same pattern
with an eyelet lace skirt and a tiny flower trim at her neck.

       The pattern for the gingerbread ornaments can be downloaded from this post. Cut out the pattern and trace around it using a pencil. With the right sides facing together sew around two pieces of calico leaving a one inch opening to turn your gingerbread person inside out. Stuff a bit of batting inside the opening and then whip stitch it closed. 
       Using your embroidery floss and needle, stitch straight seams around the outside of the gingerbread person to accentuate his or her cookie body-shape. Then give your person a broad smile and other accents. Sew on the white beads for your person's eyes and also trim the outside edges with a bit of white yarn and needle with white thread. Add more faux "icing" if you like! These fun homespun ornaments are both "child" and "pet" proof, so hang them lowest on your Christmas tree branches...

Make a gumball ornament with kids...

The finished gumball machine ornament
for kids to cut, color and glue together.

    To make a simple cardboard ornament like this one with your kids you will need the following art supplies: colored pencils, cardboard, pom-poms, a recycled metal spout from a salt box, white school glue, hot glue gun and glue, the pattern to trace around (it is located here.), a wire hook for hanging the finished gumball machine ornament.

Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Download and print out the pattern with a template for the gumball machine.
  2. Cut out the gumball pattern and trace around it on top of a nice piece of cardboard using a soft lead pencil.
  3. Cut out the cardboard background and draw in the rest of the design lightly to look just like the photo of our gumball Christmas ornament on the right.
  4. Color in the globe with a pale blue pencil and color in the stand for the gumball machine with a bright red pencil.
  5. Now glue in colorful pom-poms to act as "gumballs" for your candy machine.
  6. Ask an adult to help you hot glue on the metal salt spout and then glue another pom-pom inside of this at last.
  7. Poke a hole at the top of the gumball machine and work a wire hanger through it for hanging on the tree.
More Gumball Machine Crafts:

       "Would we know the joy of Christ on Christmas Day? That joy and delight springs forever from the feeling that we are doing good, loving and living and giving happiness to others with no thought of the self.'' by Lucille Browne, Age 16

Monday, August 22, 2022

The Little Gingerbread Man

The Little Gingerbread Man by G. H. P.

Cook makes the Gingerbread Man.
         One day, the cook went into the kitchen to make some gingerbread.She took some flour and water, and treacle and ginger, and mixed them all well together, and she put in some more water to make it thin, and then some more flour to make it thick, and a little salt and some spice, and then she rolled it out into a beautiful, smooth, dark-yellow dough.
       Then she took the square tins and cut out some square cakes for the little boys, and with some round tins she cut out some round cakes for the little girls, and then she said, "I'm going to make a little gingerbread man for little Bobby." So she took a nice round lump of dough for his body, and a smaller lump for his head, which she pulled out a little for the neck. Two other lumps were stuck on beneath for the legs, and were pulled out into proper shape, with feet and toes all complete, and two still smaller pieces were made into arms, with dear little hands and fingers.
       But the nicest work was done on the head, for the top was frizzed up into a pretty sugary hat; on either side was made a dear little ear, and in front, after the nose had been carefully molded, a beautiful mouth was made out of a big raisin, and two bright little eyes with burnt almonds and caraway seeds.
       Then the gingerbread man was finished ready for baking, and a very jolly little man he was. In fact, he looked so sly that the cook was afraid he was plotting some mischief, and when the batter was ready for the oven, she put in the square cakes and she put in the round cakes; and then she put in the little gingerbread man in a far back corner, where he couldn't get away in a hurry.
       Then she went up to sweep the parlor, and she swept and she swept till the clock struck twelve, when she dropped her broom in a hurry, and exclaiming, "Lawks! the gingerbread will be all baked to a cinder," she ran down into the kitchen, and threw open the oven door. And the square cakes were all done, nice and hard and brown, and the round cakes were all done, nice and hard and brown, and the gingerbread man was all done too, nice and hard and brown; and he was standing up in his corner, with his little caraway-seed eyes sparkling, and his raisin mouth bubbling over with mischief, while he waited for the oven door to be opened. The instant the door was opened, with a hop, skip, and a jump, he went right over the square cakes and the round cakes, and over the cook's arm, and before she could say "Jack Robinson" he was running across the kitchen floor, as fast as his little legs would carry him, towards the back door, which was standing wide open, and through which he could see the garden path.
       The old cook turned round as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast, for she was rather a heavy woman and she had been quite taken by surprise, and she saw lying right across the door-way, fast asleep in the sun, old Mouser, the cat.
       "Mouser, Mouser," she cried, "stop the gingerbread man! I want him for little Bobby." When the cook first called, Mouser thought it was only some one calling in her dreams, and simply rolled over
lazily; and the cook called again, "Mouser, Mouser!" The old cat sprang up with a jump, but just as she turned round to ask the cook what all the noise was about, the little gingerbread man cleverly jumped under her tail, and in an instant was trotting down the garden walk. Mouser turned in a hurry and ran after, although she was still rather too sleepy to know what it was she was trying to catch, and after the cat came the cook, lumbering along rather heavily, but also making pretty good speed.  
       Now at the bottom of the walk, lying fast asleep in the sun against the warm stones of the garden wall, was Towser, the dog.
       And the cook called out: "Towser, Towser, stop the gingerbread man! I want him for little Bobby."
       And when Towser first heard her calling he thought it was some one speaking in his dreams, and he only turned over on his side, with another snore, and then the cook called again, "Towser, Towser, stop him, stop him!"
       Then the dog woke up in good earnest, and jumped up on his feet to see what it was that he should stop. But just as the dog jumped up, the little gingerbread man, who had been watching for the chance, quietly slipped between his legs, and climbed up on the top of the stone wall, so that Towser saw nothing but the cat running towards him down the walk, and behind the cat the cook, now quite out of breath.
       He thought at once that the cat must have stolen something, and that it was the cat the cook wanted him to stop. Now, if there was anything that Towser liked, it was going after the cat, and he jumped up the walk so fiercely that the poor cat did not have time to stop herself or to get out of his way, and they came together with a great fizzing, and barking, and meowing, and howling, and scratching, and biting, as if a couple of Catherine-wheels had gone off in the wrong way and had got mixed up with one another.
Cook takes a tumble.
       But the old cook had been running so hard that she was not able to stop herself any better than the cat had done, and she fell right on top of the mixed up dog and cat, so that all three rolled over on the walk in a heap together.
       And the cat scratched whichever came nearest, whether it was a piece of the dog or of the cook, and the dog bit at whatever came nearest, whether it was a piece of the cat or of the cook, so that the poor cook was badly pummelled on both sides.
       Meanwhile, the gingerbread man had climbed up on the garden wall, and stood on the top with his hands in his pockets, looking at the scrimmage, and laughing till the tears ran down from his little caraway-seed eyes and his raisin mouth was bubbling all over with fun.
       After a little while, the cat managed to pull herself out from under the cook and the dog, and a very cast-down and crumpled-up-looking cat she was. She had had enough of hunting gingerbread men, and she crept back to the kitchen to repair damages.
       The dog, who was very cross because his face had been badly scratched, let go of the cook, and at last, catching sight of the gingerbread man, made a bolt for the garden wall. The cook picked herself up, and although her face was also badly scratched and her dress was torn, she was determined to see the end of the chase, and she followed after the dog, though this time more slowly.
       When the gingerbread man saw the dog coming, he jumped down on the farther side of the wall, and began running across the field. Now in the middle of the field was a tree, and at the foot of the tree was lying Jocko, the monkey. He wasn't asleep--monkeys never are--and when he saw the little man running across the field and heard the cook calling, "Jocko, Jocko, stop the gingerbread man," he at once gave one big jump. But he jumped so fast and so far that he went right over the gingerbread man, and as luck would have it, he came down on the back of Towser, the dog, who had just scrambled over the wall, and whom he had not before noticed. Towser was naturally taken by surprise, but he turned his head around and promptly bit off the end of the monkey's tail, and Jocko quickly jumped off again, chattering his indignation.
       Meanwhile, the gingerbread man had got to the bottom of the tree, and was saying to himself: "Now, I know the dog can't climb a tree, and I don't believe the old cook can climb a tree; and as for the monkey I'm not sure, for I've never seen a monkey before, but I am going up."
       So he pulled himself up hand over hand until he had got to the topmost branch.
       But the monkey had jumped with one spring onto the lowest branch, and in an instant he also was at the top of the tree.
       The gingerbread man crawled out to the furthermost end of the branch, and hung by one hand, but the monkey swung himself under the branch, and stretching out his long arm, he pulled the gingerbread man in. Then he held him up and looked at him so hungrily that the little raisin mouth began to pucker down at the corners, and the caraway-seed eyes filled with tears.
       And then what do you think happened? Why, little Bobby himself came running up. He had been taking his noon-day nap upstairs, and in his dreams it seemed as if he kept hearing people call "Little
Bobby, little Bobby!" until finally he jumped up with a start, and was so sure that some one was calling him that he ran down-stairs, without even waiting to put on his shoes.
Bobby thought he heard someone calling.
       As he came down, he could see through the window in the field beyond the garden the cook, and the dog, and the monkey, and could even hear the barking of Towser and the chattering of Jocko. He
scampered down the walk, with his little bare feet pattering against the warm gravel, climbed over the wall, and in a few seconds arrived under the tree, just as Jocko was holding up the poor little gingerbread man.
      "Drop it, Jocko!" cried Bobby, and drop it Jocko did, for he always had to mind Bobby. He dropped it so straight that the gingerbread man fell right into Bobby's uplifted pinafore.
       Then Bobby held him up and looked at him, and the little raisin mouth puckered down lower than ever, and the tears ran right out of the caraway-seed eyes.
       But Bobby was too hungry to mind gingerbread tears, and he gave one big bite, and swallowed down both legs and a piece of the body.
       "OH!" said the gingerbread man, "I'M ONE-THIRD GONE!"
       Bobby gave a second bite, and swallowed the rest of the body and
the arms.
       "OH!" said the gingerbread man, "I'M TWO-THIRDS GONE!"
       Bobby gave a third bite, and gulped down the head.
       "Oh!" said the gingerbread man, "I'm all gone!"
       And so he was--and that is the end of the story.

       Now that you've heard our story, gather you're crayons and paper to practice drawing a funny little gingerbread man of your very own. The steps are as simple as 1, 2, 3! 
Left, "If something good you'd like to do, just take these circles I give to you." Center, "The small one here, The big one there, some legs and arms, some eyes and hair." Right, "A mouth and nose, as fast as you can, And there you have a gingerbread man."

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Handmade Pastillage Christmas Ornaments

Pastillage ornaments: horse, rooster, cherries, Santa
        These handmade Christmas tree ornaments were crafted by Eugene Frohse from St. Louis Mo. He was born in Russia in 1873; he immigrated to the United States when he was 17 years old. Because he died in 1976 at 102 years of age, I'm assuming that the ornaments I have were crafted sometime in the 1950s or 60s. The color of the pastillage is amazingly vivid after all these years! 
       I purchased this collection from an estate sale and only one of the ornaments was broken. The original price tag, the description and recipe were included on the box. You can see more of his work online.
See More Collections of Ornaments:

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Craft Vintage Looking Candy Canes

Craft Crossed Candy Canes from Chenille Stems
The unusual diamond pattern shown above is achieved by twisting together pipe
 cleaners that are already dyed with candy cane stripes at the factory.
Supply List:
  • two red and two white chenille stems
  • one metallic green chenille stem
Directions:
  1. Twist together one red and one white chenille stem until the length of the stems look like candy canes. Repeat this step with a second red and white pair of chenille stem.
  2. Bend each candy striped stem into a shepherd's hook.
  3. Cross the to hooked canes and then twist the green metallic chenille stem around the two candy stems to form a bow.
More Candy Cane Goodies:

Monday, May 22, 2017

Fauve Gingerbread Church Tree Topper

       I have decided to decorate one of my Christmas trees with cotton batting homes and churches. This will be my summer project. Perhaps I will be able to complete enough of these little structures to turn the tree into an entire village? (We shall see, if time permits.) 
       To top off my tree, I recycled a small wooden music box. I payed $3.00 for this charming little church in a resale shop. Often I see discarded items such as this these and wonder how can I transform them into something more appealing? It's seems so wasteful to just toss something with that much detailing on it.
       Although the music box was broken the church still had all of it's green, tinted glass windows intact; plus a very cute, little steeple. It's sturdy wooden form also made it a perfect object to cover with cotton batting. I would not need to reinforce it's walls to prevent the glue from warping the church structure and with the removal of the music box, there should be plenty of room for top tree branches to fit inside!
       So I gave it a try and here is what it looks like now. I think it will make a fine tree topper!

More Fauve Gingerbread for The Christmas Tree:
I purchased a small broken music box at a resale shop. I thought it would need just a bit of sprucing up before topping off one of my Christmas trees with it. Left, this old music box was manufactured in China. Center I removed it's base so that it could be neatly snuggled inside the tree branches of a Christmas tree. Right, here you can see the old music box inside. I removed it to make room for branches.
Left, I prepared the cotton balls by unraveling them. Center, the surface of the church was quite clean, so I began to glue my first layer of cotton batting to it's surface walls. Originally I thought I might paint the roof, steeple, doors and windows. However, I changed my mind quickly as I worked; the little church began to look like gingerbread and I found this very appealing. Right, here you can see the church is almost finished; all it needs now it just a few added touches, a couple of  bottle brush wreaths and a cross at the top of the steeple.
Here is the completed project, I'm very pleased with the results and I can't wait to nestle the
 little fauve gingerbread church at the top of my Christmas tree this year!

Monday, January 5, 2015

Craft a Plum Pudding Ornament from A Hollow Egg

Close up photographs of my Christmas plum pudding made from a hollow egg shell.
       This Christmas pudding is designed to hang from a tree. It is crafted from a hollow egg and it is so light weight that it may be hung from the most delicate of tree branches.

A very light weight plum pudding ornament for the tree.
Supply List:
  • sharp embroidery needle
  • fresh, uncooked egg
  • small bowl
  • white glitter
  • white puff paint
  • small red berries and green leaf for trim (artificial)
  • brown acrylic paint
  • tiny paint brush
  • twine for hanging
  • white tacky craft glue
  • rubbing alcohol
  • clear nail polish
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1.  First you will need to blow the contents of an egg from it's shell. Use a sharp embroidery needle to poke two holes into the top and bottom of a raw egg. Dip a tissue into a bit of rubbing alcohol and wipe down the surface of the egg so that it is clean. Position your lips over the smaller of the two holes and blow the raw yolk out of the lower hole. You can watch a video here to see just how this may be done.
  2. After blowing out the yolk, shake the egg to listen and make sure that it is indeed empty. Set the egg out on top of paper towels to dry completely before painting it.
  3. Take your tacky craft glue and adhere your choice of berries and green leafs to the top narrow half of the egg. Let this application dry completely.
  4. use a generous amount of translucent or white puff paint to drip underneath the trims and to drip down the side of your egg. This is puff paint is the vanilla sauce of your Christmas pudding.
  5. Sprinkle white glitter on this puff paint before it dries. Let the egg dry.
  6. Using a delicate, small paint brush, apply a brown cinnamon looking layer of paint to the lower half of the egg. Carefully avoid painting into the faux vanilla sauce.
  7. After the paint dries apply a coat of clear nail polish to the painted surface areas.
  8. Strategically tie a braided cord to the tip of a berry in order to hang the Christmas pudding from a tree.
More Christmas Pudding Ornaments:

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Christmas Penny Peppermint Ornaments

      I used left over scrap wool for this Christmas ornament project. Little girls used to practice their sewing skills making decorative penny rugs during the mid 1800s for their homes. These little "rugs" as they called them were used to protect the surfaces of trunks, tables and dressers from scratches. 
      Traditional penny rugs use only round wool felt clippings for their designs but modern crafters often incorporate these simple shapes with more complicated motifs in their rug designs.
      I made these penny peppermints using two stitches: the straight stitch and a blanket stitch. However, you may use the embroidery stitches that you prefer to make similar versions.

Supply List:
  • red and white threads
  • red and white wool scraps
  • circle template or coins to trace around
  • plastic sandwich bags
  • white glue
  • wire hooks for hanging
  • scissors
  • needle
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Draw circular shapes to layer on top of each other by tracing around objects like coins or use a circle template if you like.
  2. Then alternate red and white penny shaped wool scraps to suggest peppermint candies.
  3. Knot the red thread and work from the back to the front all around the wool felt shapes.Sew using a straight stitch the first four layers of penny shapes together.
  4. Then blanket stitch the fourth layer on top of the fifth using white thread.
  5. Cut two more white felt circles to sandwich between two identical finished penny peppermints to give the wool candies thickness. Blanket stitch around the outside of these layers with red thread.
  6. Cut the sandwich bags into rectangles. Wrap the wool peppermints by twisting either end together just like real peppermint candies are packaged. I wound white thread and added a bit of white glue to the threads in order to hold the plastic in place.
  7. Twist on a wire hook at one end to hang your wool peppermint candies on the tree.
Left, Steps for layering the peppermint penny ornaments. Right the finished result before wrapping these in plastic candy wrappers.
Penny rug sample
      In the 1800s, starting around the time of the Civil War, thrifty homemakers would use scraps of wool or felted wool from old clothing, blankets and hats to create designs for mats or rugs. Using coins as templates, they created circles and each piece was then stitched in blanket stitch fashion. (Thus, the name "penny" rug). Sometimes, the mats or rugs were backed with old burlap bags or feed sacks. Sometimes a penny was stitched inside the mat to make it lie flat.
      Penny rugs are not actual rugs for the floor, but decorative coverings for beds, tables and dressers and mantles. Sometimes they are used as wall hangings or pillows. Most designs include circles and some include images from everyday life such as cats, flowers, birds and shapes such as stars and hearts.
       Penny rugs are made by selecting good quality 100% wool. It must not be too thick. It may be hand-dyed or overdyed to give the piece dimension. The wool is felted then circles are cut from the wool in varying sizes and then stitched together concentrically using complementary colors. The circles are stitched to a wool backing in a pleasing design. When finished the entire piece should have a backing to cover the stitches and to protect it. The backing may be wool, linen or burlap.

More Penny Rug Inspired Christmas Ornaments:

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Craft Five Christmas Candy Cones Using Wooden Accents

      These little Christmas candy cones are made with recycled cardboard, decorative papers and a collection of holiday wooden cut-outs. My assortment of five ornaments includes: a candy cane, bell, fir tree, Santa and a star. 
      I turned these traditional shapes into classic candy cone ornaments that are sure to please any lover of jelly beans, lemon drops, peppermints, gummies and gumdrops for Christmas!
A candy cane, candy cone trimmed with striped green and red  paper.
      On occasion, I am given odds and ends by people wanting to clean out old craft supplies from their kitchen drawers, closets or the occasional shoe box from beneath their guest bed. 
      Among supplies such as these I often find wooden cut-outs that under usual circumstances are considered "juvenile" craft supply. These simple, plain shapes without decoration that some small child traced around or looked at with boredom, no doubt, are then tossed aside into the heap of unused parts belonging to that Christmas hodgepodge that collects in "the drawer" of discards in every average American home.
      So what happens to this odd sundry of supply once it reaches the Grimm household you may ask with just a hint of boredom in your voice followed by a yawn and a stretch? What do you think, smarty pants; it gets glued into the next thing of course!

Supply List:
  • cardboard (recycled)
  • scissors
  • white school glue and tacky glue
  • Christmas trims, odds and ends
  • ribbon
  • decorative papers
  • wooden Christmas cut-outs
  • A variety of acrylic paints; all colors but mostly: red, green, ivory, white, skin tone, whatever matches the colors found in your decorative papers.
  • The paper pattern included below, printed out and cut for tracing around
  • stapler
  • masking tape
  • clear acrylic varnish to finish the wooden shapes
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Download and print out a candy cone pattern from the internet. 
  2. Trace and cut this shape from discarded cardboard. I used a tossed cereal box for these ornaments.
  3. Shape the cardboard into a cone. Add a bit of glue to the edge you roll inside of the cone. I stapled the top of my cone and then used a bit of masking tape to hold the cones together as these dried.
  4. Now wrap the outside of these cones in decorative papers. I used the same template as before adding an additional 1/4 inch to the outside of the pattern so that I could fold and tuck the edges of my paper neatly. I also lined the inside of the cones with that same paper. Use white school glue sparingly for this step.
  5. Poke a small hole on opposite sides in order to string a ribbon through the ornaments. Knot each end to create a hanger for each candy cone.
  6. I pasted the backside of each of my flat wooden shapes with the same decorative papers I used in covering the cone shapes.
  7. Cut around the edges of the wooden shapes tucking and gluing the paper down securely as you go.
  8. Now paint the front side of each shape with colorful acrylic paints. You may use my photographs as a guide if you wish to make candy cones that look exactly like mine. Or, if your feeling more adventurous, paint your own designs.
  9. I also glued on to the shapes a few additional elements like ribbon and silk flowers with a bit of tacky glue.
  10. Now glue your finished wooden shapes onto the cones and let these dry face down over night. I used more tacky glue for this process.
  11. On the following day brush a layer of clear varnish onto the wooden surfaces and hang the candy cones up until these have dried.
A bell candy cone trimmed with a bright red poinsettia.
A Christmas tree candy cone topped with a star.
A contemplative Santa candy cone; he wears a tired expression.
A festive polka-dotted star candy cone.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

DIY Cotton Batting Cup Of Cocoa Tutorial

My Christmas cup of cocoa ornament made with cotton batting.
Supply List:
  • a child's tea cup or a demitasse 
  • white cotton balls
  • masking tape 
  • newsprint
  • white school glue
  • brown, red and green acrylic paints
  • white glitter
  • green lace trim
  • wire for the hanger
  • soda pop or beer bottle lid
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Line the inside of your tea cup with masking tape sticky side up.
  2. Crush newsprint tightly into the child's tea cup or demitasse.
  3. Remove the shape and apply masking tape again to all of the outer surfaces.
  4. Mask the entire surface of a soda pop or beer bottle lid and glue this to the bottom of your cocoa cup to mimic a foot.
  5. Now roll a piece of wire inside newsprint and bend it into the shape of a handle. Mask this piece and attach it with a bit of glue and tape to the cup shape.
  6. You are ready to wrap your form with cotton. Unroll the cotton balls several at a time so that you have long soft strips to works with. 
  7. Apply a generous amount of white glue to the surface of your cocoa mug with your finger tips. 
  8. Wrap the cotton around the surface and gently press it into the glue as you go. Let dry.
  9. Repeat step 8 until you have covered the entire form. Always end with a glue application.
  10. Roll between your finger tips a wade of cotton and glue until you have shaped miniature "marshmallows." I made three for this hot cup of cocoa.
  11. Paint and decorate the surface of your cup with red and green stripes, dots and lace. The lace should be applied with the same white glue that you have used to layer the cotton onto the surface with. Glue on a bit of glitter for foam on top of the cocoa too.
  12. You may also wish to wrap a small wire hanger with cotton batting so that you can hang your ornament on the tree.
Above is the masked cocoa cup that has been shaped with the aid of a child's play tea cup; you could form a similar miniature ornament from a demitasse.
As you can see, I have wrapped every surface with cotton batting and glue before painting it.
More Tea Cup Ornaments:
More Cups of Cocoa Ornament Kits:
This sweet little video about "how to make 
a felt coffee mug" is by Tammy Hallam

Thursday, December 19, 2013

"The Partridge In A Pear Tree" Candy Cone

       I handcrafted this candy cone one Christmas for my oldest child. It is based upon the theme of the 12 days of Christmas. 
      I purchased a prefabricated half mold from a hobby store to press the intricately designed 3D flowers from Sculpey clay. The partridges were Styrofoam birds left over from a Christmas beading craft. 
      I frequently purchase discounted craft supplies after the Christmas holiday for use in some project that they were not originally intended. These supplies are sold for pennies on the dollar from hobby retailers after customers have no interest in them. 
      However, this does not mean that these items can not be upcycled to create something unique, beautiful or of sentimental value. "Usefulness" is in the eye of the beholder!
Far left, I lined the inside of the cone with gold tinsel. The handle is strung with both seed beads and faux pearl beads. Middle, the partridge is made from Syrofoam. Right, there are actually two partridges included on the cone to enhance the 3D effect.

Close up views of the details on the candy cone; these were created by combining 3D sculpted clay pieces with bright colored acrylic paints.
Four different views of the same candy cone or horn of plenty, "A Partridge In A Pear Tree."


"Ever wonder about that silly little Christmas Song. Find out why it was written and how it helped preserve the message."

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Sculpt a Belznickle Head Candy Cone

This candy cone measure approximately
 12 inches in length.
       This the first candy cone that I made from CelluClay. I fashioned it on top of a prefabricated cone purchased from a hobby store. Although I could have made the cone myself, I thought perhaps it more important that the cone be made of a much heavier paper mache form. CelluClay dries light weight but is quite heavy when first applied. I didn't want the thickness of the medium to alter the shape of the cone before it dried. It took several weeks for the CelluClay to dry naturally because I did not make my earliest ornaments from this series in the summer. Through trail and error I would conclude to sculpt with CelluClay during the hot summer months only.
      I shaped the ridges of the Belznickle's beard with a toothpick. His features were painted with acrylic paints and then I varnished the surface of my candy cone with a wood floor varnish. I also finished the inside of the cone with CelluClay and painted it a bright red. (not shown) The cone itself is relatively light weight but it often contains heavier candies over the holidays. This is the reason for the thick wire handle.

More ornaments made with CelluClay:

Monday, December 9, 2013

The Queen and King of Hearts Candy Cone

The raised parts of the candy cones are made using Sculpey and candy molds.

       In order to craft your own candy cone creation, you will need some very basic supplies. I have listed these below but, remember, that your candy cone creation will not be exactly like this one. The molds, design and additional decorative elements will give your cone it's own unique appearance.
  • A candy cone form, this may be either purchased or made by hand. If you are planning to layer molded clay parts onto the form as I have done in the example below, I recommend that you purchase a very sturdy cone.
  • Paper mâché pulp, like CelluClay to shape in a thin layer around the pasted objects. This reinforces the cone and also gives it's surface a texture like snow.
  • Paperclay or Sculpey for the making of decorative 3D applied figures - If you use Sculpey it must be oven baked while draped on top of the cone. This will ensure that it has the subtle curvature necessary in order to be glued to the cone's rounded shape. If you are unsure of how to accomplish this, it takes a bit of skill, only use the paperclay. Paperclay may be left for hours on the cone while it dries into the correct shape. You may use colored clay or choose to paint the clay later.
  • A variety of small half molds. For my particular candy cone project, I chose to mold the King and Queen of Hearts characters from molds produced for Hearth Song. These molds were originally produced for a bee's wax ornament kit produced in 1990 something. I purchased the kit for my oldest child and used it for this purpose many years ago. The molds were so cute that I decided to make something more elaborate with them for my younger daughter.
  • Tinsel to line the interior of the cone
  • Beads and wire to craft the fancy handle
  • White glue to adhere the decorative clay pieces to the surface of the cone.
  • A kind of enamel or acrylic varnish to finish the candy cone's surface 
  • Acrylic paints to color the surface of your cone as you wish
Process:
  1. To begin this process, choose small molded elements that relate to a specific design theme. These may be purchased in a local hobby store or be handmade by pressing a variety of small objects into Sculpey clay that are then carefully removed to leave a three dimensional impression. Bake the clay half mold in the oven as directed. Cool. You may press and unmold a variety of paperclay objects from this Sculpey press mold for future use in the candy cone project.
  2. Because you will be gluing these small molded objects to a cylindrical cone, you will need to make sure that they dry hard with a slight curvature. I dry my molded element directly on top of the surface of the cone along with a generous amount of white glue, while the clay piece is still yet pliable. Neither paperclay or Sculpey shrink enough during the drying or baking process for me to worry about them not shaping themselves properly to the finished surface. If I where using a high fire clay, I might need to worry about this process a bit and make allowances for it. However, with these two products, the fear is unnecessary.
  3. Sometimes the small molded pieces pop off of the cone during drying or baking. Do not trouble yourself over this, just apply more glue to the surface and reattach the element.
  4. Mix together a small amount of CelluClay as directed and apply this around your molded pieces to fill in the gaps on your cone. Let the entire piece dry. Depending upon the time of year, this could take one night or a week. If you are mass producing candy cones to sell in a little shop, this is the point in the project in which you may wish to set aside the cones until you have time to finish them at a later stage. I often do this part of my crafting in the early summer for a couple of weeks. Then I store the cones for painting later. This is because the summer heat helps to dry the CelluClay harder, faster, and also prevents mold from growing on the surface.
  5. Before painting the cone, take a sharp object and punch a whole at the top of the cone on either of it's sides for the handle. 
  6. Add an assortment of beads to a wire and twist this in place through the holes to shape a handle. Make sure their are no sharp ends left that may cause injury. 
  7. Using white glue, adhere a generous amount of tinsel to the interior of the cone or you may choose to simple paint it and add tissue before putting small gifts/candy inside of it.
  8. Paint the surface design of your cone to compliment a design and or color palette of your own choice.
  9. Varnish the outside surface with enamel or acrylic sealer in order to ensure the candy cone's life long use.
  10. Remember to always wrap the candies you give into the cone. I hang the same candy cones on my Christmas tree every year and fill these with all kinds of special sweets.
Candy Cone Forms and Templates:

The hanger for this candy cone is beaded with seed beads, bugle beads, pearl beads etc...

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Craft a Christmas Themed "Time For Tea Place Mat"

      Parents and teachers can help little ones assemble this tea time placemat craft by tracing and cutting out the printable template below. I used some pretty Christmas patterned paper for my own sample shown on the right. I also layered the paper tea cups on top of a white doily and added two tea tags from some actual tea bags. I glued these as if they were steeping inside my tea cups. 
      Children can play simple math games will waiting for their lunch or tea + crumpets! Simply ad and subtract using the visual aid i.e. placemat and a few lumps of sugar thus:
  • Add the two together = counting all of the sugar cubes present in both tea cups.
  • Subtract the lower number of sugar cubes from the higher.
  • How many sugar cubes can you stack together within each tea cup?
  • How many lumps of sugar do you take in your tea? How about your companion?
More Tea Time Crafts:
Christmas Tea Gifts:
The downloadable, printable template of tea cups by Kathy Grimm
After photographing this Christmas tea placemat, I laminated it, minus the sugar cubes of course.


Polly gave a dollies' tea,
And many guests were there:
Kitty came in white fur coat
And Rover in curled hair.

Soldier Tim, with sword so bright,
And Miss Susanna Lee
Sat beside old Rover Dog
And Kitty at the tea.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Craft A Wool Lollipop Christmas Ornament

The finished wool lollipop looks surprisingly attractive, I think. This project is ordinarily crafted by little ones, but it just goes to show that the quality of materials can change the appearance of a craft dramatically! I intended to sell these at a fair but my adult children absconded them after I took these photographs.

       This spiral Christmas lollipop craft is just sophisticated enough for ages 10 and up to enjoy making. Indeed, adult crafters may even wish to use up their old supply of yarn making these ornaments for a Christmas craft fair. The quality of yarn will dictate the pricing of this handcrafted ornament. 
      Simply braid two or three colors of yarn together and then twist the braid into a lollipop shape, taping the back with masking tape as you form the spiral disk. You will need to make two, identical shapes for one ornament. Sandwich a wooden dowel between the two with a sticky craft glue and then finish the edges with more braid glued along the edge. Allow this to dry for a day and then reinforce the braid with a transparent thread by hand. Wrap up your lollipop with plastic or cellophane and tie it in place with a bow. If you wish to hang the lollipop as an ornament. twist a plain green wire behind the bow and leave enough length to it so that the pop may be tied to the tree.

Left to right: The braided woolen yarn; choose any length you wish depending on the size of your lollipop. A wooden dowel rod or chop sticks may be used for the handle. Then make two identical disk shapes with the yarn. As you twist these together back the disk shape with masking tape. And last, you can see that I've sandwiched the dowel rod between the braided disk shapes to create a professional looking ornament. Don't forget to add extra braid on the edge.
 The Chordettes sing "Lollipop" & "Mr. Sandman"
 Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show. February 22, 1958. Re-uploaded by request. Both performances included in this upload instead of being separated.

More Lollipop Crafts: