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:

• How to make a tissue paper lollipop
• Circles Lollipop
• Plastic bottle cap lollipops

Crafting Seed Ornaments for The Christmas Tree

Click on picture to see more detail.

   I made these seed ornaments by tracing around cookie cutters on top of some heavy weight cardboard. Then I applied a generous amount of white glue to one side of the cardboard and  arranged all kinds of peas, beans, rice and lentils in a design that pleased me. 

   Allow the glue to dry for a few days before brushing on additional coats of Mod Podge to the surface of these ornaments to preserve them. Then cover the back side of each ornament with heavy brown paper, sandwiching a rustic looking brown cord between the the two layers.

   This ornament project is an excellent craft for very young children during the holidays. It will preoccupy them for an entire afternoon while their parents are busy in the kitchen.

More Seed Crafts from My Blogs:

• Dangling Nut Head People
• A Walnut Strawberry Ornament
• A bean and seed mosaic
• Necklaces and Garlands made from seeds
• Eggs covered with seeds and beans

More Seed Ornaments For The Birds:

• DIY Birdseed Wreaths  - artistic and useful for the birds
• Orange Bird Feeder  - an excellent use for fruits that weren't eaten soon enough
• Ginger Bird House - Feed the birds instead of your sweet tooth!

"God bless us every one!"

I've cleaned these lovely drawings from Arthur Rackham's illustrated version of "The Christmas Carol." If you use them, please give our little Christmas Journal a link in return.

Rackham's silhouettes from Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol."

Tiny Tim seated on his father's, Bob Cratchit, shoulders.

Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit illustration by Arthur Rackham.

Christmas Silhouette Crafts:

• Christmas Silhouette 2010
• Christmas Silhouette greeting card
• Christmas Silhouette clipart by Kathy Grimm

"Carol of the Bells"

      "Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, composed by Mykola Leontovych with lyrics created Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on a folk chant known in Ukrainian as "Shchedryk". Wilhousky's lyrics and the English name are copyrighted, although the original musical composition is not.

      The song is recognized by a four-note ostinato motif. It has been arranged many times for different genres, styles of singing and settings and has been covered by artists and groups of many genres: classical, metal, jazz, rock, and pop. The piece has also been featured in films, television shows, and parodies.

      The song is based on a traditional folk chant. It was associated with the coming New Year which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was originally celebrated with the coming of Spring in April. (This explains the reason why the original Ukrainian text speaks about a swallow returning and lambs being born.)

      With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine, and the adoption of the Julian calendar, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January, and the holiday with which the chant was originally associated became the Feast of Epiphany (also known in Ukrainian as Shchedry vechir). The songs sung for this celebration are known as Schedrivky.

      The original Ukrainian text tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful and bountiful year that the family will have. The title is derived from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful". The period for the birth of animals and the return of swallows to Ukraine however does not correspond to the current calendar season of winter.

1. "Quote from Rice University News". Media.rice.edu. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
2.  Carol of the Bells, Sean Spurr, Carols.co, Accessed July 26, 2011.
3. "Information about the piece". Cpdl.org. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
4. "The Muppets: Ringing of the Bells". YouTube. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2012-01-09.

"Nimble Nicks" by George Whitney

      I've cleaned up these old "Nimble Nicks" by George Whitney for my visitors. If you use them, please give this little Christmas blog a link in return folks!

Nimble Nicks play in the snow.

Nimble Nicks Spread Christmas Cheer!

Nimble Nicks build toys for Santa.

More About George Whitney:

• The Nimble Nicks of Christmas Land