JOY'S
HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS
My friend Joy taught me how
to make three simple handcrafted ornaments for your solstice tree.
My mom even made one (the wreath ornament above - thanks, Mom!). I
think most of the instructions were found elsewhere (Martha?) but as far
as I'm concerned, they're all Joy. Besides, as Joy postmodernly
observed, "There are no new ideas anyway."
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SNOWFLAKES
(inspired by Better
Homes and Gardens)
Supplies
* 1/2" cork balls
* white paint marker
* 2" corsage pins
* assorted snowflakey beads
* transparent glue
Paint the cork balls white with the paint pen. Be prepared to get
paint on your fingers. It helps to do half at a time.
Once balls are dry, bead the corsage pins in a semi-symmetrical way.
Not every pin needs to match, but the facing pins should match. You
remember what symmetry's about from grammar school, right?
Stick the pins into the perimeter of the cork ball, spacing evenly.
Attach some string or fishing line to top with a slip knot, and
hang! Get band-aids for fingertips, admire work.
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WREATHES
(inspired by Martha
- there are lots of other cute pipe cleaner ornaments on her site as well!)
Supplies
* lots of green 'chenille stems'
(aka pipe cleaners)
* green colorfoam sheets
* transparent glue
(crafter's goop works well)
* ribbon
* compass or other round thing to trace
* x-acto knife
Optional (not pictured):
* sparkly stuff to decorate the wreath might look nice
Trace a 2-3 inch circle on the green foam with a compass or
something else round. Trace a smaller circle in the middle.
Cut out this donut shape. Repeat. You should now have two
donuts.
Glue the donuts together. You use two in order to firm up the
ornament. If you use one they turn out rather shapeless. You
could also use cardboard, but it's harder to cut and if you miss spots as
you wrap the pipe cleaners, the brown shows through!
Glue down the end of one pipe cleaner on the foam. Wrap it tightly
around the donut, looping through the middle. Repeat until your
donut is packed with pipe cleaners. Each ornament will require 8-9
pipe cleaners.
When finished, glue a bow on top, then hang with fishing line.
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