holiday TM

PROJECT GUIDE

warm welcome Dress up your front door with a festive wreath. Hot-glue yarn end to the back of a plastic-covered straw wreath, then wrap the yarn around until covered. Cut felt circles into spirals. Starting from the center and using glue to secure ends, roll each spiral into a rose and top with a faux pearl. Glue roses, felt leaves, and a florist’s pick with berries to the wreath.

branch out Hang felt ornaments from twigs sprayed white. To make rosettes, cut felt into four 9×1-inch strips. Glue ends of each strip together into a loop. Layer loops, glue together in the middle, and top with an embellishment. Thread string through a loop to hang. To learn how to make the other ornaments, see the Workbook, last page.

freeze frame Swag a felted-ball garland across a gold-dipped vintage frame for a festive holiday display. To make felted balls, pull apart wool roving, reshape into a loose ball, and dip in a bowl of hot, soapy water. Squeeze excess water from the ball and roll ball gently between palms until it’s felted into a firm sphere; let dry. Cut pennants from felt, and backstitch a letter on each pennant to spell a greeting. String the felted balls onto baker’s twine using an embroidery needle, and glue pennants where desired. Use tacks to attach the garland to the frame.

it’s a wrap Evergreen sprigs make free DIY stamps. Pour white paint in a shallow pan, then lay the sprigs on the surface of the paint, taking care not to oversaturate. Gently place the sprigs atop a package to transfer the paint; remove and let dry. Adorn the package with ribbon and string.

pine away Bring a hint of nature to your winter tabletop. Using the pinecone petals template and referring to additional instructions in the Workbook, last page, cut shapes from felt in two colors. Pierce the center of each petal with scissors. Slide petals over a kitchen dowel, alternating sizes and placement. When finished, cut dowel. To make a stem, glue a strip of twisted felt to the top of the pinecone.

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star power Turn a classic German paper star into a door ornament for an elegant holiday entry. While it looks intricate, this three-dimensional star requires only four 1×20" cardstock strips and simple folds. The secret to success is a woven center. Start by folding the strips in half, then interweave them so the loops of each strip pass through the loop of the strip to its left, above. Pull the loops snugly together to form the woven center. There are a variety of ways to finish one. Search for German paper star tutorials online to guide you. String ribbon through one of the star’s back loops and knot the ends to hang on your door.

trim the tree When displaying ornaments, think beyond the traditional tree and make beautiful holiday wall art. Shape 16-gauge crafts wire into a tree shape, twisting the wire ends together at the top with pliers. (Ours is 15 inches tall and 10½ inches wide at the base.) For boughs, cut four pieces of wire slightly wider than the triangle, allowing about an inch of overhang to twist around the tree and curl at the ends. Hang the tree on the wall within an embellished large frame. Using jewelry pliers, shape small pieces of 20-gauge wire into S-shape ornament hooks. Attach the hooks to ornaments and hang from the wire boughs.

let it snow Adorn your door

on a limb Craft a simple tree from white chenille stems, silver beads, and a wooden dowel. Cut a 3⁄8-inch dowel to a 17-inch length, and paint it white. Using a 1 ⁄18-inch drill bit, drill a hole in the dowel 3 inches from the bottom. Add holes every ¼ inch, moving in a circular fashion so the holes face different directions. Cut chenille stems in graduated lengths and push them through the holes to create branches. Add beads to most of the branch tips. Slip a foam block into a vase, and push the dowel into block. Top with fake snow.

with a supersize snowflake crafted from paint stir sticks, crafts sticks in three sizes, wooden coffee stirrers, and other wooden shapes. After the glue has dried, spray the snowflake white and let dry. Tuck a few fresh evergreen branches behind the snowflake and secure with florist’s wire. Hang with ribbon.

flower power Deck the walls with poinsettias crafted from felt. Using the templates and referring to additional information in the Workbook, last page, cut out flower shapes from felt. Using fabric glue, adhere petals to felt flower base. Once dry, adhere to the wall with removable double-stick tape. Arrange flowers randomly on a wall as we did, or cluster them in a pleasing pattern.

natural treasures Silk velvet acorns serve as fun party favors. Gather a small

ice, ice baby Cast a soft,

piece of velvet around a cotton ball, then tie it at the top with string. Use hot glue to attach a natural acorn cap. (To disinfect caps before using, bake for 3 hours at 200°F, shaking the pan every hour. Acorn caps also can be found from websites, such as etsy.com.) To use as ornaments, tie string around the stems, below left.

welcoming glow outdoors with an ice luminaria made using recycled materials. Cut off the top third from a 2-liter plastic bottle and fill it with distilled water. Place a second smaller plastic container (weighted with rocks) inside to create a hollow center in the mold. Arrange branches and cranberries in the water; freeze until solid. Thaw the ice slightly to unmold both the containers, then place a votive candle inside.

frosty foliage Rock candy crystals are the secret to this frigid-looking forest. Spread three colors of crystals on a baking sheet in long adjacent rows. We poured the lightest crystals at the top, the midrange color in the center, and the dark color at the bottom. Wrap white cardstock around foam cones in various heights, securing with glue. Spread cones with crafts glue, then roll them in the crystals. Reglue and reroll, as needed, to cover cones completely with crystals.

tee toppers Fashion pom-poms for packages using old T-shirts. Cut ½-inchwide strips beginning at one side seam and ending 1 inch before opposite side seam. Open the uncut side seam; finger-press. Cut diagonally across the seam to make one continuous strip. Sandwich a short strip between two cardboard circles and let tails hang, below right. Wrap long strips around templates until covered three times. Tie tails of the short piece together in a single knot, then cut wrapped strips at edge of templates. Fluff pom-pom, then tie onto package with another long T-shirt strip.

wintry whites An elegant wreath fashioned from white and silver scrapbooking paper will remain relevant the whole season long. To make shapes, cut paper into 4×6-inch and 3×5-inch sheets. To create texture, use a paper crimper (available at crafts stores). Accordion-fold along crimp marks. Fold crimped paper in half and glue ends to make a fan. Join two fans for each circle and top with a decorative brad. Adhere fans to a 12-inch foam wreath, and hang with ribbon.

workbook

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perfect poinsettias

pinecone prep Make petal sets, below, cutting one from each felt color for A, C, D, and E and two from each color for B for each set. Place in this order: A, B, B, C, C, B, B, A, D, D. Place a tiny square of felt between each set. After adding petals to dowel, cluster and glue E petals at bottom.

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For each flower, cut one flower base and five petals from red or white felt. To add dimension, apply a dab of fabric glue to the straight edge of a felt petal and pinch corners together, holding in place with a clothespin until dry. Repeat for each petal. Glue the petals onto flower base, left. Use a hole punch to create tiny dots, and glue them onto flower centers.. Words will

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3-D design To make a dimensional ornament (above and on cover), roll a piece of cardstock into a tight cylinder. Glue long edges together and cover with felt. Enlarge template, right, to desired size, trace onto felt and cut out 12 shapes, six each of two colors. (To trace templates onto felt, adhere freezer paper waxy-side down to felt with an iron. Trace shapes, cut out, and peel off paper.) Adhere shapes to the cylinder with quick-setting gel glue, alternating colors. To add a string, thread a loop through a bead and glue it inside the cylinder. ill

snowflake Fold a felt circle in half and cut shapes at the fold. Unfold and repeat in other directions. Glue the snowflake cutout onto a same-size felt circle, then glue string on the back to hang. g

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teardrop Using pinking shears, cut felt into ½-inch-wide strips in the following lengths: 8½ inches, 6 inches, and 5 inches. Form the 5-inch strip into a loop, gluing the ends together. Wrap and glue the remaining strips around the first loop. Make a hanging loop using thread.

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