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Thursday 24 November 2011

Yule Crafts

Some Yule craft ideas:


Salt Dough Decorations:

Salt dough is one of the easiest things in the world to make, and you can create just about anything from it. Use it with cookie cutters to make your own Sabbat ornaments.

Ingredients:
4 Cups flour
1 Cup salt
1 ½ Cups hot water
1 tsp vegetable oil

Preparation:
Combine the salt and flour, then add the water until the dough becomes elastic. Add the oil at this time and knead the dough (if it's too sticky, add more flour). Once it's a good consistency, make your decorations with cookie cutters. Bake ornaments at 200* until hard (about 20 - 30 minutes). Once they've cooled, paint them with designs and symbols, and seal with clear varnish.  If you're planning to hang them, poke a hole through the ornament BEFORE baking them. Then after you've varnished them, run a ribbon or thread through the hole. You can also add a teaspoon of cinnamon and/or some glitter into the mixture too!

Pine Cone Ornaments:

Simple things such as seeds, acorns, feathers, and other found items are easy to make into ornaments and other decorations.

For this simple project, you'll need the following:
Pinecones, of any shape or size
Equal amounts ginger, nutmeg and allspice, blended
A 1:1 mixture of water and craft glue
Glitter
Ribbon
A small paintbrush

To prepare the pinecones, rinse them under running water and then spread them out on a baking sheet. Bake at 250 for about 20 minutes - this will make them open up, and also get rid of any trace amounts of bacteria that might remain on them. Don't worry if there's sap on them - it will harden into a shiny glaze and look pretty. If you bought your pinecones from a craft store, they're probably open already, so you can skip the rinsing altogether.   Once the pinecones have cooled, use the small paintbrush to apply the glue to the cones (I'd recommend spreading out some newspaper ahead of time). You can either cover the entire cone, or just the outer tips of the petals for a more "frosted" look.  Add the spices and glitter to a zip-loc bag. Drop the pine cones in, and shake until coated with spices and glitter. Allow to dry thoroughly, and then tie a ribbon around the end so you can hang it up. Add a few springs of greenery if you like. Use it on a holiday tree, or place them in a bowl to scent your room.

Yule Log Ornaments:

These are super easy to make, and in addition to being cute ornaments for your holiday tree, they also make great favours to give to guests.

You'll need the following:
A stick about an inch thick
Red yarn
Small feathers (you can find these in the craft store)
Small pieces of evergreen plants - pine, fir, spruce, etc.
Seed beads in your choice of colours
A hot glue gun

Cut the stick into 2 - 3" lengths. Decorate each small log with the feathers, evergreens and seed beads as you would a full-sized Yule log. Tie a piece of red yarn around the center and knot in a bow, like a ribbon. To hang as a tree ornament, use a bent paperclip or wire hanger. To give as a party favor, you may want to attach your miniature log to a piece of cardstock, on which you can write a note to friends, such as "Wishing you the blessings of Yule."

Pine Cone Wreath

Pine cones are excellent material for making art and crafts. They come in lots of shapes and sizes. When collecting, it's important to leave behind the cones that haven't opened. The seeds from these cones should be left so that the animals such as squirrels and chipmunks have something to eat. Find the cones that have the tips spread open. After you bring home the cones and allow them to dry, you need a wreath base to attach the cones to. A pizza box or other sturdy cardboard could be used to make a doughnut shape or any other shape you might like. You can attach the cones with a hot glue gun or tub and tile caulk that comes in tubes. You can add other natural materials such as dried flowers, leaves, moss, or stones if you like. Attach a wire loop to the back of the wreath and hang.

Pomander Balls

You need:
oranges, lemons or apples
push pins or small nails
whole cloves
spice mixture:ground, allspice, cardamom, cloves — mix you own combination
shallow pan to hold the spice mixture
yarn or ribbon for hanging

What to do: If necessary (when using a thick-skinned fruit), use the nail or push pin to puncture holes in the skin of the fruit about 1/4 inch apart. Press the whole cloves directly into the fruit, working to cover most of the skin of the fruit. This can be done over several days. When the fruit is studded with cloves, roll the fruit in the spice mixture. Knot two pieces of yarn or ribbon together at the middle and place the pomander over the knot. Take up the four ends, tie them together in a firm knot and then tie a bow.

Dress Up Your Candles for Yule

You can do this with existing candles...it's quick, easy, and can be free! Tie on some greens with raffia or ribbon, glue on some pinecones in a star pattern. Use brass tacks from the dollar store to press into the candles in patterns. You could even glue on coffee beans or kitchen beans to add texture and color and pattern. (Use a glue gun!) Group candles on a mirror top reflect the dancing light. Don't have a mirror? Use an empty picture frame, cover the cardboard insert with foil, then place back in the frame, group candles on the frame and enjoy the sparkle! Note: Always use care when using candles, never leave them unattended, and be careful whatever you craft your candles with cannot be reached by flame.

Hand & Feet Reindeer

You may use brown paper bags, construction paper, poster board for this project. Help to trace o the child's shoes and both hands onto the paper, then cut them out. Using the shoe for the reindeer's head, glue on the hands to make the antlers. You may do the nose by gluing either a red pom-pom, piece of red construction paper, or it may be drawn with colours. Now have the child finish it by either drawing on eyes and mouth or you may wish to use larger sized "wiggle" eyes and a piece of pink felt for the mouth.

Table Decorations

You will need:
Cinnamon sticks, 4-5 inches long
natural raffia
dried flowers of your choice
hot glue gun, glue sticks

To make a centerpiece glue together two cinnamon sticks, then top with two more, gluing the four of them together. Glue dried flowers to the top of the sticks to decorate, but not overwhelm. Tie a few pieces of raffia around the middle of the sticks and flowers to form a bow with a few ends hanging slightly off the piece. Place one in front of each place setting during your holiday meal. Guests can then take home their cinnamon craft.

Cinnamon Stick Candle Holder

You will need:
1 clear glass votive candle holder
about 20 cinnamon sticks
transparent tape
scissors
hot glue gun, glue sticks

Measure the height of your holder, and add 1/2 inch. This is the length you will need to cut your cinnamon sticks. Cover the holder completely with tape. Hot glue does not adhere well to glass, so this will give you a good surface to glue to. Glue each stick vertically to the holder, making sure they are placed evenly, until the entire surface is covered. Use like this, or decorate with raffia, or other small holiday decorations.

Wishing Stars

Whether the kids are getting a bit antsy as the big day approaches or you're just looking for a very simple, yet wonderful accent that can be used as a tree ornament, a napkin ring, or party favor - your imagination is the limit with this totally simple craft:

wide black marker pen
star cookie cutter
shirt cardboard
wax paper
craft glue
assorted glitter
transparent fishing line or thin ribbon
staples
scissors

With a marker pen, mark around the cookie cutter star to make a template on the cardboard. Cover each board with wax paper, stapling it into place. Using the bottle of glue trace the star shapes onto the wax paper with thick, wide lines of glue. Using one colour glitter immediately sprinkle a lavish amount of glitter onto each star so it is completely covered. Allow to dry for one day or overnight. Shake off the excess glitter. Cut away the excess wax paper, then carefully peel the glitter star away from the backing. Use as ornaments, package decorations, etc. Use fishing line or thin ribbon to hang the stars. Don't forget to wish on a star this Solstice Eve and let the glow from these heavenly ornaments light up your Yule Tide.

The Yule Wish Tree

Find a small, potted evergreen and a few yards of red, green, and white ribbon. During the Thanksgiving supper, introduce the tree to the family and the tribe to the tree. Each member of your clan should tie a ribbon on the tree to represent an intangible blessing they would like for the upcoming Yule season. Wishes could be for peace, enough rest, health, etc. Bless the tree and set it where it will have enough light.

When family and friends visit, explain the purpose of the wish tree to them and give them a ribbon to tie on the tree, too. The tree is for everyone. If you plan to use the tree in ritual, have everyone participating make a small ornament, empowered for strengths like self-esteem, goal planning, security, etc. And hang it on the tree while connecting with the divinity of their choice.

On the first day of February, remove all the ornaments and ribbons. Burn the ribbons and cast the ashes to the winds. Pack the ornaments away. Next year, when you open the box, you can de-magick the ornaments and return them to their owners, or hang them on your big tree in memory of last year's prosperity. Continue to take good care of the tree over the remaining winter months. Don't forget to give it water and plenty of love. In the spring, you can plant the tree outside on your property or on the property of a friend.

Bay Balls

Take some Bay leaves. Fresh is best but if all you have is dried, then soak them overnight in warm water to make them pliable (that means you can bend them more easily without breaking them). The next morning, pat them dry. Next, take a Styrofoam ball and use Tacky Glue to cover it with bay leaves. Start at the bottom of the ball and work your way toward the top so they overlap a bit. Some of the leaves you may have to hold in place while the glue dries so they don’t pop up. Cloves or rosebuds stuck through the leaves into the ball will help hold the leaves in place and look pretty besides. A very pretty effect is to “dust” your finished ball with a light spray of gold paint. Pin a pretty loop of ribbon or gold cording to the top to hang it by.

Gilded Acorns

Often, when you find acorns on the ground, their little caps have come off. If that’s the case, then collect both caps and bases. If not, then remove the caps yourself when you get home. Paint both halves with spray paint or craft paint using either gold or silver. Then cut a slender ribbon about 3 inches long and glue each end to the inside of the cap so that it forms a loop. Then glue the cap back on to the base of the acorn. When it’s done, you can paint the cap with watered down white glue and dust it with glitter.

Have fun!

Tansy
x

Sources:
Aboutwiccan.com
adf.org
grannymoons morning feast
daughtersofearthwisdom.org
pookapages.com
Silver Ravenwolf

2 comments:

  1. Thank you soooo much! I am copying these recipes into my files for future use. We are in the process of moving into a new home so there is no time to play right now. Hoping to get some of the grandkids this summer and these will make great fun for them. The glitters can be red or blue for the 4th of July...or gold for Lugnasagh...
    Blessings,
    AZureGray

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you have finished pictures of these? :)

    ReplyDelete