Holiday Tradition Tree

The Holiday Tradition Tree is a custom I started when my son was very little. I made several trees for work but they were never published so they floated around our home for awhile until I settled on one and it slowly became the Holiday Tree.

At Christmas it gets little ornaments, at Thanksgiving-- thankfulness leaves, at Halloween- bats (obviously) and at Easter - little chicks.

You could put any number of different things on it year round: origami birds, fabric flowers, twinkle lights etc.

Materials:

• Branch(es) about 24" tall with lots of little twigs coming off of them
•  A saw (I won mine in an Instructables contest)
• Wood glue
• A wood base: a wood plaque from the craft store works really well; they even have natural wood slice bases now
• Drill and bits (size depends on branch bottom diameter)
• Scrap wood surface to drill into (just in case)
• Wax paper
• Optional: Paint (spray or acrylic and a brush)

Determine the depth of the wood base - you will not need to drill through the bottom.

Gauge the diameter of the branch(es) being added to the base and select the corresponding sized drill bit.

Put a piece of painters tape around the drill bit to show how deep to drill (i.e. not all the way through the base).

In some cases, the wood bases already have a hole drilled into them for lamps but in general, it will not be the size needed to fit the bottom of the branch.
 

Hold the branches where they will sit and be aware that you might need to have the things balance later (i.e. put a second branch in).

On a protected surface, such as a piece of scrap wood, drill all the holes.

Set the base on wax paper and add a dab of glue into the hole.
Add a dab of glue to the branch bottom and stick it into the hole.

Repeat with the other branches if more are being used.

When the glue is completely dry, spray paint the whole tree or set your children to painting it by hand with acrylic paint.

You can paint it white (or a color) or leave it natural - both white or natural will work for all the holidays and seasons.

Easter Table Chicks

 

A little chick to save your place at the Easter table.

Sometimes, when I photograph my crafts, food etc. I get a little theme song for the image or the craft stuck in my head.
This one is "Stand" an R.E.M. favorite.

"Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven't before
Now stand in the place where you work..."

Materials:

*Wooden Eggs (they come blank or already painted white at Michael's)
*White paint (or white wooden eggs)
*Paint and brushes
*Paint pens- White and Black and maybe orange? 

I like the Sharpie brand- either oil or water based or the Moltow Acyrlic
*Pipe cleaners – about 2” long
*Not shown- white glue

Use a thumb tack to make a hole in the top of the egg.
 

Paint the eggs white so that the (next) colors are bright; then allow the paint to dry.

Use a pencil to draw on the wings and the features. 

Paint the main part of the body; let it dry (use a hair dryer if you’re impatient like me) then paint the wings and allow everything to dry completely before adding the small details.

Yes - I painted over the small details like the face but not the wings.

You can still see the drawing under the paint.

Paint the wings and let everything dry.

Outline the wings with a paint marker- that space between colors can be wonky and the marker adds a nice finished touch even if the paint lines are uneven.

Add the small details with paint pens.

Curl the pipe cleaner around a pencil, then add a dab of glue to the end before sticking it into the hole.
 

Let the glue dry for a bit so the pipe cleaner will stay in the hole.

Add the name card.

Wind Sock for July 4th

Why not make a windsock (or two) to decorate your porch for July 4th? They're really easy to put together and made from a water bottle, duct tape and a trash bag. 

Materials:

• 1 liter plastic bottle
• Masking tape
• Duct tape (multiple colors)
• Parchment paper
• Hole punch
• Filament or string
• Trash bag
• Scissors (use pinking shears to make fancy edges)

 

Remove the packaging from the soda bottle.
Dry the bottle and add a strip of masking tape at the top and the bottom of the bottle where the curve starts and stops.
Cut the bottle along the strip and trim it so it's straight and use the hole punch to add holes every 2" along one edge.

 

Add two holes across from each other on the opposite end of the cut  "tube".
Remove the masking tape.

 

Lay strips of duct tape onto parchment paper and cut fun shapes and designs then add them the sides of the tube. 
The parchment paper is a little trick that let's you cut duct tape easily without it sticking (too much) to the scissors.
 

Thread and tie a length of filament through the top two holes then add 1" wide strips cut from a trash bag to the bottom holes as streamers.

 

Happy 4th of July!

Embroidery Hoop Screen Printing

This is an easy, fast and fun way to make multiple prints for any occasion and it's just in time to make 4th of July T-shirts... or napkins... for a parade or a party next week. A great project to do with kids this weekend.

Materials:

• 12" Wood embroidery hoop (plastic will slip)
• Sheer woven fabric – organza, voile, or an old sheer curtain panel from the thrift store
• A star design-printed or drawn
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brushes
• Screen printing ink made for fabric (Speedball)
• Expired gift card (any plastic card)
• Plastic spoon
• Paper plate
• Heavy paper or cardboard
• Washed  and ironed T-shirt (or bag)

Secure the fabric between the embroidery hoops so there are no wrinkles or gaps and the fabric is taut. Trim the edges.

Place the star design under the flat side of the fabric screen.

Trace over the design with a pencil onto the fabric.

Flip the screen over and apply acrylic paint to the fabric in the “negative” areas --the areas that will not be printed.

Allow the paint to dry.

Hold the screen up to the light and look for any light shining through the painted fabric.

Apply paint to the other sided of the hoop, especially in the areas where there are light holes.

Allow the paint to dry.

Inspect the screen one more time for light holes and if it’s good, make a test print on scrap fabric or paper.

Place the hoop flat-side down on top of a piece of test piece of fabric or paper.

Use a plastic spoon to spread the printing ink across the top of the screen above the image.

Use a plastic card to squeegee the ink over the area-- top to bottom then scrape off the excess.

Carefully lift the screen up, and look at the print.

If any spots need to be filled, clean the screen – dry it with a paper towel and fill the holes in with paint; if it’s just one or 2 dots, cover them with masking tape on the bottom side.

When it’s time to print for real, place a piece of cardboard under the item being printed (or inside, if it’s a shirt or bag), to keep the ink from bleeding through.  
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for heat setting the ink.

Valentine's Day Candy Jar

Last year I made this version of "The many things I love about you" jar for my son with rectangle candies -this year it's hearts!

A lot of candies come in heart shapes and the medium Friskers heart punch makes a 1" heart that fits perfectly on the back of the heart shaped wrapped chocolates. I bought my heart punch at Michael's Arts and Crafts- where I get all my punches (and used my coupon!).

 

Here's my list of words to use (or you can make your own).

Run colored card stock through your printer, then punch out the hearts and add a small glue dot or double sided tape to secure each heart shape onto the back of the candies. 
Fill the jar and add a tag.
 

Crazy "Fur" You Valentine's Day Cards

Yes, I really love word puns for Valentine's day. For, Forever, Very - they all sound like "fur" to me and of course, that means pink fur at this time of year.

Materials:

• Fake fur- I bought mine at Michael's (near the felt sheets); not all stores have pink.
• White card stock – trimmed into a folded 5.5” by 4.25”card (or buy blank cards)
• Patterned card stock paper- trimmed to the size of the card front 5.5” by 4.25”
• Scrap paper trimmed to the size of the card front 5.5” by 4.25”
• Double sided tape
• Black sharpie pen
• Scissors
• Printed message

The edge of the fake fur is kind of ragged, so I devised a way to make a little "frame" and hide it (otherwise you could just glue it on).
 

Fold the trimmed paper scrap in half lengthwise and draw half a heart in the middle. 

Cut the heart shape out and open up the paper.
 

Fold the patterned paper in half-- really just pinch the middle to find the center.
 

Lay the “template” onto the back of the patterned paper. 

Line the middle of the papers together and then trace the heart shape.
 

You'll want the double-sided tape to lay at the edge of the heart shape when it’s cut out. 

First, cover the drawn heart shape with double side tape then pinch (fold) the center (sticky  sides out) and cut the inside shape out from the patterned paper.



Save the cut out heart for another card. 

Trace the heart template with a sharpie onto the back of the fake fur.
 
Cut the fake fur with a 1/8th inch boarder (i.e. slightly larger).

Press the fake fur heart, right side down, onto the back of the patterned paper, covering the heart hole and sticking to the double-sided tape.
Add more double-sided tape to the front of the blank card along the top, bottom and sides.

Flip the patterned paper (with the fake fur attached to the back) over and add it to the card- carefully line up the edges.
Trim the card so it’s tidy and straight.

Add the message.

You could even go as far as to make it into a "miss you card."