Christmas Trilogy, 2: These are a few of my favourite…
Of the crafty kind.
Every year without fail Daughter-Kate expresses her love for our very simple Christmas. I think it conjures for her an image of ‘Little House On The Prairie’ with Ma and Pa. Well, I’m not one for dashing those rose-tinted glasses!
During the early days of marriage, when money was scarce, Christmas decorations were a homemade affair. Cinnamon hearts, felt stars, fabric bows…all contribute to a very ‘prairie’ tree. In the modern economy, money can still be scarce, even with the availability of 50% off pre-Christmas sales!
A cookie cutter shape, abundant measures of fabric and felt, a little cutting, a smidge of glue, more watered-down-glue for stiffening, drying in the oven, a cheap button, a twist of wire and this is one of my favourite ornaments!
Here’s an idea for a great gift decoration or tree ornament, which a friend in Germany turned me on to. (Apologies for not having step-by-step photos! I’m on holiday, remember?)
Beaded Stars
Each star requires 30 beads and you will need extra strong thread for the stars.
- String 12 beads on thread, which is about 2 feet long.
- Draw together into a circle and tie thread, leaving about 5 inch length on one end of thread and remaining 19 inches on other end.
- For next round of beads, take the thread under/through 1 (light brown in photo) bead and add 2 (dark brown in photo) beads.
- Repeat this 5 more times.
- For next round of beads, take thread under/through 2 beads and add 1 bead.
- Then go under/through 3 beads and add 1 (light brown in photo) bead.
- Repeat until all the star points are added.
- Tie off and make a loop for hanging with remaining thread.
my mistake – I thought the star was made from maltesers:))
and I don’t think decorations for christmas need to be expensive – I rather like the homemade things! they seem to give off a warmth of their own, in contrast to even the most expensive bought decos! maybe it’s because I am a “craftie” myself, but none of the commercial things I saw in galway on monday really turned me on, no matter what price they were! the only thing we cannot put into the tree here are edible things – with 3 K9’s it’s too likely that they get funny ideas:))
10 Dec 2008 at 9:27 am
I’m quite keen to try the beaded star. I think we might be by the bead shop in London tomorrow, so I’ll be on the lookout for some round wooden beads
K x
10 Dec 2008 at 12:48 pm
Oooh. That smiley face is scary. Must remember to stick to exclamation points! K x
10 Dec 2008 at 12:49 pm
nice, our tree is all handmade as well as are our household ornaments…aside from the outside of the house. We like it that way as ell….everything has a story and memory.
10 Dec 2008 at 3:13 pm