Humble Keepsakes and Customs
December 17, 2012
“It comes every year and will go on forever. And along with Christmas belong the keepsakes and the customs. Those humble, everyday things a mother clings to, and ponders, like Mary in the secret spaces of her heart.”
— Marjorie Holmes
“To perceive Christmas through its wrappings becomes more difficult with every year.”
— E. B. White
“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more.”
— Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The largest part of my Christmas doesn’t come from a store. My keepsakes are handmade, for the most part. And yes, they are humble, like this paper cut Scandinavian horse ornament I made this year from instructions I found in Mollie Makes Christmas: Living and Loving a Handmade Holiday.
Or my traditional holiday wreath, made from rosemary sprigs from my garden. For me, simple is best.
Handmade Holidays: 3-D Paper Snowflakes
December 12, 2012
“Snowflakes spill from heaven’s hand
Lovely and chaste like smooth white sand.
A veil of wonder laced in light
Falling gently on a winter’s night.”
–Linda A. Copp
Several years ago one of the gift wrappers at the University Bookstore in Seattle was making these holiday snowflakes (or they could be stars, I guess). She gave me a photocopied set of instructions, original source unknown. I’ve been meaning to make some of these snowflakes for holiday decorations, but until now, I never got around to it.
My finished snowflake hangs in my kitchen window, a lacy wonder that lets in the light.
Here are step-by-step instructions for making your own paper snowflake/star:
You need six square of paper. I used 5 x 5-inch squares. Fold each square in half along the diagonal, making a triangle. Then fold in half again. And again.
Now, keeping the little triangles folded, cut four parallel slits on the solid side. Cut almost all the way across.
Open each piece of paper back into a square and flatten with your fingers.
Next you will bring two opposite points of the inner squares together in a sequence. In order to do this, you will first have to cut the corners free along one long diagonal fold line. (Leave the other points/corners so that they are not cut all the way through.)
Starting with the smallest inner square, fold two opposite points together and tape into a cylindrical shape.
1. Turn the square over. 2. Bring the opposite points of the next larger square together and tape. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all of the opposing points have been taped in the center.
Your square should now look like this. You need five more. Start folding and taping!
Once you have completed all six sections of the snowflake, take three and match up at a point. Staple at this point. Repeat with the other three sections.
That’s it! Your paper snowflake/star is complete.
DIY Gift: Homemade Granola
December 17, 2011
In keeping with my “Simple Christmas” theme, this year I made homemade granola for holiday gift giving. Lately I’ve been enjoying fresh apples, cut into chunks, topped with Greek yogurt and a generous spread of granola. The crunchiness is quite satisfying.
Handmade Money Plant Wreath
February 11, 2011
The book Fairie-ality Style: A Sourcebook of Inspirations from Nature by David Ellwand is one of the most gorgeous over-sized books that passed through my hands recently. I loved the colorful photography and whimsical creations made of found materials in nature. And I was inspired to make my own simple wreath of money plant seed pods after seeing one in the book.
Valentine Papercrafts: DIY Hearts
February 2, 2011
I remember making these woven paper hearts years ago, and I found the instructions here: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/Heartbasket.shtml. I made half a dozen hearts so that I could string them together and hang them in my kitchen window. They are constructed in such a way that each heart forms a pocket, so instead of stringing them, you could use them as little heart baskets.
I made another hanging heart ornament by adapting the instructions for my star ornament (see https://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/christmas-papercraft-3-diy-paper-star-ornament/) and cutting heart-shaped pieces instead. This was a project originally inspired by a tutorial on the Craftynest blog (http://www.craftynest.com/).
Slender Rosemary Heart
February 1, 2011
It’s not too early to be thinking about Valentine’s Day, is it?
I got the idea for this simple heart-shaped wreath from the book, Swedish Christmas Traditions: A Smorgasbord of Scandinavian Recipes, Crafts and Other Holiday Delights by Ernst Kirchsteiger. I adapted the instructions he provided for a “Slender Lingon Heart” and used rosemary, the herb of remembrance, instead of lingon sprigs. I love the simplicity of this project. Smells heavenly, too.
Winter Papercraft: Snowballs
January 7, 2011
I remember making these paper snowballs when I was a kid. They would make a nice ornament for the Christmas tree.
One of the secrets to successful papercrafts that even an adult can find pleasing is to make multiples of an item. Whether the same size or graduated sizes, multiples can be strung into garlands or displayed in other ways. Repeated patterns make their own visual beauty, I think.
Here are instructions for making paper snowballs:
Trace twenty circles on pretty paper. I used a page from an old art book.
Cut out the circles as carefully as you can.
Fold flaps on each circle so that the remaining flat surface is an equilateral triangle. (I trace a triangle on each circle so that I can use the pencil markings as a folding guide.)
Glue five triangular pieces together into a circle. Repeat. These will become the top and bottom of the finished ball. Now fill in a band around the middle, always creating circles of five pieces, to shape into a sphere.
Make several more snowballs in varying sizes to make an interesting winter display.
Christmas Papercraft 4: DIY Snowflake Garland
December 24, 2010
It’s been a few years since I’ve taken scissors to white paper to cut out snowflakes. I love how each snowflake is unique, just like real ones! This year I went an extra step and sewed the paper snowflakes into garlands. I made short garlands, each string with three or four snowflakes. But you could easily sew them into one long garland for a Christmas tree decoration.
I simply sewed each snowflake down an imaginary center line and left about two inches of thread between snowflakes.
I tied a bead to the bottom of each of my garlands so that they would hang down nicely.
I used the finished garland to make a snowflake “valance” in my kitchen window.
Dreaming of a white Christmas. . .
Christmas Papercraft 3: DIY Paper Star Ornament
December 23, 2010
I found the instructions for making these folded paper star ornaments on the December 8th post of the Craftynest blog (www.craftynest.com). I love how they look and plan to make many more. Here’s how I made mine:
Using the pattern I downloaded from the Craftynest blog, I cut out 10 stars from some pretty red speckled paper I had on hand.
Then I folded each paper star in half. (After I folded them, I realized that the Craftynest instructions said to fold in half on the points. Ooops. It turned out that my mistake didn’t really matter.)
Next I stacked all 10 paper stars together and sewed down the center fold line.
Because my folds were in the gutter rather than point-to-point, I was able to just tie ribbon around my stars, covering the sewing. (At Craftynest, they sewed the ribbon on.)
When you open up the leaves of the star, it makes a beautiful symmetrical ornament.
Christmas Papercraft 2: DIY Folded Star Book
December 21, 2010
Many years ago I ordered one of these tiny star books from Chinaberry Books (www.chinaberry.com), and after looking closely at its construction, I decided I could figure out how to make them myself. These tiny treasures (about 2 inches square) are made out of folded paper, origami-style, and when opened with their covers back-to-back, look like a five-pointed star. They make delightful stocking stuffers or Christmas ornaments. Or you can use them as miniature blank books.
Here is how you make a folded star book:
First, cut five paper squares, 4 x 4 inches. Then fold each one in half lengthwise and again in half crosswise. Now each square has four quadrants. Next fold each square diagonally corner to corner. (You’ll have just one diagonal fold line on each square of paper.)
Each 4 x 4-inch square now needs to be folded in on itself by reverse-folding along the diagonals to the center. You’ll end up with a 2 x 2-inch folded square. (Look at the photo and try to replicate the pictures.)
The five folded squares will be joined by gluing together, outside square matching outside square. You’ll want the center points to match up so that you can see that unfolding will make a star. Don’t glue together into a circle! Keep the last two outside squares unglued.
Next you make two covers. Cut heavy paper or cardboard into two 2-1/4 x 2-1/4-inch squares. Then find some pretty paper for your covers, and glue them to the cardboard.
Brush the inside of each cover with glue. Then lay a ribbon across the two covers diagonally as pictured.
Now you are ready to glue the covers to the assembled pages. The center folded points should line up where the two covers meet so that the finished book can open like a star.
You can now tie the finished book closed with the ribbon.
Or, you can tie the little book open and hang it up as an ornament.
Enjoy!