Easy crafts for Christmas happies

Buy plain epson salts...at walmart or some discount place, a "milk carton" shaped container full is 68 cents, something like that. Pour into a bowl, pick out any "black" ones! Again, at walmart or similar place buy a scented oil, in the craft department, usually a buck or two. You can get all kinds of florals. Or, even cheaper, at the grocery store, get mint! Very slowly, add just a drop or two and stir until it is pleasantly scented. Now, again, very slowly, with just a drop or two, add food coloring until tinted "just right".

Spread on cookie sheet and let dry (doesn't take long) tie in plastic bags with cute "curliecue" ribbon! (or in jars if you have some on hand!)

Last year, the big hit was mint scented (green colored) "foot soak" (foot soak good for guys too!) and a rose scented bubbling bath salt my daughter created by stiring in, after it dried, powdered Mr. bubbles! She had soft pink rose scented salts mixed with Mr. bubbles! Her aunts and grandmothers LOVED IT.

This year I am making vases of flowers made out of ball point pens. You go to the craft stores and buy a few silk flowers, grasses and some florist tape. I also bought the vases at a junk second hand shop and ran them through the dishwasher and they look brand new. You cut just a little bit of each of the flower off because each stem will have 4-5 flowers on them...so you will get a bunch for your buck. Wrap the florist tape at about 1/4 the way down from the top and include the bottom end of the flower. Do 5-8 of them and put in vase and they are gorgeous. I plan on giving them to all of my doctors...you know how people are always taking off with the pens from the docs office...who would take one with a flower stuck on it!

Go to a craft store, and get a small block of that clay, that you can bake in the oven.

Break off a piece of clay that's about 1 cm x 1 cm. I keep rolling that into a long log, and twist it, and shape it into a heart. I take a tiny pice of gold wire, and insert at where the dent in the heart is. Bake that (follow instructions), then let it cool. I apply two layers of clear nail polish. Let it dry. I then glue flowers and ribbons, and pass it out as holiday ornament. Learned that trick from a friend, and the whole deal is less than $1/person. I think the clay block can make up to 6 or 8 ornaments, and it's about $3 per block.

Scented Ornaments

1 BIG container ground Cinnamon (i found at SAMS's) Applesauce Pour cinnamon into bowl...mix with applesauce 'til 'doughy' ; then flatten......use cooky cutters to cut out shapes (stars, Christmas trees, reindeer, snowmen, etc....I have reindeer---Rob made different one for all family members last yr.)....Lay them out flat to dry..oops, poke hole in top of ornament for nylon filament line to go through.....
Variation on this one: to make 3 or 4, slowly mix 1/2 cup cinnamon into 1/2 cup applesauce...roll out mixture 1/4" thick between two sheets of plastic wrap. Remove top sheet of wrap, cut out with cookie cutters and poke hole near top...Air-dry for at least 24 hours...decorate with puff paint, glue on buttons and ribbon

Get several different styles of ribbon, at least 1 inch wide (not the type with wire)...Working on a large styrofoam board covered with plastic wrap, twist or fold the ribbons into shapes using pins, spray with fabric stiffener and let dry. Punch a hole in top of ribbon after dry and hang with different colored-ribbon or nylon filament. These look great when in twisty (spiral) shapes or crimped up to look like ribbon candy. These would also look great mingled along with evergreens on a mantel or along a bannister or even in a garland around your door.

Take small paper or plastic bowls, staple them rim to rim...paint with candy colored stripes, doesn't have to be a perfect painting job...stripes to look like peppermint, for example. Let paint dry and wrap each 'candy' in colored cellophane with extra on each end that you tie so that it looks like a wrapped peppermint. These can be strung together to create a garland for doorway, staircase or mantel. This is very cute (at least in the magazine I got it out of :-)

Buy woven door mat (raffia or some sort of material). Purchase about 4 yards of ribbon (not the kind with the wire in it). Weave the ribbon around the mat. I even did some extra weaving toward the center and also made a *K* in the center. Hot glue some artificial flowers in one corner. I bought bunches of flowers and cut/tore them apart literally petal by petal.

If you have a desktop publishing program. There is a template in my program for a monthly calendar. Use the template but make alterations to the designs used as you see fit. Perhaps mark birthdays, etc. with special designs. Have the sheets laminated; punch holes in the sheets and run some yarn through the holes. This idea was one my pastor's wife did for her grandchildren who live across the country.

Ok, remember how we used to string popcorn around the tree...this is really pretty...but would be a gift that the receiver would use next year. You take maccaroni and in different shapes..any kind of shape that you can run a ribbon or if you want yarn through. You color the macaroni by mixing food color and rubbing achohol...put the noodles in the bowl for oh, up to 20 minutes to get a good deep color...oh of course at Chrismas you use green and red..and if you have the energy you can spray some of them with gold or silver paint. Take the ones out of the bowl and let them dry and kind of rotate them so they dry evenly...get various shapes to make this look really nice. When they are dry you string them together and next year the family can put it on the tree like the old popcorn..mine is 10 years old and looks as new as ever! And always gets comments..where did you get that?

Another simple one is a door hanger that you again make with ribbons and bells and find a decoration, like a little angel or something to hide your big knot at the top..but when hung, every time the door opens or closes you get the prettiest sounds, especially if you use various sizes of bells and also different lengths of ribbon.

This one you need to start early and really has lots of meaning to me. Go to the grocery store and ask for the bottom of the boxes that soda cans come in and you have the perfect outline of a circle to cut out...if you hands are sore this one is not for your...but involve the kids..they love this stuff and the cutting does not need to be perfect. Then cut a hole in the middle of your circle. Then take wide cheap wrapping ribbon, green or red or white and wrap the big circle..(Oh, I forgot, you do not need the hole that you cut out, but being a pack rat I saved mine and used them for another project at another time)..ok..we are wrapping the circle of cardboard with the ribbon untill it is covered....then you take the spices that were in use during the lifetime of Jesus's birth and glue them on in any kind of pattern you want..again a child can do this. The spices, from memory now..since I do not have the Christmas stuff out yet...were: Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Aragano (sp), Thyme and of course buy these in a place where you can buy them in bulk form. Let the thing dry and then you get a picture of your child, grandchild, whatever and cut it bigger than the hole and just glue it to the back of the ornament that you made. Add a little string for attaching to the tree.

If you have any drawing or even tracing skills...get the old fashioned cross stitch hoops...the little tiny ones. Then some thick cellophane and put it in the hoop...cut off the excess. Draw a picture or trace one using permanant markers...add a ribbon and you have a suncatcher!

You get the Big Erasers (Pink ones)...glue to the sides of it; the long side the very small candy canes, still in their packages...this looks like santa's sleigh runners...then you need to hunt down..and look early for they run out soon, but they have Santa's made out of Chocolate, but wrapped in foil...glue him on the eraser...then glue the Chrismas color Hershey Kisses to the back for the gifts on Santas sleigh..the chocolate is all edible, because the foil protects it from the glue and all the kids love an eraser..specially one that you wrote their name on the bottom of in permanant marker.

Have you ever forced bulbs to bloom?...well you can do this yourself without buying the expensive 20 dollar kits...again hit the resell it shops and buy vases, these need to be sort of fluted so that the bulb can sit in the indedent part of the vase. Then you go to the local nusery or plant place and buy the bulbs in bulk..the ones that work the best and are the most aroma are the hyacinths. You need to put the bulbs in the refridgerator for about two weeks and then about 6 weeks before Christmas you put the bulb in the vase with water...add water ast needed...the plant will grow and be ready to bloom on Christmas day. I also usually include an extra bulb because after the bulb is forced it is dead bulb...so the receiver can start a new one and whatch the whole process...then before you know it is is spring and we have real out door flowers again.

Special IMPORTANT Note about forcing bulbs from another friend:

However let me warn you about the hyachinth bulbs. Never handle them w/o gloves on. The wrapping on the bulb(skin-like,sorta purple color) is highly toxic (can poison you), if you have handled them w/o thinking, be sure to immediately wash your hands thoroughly with lots of soap and water. And drink lots of water to cleanse your system. I had this experience personally and the er doc told me NEVER to handle with your hands, they could also blind you if you have held them and then rubbed your eyes.

Candy Cane Candles:

You need: taper candles, candy canes, little holly sprigs, hot glue gun

Take the candy canes and turn them upside down where the curve (top) of the candy cane is at the bottom of the candle, glue 3 candy canes to the candle. Optional: glue a holly sprig to one side of the candle.

the candy canes will hold up the candle so you dont need a candle holder.

How to keep up with what you made for whom?

I have a notebook that has dividers in it and each year I record what project I am going to do. I relist all of the names, add some new ones. I also do some catalog shopping and that too is recorded in this same notebook. When a project is finished or the gift has arrived I mark that person's name off the book. Also, I make the same gift for every one and I make a few extra for the just in caser's that I might need. The book also serves as a great memory book.

The nicest idea I heard was where a lady prays for the recipient of the gift as she is making their happy. I thought this was the loveliest idea I'd ever heard!

For any time of year, design the perfect flower arrangement:

For a country look, choose sunflowers, mums or daisies in baskets or rustic pottery.
For a traditional look, choose roses, peonies, tulips or carnations in an urn, silver pitcher or brass cachepot.
For a contemporary look, choose orchids, Calla lilies, protea or birds of paradise in high-gloss pottery or galvanized metal containers.
The more natural, the better, whether you're working with fresh or silk flowers. Don't use blue peonies, roses, etc., stick with natural colors.
Soften large flowers with smaller ones. Add spiky-line flowers like delphinium and smaller blooms such as asters to focal-point flowers like peonies and open roses.
Vase arrangements work best on side tables and against walls. Avoid using them on coffee tables or end tables because they tip over easily.
Dish arrangements work well on coffee tables, dining tables and end tables.

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