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Kwanzaa Decoupaged Kinara

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Materials
Pine (2″ x 1 5″ x 4″)
Decorative paper or fabric (1 5″ square)
Decoupage medium
Coordinating acrylic paint

General Supplies & Tools
Pencil
Scroll saw
Drill and W bit
Craft scissors
Paintbrushes
Brayer or large dowel
Craft knife

Instructions
1 . Enlarge Kinara pattern to desired size and copy onto pine. Using scroll saw, cut out wood. Center and drill seven W deep holes in top of holder.
2.  Cut paper or fabric slightly larger than side of candle holder. Brush liberal coat of decoupage medium onto one side of candle holder, then gently apply paper. Roll with large dowel to smooth and remove any air bubbles. Brush decoupage medium over top of paper and let dry. Using craft knife, trim excess paper from edges. Repeat process for other side, ends, and top of candle holder.
3.  Paint grooves and bottom of candle holder with coordinating acrylic paint.

How To Play “Jacks”

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WHAT YOU NEED
• A small, bouncy rubber ball
•  10 jacks
• A hard, smooth, level playing surface (floor, sidewalk, patio, or blacktop)

HOW TO PLAY
Sit on the ground and toss the jacks gently onto the playing surface.

Using one hand, gently toss the ball into the air, let­ting it bounce on the playing surface. With the same hand, pick up one jack and catch the ball before it bounces again.

Repeat until you have picked up all ten jacks. This round is called “onesies.”

Toss the ten jacks on the playing surface again.

Toss the ball into the air, letting it bounce once on the playing surface, and pick up two jacks at the same time. Repeat until you have picked up all ten jacks, two at a time. This round is called “twosies.”

Increase the number of jacks you pick up during each round until you pick up all ten jacks at once and catch the ball.

If you fail to pick up the correct number of jacks, fail to catch the ball, or drop the jacks from your hand, your turn is over and the next player goes.

When you get another turn, con­tinue where you left off. If you went out during “threesies,” toss the ten jacks, and start with “threesies.”

To make the game more chal­lenging, forbid players from touching jacks other than the ones being picked up and require players to place the jacks in their free hand before catch­ing the ball.

The first player to complete “onesies” through “tensies” wins the game.

For a variation on the game, require all play­ers to go from “onesies” to “tensies” and then back down to “onesies” again.

Decorating Your Own Victorian Christmas Tree

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The Victorians loved their Christmas trees, and decorated them lavishly. Much time was spent in the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve making homemade ornaments to suspend on the tree branches.

Today store bought decorations have largely replaced homemade ornaments. But if you would like to have Victorian Christmas tree of your own, consider making your own authentic ornaments to hang on the branches of your tree.

Victorians lit their trees with candlelight, which isn’t practical or safe today, but you can now find some stores that carry replica electric lights that mimic candlelight and clip to your tree’s branches to get you started. From there, you can complete the look with these hand-made decorations:

* String popcorn and cranberries for garland. Do every other one or design a particular pattern of your own (three cranberries, two popcorn, five cranberries, etc.) depending on how much of each color you want.

* Dip small cookies cut like snowflakes into glue and then glitter for sparking accents on your tree. To preserve them, spray lightly with either craft preservative or hairspray.

* Paint walnuts (still in the shell) with gold or silver paint. Attach a thin ribbon bow to the top with a thumbtack and hang on the tree.

* Curl small paper doilies into cones and fill with hard candies, nuts or potpourri. Attach ribbon and tie to tree branches. You can find the doilies in a variety of pretty colors.

* Recycle old Christmas cards to decorate your Victorian Christmas tree. Cut out pictures you like and glue to cardboard, then highlight with glitter or metallic fabric paint. Attach colorful ribbons and hang.

You’ll be amazed at how your Victorian Christmas tree glitters and shines with its assortment of genuine period ornaments. Now sit back with a cup of mulled cider and enjoy!

Victorian Christmas “Cracker” How To

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Christmas Cracker

Materials:

  • 1 toilet tissue roll
  • snapper (available at craft stores)
  • any small favours you wish to add
  • an 8 x 10″ piece of crepe paper
  • 2 pieces of 8 x 5″ crepe paper
  • decorative trimmings
  • glue
  • transparent tape
  • decorative string
  1. Centre the toilet tissue roll lengthwise along the 10″ side of the 8 x 10″ piece of crepe paper. Wrap the crepe paper around the roll, securing it with 1 or 2 pieces of transparent tape. (The tape can be attached to the underside of the crepe paper so that it does not show.)
  2. Insert snapper and favours (e.g. paper party hats, candies, nuts, riddles, trinkets, etc.) into the roll. The ends of the snapper should extend beyond the ends of the cracker.
  3. Tie each end of cracker with string.
  4. To make fringe, take an 8 x 5″ piece of crepe paper and fold in half lengthwise. Cut 1″ deep slashes about _” apart along unfolded edges. Repeat with second piece of 8 x 5″ crepe paper. cc5.jpg (5342 bytes)
  5. Take about 12″ of decorative string (gold, silver, etc.) and place along inside fold of fringe. Gather and tie around end of cracker, over first tie. Repeat with other end, using second fringe. Ends of fringes may be curled gently.
  6. Decorative trims, lace, ribbons, glitter, etc. may be used to decorate the body of the cracker.

Christmas Trees on Mirror

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Materials:

Felt Squares – Orchid, Yellow,
Blue, Pink, Neon Green
Pom poms – 10mm Bright
Big Bag Buttons – Carnival
Dance Self-Stick Gems
Colored Dowels
10″ Mirror
12″ Floral Craft Ring-Wood
Poly-fir
Craft Designer Cup Sequins
Felt Snowflakes
Star Buttons
Glitter Glue – Opal
Floss – Assorted Colors
Needle – Large Eye
Lara’s Crafts1 1/2″ Wood Flower Pot (3)
Scissors
Paintbrush
Craft Glue
Low Heat Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Flower Pots

Instructions

Step 1 Using printed patterns from the website, cut your trees from desired colors of felt (2 for each tree).
Step 2 Use desired colors of floss and stitch lines on trees.
Step 3 Cut assorted circles of felt and stitch to tree with buttons as toppers.
Step 4 Cut ‘A” of felt for line garland as shown on pink tree, stitch with pink floss as shown.
Step 5 Add sequins and buttons to embellish as desired.
Step 6 Stitch trees together using floss, place dowel in between felt and lightly stuff with Poly-fir.
Step 7 Turn flower pots upside down and insert dowel into hole and glue to mirror.
Step 8 Glue mirror to wood ring.
Step 9 Cover pots with pom poms adding colored ones as desired.
Step 10 Cut shirt pieces from felt, stitch together and glue to outside edge of mirror.
Step 11 Embellish skirt with felt snowflakes.