Felted Ornaments

Although it's already well into January, I decided to continue working on Christmas crafts for my fifth and final blog post. This time, I made several ornament-like balls for my future Christmas tree. Similar to my last post, I used wool and a needle to poke everything into shape.

According to Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects by Susan Wasinger, this project only required wool roving in a variety of colors, needle-felting tools, and Styrofoam balls. The Styrofoam ball would make up the inside of the ornament.

Next, the author said to, “Jab the roving gently with the needle-felting tool. Go over the surface of the ball thoroughly… As you finish working over one section with the tool, tear off and add new pieces of roving. Felt them into place with the tool until you’ve covered the entire ball” (Wasinger 51). I followed these instructions and gently jabbed the wool onto the surface of the ball. 

After this step, all I had to do was lay some yarn on the ball and let it zigzag, loop, or swirl around in different patterns. Continue poking the yarn and wool into place and make sure it is secure (Wasinger 51). Instead of using yarn, I chose to use wool still. I followed the rest of the directions and used strings of white wool and circled it around the ball in various shapes and patterns.

Since one ornament wasn’t enough, I proceeded to make balls of other colors and designs. Using another Styrofoam ball, I wrapped it in blue wool first, then used pieces of white wool to carve out a unique design. I attempted to spell out my name. I also tried making an ornament using green wool and other colors for the pattern.

 

I enjoyed making this craft, just like I enjoyed making every other craft that I posted about in my previous blog posts. The art of creating Christmas crafts and crafts for other occasions has helped me become more patient, focused, and creative, and these qualities have made me a better person.

What is your favorite craft to make and why do you like making that kind of craft?

Wasinger, Susan. Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects. Lark, 2014

Felted Wool Animals

As I have mentioned before in my other posts, I enjoy making various crafts. With the help of the book, Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects, I was able to make another fun art project. Although this book focused mostly on Christmas projects, it also contained several ideas for other types of cool, creative crafts. For this post, I chose to make felted wool animals.

The materials needed were many different colors of wool, felting needles, a foam pad, and optional finger gloves to protect your fingers from the needles. I bought a felting kit online that included most of these materials.

First, I decided to make a bunny. Using the felting needle, I took some white wool and poked it into a ball. This would be the inner layer. After poking that into shape, I wrapped some pink wool around the ball and began poking it. “Lay it on the foam pad and jab at it repeatedly with the needle-felting tool. The fibers will tangle together and form a firm shape” (Wasinger 54). The most important thing is to make sure the wool is hard enough and doesn’t fall apart.

To make the ears, I was supposed to take a little bit of pink wool, fold it in half, and poke it until the shape of the ear formed. By poking in the middle of the ear more, it became more indented and better resembled a bunny ear. Use the leftover fibers that are hanging off the ear to attach it to the head. Needle all around the base of the ear so that it’s securely attached and is forced to stand up by itself (Wasinger 55). Then use a small amount of black wool as the nose and the mouth.

Once this step was completed, all I had to do was place the eyes. This was a bit harder because it wouldn’t secure into place very well. I had to use a special tool to help me make a bigger hole in the spot of the eyes for them to slide in well enough and stay.

After making the bunny, I proceeded to make a seal. Following the same basic steps as before, I used the felting needle to poke some white wool into a ball. I made the tail and fins by taking a little bit of wool and poking it into the right shapes. This process took some time and patience because it was harder than it looked. I attached these parts the same way I attached the bunny’s ears.

The third animal I made was a penguin. I followed most of the same steps and created the shape of the body first. Using some white and orange wool, I made the penguin’s belly, beak, and feet. After attaching these onto the body, I slid the eyes into place and poked around to polish up the shape.

Out of the three felted wool animals I created, my favorite one was the penguin because it was cute and colorful. All in all, this project was fun and the final product was nice, but I need to keep practicing. I also need to have more patience because felting is pretty time-consuming, but I hope to make more little animals in the future!

Which animal do you like the most? Would you be willing to give felting a try?

Wasinger, Susan. Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects. Lark, 2014

Folded Stars

Christmas is unfortunately over and the holidays are rolling to an end, but handmade crafts don't go out of season! For this blog post, I attempted to make something that isn't specifically for Christmas or any other holiday. In the book, Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects by Susan Wasinger, I found a cute and interesting origami craft that didn't look too difficult or time-consuming to make.

The materials were fairly easy to access because the only thing this project required was several sheets of patterned paper. To make one folded star, I needed six sheets of paper and I had to cut the sheets into four-inch squares. However, for the first star I made, I kept each square six inches by six inches in order to make a larger star. 

Then, I was instructed to fold the paper in half diagonally by first folding the bottom left corner up to the top right corner and creasing it. After unfolding the sheet, I was to fold the bottom right corner up to meet the top left corner and crease it and unfold it once again (Wasinger 124). The next step was to flip the paper over so the patterned side faced up. "Fold the paper in half along its center... Crease the paper and unfold it. Then fold the paper in half along its other axis. Crease it and unfold it" (Wasinger 125).

With the easier steps complete, I continued to fold. The book directed me to nudge the folds on either side inward so my paper looked like a double-triangle configuration. Finally, I proceeded to, "Fold the right-hand point of the triangle up to the top of the triangle. Fold the left-hand point of the triangle up as well. Turn the paper over, and fold the points of the triangle up on the other side" (Wasinger 125). Once I finished this step for the first sheet of paper, I had to repeat all of the steps for the remaining five sheets. 

The most difficult part of making this craft was combining the six sheets together. To do this, I had to insert the points of one end of the triangular piece into the folds of another piece. I worked my way around the star, and continued adding each piece. At the end, the points of the last triangular piece should have been inserted into those of the first piece. My final product looked okay, but it took me a while to fully insert each piece.

I also made another folded star, but this time I completely followed Wasinger's instructions and cut each of the sheets into four-inch squares. I followed the directions once more and folded each paper into a triangular piece.

In my opinion, the second folded star turned out better because the size was smaller and looked the way the author intended it to.

This origami craft is reasonably easy to make and can be used as an ornament or just simply as a decoration. I enjoyed making it and I plan to create these folded stars again in the future!

Do you like origami and what origami crafts have you made before?

Wasinger, Susan. Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects. Lark, 2014

Learning Origami: Christmas Stocking 

With the holiday season in full swing, what better way to celebrate than my creating your own Christmas decorations! For this blog post, I will be making Christmas stocking origami, Christmas stockings are a crucial part to celebrating Christmas in my home, and are hung every year above my fireplace. Thanks to Practical Origami: A step-by-step guide to the ancient art of paper folding, I can follow simple steps to create mini-stockings that I am able to decorate with all throughout this holiday season.

In order to make the Christmas stocking, the materials necessary included one square piece of paper with a different-colored reverse side. The book stated that, "This traditional model was originally a napkin fold, but has been adapted here to be made from conventional paper" (Beech, 210). After completing this origami design, I personally would recommend using gift wrapping tissue paper as opposed to construction paper, due to construction paper being more difficult to crease and fold. 

 The first step to creating a stocking is, "With the color you wish to be predominant in the design on top, fold up a narrow strip at the lower edge" (Beech, 210). As I followed the instructions of the book, I noticed that a thinner border at the bottom of the paper, looked more appealing than a thicker border. This is because, a thinner border gave a more distinct look to the stocking.

The most challenging part of creating this origami design was creasing and creating folds in the paper. This is because, I decided to use construction paper, instead of tissue paper, which would be ideal to making a perfect and precise, origami Christmas stocking.

Below are 10 simple steps to creating a Christmas stocking:

Step One: With the side you wish to  be predominant,  fold a strip at the lower piece of the paper.

Step One: With the side you wish to 

be predominant, 

fold a strip at the lower piece of the paper.

Step Two: Flip the paper over horizontally,
and fold in half.

Step Four: Fold the left-handed
corners towards the center.

Step Three: Turn paper 90 degrees
anticlockwise, and fold the sides to be
aligned with the center crease.

    Step Six: Fold newer edge across

           to right-handed edge.

Step Five: Fold left-hand corner across

to inner edges from Step Four.

Step Eight: Turn stocking around, 
    so that narrow piece is on top. 
      Fold model in half, vertically.

Step Seven: Fold upper layer back, 

across to the left.

Step Nine: Swing "toe" of stocking, 

outwards and forwards.

Step Ten: Lock model by opening model, 

lifting border by tucking upper 

corner and folding stocking, 

creating a pocket.

All in all, making these origami Christmas stockings was very informative and entertaining. After making a few Christmas stockings, I feel as if my knowledge as well as my skill-level in completing origami crafts has grown. I will definitely be decorating my house with these Christmas stockings throughout this holiday season! I believe that my knowledge has increased on the skill of making origami, and I am eager to learn more from the book, Practical Origami: A step-by-step guide to the ancient art of paperfolding. I make many of my Christmas ornaments, and my favorite thing about the holidays is spending time with family.  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Do you make any homemade Christmas decorations?  What is your favorite thing about the holidays?

Beech, Rick. Practical Origami: a Step-by-Step Guide to the Ancient Art of Paperfolding. Hermes House, 2006.

Polished Ornaments

For my second blog post, I decided to make something that is an essential part of my annual Christmas traditions. Putting up a tree and decorating it with ornaments is something I enjoy doing every year. Luckily, in Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects, there was a craft idea allowing me to be creative and make my own ornament designs.

               The materials needed were clear plastic or glass ornaments, nail polish in a variety of colors, and a large bowl or tub. By slightly mixing several colors of nail polish in water and dipping the clear ornaments in the mix, I could create unique designs and add a handmade touch to my plain, store-bought tree.

               The book advised me to “Fill the bowl with water almost to the brim [and] drip one color of nail polish onto the surface of the water” (Wasinger 36). As I attempted this step, I had to be especially careful because if I dripped the polish too directly or from too high, it would sink to the bottom of the bowl, and thus become unusable. Also, the book cautioned that using more than four different colors of nail polish would result in a muddy-looking liquid (Wasinger 37). I only used two shades of polish for each ornament to avoid a messy mix of colors.

               For me, the hardest part of making this craft was actually dragging the ornament around in the mixture and covering each part because I tried not to touch the cap or overlap the liquid on one side of the ornament. I used pliers to grasp the opening of the ornament.

Most of the ornaments turned out to be decent and the patterns were nice, but one thing I need to improve on is covering the whole surface of each ornament and not leaving any blank spaces.

               Overall, this craft project was fun and enjoyable, and I would recommend this idea to anyone who wants to make their Christmas tree a little more special and unique!

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Are any of your ornaments handmade?

Wasinger, Susan. Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects. Lark, 2014

Christmas Cards

I enjoy making different kinds of crafts and projects. With the holidays coming around, what better craft than Christmas cards? "Spread the cheer this year with seasonal salutations you make yourself" (Wasinger, 99). Making things by hand allows you to not only express your creativity, but it is also a good opportunity for you to give someone a meaningful item that you put time and thought into. The book, Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects, contained many craft ideas that helped me add more joy to the holidays.

This project focused on using different patterned and card stock paper, as well as scissors, glue, and other supplies, to create cards with various Christmas tree designs. The main goal was to snip little strips of paper and glue them in differing patterns to create unique trees. The book contained several ideas for the card design, including a vertical and horizontal Christmas tree. 

For the vertical tree, I was supposed to "cut all of the paper strips to the same length to fit the height of [the] card" (Wasinger, 101). Then, I had to glue them to create the outer edges of the tree and work my way to the center. I attempted to place the strips evenly and glue them as proportionately as I could, but the end product did not look as good as I would have liked. 

However, with more practice and patience, I was able to create a slightly better card. I continued using the book's instructions and suggestions, but instead of cutting my own paper strips, I used different patterns of tape. This way, I could make sure that each strip was exactly the same width, so the tree would definitely be more even.

For the horizontal tree, the book suggested cutting eight or nine strips of patterned paper in varying widths and slightly varying lengths and placing them from the bottom up, one strip at a time (Wasinger, 101). I tried this method and it worked well enough, although the book didn't specify exactly how big the strips should be. But, this was a good start and I improved in the next few cards I made, both with the card's appearance and in my efficiency in making them.

In my opinion, the vertical Christmas tree was harder than the horizontal one because the book was not as specific in describing the lengths of the strips and the position in which I should glue them. Also, I was able to use more patterns of paper in the horizontal tree, while I was limited to only a few patterns in the vertical tree, because the number of strips I could use in each one depended on the height or width of the paper.

All in all, through a simple, creative, and fun craft idea, I was able to create various Christmas card designs that not only were enjoyable to make, but also will spread holiday cheer and show the people who receive these cards how much time and effort I put into them and how much I care about them.

Would you be willing to use these methods to make your own Christmas cards? Which Christmas tree design was better, the vertical tree or the horizontal tree?

Wasinger, Susan. Artful Christmas: 30 Elegant Craft Projects. Lark, 2014.

Wretched Flavor Combination

For my second cheesecake I wanted to do something fun. In the spirit of Christmas, I decided to combine two classic holiday flavors: Eggnog and peppermint! (On a side note, I don't actually enjoy either of the two but I wanted to be FESTIVE.)

Eggnog Cheesecake

with Candy Canes

So as you might be able to tell if you actually read this, there is no cooking instructions, which turned out to be quite a problem. I had to google other instructions, but I couldn't find the exact recipe, making the cooking time a bit off. 

Dilemma 1: Baking

After baking the cheesecake, you are always supposed to leave it in the oven when it is turned off for an hour. "This step and the two that follows allow for the cake to cool to a room temperature gently, preventing cracking" (Schulman 133). By letting the cheesecake cool down gradually and keeping it untouched while it settles, the surface of the cheesecake won't be as cracked. I tried to do this and it worked, I guess. After leaving the cheesecake the off oven for an hour, the cheesecake had no gaping crevices in it. In my last cheesecake, there was a big ol' crack on the side. However, the state of the surface of the cheesecake was not really improved. Cheesecakes look very different while they bake compared to after they are cooled off. When I checked to see (and guess) if the cheesecake was done or not, it looked fine, but an hour later after it was cooled, it obviously was not fully cooked. By that point, reheating the oven and cooking it more would not improve the looks of my cheesecake. On the bright side, the surface of the cheesecake wasn't cracked, just deflated and soggy.

My first cheesecake. Notice that big crack on the left side?

Before dumping on Candy Cane dust to cover up the grossness. Notice there are no wide splits?

 Dilemma 2: Cutting

The book I read explains that to get the most smooth cut with even sides, it is best to freeze the cheesecakes before cutting them (Schulman 76). After keeping the cheesecake in the fridge for a few hours, I tried to cut a slice of the cheesecake. The thing was still warmish when I tried to cut it, and it fell apart very easily. Taking the book's advice, I put the cheesecake in the freezer overnight. My knife got stuck a couple times but it cut way more cleanly. The slice of cheesecake was way more stiff (duh it's frozen) and it even tasted better. The advice from my book greatly improved the presentation of my slice and even the texture.

Cut while it was room temperature. Look at that floppy soggy piece of disappointment moistened with my tears.

Cut after being frozen in my freezer and completely untouched (because after one tiny nibble my family decided they had tried enough). Can you say aesthetic?

Overall: Maybe some things can be too festive. Combining eggnog and peppermint was not the best idea, especially because adding the chunks of candy canes before baking made the surface icky and look like puke.
Pros:

• Ummmm
• Thinking...
• The crushed up candy canes on the top looked good?
• The graham cracker crust tasted decent (the best part!)

Cons (Prison Break got me like):

• Smelled putrid
• Tasted nasty
• Made me gag
• It was so under-cooked
• Really grainy
• Looked gross without extra candy-canes on the top
• Wretched soggy texture

#NoMakeup #NoFilter #Like4Like #Follow4Follow

Question:

What is your favorite holiday flavor or food?
Would you enjoy some eggnog peppermint cheesecake? I have plenty of extra...

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Schulman, Maureen, Tara Lane, Diana Moles, and Jolene Worthington. The Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook. N.p.: Eli's Cheesecake, 2015. Print.

Posted by Kierra Long