Handmade crafts are the ultimate customized holiday decor
Birdhouse craft instructions below article.

A Country Birdhouse

Here’s another silver lining to the dark economic clouds still on the horizon this holiday season: handmade holiday decorations are not only less costly, they’re perceived as more meaningful as well.

From spending more time with loved ones to an improvement in our overall health, stories abound on the positive side effects of the shaky economy. Increased enthusiasm for handmade items may well be the latest good by-product of troubled economic times.

“Social science experts tell us that tough economic times realign people’s priorities, and we’re certainly seeing that all around us,” says Riddi Kline, vice president, marketing of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, a leading craft supplies retailer. “People are placing greater emphasis not just on cost-savings but on the meaningfulness of a decoration or gift. Nothing is more personal and customizable than something you make yourself. And this year, you can find craft ideas to fit every holiday decorating theme.”

So how do you decide what handmade decorations will enhance your home’s holiday décor? Margaret Skinner, director of customer education of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores offers a few pointers:

* Choose craft items that complement your home’s overall theme. For example, if you love clean, contemporary modern lines, make items that mimic that look. Crafts that incorporate reflective surfaces and metallic looks will fit well with contemporary themes. Softer fabrics and materials will mesh with a country theme.

* Make crafts that will endure and be durable for seasons to come. “You’ll invest your time and a bit of yourself in every item you make,” Skinner says. “Opt for items that will be easy to care for and that will appeal to your sense of the holidays not just this year, but next year and the year after that as well.”

* Give yourself plenty of time and space in which to create. You’re not rushing the season if you start working on your holiday crafts in early November or even late October. You’re just giving yourself plenty of time to accomplish everything you want to do. Also, dedicate a specific area of your home to your crafting and keep all your projects in one place – this way you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips.

* Get kids involved. When you create crafts with your children, you’re not just making decorations, you’re making memories that will stay with them throughout their lives. Plus, making crafts together will make each item feel that much more meaningful when you use it to decorate your home.

* Shop smart when shopping for craft supplies. Jo-Ann Fabrics is a leading seller of supplies for virtually every type of crafting activity. You can find craft ideas and directions to fit every type of holiday décor at www.joann.com.

Try this creative craft – a handcrafted birdhouse – that can be customized to fit with either a city or country theme:

A Country Birdhouse

A Country Birdhouse
Designed by Connie Glennon-Hall

Supplies and tools

1 wood birdhouse
1 can Rust-Oleum multicolored texture spray paint, autumn brown
1 each acrylic paints in dark brown, green and ivory
wooden picket fence
Deco Art Snow Writer
1 piece, 12 inches by 12 inches, brown cardstock
1 piece, 10 inches by 4 inches, Homespun fabric
Xyron 510 machine with adhesive cartridge
Tacky glue and glue stick
1/2-inch flat paintbrush
1/2-inch detail paintbrush
wire cutters
scissors
paper trimmer
ruler
sandpaper

Assembly instructions:

1. Sand the birdhouse hole openings to remove rough edges.

2. Paint the entire birdhouse with dark brown acrylic paint. When dry, spray with autumn brown multicolored textured paint. When dry, paint ivory lines with the detail brush.

3. Cut a rectangle of cardstock slightly smaller than the bottom of birdhouse. Glue cardstock to bottom of birdhouse using glue stick.

4. With wire cutters, cut a nine- to 10-picket length from the fence. Dilute green paint and apply a wash coating over fence. When dry, glue to the front of house, along the front base.

5. Measure the three sections of the roof and cut brown cardstock to fit. Run the cardstock through the Xyron machine. Press the sticky side of the cardstock onto the homespun fabric, aligning plaids and allowing 1/4 inch margin around each piece.

6. Trim around roof panels – keeping the 1/4 inch margin of fabric – and fray the edges by pulling out threads. Glue the three panels to the birdhouse roof, allowing fringe to remain exposed.

7. Decorate the house base, fence, perch, openings and fabric roof with Snow Writer.

Uptown (City) Birdhouse

Supplies and tools

Wood birdhouse
Rust-Oleum textured paint, desert bisque
Deco Art Dazzling Metallics acrylic paint, Champagne gold
1 piece, 12 by 12 inches, tan or gold cardstock
1 piece, 4 inches by 9 inches, Glitter Organza 5/8-inch ribbon
Deco Art Snow Writer
Xyron 510 machine with adhesive cartridge
tacky glue and glue stick
double-sided tape
scissors
paper trimmer
ruler
sandpaper
paintbrush
beaded trim

Assembly instructions:

1. Sand the birdhouse hole openings to remove rough edges.

2. Spray birdhouse with desert bisque textured paint to obscure wood grain. When dry, paint entire house with champagne gold acrylic paint.

3. Cut a rectangle of cardstock slightly smaller than the bottom of birdhouse. Glue cardstock to the underside of birdhouse using glue stick.

4. Attach beaded trim to the side edges of the upper roof using tacky glue.

5. Measure and cut a piece of ribbon slightly longer than the length of lower roof. Put a strip of double-sided tape on one side of ribbon. Squeeze a thin line of tacky glue over the lower roof and then apply the ribbon strip over that. When dry, trim ribbon ends.

6. Measure the two sections of the large roof and cut two pieces of cardstock to fit.

7. Run the cardstock through the Xyron machine. Position the cardstock on work surface with adhesive side up. Cover adhesive side with five overlapping strips of ribbon. Repeat for both roof pieces. Trim ribbon edges.

8. Place the two roof sections, peak to peak and ribbon side down, over the wrong side of the sheer fabric; cut the sheer fabric 3/4-inch larger all around the roof shape. Create a “hinge” between the two roof pieces (wrong side) with a strip of tape. Apply two more pieces of tape along the bottom edges of the wrong sides of the roof sections. Fold the sheer fabric over both long edges of the hinged roof, sticking the fabric to the three strips of tape. Add bits of tape to the bottom roof corners and fold raw fabric edges in, as though wrapping a gift. Secure the roof to the birdhouse with tacky glue. Glue only one roof plane at a time; tip the birdhouse over and weight it down, until glue is dry. Then, repeat for the other roof plane.

9. Decorate the house with Snow Writer, covering up the raw fabric edges between fabric and wood roof.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Learn how to make a beautiful paper snowflake with this visual step-by-step guide:

photo credit: jelene

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That is usually the time when I scream and realize that I only have 30 more crafting days to create all my homemade goodies for the year.  Having that list prepared in January and tucked safely away in my ideas cupboard, makes that time of year so much easier and much less stressful.

So, if you are like me and want a few crafts to tuck away to bring out next Christmas or even throughout the year, then you may want to tuck this craft away.  I find that this is an excellent way to create wonderfully home-baked goods without having to do any of the baking.  It can be a great craft to do with kids but it can also be an excellent craft and gift to do on your own.

What you need:

• Jars:  You can use just about any type of jar you want.  I like to use the jars with the hinged lid but regular mason jars are perfectly fine.
• Decorations:  This can range from ribbon to silk flowers.  If you have a child helping make the jars, why not allow him to draw a picture and then tape it to the front of the jar.  The key is to decorate them the way that you want to.  The jars can be beautiful but a lot of the “wow” in this craft is how you fill the jar.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1 to 2 cups of M & M’s (This really depends on how chocolaty that you want your cookies to be.  I prefer to go with the 1 cup but I know my kids prefer having 2 cups so we often compromise at 1 and a half cups.)

Directions:

1. Before you do anything else, make sure that you thoroughly wash the jars.  Do not fill them until they are completely dry though.
2. While you are waiting for the cookies to dry, why not start preparing the decorative elements.  If your child will be providing the art, simply sit her down with markers and paper and let her create.  If you are decorating, use a hot glue gun to attach the various element.  For things that need to go on the lid, I would recommend waiting until the jar is filled and closed.
3. Now that you have your jar ready and waiting, it is time to start layering the jar.  To do this, it is important to do this as follows to create a layered look:

• 1 cup of flour with the baking soda and salt on the bottom
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• Half of the M&M’s
• 1/4 cup of the brown sugar
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• Remaining M&M’s

When the jars are filled, you can close them and finish the last little details. The last thing that you will want to do is print off a label that finishes the recipe. So in this case, the label should say:

“Cookies in a Jar:

To finish off this wonderful recipe, you will need 1 egg, 3/4 cups of butter and 1 tsp of vanilla.  Combine all the ingredients together, including the ones found in this jar.  Once it is thoroughly mixed, drop small balls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden.”

All the best,

Sirena Van Schaik

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Felt crafts are one of my favorite types of crafts to do – and they great thing is that felt crafts can be as easy as you want them to be and still turn out cool!

Here are some felt craft ideas starting with easy projects up to more advanced ones:

Simple Felt Puppets

Materials needed:

• Felt (you’ll probably want to buy felt squares in several different colors)
• Glue
• Mittens, gloves, or socks for the puppet

How to make felt puppets:

1. Cut out small felt pieces to use for eyes, mouths, clothing, etc.
2. Glue felt pieces onto mittens or socks
3. Set puppets aside to dry

Now enjoy hours of fun playing with your new puppets!

FeltScapes

Winter landscape using felt snowflakes

Use felt to create different scenes for various holidays and seasons!

To create what we call a “feltscape,” place a swath of fabric or felt down on the area you’d like to display your scene, then decorate with felt cutouts as well as other objects if you like.

This picture of a winter landscape made created with felt and a small candle is an example of how a felt scene can be simple and elegant at the same time.

Felt Creatures

My daughter and I love making felt creatures together! 

These are a bit more complicated than the previous felt projects because they involve sewing.  If you want to make creatures without patterns, simply cut out mirror images of the shape you want your creature to be, then use embroidery thread and an embroidery needle to sew around the shape – just before you reach the end though, fill your creature with stuffing and then finish sewing.

My favorite book for felt craft patterns is Aranzi Aranzo’s The Cute Book, which is full of cute and creepy felt patterns!

I found a cute fish pattern in the book and made this:

Felt fish

Cutting out all of the small pieces from the pattern did take a little under an hour for me – but in my opinion it was worth it:

Cutting out the felt pieces

My daughter started with a pattern but decided to take the more creative route than I did and just wing it (she had a lot more fun making her own creations as well)!

My daughter's felt doll

As you can see, felt crafts can make for fun projects for any age!

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Fun fabric bags are fast replacing plastic pumpkins and pillowcases as the receptacle of choice for toting home lots of candy.

It’s that most wonderful time of the year. Doorways are decked out with banners and bows, twinkling lights edge the rooftops and all through the house everything from baby bibs and bath towels to tablecloths and throw pillows sports a holiday motif. No, it’s not Christmas — yet. But hot on Santa’s heels, Halloween is second only to Christmas as the largest decorating holiday of the year, says the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s largest retail trade association.

According to the NRF, 55.8 percent of consumers plan to celebrate Halloween and they are continuing to do it in style, decorating their homes and yards with a Halloween theme. With that in mind, the sewing experts at Husqvarna Viking are urging consumers to dust the cobwebs off their sewing machine and stitch up a few fun, fast and easy projects to celebrate the season.

Nancy Jewell, publicity director for the Swedish-made sewing machine company, points out that a terrific selection of Halloween-themed fabrics and the advent of computerized sewing and embroidery machines make it easy to duplicate those trendy ready-made table linens, door banners and pillows that fill the store shelves.

“Most of these projects require only the most basic of sewing skills. All you really need to know how to do is stitch a straight line,” explains Jewell. Embroidering those cute little ghosts, black cats and pumpkins on sweatshirts, bibs and towels is a snap. Machines like the Husqvarna Viking Designer I let you simply touch a button and the machine sews, all by itself. Hundreds of Holiday designs are available via the Husqvarna Viking On-line Web Shop (www.husqvarnaviking.com) or through your local retailer. Simply select, click, download to a floppy disk and sew. What could be easier?

So this Halloween, why not dabble in the creative arts? The experts at Husqvarna Viking offer these suggestions for Halloween decorating — all requiring only a minimum of stitch witchery. But beware, once you fall under the spell of sewing you may find yourself cooking up a bewitching spell to get one of today’s easy-to-use sewing machines.

* Fun fabric bags are fast replacing plastic pumpkins and pillowcases as the receptacle of choice for toting home lots of candy. Making your own is incredibly easy. Fabrics like sparkle felts, ric rac trim, variegated threads in autumn tones and a few decorative stitches add to the festivities. The best part, this simple to make bag is very forgiving so you don’t have to be an expert. Plus, you can sew in reflective tape to keep your little ghosts and goblins safe. For detailed instructions on how to make a fabric bag, visit www.husqvarnaviking.com

* Bring the creatures of the night into your house by suspending soft sculpture bats from fishing line. Cut bat shapes from black felt or fleece and stitch two pieces together, leaving a small opening on one side. Stuff with fiberfill and sew opening closed. Decorate finished bat with fabric paint and pens. Use a needle to thread fishing line through the top of the bat.

* Use glow-in-the dark threads to embroider creepy spider webs (Husqvarna Viking’s Holiday Embroidery disk has a great one) on a black fabric cut to fit your table. Or, sew a covering from glow-in-the-dark fabric for a trick tablecloth

* Decorate the doorstep with an easy-to-make patchwork pumpkin, courtesy of The Home Sewing Association; instructions and materials list can be found at www.sewing.org

* Greet trick-or-treaters with a friendly ghost door decoration made with Butterick Pattern 4312 (www.butterick.com). The site also offers a pattern for an easy-sew Halloween banner, pumpkin centerpiece and runner.

Armed with your bag of sewing tricks, you can create great decorative Halloween items for your home in little to no time and without spending a ghoulish amount of money.

Courtesy of ARA Content

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Halloween’s history has changed over the years. Centuries ago, Halloween night was known as “devil’s night.” Superstitious people associated this day with death and supernatural happenings, such as bad omens, black cats, and bats or spiders. Halloween night was known to be one filled with vandalism as well.

Fast forward several hundred years, and you have a more modern, contemporary holiday of fun, food and decorations. Today, Halloween has turned into one filled with lavish costumes, home decorations, and more candy than a dentist cares to know about. Party-goers of all ages dress up in fun, scary or outrageous costumes for school, college and other celebrations.

If you’re getting back to the simple ways of life, nothing’s better than an easy costume for kids and adults. How about the chiton?

“OK, so not everyone recognizes what the term ‘chiton’ means,” says Kathy Colussy, fashion design instructor, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. “But if I mention the word, ‘toga,’ we can recall images of togas from movie epics or from college fraternity parties. Our mind conjures up bodies draped, swathed and pinned in bed sheets.” The gown is remarkably simple to construct and designed to be belted or draped to flatter any figure. By following the steps below, you’re sure to impress everyone at your Halloween party.

Now, it’s on to the food portion of your celebration. According to Michael Holderfield, chef instructor at The Art Institute of Houston, families are looking for more creative recipes to entice children to eat more traditional and seasonal favorites, such as pumpkin muffins.

Party and baking instructor Kim Smith, of The Art Institute of Seattle, recommends her pumpkin muffins to start Halloween morning off right. “These are a great start to anyone’s morning.”

For those wanting to create their own spooky haunted house sounds, they can use tapes or CDs of graveyard sounds, doors slamming or screams. “It’s fun to make your own tape of Halloween sounds,” says Rob Lehmann, chair of the Audio Production Department at The New England Institute of Art & Communications. “Popular sound effects include doors slamming and people screaming. Kids, and adults, can have so much fun creating their own haunted house sounds.” Simply recording such sounds on your tape or CD recorder will allow you to spook those trick-or-treaters.

For further information about The Art Institutes go to the Web site at www.artinstitutes.edu.

How to Make a Toga

By Kathleen Colussy, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale

Traditional Toga

In making a toga, there are two simple variations. The first involves one long rectangle (approximately 5+ yards of fabric) that will be swathed around the body. The second is constructed of a semi-circle cut from fabric that is the side of a double or queen-size sheet. More fabric is obviously required based on the size of the gentleman who will be sporting the toga, as well as his desire for more coverage for aesthetic or functional preferences.

To create a female version of the toga, visit The Art Institutes Creative Solutions web page at http://www.artinstitutes.edu/about/about_02.asp

Supplies:

One old sheet or several yards of muslin 1 1/2 times a person’s height

Sewing thread to match

Several large safety pins

One large brooch to fasten at shoulder, optional

Note: To allow for minimal sewing skills, men should wear some sort of shorts because the toga will later be fastened to what is worn UNDER the toga.

Directions:

Using your large bed sheet or fabric, begin to form a semicircle shape in the cloth. Next an additional cut into the top center of the semicircle approximately the size of 1/4 to 1/3 into center of the fabric should be made. This cut will allow the semicircle to be wrapped and draped successfully around the body.

It is totally optional if you wish to construct a finished hem where the fabric has been cut. If you are an overachiever you can opt to sew a 1-inch hem.

Taking one large safety pin, secure one corner of the semicircle to the waist on the right side of the body and pin again on the left side of the body.

It should be noted that once the fabric has been secured the amount of fabric from the waist down should fall to approximately the knees or mid calf. If it does not you may opt to cut additional selvage from your semicircle.

Before proceeding simply make additional fold in the cloth to compensate. Next the fabric will be wrapped several times around the body.

Finally, once you have the amount of draping and folding you are comfortable with, take the excess fabric and throw over either the right or left shoulder, and fasten with safety pin or brooch.

Accessorize with sandals, armband, laurel leaf crowns and plastic shields and swords and voila!

Pumpkin Muffins

By Kim Smith, Pastry and Baking Instructor, The Art Institute of Seattle

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

3 each eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cups melted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 1/2 cups pastry flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cups raisins

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pecans

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

Add all ingredients into large bowl and mix together until well blended. Batter will be lumpy. Spoon into lightly greased muffin pan. Sprinkle generously with topping mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or heat in microwave until warm.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen

Courtesy of ARA Content

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By Sirena Van Schaik

I have found over the years that Halloween, when it comes to decorations, has become almost as decorated as Christmas. Each year, whole neighbourhoods suddenly become creepy villages that hint of dark vampires, witches and zombies trembling in the dark, waiting for the ghoulish night of Halloween to descend upon us.

It can be rather terrifying to young trick or treaters who hesitate at each scary house before gulping down the nerve to go up and ring the doorbell. Even more terrifying is the cost of some of the items. Let’s face it, Halloween is getting a little expensive but there are ways to create the Halloween ambiance with only a fraction of the cost of regular decorating.

Play up the environment:

Before you go on to reading my first little tip on creating excellent yard decorations for a fraction of the cost, I should warn you that this is not the strict gardener at heart. If you feel the need to have your garden in its best condition year round, then skip ahead to the next section.

For those of you who are ghoulish enough to try, play up your yard by simply letting it grow a little out of control. Don’t bother with removing deadheads from your plants and if the leaves have already fallen on plants you usually trim down or pull out, just leave them. You can even allow a few weeds to grow – although this isn’t completely necessary. Nothing says haunted house more than a few unkempt flower beds.

To add to the unkempt feel of the yard, allow the fallen leaves to collect. Pile some of them against your stairs, if you have any, or in the flower beds. If you are worried about the leaves going over to the neighbor’s yard, simply rake them up and then make your piles on Halloween before the trick or treaters arrive.

Setting the scene:

Now that you have your yard looking like you haven’t tended it in years, let’s start setting the scene. You will need to go and purchase a few supplies but don’t feel the need to spend too much. If you have a dollar store near you, go there since they usually have a huge selection of Halloween items.

Pick up a few things like cobwebs, police tape and anything else that catches your eye. Often, I can do a yard up for less than 20 dollars, which is an amazing feet if you look at the price of some decorations.

Once you get home, set up the police tape around the yard, cobwebs in the flowerbeds and around the door. You can give the rundown look to the house by hanging a few strips of police tape across windows and stick it to your door.

Lastly, pick up a black light for the front porch.

The Details:

As much as you have done so far, there are often a few details that people like to have in their Halloween scene. These are often things like tombstones, ghosts or monsters. Some things you can pick up at the trusty dollar store but you can make most of them.

Cardboard cut-outs are the best trick for all your decorating needs. Tombstones can be cut out of the cardboard, painted and set up in the yard fairly easily. Simply tape down a V backing for mounting or attach the cardboard to a stake to push into the ground. If you want to waterproof them, mactac can provide a limited amount.

Monsters can also be drawn onto large sheets of cardboard and painted. Hands coming out of the ground work in the same manner as the tombstones by either attaching a cardboard cut out to a stake or using a “V” brace on the back.

Ghosts are another easy and cheap detail to add to the yard. Simply take a plastic kitchen bag and stuff it with leaves to create a ball. Close and drape a sheet over it. Secure the bag inside the sheet by tying cord around the “neck” of the ghost. Finish off by pinning black felt to the head for the face.
And there you have a truly haunted yard that only takes a few items and really working with your environment, at a fraction of the cost.

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