Christmas Décor and Gift Ideas

It's that time of year again. The evenings are becoming cooler, fall festivals will be happening soon, the stores are filling up with holiday décor and the crafts stores are full of craft ideas for the upcoming Christmas season. If you need some Christmas décor and gift giving ideas, now is the time to start thinking and making.

Here are some ideas that you might want to try. If you are a crafter and/or sewer you probably have many of the supplies to create these beautiful items right in your home.

Golden Angel Pillow
Stencils to adorn a heavenly accessory.

Supplies you will need:
Angel stencil
Waxed paper to protect work surface
¾ yard 45"-wide fabric
Gold acrylic fabric paint
Silver glitter paint
Stencil brush
Polyester stuffing
Gold trim
Hot-glue gun and glue sticks

First you need to prepare the surface for stenciling, tape large pieces of waxed paper to your work surface. If desired, practice stenciling on muslin scraps, if you have never stenciled before. You can purchase a basic stenciling book at your local craft store for instructions on stenciling; basically it's dabbing.

Next you will stencil, place the material to be stenciled on top of the waxed paper. Place your stencil in desired position you choose. Using a stencil brush and paint, stencil pattern onto material. Let dry thoroughly

Now to make the Pillow
The finished pillow will be 10"x14". All seam allowances are ¼".

First cut out the pillow, cut 2 (101/2"x141/2") rectangles from the fabric you have chosen.

Next, you will stencil, using gold paint for your angel, stencil 2 designs on the right side of 1 rectangle. Reverse the stencil for 1 design so that the angels are facing each other. Let dry.

Now to make the pillow, with right sides facing and raw edges aligned together, stitch rectangles together, leaving large enough opening for the stuffing. Clip corners and turn right side out. Stuff to desired fullness. Slipstitch opening closed. Hot-glue trim to pillow edges. Let dry.

Festive Finial & Bottle Topper
Make a holiday statement with craft clay. It's as easy and as fun as rolling out cookie dough.

Supplies you will need:
Rubber gloves
Craft clay in green, red, white
Craft knife
Heavy-duty glue
Flat-topper plain lamp finial
Cork for bottle topper
Liquid leaf paints in gold and silver
Paintbrushes

When ever you craft with clay projects, always bake in a 275' oven for about 20 minutes and let cool for 20 minutes. Here is a very good tip: Always wear rubber gloves while handling the clay to prevent leaving finger prints on your item. I left finger prints when I first started using craft clay and it looked terrible.

Squiggle Tree

First to make the tree, roll a piece of green clay into a ball. Form the ball into ¼"-wide and 14"-long. Slightly taper one end for the tree top. Start at the top (the tree top) shape the log into squiggles on a baking sheet, making sure each squiggle touches the other. Trim off any excess clay.

Next to make the tree topper and base, roll a piece of red clay into 1 (1"-diameter) ball and 1 (¼"-diameter) ball. Tap the larger ball, on the top and bottom, flat just a little. This is for gluing purposes.

Next to finish, bake all clay pieces and let cool. Now glue the small ball to the tree top and large ball to tree bottom, let dry. Glue your squiggle tree onto a lamp finial and let dry.

Star Squiggle

First to make the squiggle, roll a piece of white clay into a ¾"-diameter ball. Form the ball into a ½"-wide and 5"-long, tapering 1 end. For a flat gluing surface, tap the log ends on a flat surface. Shape the log into squiggle on a baking sheet.

Next to make the base, roll a piece of white clay into a ¾"-diameter ball. For the squiggle base, roll 2 balls, pressing 1 ball into a disk shape. Form other ball into a ¼"-wide and 1"-long log. Wrap the log around the base of the squiggle to form a collar. Remove the collar (retaining the shape) before baking and lay flat on the baking sheet to bake separately.

Now to finish, bake all clay items, let cool. Glue the designs to base. Glue the base together and then glue onto a cork, let dry.

Next to paint, use gold liquid leaf paint and paint your star squiggle, let dry.