Holidays yield craft ideas perfect for Christmas 2006

During the holidays I came across several ideas that I liked so well I want to pass them on to By Hand readers. Clip this column and add it to your “seasonal ideas” folder for future reference.

My 8-year-old grandson made a personalized tree ornament at school that may prove to be a fun project for parent and child next time the Christmas season rolls around.

The first ingredient for the project is a glass tree ornament, so having a parent or adult supervise is a must to insure that safety is maintained. The child’s hand is painted with washable, quick-drying white paint. The child grips the ornament to transfer his handprint to the glass ball. After the paint dries, each fingerprint is highlighted with a painted black hat, eyes and mouth, and an orange nose to make the prints resemble snowmen. The date the ornament was made and the name of the child who made it may be added. The kids could make a whole box of these in red, gold, silver and green and give them to everyone in the family.

A friend in Brewer gave me a reindeer (or moose, if you prefer) ornament that she learned to make at a God Jul retreat in New Hampshire for those of Norwegian descent. You begin with a wine cork, which serves as the reindeer’s head. Insert into it a wooden or bamboo kebab skewer you can buy at the grocery store. This serves as the reindeer’s neck. Glue onto the cork two small wiggle eyes you can buy at a craft store or department. Glue on a small red pom-pom for a nose. For antlers, use artificial sprays of red berries found in silk flower departments at craft stores. Or you could use ordinary twigs found outside on the ground. Insert those in the cork above the eyes. And for a final touch, tie a length of narrow red plaid ribbon into a small bow and hot glue that to the reindeer’s neck.

Use the reindeer to garnish an impromptu evergreen arrangement, a wreath or other holiday greenery. It also would make a nice package decoration.

One of the best ornaments on my tree this year was made by a 4-year-old boy of my acquaintance. His mother helped him cut a snowflake from a sheet of ordinary white paper. He scribbled it with blue and silver glitter glue and Mom tied a silver ribbon through it to serve as a hanger. Christmas decorations don’t get any better than that with the possible exception of the one a 9-year-old boy and his mom collaborated on and contributed to my tree. They made a bell-shaped ornament of fabric yo-yos stacked in sizes from big to small, cut from dark green and gold print fabric. A little silver jingle bell serves as its “clapper.”

Several other friends were gleeful about the odds and ends they had saved from Christmas 2004 and recycled to give their gifts a special touch. My daughter-in-law cut gift tags from last year’s Christmas cards, threaded them with pretty ribbon and tied them to packages.

A friend saved from last year some wire garland featuring shiny purple Christmas trees which she wound around a pair of white glittery candles to make them even more festive.

These ideas cost little or no money, let parents spend time with children, gave the makers a great deal of fun and satisfaction and were a delight to receive.

Snippets

. Looking for free knitting patterns? Visit www.citysideyarnco.com and you will find patterns for socks, mittens, scarves, a vest and other things.

. Even a cursory study of the textiles produced by weavers and designers in West African countries reveals a richness and variety of design that is a delight to behold. Within the wide spectrum of African textiles is the kente cloth of the Ashanti people of Ghana, which has been called “cloth of the kings”; shoowa cloth from Zaire, mud cloth from Mali and adire cloth from Nigeria.

Author Marianne Isager, who lives in Denmark – the country, not the town in Maine – draws on these and other African textiles for inspiration in her book “Knitting Out of Africa.” The result is a compendium of sweater patterns that will challenge the seasoned knitter and give the rest of us something to aspire to. Isager employs entrelac (rows of blocks worked on the diagonal), slip-stitch knitting, intarsia (isolated blocks of color), two-color knitting and double knitting techniques in her designs.

The most striking designs in the book are the one inspired by the mud-dyed fabrics produced in the Bamana region of Mali, and the zigzag patterns found in Zimbabwe. These are among 13 others designs the book offers.

The book, published by Interweave Press, includes knitting tips, pattern charts and detailed instructions for knitting each garment.

Call your local bookstore to find out more about “Knitting Out of Africa.”

Ardeana Hamlin may be reached at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.