Christmas DIY Projects

[Uschi]

Yes, I know it is, perhaps, a little early, but there are some lovely projects out there to make with your grandchildren (or your inner child). I mention this early, because it'll give you time to gather the needed materials (gold foil paper, pine cones and what have you).

I am currently digging out my rolls of gold foil paper to make what we call "hedgehog stars", which are known as Polish stars, it seems.

First, though, fir cones ... they should be dropping off the trees now, so keep your eyes peeled.

I like these little pine cone Christmas trees. They can also be turned into hangers.



https://www.craftymorning.com/decorate- ... mas-trees/

She's making them with sequins, but metallic beads will do, too. You can even string them on a golden thread and glue them in place, spaced apart and simply decorate the trees by wrapping the garland around them.

I have also seen these trees with just the tips of the cone scales painted white and strewn with a little glitter or snow medium. Looks a bit more natural.



https://town-n-country-living.com/pine- ... ees.html?m

[Uschi]

Now for the hedgehog stars:



So far I have only found these instructions in English.
https://www.hometalk.com/posts/decorate ... s-25303860

The stencils are not necessary. If you have a compass you can use that to mark the where you wish to cut. If you haven't you can simply cut out a a cardboard and paper circle as templates (you can use a glass or a mug in the right size). Fold the paper circle in half, then in half again and again, so when you unfold it you will have eight "spokes". Place it on the cardboard circle and mark the rim with a small notch each where you would cut. (Not my picture, but off a German site).



Use the glass to cut out the foil circles and place a few on top of each other. Mark where you want to cut with the cardboard template.

In the instructions she is cutting very deep. I would say make the cuts 1/3 of the diameter, that will leave you with a 1/3 as the centre and it will be easier all round.

You need not make a full hedgehog star.

- I make tealight holders by making circles of about 11 cm (roughly three times the diameter of a tealight). Three of these glued on top of each other, arranged so the spikes alternate a bit and a tealight and that's it.

- Two spike circles glued back to back (glue in a loop of gold thread) with a small stick-on crystal in the centre on each side make a pretty hanger.

And this I found on the net, too, a star made out of differently sized circles.

[Uschi]

I also like these little paper trees. Axel's granddaughter made one for us and we still use it.



Here are the destructions.

http://homeartswithangela.blogspot.com/ ... orest.html

[Earthmaiden]

Goodness Uschi! What lovely things. Not sure about the middle star !

[Uschi]

Hedgehog stars may look terribly difficult, but we learnt to make them in Kindergarten. I plan to make them with the grandchildren (5 and 9) if they feel like it. I guess I will cut out the circles. They can do the rest.

[Stokey Sue]

Apart from decorated foods and the inevitable paper chains made from nine penny packs of gummed strips, I’ve not done a lot of Christmas crafting.

At school we used to make little baubles out of those tissue paper circles stuck together after folding and lots of bells that were just the cardboard cups cut from egg boxes covered with foil or tissues and fitted with loops to hang. In 1961 much of the foil came from our parents’ cigarette packets, gold and silver.

More recently I have made wreaths from a base of ivy twisted to make the circle and then decorated - used to be able to get lots of mature ivy from the cemetery park, as in late autumn they can remove any that has grown too far without damaging other plants as they have died down for the winter. We did this at the WI

But as I’ve been doing some decluttering I’ve found some paper cake doilies. The pack I have the mangled remains of may be the one I used to make the wings for angels with H years ago. The angels I have made have always been a cone of cartridge paper with wings, paper arms and a round head of a ping pong ball or something else. However searching for paper doily angels gives instructions mainly for dressing dolly clothes pegs with the doilies, which might actually be better.

[Pepper Pig]

As my Christmas contribution I have just started making a crocheted throw for the living room. I am making it up as I go along and I can only crochet in straight lines. Also blankets and throws are the only things I have ever made although tomorrow I am having a go at crocheting a poppy as I am off to a Remembrance Service at my old school on Tuesday. I have bought one of the new paper ones but it's very flimsy and will get lost somewhere between the car park and the assembly hall.

[Pepper Pig]

So far.

[Uschi]

Looks good, PP!!!!!

Sue, I found several paper doily angels on Pinterest. Seems that you can do it any which way.

[slimpersoninside]

Having tried to learn how to crochet....and failed miserably.....I'm impressed PP.

[Uschi]

So am I, Slim. I still cannot fathom how to make the turn (how many loops and where do I re-enter?).

I have found another doily angel on Pinterest.
https://www.pinterest.de/pin/351912460725959/

No instructions, but it looks fairly easy.



As for the hedgehog stars, I sat down twice in the evening to time how long it takes to draw the circles onto foil paper and to cut them out, plus making the incisions for the spikes: two dozen take about 25 minutes. I have 54 circles now. All that needs doing is curling the edges and assembling them, which is not a great deal, but they do take up more space, which we don't have. So that will have to wait until closer to the date.

My mother neatly concertinaed a long strip of foil in the desired diameter of the stars, drew on a circle on the top layer, drove a pin through the centre and used paperclips to hold everything in place and then cut about six circles in one go. I haven't the patience for that. So I draw them on individually and cut off a rough strip, cutting that so two circles remain joined, fold over and cut out two in one go.
As for the incisions for the spikes, I found that stacking six circles, keeping them in check with four paperclips before cutting into the circles for the spikes works well.

Slim, will you be doing a festive lino cutting?

[Stokey Sue]

That’s a nice Angel for decoration, mine always stood on a surface

I think I’ve made a form of fan folded star long ago, couldn’t do it now

[slimpersoninside]

I hadn't actually thought of doing one Uschi but now the seed has been sown I'll have to think about it.

A real problem for me trying to be arty is I have no imagination, I'll have to look around for some inspiration.

[Uschi]

Try Pinterest, but don't get lost in there.

Sue, I guess one could arrange something similar round a cardboard cone. As for the head and face, one would have to make the back of the head to stick on from the other side.

Availed myself of pink-and-gold gold-foil.

[Amber]

A challenge for you…

When I was at school, we made paper stellated icosohedrons (sp?), beat that!!

No, I certainly couldn’t make them now. but it was fun at the time.

[Rainbow]

I think we made them too. They had questions and answers written on the various 'flaps', depending how you opened it up?

[Uschi]

Rainbow, we called those „Himmel und Hölle“ - Heaven and Hell.

Amber, I think I know what you mean. A sort of inflable body made up of octaeders.

[Amber]

Rainbow, I think we called those fortune tellers. I should maybe try to make one for my GD.

I can’t find a picture of ‘my’ stellated icosahedron - I wonder if it was a dodecahedron? All I remember is lots of cutting, gluing, and very long spikes. (It was a very, very long time ago…I think in a maths lesson?)

[Uschi]

Rainbow, I think we called those fortune tellers. I should maybe try to make one for my GD.

I can’t find a picture of ‘my’ stellated icosahedron - I wonder if it was a dodecahedron? All I remember is lots of cutting, gluing, and very long spikes. (It was a very, very long time ago…I think in a maths lesson?)

Was it like this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_ste ... cosahedron

We have many various types of paper stars in Germany, since paper folding and teaching geometry that way was and is popular in the German Kindergarten-movement.

We all had to learn to make Fröbel stars and the like. It was fun, though.

[Amber]

Similar to the one on the right, but every face had a long spike of equal size.