HOLIDAYS DECORATING | DO IT YOUSELF
rustic crafts
A rustic Christmas theme lends itself to homemade crafts made from easy-to-find mate-
rials, such as pine cones and branches, twigs and cuttings from the bottom of your live tree.
To top it all off, all these materials come with the added bonus of being environmentally
friendly. If you’re feeling crafty this Christmas, here are projects for homemade rustic décor.
Rustic ornaments
Turn pine cones or decorative wrapped twig balls into ornaments by tying burlap rib-
bon into bows and attaching to the top with hot glue. Then, loop a 6-inch length of twine
or raffia through the knot of the bow on the back of the ornament and tie a double knot at
the top.
Twig Christmas tree
Round cutting from the bottom of a tree
Five types of Christmas ribbon, all about ¼ inch thick, in lengths of 5 1/2 inches, 4 1/2
inches, 3 1/2 inches, 2 1/2 inches and 1 1/2 inch
1 twig, about 6 inches tall and 1/4 inch in diameter
low-temperature hot glue gun
low-termperature hot glue sticks
Construction paper or craft paper
Glitter
School glue
Twine
Place the bottom of the twig in the center of the round piece of wood and attach using a
1-inch brad-type nail and hammer. Stand the tree up on its round wood base and begin tying
the center of the longest ribbon around the twig, about 1/4 inch from the bottom. Secure the
center of the knot to the branch with a dab of hot glue. Do the same with each smaller size
ribbon, spacing them evenly along the twig so that the shortest length of ribbon is tied near
the top of the twig. Make a star for the top of the tree by cutting a shape from brown or yel-
low construction paper or brown craft paper. Add a thin layer of school glue and sprinkle glit-
ter to cover the star, then shake off the excess. Once the school glue has dried, attach the star
to the top of the tree with hot glue. If you’d like, you can glue each end of a 4-inch length
of twine to the back of the star to turn the decoration into an ornament.
Burlap candleholder
1 glass hurricane vase, about 4 inches in diameter and 6 inches tall
1 white pillar candle
Spare branches from the Christmas tree, with foliage
Strip of burlap fabric, the same diameter as the candleholder and about 2 inches tall
Mod Podge
Sponge brush
Twine
Plate-style candleholder
Place the vase in the center of the plate and place the pillar candle inside. Arrange
branches around the base of the candle to a height of about 3 inches. Add a thin layer of
Mod Podge to the back of the burlap fabric using the sponge brush. Press the burlap flat
around the base of the candleholder, with the sticky side facing the glass. Tie a length of
twine around the middle of the burlap fabric with a simple bow. For a snowy effect, sprin-
kle faux snow on the branches. For a touch of elegance, replace the twine with lace ribbon.
For a simpler, quicker version, wrap twine around the middle of a pillar candle and secure
with a bow in the middle.
22 • HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS 2016 • WWW.DAILYASTORIAN.COM