¾ cup ground cinnamon
1T ground cloves
1 T ground nutmeg
2T white glue (like Elmer’s)
¾ c applesauce
In a medium size bowl combine all ingredients to make a dough. I use my hands to mix and squish it all together until it is a mildly wet dough. If it is too dry add another tablespoon of applesauce, if it is too wet add a little more cinnamon.
Roll the dough out between 2 pieces of plastic wrap until it is approx. ¼ inch thick. Using metal type cookie cutters, cut out designs. Our favorite cookie cutters were about 3 inches tall. Any taller and they seemed to large for the tree and any smaller were too hard to get a hole in them for the ribbon. The gingerbread man and lady cutters were the cutest of all.
After you cut them out, lay them on a tray. Using a toothpick or straw make a hole in the top for hanging. Let them dry for 3 or 4 days turning once or twice a day. I turn them morning and night to insure they dry out well.
We wanted to make a craft for school to help count our blessings. I love the whole Thankful tree idea... but I am ready for Christmas around here.
So instead of a Autumnal tree, we made Christmas trees and on the ornaments we wrote what we were thankful for. I know what *I* am thankful for... :)
From My Homestead to Yours,
~Chas~
Chasity L. Burrell
Senior Editor Homesteadblogger Heritage Acres Farm
Want a fun way for you and your family to display all that you are thankful for?? Make a Thankful Tree!!
You will need:
1 brown paper bag
Construction Paper: red, yellow and orange
Cut open the brown paper bag by cutting down one of the creases and then cutting the bottom off. Lay the paper out on the table and use about half to ¾ of the length of the bag to draw a tree trunk.
Staple this to the back of a door or a bulletin board.
Using the remaining pieces of the bag make branches. Staple those coming form the tree trunk.
Now make leaves out of construction paper. Make lots of them!
Put them in a basket and leave a pen nearby.
Have the members of your family begin to write down on the leaves what they are thankful for. Begin to attach these leaves to the tree.
Once you start this project.. the tree can fill up quickly!!
How nice to have a heart full of thanks to the Lord for all His blessings when you sit down to your Thanksgiving dinner!
Alright my friends, I am going to attempt my first EVER sewing tutorial! I told you that I was taught how to make a granny square while I was on my Ladies Retreat. It was so much easier for me to learn from the ladies teaching than it was for me to look at a book and try. The picture quality is not wonderful, I just saw some of the pictures I took last night, but hopefully you will get the hang of it as easily as I did and you will be turning out some beautiful squares as well!
If you are a Newbie to Crochet HERE is a site to help you with basic stitches, you will see me refer to several in this tutorial... Chain, Slip Stitch, Double Crochet.
Step 1: Chain 5 Cool, you got that! Alrighty we are on our way!
Step 2: You want to turn that chain into a round so you will go to the first chain and slip stitch... Now we have our center, we will build on from there! Woohoo!
Step 3: Chain 3 Here we are building out from the center and we will begin making a larger circle to build on from here
Step 4: Two(2) Double Crochets and chain 1 Alright, here we are in process of making our circle, so what we are going to do is we are going to double crochet 2 times and then chain 1. The chain will make the space we need to help us along in future steps...
Step 5: 3 Double Crochets and chain 1 (3 more times) slip stitch to complete the circle Now we have a circle!! Yippee... but wait I told you we were making Granny Squares right? Ok, bear with me we will get to the square in a minute.
So to make sure we are cool to this point, counting the first 3 chains as one DC (double crochet) you will have 4 sets of 3 double crochets with one chain in between.... clear as mud??
Step 6: Chain 3 and then double crochet 2, chain 1, double crochet 3 and chain 1 in the same hole If you will look at your round you will see 3 double crochets and then a hole/space in between each set of 3. This space is where you will go into to make your next layer or sets of 3. Does this make sense... I am trying!
What you are doing now is building your edges... we can't make this granny square stay a circle any longer, we are going to put some corners on it!
Step 7: Look for next hole, double crochet 3 and chain 1~ 2 times in each hole. (You will do this in each hole till you meet back up with your first set. This will form your first square. Slip Stitch to complete the square and now you are ready to build on.
Step 8: Chain 3, double crochet 2, chain 1 You will notice that there is now a hole between each of the four edges, you are going to do almost the same thing in each hole... meaning you don't want an edge you just want a set of 3 dc's to fill the hole.
So dc three times and chain one and move to your edge.
Step 9: Double Crochet 3 times, chain 1, Double Crochet 3 times, chain 1 in corner hole. Again, you are making corners for this square, you should be catching on to a pattern if I have successfully portrayed this to you. So in each of the corners you are making 3 dc's, chain 1, 3 dc's, chain 1. Simple!
Step 10: Slip stitch to join the square together
Step 11: Finish out your next layer of the square the same way as in Steps 8 and 9, the only difference is you will find 2 holes in the in between each edge this time... no big deal just dc 3 times and chain one in each.
***REMEMBER, your first chain of 3 counts as your first dc in your first set.***
Step 12: All the way baby... go all around just as I told you, come together again, slip stitch and tie off your end. The lady who taught me only does 4 layers, but of course you can do more if you like.
Now you want a bunch of these... so get to it! I don't have nearly as many as I would like to have had done by now, but remember I am teaching myself to hold the crochet needle/hook in the proper way, so I am SLOW JOE right now. Once you get several made you can do all kinds of things with them...
Make them into an afghan by stitching them together, make potholders out of them by putting several layers together on top of each other and stitching, use them as coasters, make a pillow cover, make your dd a doll blanket out of a few... whatever you like.
I hope you enjoyed and understood my attempt of spreading the knowledge that I received this past weekend. If you see a mistake, feel free to email me or message me and I will change it, and now go get your yarn and your hook and go for it! If I can do it YOU can do it!
With Love From My Homestead to Yours,
~Chas~
Chasity L. Burrell
Senior Editor Homesteadblogger Heritage Acres Farm
I was just reading over at Randi's and saw this great information on the 30 Days of Gifts to Sew at Sew Mama Sew!
Can you all just imagine all of the crafty goodness that is going to happen there?! You all know that I'm a rookie, but you all inspired me even just with your craft for kids tips the other day.
Look at all of the fun projects that they are going to tackle!
November 1 ~ Aprons
November 2 ~ Pincushions & Pins
November 3 ~ For the House
November 4 ~ Lunch Bags
November 5 ~ Tote Bags
November 6 ~ Blankets for Baby
November 7 ~ For your Purse or Pocket
November 8 ~ Whimsy
November 9 ~ Fabric Ornaments
November 10 ~ Ties and Belts
November 11 ~ Reading & Writing
November 12 ~ For the Table
November 13 ~ Placemats
November 14 ~ Kids’ Clothes
November 15 ~ Warm those Toes
November 16 ~ Gifts for the Crafter
November 17 ~ Purses
November 18 ~ For Baby
November 19 ~ Tech Gifts
November 20 ~ Gifts for Organization
November 21 ~ Pillows
November 22 ~ Fun for Hair
November 23 ~ Soft Toys & Games
November 24 ~ Sachets
November 25 ~ For the Kitchen
November 26 ~ Embellishments
November 27 ~ Gifts for Warmth
November 28 ~ Drawstring Bags
November 29 ~ Fabric Boxes
November 30 ~ Gift Compilations
And you can win things too!
Every week throughout November they will also offer two $25 gift certificates to Sew,Mama,Sew! Winners will be randomly selected from all comments posted on their blog in the previous week.
Ohhh, it sounds really neat. If you all get inspired and start posting crafty things, be sure to leave me a link here so I can enjoy!
I'm looking for some simple craft activities to do with the kids for Christmas. Do any of you all have instructions on how to make simple herbal hot packs?
OK, my kids love these; and I have to admit, I do, too! Simple, but pretty.
Gather your leaves, press them in a heavy book for at least an hour or so to flatten them out.
Select paper, cloth, or whatever you want to print on. You've got lots of options: rolls of butcher paper to make giftwrap, construction paper, note cards, t-shirts, napkins, pillowcases, aprons, tote bags.....you get the idea .
Choose the proper paint or ink for your project- tempera paint is ok for paper, though it dries flat. I prefer acrylics, though you have to be careful to keep the paint on the project and not on your clothes, as it doesn't wash out. Ink pads can be fun, too. If you're using cloth, use fabric paint.
Now the fun begins, choose a leaf and brush paint on the side you are printing (or roll ink on with a roller); then press it down onto your printing surface. Lift it up carefully and observe your artwork! Print just one leaf, or make a design or collage effect.
Once you've printed your leaves. Let the paint dry; and then, if you like, dress it up even more with glitter, markers or paint pents, buttons, beads.....whatever your heart desires.
Have fun, you will find lots of creative ways to use this simple project if you think about it! We're starting a leaf collection for our homeschool Science project. I think a print of each type of leaf we collect will make a great addition to our notebooks.
Just thought I'd share this quick and easy project with you all. And if I say quick and easy, anyone can do it! I had bought some extra fleece last year on sale and thought I'd like to make scarves for some family members for Christmas, so I decided to do a trial run last night by making a scarf for myself.
I know that if you use double sided fleece, you don't even have to sew a stitch, just fringe the edges, but I didn't have any of that, so I had to sew 3 seams. I found these instructions for the simple scarf on a blog by googling fleece scarf. I made a few mistakes though, so I thought I'd share my instructions with you.
Nancy's Simple Scarf:
Materials:
Youth = 1 1/2 yds
Adult = 1 3/4 yds
Thread
Scissors or rotary cutter
Instructions:
Cut your fabric to the proper size. These are just guidelines. Use what you have on hand or makes sense to you. Also these measurements are for a scarf that you fold in half and sew, just divide the width by 1/2 if you're using double sided fleece.
Youth size = 8 1/4" x 48 1/2"
Adult size = 12 1/4" x 60 1/2"
Fold the fabric lengthwise right sides together (or the pretty sides as I say). Sew a 1/4" seam down the length BUT leave 3 1/2 inches on each end open (for the fringe).
Now you should have a big ol' tube. Turn it right side out and then sew a seam (on the pretty side of the fabric) on each of the short sides 31/2" from the ends.
Now you just have to cut the fringe on each end. You'll have to cut the fold on each end too, but just eyeball the fringe to make it look right. Fleece is nice because it doesn't fray. Just be sure not to cut into your end seams.
Voila! It's done! You've got a fluffy warm scarf.
Your ever-so craft-challenged Senior Editor, ~Nancy
Would you like to make a skirt out of a pair of blue jeans? It is very easy!We have used jeans that were too short or maybe had some other flaw in them.One daughter bought a pair of jeans and after she washed them they were too tight.She made them into a skirt and she did not feel her jeans were a waste of money.
To make a skirt you will need to remove the inner leg stitching on your jeans.After you have done that you will fill in the empty area with your choice of fabric or use the legs of the jeans to fill in this area.
Below I have listed several websites that give good step by step instructions for this.
Painted terracotta flower pots are a favorite craft around our house.I don’t know why, but my girls just LOVE to paint on those pots!And I have to admit, it is an enjoyable and easy project.
The options are just about endless- paint a pot for a favorite plant; make a pencil holder from a small pot; paint several to make a windowsill herb garden, and paint the names of the herbs on the pots, etc.
These make nice gifts, too.You can tuck in a plant or other little surprise like a bag of candy, tea or cookies in the pot.Add some tissue paper and a pretty bow around the rim of the pot and you have a beautiful gift for someone special.Don’t forget Mother’s Day is coming up; perhaps this would be a good project for Dad to help with!
Here are the basic supplies you will need:
Terracotta flower pots in your choice of shape and size (we like the little ones)
acrylic paints
polyurethane sealer (if you’re going plant something in the pot)
paintbrushes
When we decorate the pots, we usually start by painting the whole pot inside and out.Usually we start with white, but you can paint them whatever color you like.Then once the base coat is dry, use your imagination to embellish to your heart’s desire.We sometimes paint little flowers, butterflies, etc.Some have polka dots made with the ends of the paintbrush, sponge painting, even fingerprints are cute!The craft stores have lots of stencils, rub on transfers, and all sorts of other things you can get to add some neat designs to your pots.
After ours are painted to our liking, we brush on a top coat to seal the design.Usually my girls opt for the glittery clear one- must be a girl thing!Use the polyurethane sealer if your pot will be holding soil and water.
When your pots are dry, fill them with whatever you wish.Have fun!
These simple decorations are fun to make with children and will make your home smell oh, so good.
You will need:
Metal heart shaped cookie cutter
Styrofoam 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
Tacky glue
dried lavender flowers
dried rosebuds, herbs and flowers
2 greening pins or 2 pieces of wire bent into a U shape
1/8 to 1/4 inch wide ribbon
Lavender oil
1. Cut 2 hearts from the styrofoam with cookie cutter.
2. Coat hearts with glue, cover with lavender flowers, let dry.
3. Decorate as desired with dried roses, herbs, etc.
4. Fasten one end of ribbon to the top of each heart with the greening pins or wire. Tie a bow at the center of ribbon. Add a few drops of lavender oil to each heart. Hang and enjoy!
This week we will be the last step for our bags.We will be making a handle out of fabric.
This step is optional if you decide to use something else for a belt. You can use a silk type scarf or crochet a belt, or anything else that your creativity thinks up!!
Cotton Handle (for Blue Jean Book Bag)
What you will need:
Cotton fabric of your choice
Step #1
You will need to determine how long you want your handle to be.When you have this determined then cut out a strip of fabric that is this long.If you need to you can cut out shorter strips and then sew them together.
Your strips will need to be 4 inches wide x your determined length.
Step #2
Now take your strip of fabric and iron it half the longest direction.On the ends of the strip fold them up so the finished belt will not have any raw edges.
Step #3
After you iron it open it up and fold each side of the strip to meet the center of the crease left by the iron.Now refold this and iron the strip again.
Step #4
Sew the strip closed.You now have a long belt to thread through the belt loops of your book bag.You can sew the ends closed by overlapping them and sewing them together.
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I know what *I* am thankful for... :)
I told you that I was taught how to make a granny square while I was on my Ladies Retreat. It was so much easier for me to learn from the ladies teaching than it was for me to look at a book and try. The picture quality is not wonderful, I just saw some of the pictures I took last night, but hopefully you will get the hang of it as easily as I did and you will be turning out some beautiful squares as well!
Cool, you got that! Alrighty we are on our way! 
Now we have our center, we will build on from there! Woohoo! 
Here we are building out from the center and we will begin making a larger circle to build on from here
Alright, here we are in process of making our circle, so what we are going to do is we are going to double crochet 2 times and then chain 1. The chain will make the space we need to help us along in future steps...
Now we have a circle!! Yippee... but wait I told you we were making Granny Squares right? Ok, bear with me we will get to the square in a minute.
If you will look at your round you will see 3 double crochets and then a hole/space in between each set of 3. This space is where you will go into to make your next layer or sets of 3. Does this make sense... I am trying! 
You will notice that there is now a hole between each of the four edges, you are going to do almost the same thing in each hole... meaning you don't want an edge you just want a set of 3 dc's to fill the hole.
Again, you are making corners for this square, you should be catching on to a pattern if I have successfully portrayed this to you. So in each of the corners you are making 3 dc's, chain 1, 3 dc's, chain 1. Simple!
The lady who taught me only does 4 layers, but of course you can do more if you like. 
I don't have nearly as many as I would like to have had done by now, but remember I am teaching myself to hold the crochet needle/hook in the proper way, so I am SLOW JOE right now. 
Once you get several made you can do all kinds of things with them... 
