Filed under Wreaths and Swags by admin
Not only are these a beautiful addition to any decor but they smell wonderful. I used a large grapevine wreath as a base for this project. When using large pieces of potpourri, you will want a substantial wreath backing to hold the weight.I purchased a bag of decorative potpourri in the scent I wanted. These bags of potpourri can be found in most craft stores and Walmart craft section. The potpourri consisted of a few large pieces, such as whole oranges, large seeds and other dried whole fruits with smaller seeds and such as well.
You will want to cover your work surface with newspaper, for easy cleanup. It’s best to pour the contents of the bag out on to your work surface, so you can see what you are working with. You may want to play around with the placement of the potpourri before gluing anything down.
I started with the largest of the pieces and randomly glued them to the wreath. Using the smaller pieces, to fill in all the gaps. I continued to glue various pieces, layering some of the smaller ones until the surface of the grapevine wreath was covered.
Another great idea would be to use dried fruit slices, such as apples or oranges. Start by hot gluing apple slices to your wreath, layering them as you go. Finish it off by gluing cinnamon sticks and or cloves on top of the apple slices. You could also use both dried apple and dried orange slices and alternate them as you glue them to the wreath. Finish the wreath off by gluing cinnamon sticks, cloves or both to the dried fruit slices.
Supplies Needed:
Supplies needed for dried fruit wreath:
Filed under Raffia Crafts by admin
I topped my tree with one of these angels, my family loves it. It has that primitive rustic look. I have also made smaller versions for ornaments. These can be hung anytime of year.
I find a hot glue gun works best with this project. If you don’t have a glue gun, a needle and thread can also be used. Start by gathering approx. 30 pieces of raffia (depending on the size you would like the angel to be). Cut the raffia strands in half and match up all the ends. Fold the raffia in half and tie about an inch down for small angels and two inches for larger ones. This is going to be the “head” of the angel.
Gather several strands from each side and braid them, knotting them on the ends. These will become the angels arms and hands. I hot glued them in place on the front and I also glued a star to the hands. You can hand stitch these if a hot glue gun is not available. The angel looks as if she is holding the star. You could also glue dried flowers to her hands. Another idea is to cut out a small square piece of paper and fold it in half , giving the look of a book.
The wings that I made for my angel were made by threading wire into a piece of lace trim, the wire will allow you to bend them to the desired shape. I cut two pieces of lace trim the same size and also two pieces of wire the same length. After threading the wire through the lace, I bent the edges to the ends of the lace so it wouldn’t come undone. I gave the wings the shape I liked and then hot glued them to the back of the angel. You can hand stitch them if you don’t have a hot glue gun.
For the halo, I beaded a piece of wire with clear beads. I twisted the ends together and slid them into the top of the head towards the back and bent it so it would stay. I also added a small piece of the lace trim around the neck for an extra touch.
You can glue ribbon to the back or twist wire to the back to hang them. For the larger one, to use as a tree topper, I took several pieces of the scrap raffia and braided them together. Glue (or hand stitch) one end of the strand to the back of the angel, about half way up the body. Glue ( or hand stitch) the other end to the back, making a ring shape. This ring is going to go around the top branch of the Christmas tree, so make sure it isn’t too big or too small.
Supplies Needed:
