Christmas crafts Archives - grace grits and gardening

How to make Dried Orange Slice Garland

December 20, 2018 By Talya Tate Boerner 4 Comments

Dried Orange Slice Garland

I’m excited to show you this dried orange slice garland I made a few days ago. For some time, I’ve wanted to decorate with orange slice garland. I love the primitive, Americana look of it and believe it complements our old house better than super shiny tinsel. I imagine this type of garland adorned the March family Christmas tree. (March family as in Little Women.)

Can’t you just see the girls gathered around the tree with a fire blazing? Jo writes on her latest play, Beth silently reads poetry, Meg helps Marmee sew Union Army uniforms, and Amy stares out the window wishing she had a pocket full of money.

Sometimes I really do think I was born in the wrong century, not that I would dare accept a do-over should one be offered. No, I like hot showers and good coffee and Sonic ice too much for that. So I’ll be perfectly content with an old (renovated) house, my well-loved copy of Little Women, and my version of homemade garland instead.

Anyway, I LOVE how this Christmas craft turned out. My garlands are now festooning the bookshelf, draping the mantel, hanging like ornaments from the front porch tree. Each night when the sun goes down, a spot of brightness lingers.

dried orange slice garland

I think I’ll leave my natural orange slice garlands up all through winter, too. Considering that in literature the color orange (and orange fruit) symbolizes enthusiasm, optimism, happiness, and creativity—what better way to start the new year?Continue Reading

How to Upcycle your Christmas Cards

January 7, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner 9 Comments

Christmas 2015 is a wrap. I put all my decorations away yesterday, and now my house looks bare. I seriously can’t remember what I had on my dining room table before Christmas. After hauling all the containers back into the garage, I’m left with a stack of pretty Christmas cards from friends and family. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand to toss out Christmas cards. I mean, some have glitter on them. And cute animals.

So today I have a fun, simple craft project for you (good for kids, too). This is my favorite way to upcycle Christmas cards—I repurpose them into gift tags for next year. When Christmas comes around again, you’ll be happy you did this.

How to Make a Paperback Book Angel

November 30, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 26 Comments

If you can fold a piece of paper, you can make this paperback book angel.

Book angels, typically made from hymnals, have been around a long time. Since I didn’t have a hymnal, I used a paperback book.

Although I’m not one to destroy books, this Glimmer Train book was the easy choice for me since I received it in the mail as a consolation prize for not winning one of their short story contests. Yep, I just ripped the cover right off and turned it into something more positive (after I read it of course).

Fold page to center. (Initially I folded two pages at a time (as shown in the picture above), but it became quickly apparent this would not work. I started over folding one page at a time.)

Fold the same page to center again.

After the second fold, there will be a triangular piece hanging below the edge of the book. Fold this section under so that the edge is even.

Repeat with 25-30 pages. (The book I used had approximately 150 pages. You will need to adjust the number of pages folded for the base depending upon the length of the book. I recommend folding approximately 2/3 of the book for the base.)

Do the same thing with 25-30 pages on the other side of the spine. This will keep the angel balanced.

The angel will now stand. (If you continue folding the remaining pages, you will have a Christmas tree…)

Once you fold a group of pages on each side of the spine, flip the book upside down and continue folding pages the same way to make wings. Again, fold the same number of pages on each side of the spine.

When there are only about 20 pages remaining, flip the book once more and fold the remainder of the pages to make the back of the angel base. (This part will not be visible from the front when the angel is completed but will help with stability.)