Decorating Ideas

Holly and pinecones are perfect for a winter garland!

Wire together lengths of greens adding gold cording leaves and tiny golden horns for a festive looking garland!

Add a bowl of golden apples to your decorations - Cover an apple with three coats of gold spray paint - that's it!

Gift Wrapping Ideas
Brown bags and craft paper can be jazzed up with imaginative applications of paper cutouts, felt-tip markers, bead dough ornaments, and designs done in yarn.

Lace, ribbons crochet and other sewing box scraps are good ways to put presents at their frilly best.

To Make Bread Dough Ornaments
Dough
2 cups of flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
     Combine 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt in a large flat bottomed bowl and mix well with a spoon.  Add water a little at a time mixing as you pour to form a ball.  Be careful not to add too much or dough will become sticky.  Knead 7 to 10 minutes until dough has a smooth, firm consistency. Place dough in a plastic bag to prevent drying and take out small chunks as you need them.
     To make and transfer cookies first spread a large piece of aluminum foil on the work surface.  Cut, shape and design ornaments from dough as you wish.  When a cookie is finished and ready to be transferred to the baking sheet rip the foil all around the cookie an lift the foil and dough on to the baking sheet.

Candy Cane
Roll a snake of dough between the palms of your hands.  Lay it down on the foil and curl the tip over.  Make the stripes by pressing the side of  a toothpick into the dough

The Wreath
Roll a snake of dough and curl it into a ring.  Spread a little water on the ends and press them together.  Poke the wreath all over with the tines of a fork.  Roll several tiny balls of dough with your hands and stick them on like berries using some water as glue.

Santa Claus
Start with a round ball for his head and press it slightly flat.  Make a floppy triangle for his hat.  Add a round pompon and a border for the hat using a little water as glue.  Make a triangular beard and attach it to his chin.  Then add a mustache, nose and eyes and two blobs of dough for hair on either side of his face.

To Bake set oven temperature for 325 Bake for 1/2 hour or until surface turns a light golden brown.  Allow to cool completely.  Paint with poster paints and seal after with a coat of varnish, shellac or acrylic sealer.

You can decorate gifts with your creations or hang on tree.  Great to do with kids!
 

Fireplace Decorations
To make your mantel a Christmas Centerpiece take 1 generous supply of boxwood nipped from bushes or bought. (Plastic is fine)
Favorite stockings,  2 or 3 Live plants or arrangements.
At 18 inch intervals, tape or tack to front of mantel boxwood in graceful swags.  add stockings at appropriate intervals on study hooks.  Garnish with flowers or accents of your choice.

Show off family photos with gingerbread cookies frames.  Bake up a batch of gingerbread cookies for frames.  Cut out center of cookie with smaller cookie cutter then bake.  After cookie has cooled attach pictures with icing.
 

Christmas Blocks
Buy or make wooden Block.  Simply Paint, stencil and sand using letters that spell out Noel or Ho Ho!  Stack or spread out to make your message!

Candle Light
Use votive candles embellished with cheery holly motifs that you paint on using Christmas stencils.  They add a lot of magic because they give underlights!

Make a Nut Christmas tree!  Glue mixed nuts onto a styrofoam base.