Last night's Crafty Crew was full of festive cheer due to the fizz donated by Pewsham Belles in thanks for this year's group sessions, hostess Caroline's mulled drinks, and snacks supplied by Crew members. Ginny showed us how to make natural Christmas decorations using dried the citrus slices and cinnamon sticks she'd brought, plus lots of dried bay leaves supplied by Caroline. These added a spicy, citrusy scent to our surroundings whilst we worked. We all agreed this was a suitable activity for a group session.
Ginny's top tips for making the Christmas decoration:
Cut the slices not too thin (they'll burn) or too thick (they'll take much longer to dry) - a few millimetres is just right
Lay the slices on a cooling rack on a baking tray in the oven to allow the heat to get round both sides
Oven temperature = 100 degrees centigrade and it takes several hours to dry the slices
You will need a generous length of string to allow for tying around the cinnamon sticks and to make a hanging loop at the end
Use a skewer or similar to make holes in the citrus slices and bay leaves ready for threading
Wrap some sellotape around one end of the string to make threading easier
Start with a cinnamon stick - wrap the string 3-5 times around the middle, then tie a knot at the top of the stick to hold it in place. Trim off any excess string then thread on a citrus slice to hide the knot. Repeat this with any other cinnamon sticks added so they don't unravel
Look out for citrus bargains (oranges, lemons or limes) in the shops; the slices will keep for ages if kept in a cool, dark place - Lidl is a good starting point!
Chillies, left over fir greenery and other dried aromatic leaves can be used to ring the changes
We also made the star featured in the latest edition of WI Life, with several finished off at home and pictured here with some ideas for how they could be used. We found the smaller 15 cm paper squares from Poundland were slightly thicker and made for a more secure star compared to those which used 20cm Origami paper. A small dab of glue or double sided sticky tape on each 'spoke' of the star ensures it's fixed more securely.
Have a wonderful Christmas everyone! Crafty Crew's next meeting is on Monday, 21st January 2019 at Ginny's house at 7.30pm, where we'll make pom poms suitable for a variety of projects.