Bruce the Chef

Create miniature pieces of art to give with love. These colorful resin hearts are simply luminous.

what you’ll need
Black art board
Scissors
Adhesive-back papers, such as foil, metallic, and hologram papers
Decorative-edge scissors
Pencil
Waxed paper
Liquid plastic casting resin and hardener
Crafts stick
Gems
Metallic gold glitter fabric paint
Fine wire; colored beads
Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
Pin backs

1  To make several pins at one time, start with a piece of black art board in desired size.
2 Cut the papers into small, irregular shapes. Use decorative-edge scissors to cut long strips of paper. Remove backing after cutting.
3 Arrange papers in a random pattern to cover black art board, allowing small black borders to show between the pieces.
4  Draw heart shapes on paper-covered board as many times as possible. Cut out.
5  In a well-ventilated work area, place waxed paper on work surface and arrange heart shapes. Mix the resin and hardener following the manufacturer’s instructions. Use a crafts stick to spread a thick coat of resin on each heart. Before it begins to set, press in gems. Let hearts set overnight.
6  Outline hearts and gems with glitter paint. Let dry. String beads onto fine wire. Loop ends of wire around first and last beads and back into strand of beads. Hot-glue onto back of heart. Curl and shape wired beads. Repeat for each heart. Hot-glue one pin back to back of each heart.

Drape a shelf with a lace edge made from a tablecioth embellished with colorful stitches and buttons.

what you’ll need
Purchased 36-inch Battenberg lace tablecloth
Assorted machine embroidery threads in rayon and
gold metallic Assorted crafts buttons Sewing needle and thread

1  Following the edge of the tablecloth design, stitch rows of embroidery threads, using different colors and stitches.
2 Sew on buttons where appropriate to enhance the Battenberg design on the tablecloth.

(construction paper)
1. Fold a 1-foot strip of orange construction paper into three even sections. Trim the sides of the paper to form a pumpkin, but do not cut the folds.
2. Unfold the paper and cut out eyes, nose, and a mouth in the center section, making a pumpkin face
3.  Cover the top section with yellow construction paper and the bottom section with black.
4.  Fold again, with the pumpkin facing you. Glue on a paper stem. Add lines with a marker or crayon to outline the pumpkin.
5. Fold so that the yellow paper shows through the pumpkin face when it is "on" and the black shows through when it is "off."

(construction paper, felt, yarn, self-adhesive stars)
1.  Roll and glue together a wide piece of construction paper so your middle finger will fit inside it.
2. Decorate one side of the paper roll with pieces of felt and yarn.
3. Place self-adhesive stars on the witch’s dress and hat.

Give a rustic theme to a Hanukkah table setting with star napkin rings formed from sticks.

what you’ll need
Pliable twigs approximately % inch in diameter
Twig cutter; sharp knife
34-gauge wire; 18-gauge wire; ruler
Wire cutters
Needle-nose pliers

1  Beginning at the end of one twig, bend it four times at 2′/?-inch intervals. Cut it at the fourth bend.
2 Whittle the sides for the first and last sections so they lie flat against each other when they overlap.
3  Using 34-gauge wire and needle-nose pliers, fasten the overlapping twig sections to each other, forming an equilateral triangle.
4  Cut a second twig to the same length and bend at the same 21/2-inch intervals. Whittle as in Step 2, above. Weave the second twig into the first triangle, centering the points of the second triangle on the sides of the first. Wire the overlapping sides together as before.
5 To make a wire loop for the napkin ring, use a piece of 18-gauge wire about 3V? inches long. Use needle-nose pliers to squeeze one end of the wire around the star where the triangles cross; repeat on the opposite side, shaping the wire into a half circle.

Vivid embroidery floss enhances the shapes of purchased wood or plastic ornaments. In an evening make a set for your tree or to give as a much-appreciated gift.

what you’ll need
Thick white crafts glue
Paintbrush
Wood or plastic ornament in
desired shape or curtain ring with
screw eye Embroidery floss in desired colors Scissors
1-inch-wide sheer wire-edge ribbon Large marking pen or dowel

1  Paint on a thin layer of glue at one end of the ornament. Begin winding the desired color of floss around the glued area. Continue gluing and wrapping floss around ornament, changing colors as you wish. The floss ends should be glued down securely. Let dry.
2 Tie a ribbon bow to the ornament top. Smooth out the ribbon tails. Wrap the tails around a large marking pen or dowel to create curls on the ends.

(small rock, poster paint, construction paper, cotton, chenille stick)
1.  Cover a small rock with poster paint and let dry. Cut and glue pieces of construction paper for eyes.
2.  Place a piece of cotton soaked in glue in the middle of the rock. (This keeps the legs from falling off when they are dry.)
3.  Cut pieces of a chenille stick, and glue them across the cotton to make three legs on each side of the body. Let dry thoroughly.
4. Turn the stone over and slightly bend the chenille sticks at the ends so the "rocky crawler" can stand more easily.

Just the right size for holding a small surprise, this bag is woven from scraps of holiday ribbons.

what you’ll need
Scissors; ruler; Vi yard of lightweight
fusible interfacing; pins Corrugated cardboard Approximately 9 yards of’/»- to
lV2-inch-wide ribbons Fusible hem tape; iron; 7×9-inch lining
fabric; thread; sewing machine Needle; snap; button; tassel

1  Cut a 6′/2×221/2-inch piece of
interfacing. Pin it fusible side up to the cardboard. Cut enough 221/2-inch-long ribbons to cover the interfacing. Pin the ribbons side by side atop the interfacing.
2 Cut several ribbons to a length of 6V2 inches. Pin hem tape to the ribbon backs. Begin weaving short ribbons with those pinned to cardboard. Pin ribbon ends as woven. Using an iron, fuse ribbons to interfacing, removing pins as you go. Trim edges.
3  Place the lining onto the woven piece, right sides facing. Stitch together using a 1/i-inch seam allowance and leaving one short end open. Trim seams and turn. Measure 4′/2 inches from stitched short end. Fold the woven piece at this point with right sides facing. Hand-stitch both side seams. Turn right side out.
4 To make the flap point, measure 2Vz inches from open end on each side. Fold the corners together and stitch from sides to center of flap. Turn right side out. Sew on a snap where flap point meets bag. Sew a button and tassel to point of flap.

Any lady feels as pretty as a princess wearing this elegant corsage.

what you’ll need
2 yards of lV2-inch-wide red felt wire-edge ribbon
Yardstick
Scissors
Needle and matching thread
10 inches each of 1′/2-inch-wide felt wire-edge ribbon in two
shades of green 4-inch length of 1 Vi-inch-wide wire-edge ribbon for back Two 4-inch-long sprays of vintage artificial corsage leaves with
fruit trim

1  Cut red ribbon into 1-yard lengths for each rose. Pull out the wire along one edge of each piece.
2 With wireless edge at the bottom, fold down one end of ribbon to extend V2 inch below the bottom edge.
3  For flower center, wind ribbon from end that is folded down clockwise several times and hand-stitch to secure.
4  Fold back length of ribbon close to flower center and wind several times. Fold back ribbon again and wind again. Use running stitches to gather the remaining length of ribbon and
wind around center. Taper and secure ribbon end with hand stitches. Make two roses.
5 For leaves, remove wire from one edge of a 10-inch length of green ribbon. Fold ribbon in half crosswise. Make a running stitch from the folded edge with wire curving down to unwired edge and curving back up to wired edge. Trim away corners of bottom edge.
6 Gather leaf and secure thread. Open leaf and shape along wired edge. Make two leaves. 7 Assemble roses and leaves and hand-stitch to 4-inch ribbon piece. Using the photo, left, as a guide, hand-stitch artificial corsage leaves with fruit trim in place.

(construction paper)
1.  Draw two ghost shapes, as shown, about the size of your hand. Cut out two circles in the body large enough to see through. Draw on faces with a marker.
2.  Cut a 2-inch-wide headband long enough to go around your head.
3.  Glue the ghosts’ heads to the headband with the body hanging below so you can see through the holes. Tape the ends of the headband together.