Pioneer Christmas Crafts

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Home : 2001 : November : 3

Pioneer Christmas Crafts
By Alison

Log Ornaments - Collect twigs to bring to class. The students break the twigs into 2-3 inch pieces. Bundle into a pile and tie in the middle with raffia or twine. Tie the extra string into a loop to hang the ornament.

Dipped
Candles - On top of a hot plate,melt beeswax into medium size coffee can which is sitting inside a larger coffee can partly filled with water to create a double-boiler style pot.
The students suspend a 12 inch length of wick over a narrow strip of cardboard. The card board length is wider than the mouth of the coffee can.
Create a "drying rack" by laying 2 yardsticks across two

tables. Hang the cardboard with candles over the two yardsticks between dippings. It will take several dippings to create 2 small candles. When finished, they may cut the wick to create 2 candles, or leave the wicks together to hang on a peg shelf at home.

Tin Punch Ornaments - Have the students save the metal lids from frozen juice cans. Create a punch template the same circumference as the lid. Designs are made of dots which become guides for the nails. I choose pioneer quilt designs. The student will need a hammer, and a long thin nail with a broad head, and a block of wood to hammer upon. Tape the template to the lid. Next, hammer a nail through the lid into the wooden block to stablize the lid. Using a hammer and long nail, the student will pierce each dot, thereby reproducing the design onto the lid. When finished, remove the paper, and add ribbon to hang the ornament.

I had several stations and parent volunteers to made this more managable!