Straw Decorations

Christmas must be the nicest holiday of the year as it‘s the time when everything seems so mysterious and special. We remember the old traditions and try to do things as they‘ve been done many years ago by our ancestors. We follow certain rituals and know that they have great meaning – for e.g. here in Lithuania on Christmas Eve on a white table cloth we put twelve dishes (as there were 12 disciples) and under the table cloth we put some straw (as Jesus was born in a stable). Although this holiday has been changed a lot by keen businessmen it’s nice to know that we haven’t forgotten what it’s all about.

I’d use every opportunity to learn something new about old ways and traditions, so last Wednesday I attended a lesson for everyone who wanted to try and make straw Christmas tree decorations, which have been very popular before the glittery bauble times.

It wasn’t very difficult and I enjoyed it a lot, but there’s a problem – these days it’s a big dilemma where to get straw. It has to be gathered in the summer: end of July, beginning of August; and if you don’t know any farmers… hmm… you’d need to pick some from someone’s fields. But if the idea of “scrumpping” doesn’t appeal I suppose you could use reeds instead.

Symmetry is very important, so all of the straws you will use have to be the same length, width and preferably colour (colour differs depending on the type of the straw (rye or wheat) and the are ways how to make it brighter – you have to boil your straw in water with baking soda).

You have to use a needle that would be longer than your straws, so that you could take it out at the other end. And the thread has to be similar colour to your straw, so that it wouldn’t be noticeable. (We as beginners got a bright orange one, so that it would be easier to untangle it if need be.)

The outcome: a rather complex symmetrical shape that, after decorating it with dried flowers, doesn’t look too bad.

On the other hand you’ve probably never seen traditional Lithuanian carcass shapes that are called "gardens". They are very complex and ornate, decorated with straw birds, garlands, dried flowers and berries. These are given as presents for newlyweds as a symbol of rich life (sorry I haven't got any photos, but if you are interested here's an example:
http://savaskampas.blogas.lt/uploads/r/Rutela/113928.jpg).

It is said that these “gardens” contain the idea of creating a perfect world, where “grapes are falling down”, in the middle “there flows a river” and in the trees “the birds are talking” (words from national songs). That’s why these straw “gardens" used to be a nice present – not only for decorating your home, but also for bringing you happiness.

Christmas Tree Garland

I can finally say that it‘s time to get ready for Christmas. (Well, the shops over here have been doing it for ages – they‘ve started just after the 1st of November, but I refuse to believe that this is right – I don‘t want to spend half a year waiting for this holiday!) The 1st of December is the perfect date – it still leaves about 20 days for the hardest bit – finding presents… Meanwhile I have started on my decorations.

This year I had several ideas how to decorate my parents’ Antique shop. I’d love to capture the look at feel of vintage Christmas. I’m sure my mum would love it too, but she gets carried away and we end up with lots of stuff that I wouldn’t use. We already have a white Christmas tree, lots of candles and two white deer, which look quite nice, but I’m afraid that more decorations are coming and I won’t be able to stop them piling up on the tree, beneath the tree or somewhere near the tree…

What I had in mind was some handmade decorations that people would have used in the old times, when they didn’t have fancy baubles, or some old toys that would remind people of their childhood. Well, I’ve started with a handmade garland that I’m making using dried watermelon seeds and little beads.

I must admit I had this idea a month or so ago (the Christmassy stuff in shops must have stimulated my brain back then), so I have prepared – I’ve collected lots of watermelon seeds, that have dried nicely and it’s really hard to stick a needle through them now!

If you want to try this out all you need is seeds (any chunky ones should do, just make sue they are soft and not dried, this should help you to avoid little holes in your fingers), little beads, a needle and some thread. Also some paint, that you could make your garland look gold.

I promise I will post some more photos so that you could see what the garland looks like on the tree. Meanwhile I’ll continue trying to stick my needle through the dried seeds… as it’s not going as fast as I would hope it to be…

Simple Christmas Projects – Beaded Poinsettia

I can finally feel Christmas coming – we’ve had our first snow, shop windows glow in different colours and the main square in town has a huge Christmas tree. It seems that despite the economical crisis, that we keep hearing about on the news, everyone is getting ready for the festive period and there’s nothing better than the anticipation of the big event.

There’s still 4 weeks, seems like a lot of time, but this waiting can bring its own pleasures - I love decorating, baking little biscuits, buying and wrapping up presents! So having flicked through a lot of magazines, looking for inspiration, and searched through my head what else I could come up with I decided to make some beaded flowers – poinsettias.

Last summer I was asked to become God mother to my nephew and had to buy a candle for his Christening. I wanted to decorate it in small white beaded flowers. As I had never done this before I looked up on the internet and found an example of something I had in mind on this website - http://www.craftbits.com/

For this project you will need: small red, green and yellow beads, thin flexible wire and a bit of patience.

Instructions: We’ll have to make several red and several green petals – as many as you want. So here we go - cut a length of wire around 30cm for each petal. Thread a single bead onto the wire and slide it into the centre. Push one end of the wire through two more beads. Push the other end of the wire through the same two beads. Now you have the second row of your petal. Work the other rows adding one bead more than the previous row or one bead less – that’s how you can shape your petals.

Be creative – petals don’t have to be exactly the same, some can be bigger, the others smaller. You can also vary the colours – add green beads to the red petals to make your flower look more natural. If you want your poinsettia to be yellow in the middle just finish a few petals making the last petal bead yellow. After you’ve added the last bead just twist the two wires together making stems. Once you’ve made all of your petals twist their ‘stems’ into one. That’s it.

I hope you enjoyed it and that you will find a place for your ‘home grown’ poinsettia – decorate your presents, wreaths, Christmas table…