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Holiday Decorating

TIPical Mary Ellen : Episode TIP-465 -- More Projects »
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Silver and gold metallic paints are great Christmas colors. Let children help out and make a family project of painting various items for use as ornaments and decorations.
Party expert Mary Wertz makes some holiday decorating suggestions.

  • Make a paper garland to hang over windows, buffets or doorways. Trace a star or any other favorite symbol onto a series of paper squares and cut them out. Cut into the center and retrace the cut to create an outline. Snip one opening in each outline and hook them together, being careful so the tape shows as little as possible. Use as many different colored pieces of paper as desired.

  • Silver is a great holiday color, and shiny metallic shades are now available in spray and bottled paints. Gather holiday items such as candles, flowerpots, wooden shapes, picture frames and even branches from the backyard and paint them silver or gold.

  • Before the paint dries, sprinkle the pieces with gold, silver or sparkling-white glitter.

  • Start saving burned-out light bulbs at the beginning of the holiday season to make into holiday ornaments. Paint the bulbs using simple designs like stars, swirls or just stripes. Another option is to use tape or stencils.

  • After painting each bulb, wrap a wire on the socket end and use it to hang the bulb on the tree. For a more festive look, decorate the hanger with beads. These are great for decorating holiday wreaths for indoor or outdoor use.

  • Let children create holiday place mats. Give them some large pieces of drawing paper or rolls of plain white paper and have them create designs using paints, markers, stamps, stickers, glitter or other items. When they're finished, take the mats to a copy store and have them laminated.

  • Paint plain tapered candles to add a little color and excitement. Begin by covering the work surface with newspaper. Using two pencils for a holder, lay a candle across the pencils then use acrylic craft paint to paint stripes around each candle. Gently turn the candle with one hand while holding the paintbrush in the other. Allow paint to dry for 10 minutes.
Guests
Mary Wertz
Owner, Collage
719 W. Minnehaha Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55419
Phone: 612-823-2473
E-mail: mwcollage@aol.com
Also in this Episode
TIPical Mary Ellen : Episode TIP-465
•Wrapping Odd-Shaped Gifts
•Storing Decorations
•Holiday Decorating
•Tip of the Day
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