Viewer Holiday Projects

We also received a contribution from Thelma Weeks of Montgomery, Ill., who wrote to share the idea that her church group used when decorating the tables for their Christmas bazaar and craft show. The little snowman that Thelma sent along (figure B) was glued to a foam board base that had been decorated with pinecones and small packages. The snowman himself was made from two Eggbeater containers that had been emptied then stacked and glued top to top to form the body. To add weight and stability, the bottom cup was filled with sand. The snowman's face and top had were made of two more Eggbeater cups . . . one left white for his face and the top one painted black for his hat. These two were glued to the two that formed the body. Felt arms and hands were added along with chenille balls for the coal buttons down his front, and smaller chenille balls for the features (figure C). He sported yarn earmuffs and felt feet. Delightful . . . and very inexpensive.

Jill Shimp of Pasadena, Md., is a kindergarten teacher who sent along a wonderful suggestion for making really large and lasting snowflakes that swing in the slightest movement of air (figure D). These are perfect for decorating the ceiling in large areas, which is exactly what Jill did in the classroom. In the past she had made snowflakes from paper, which were pretty but also very fragile, so each year she had to start over again. This year, with the help of her computer and printer, she printed out large (about eight inches) snowflakes in different pastel shades, added wonderful sparkly glitter, then hung them from the ceiling.

The snowflakes were made using the capital "T" in the Wingdings font (figure E) and enlarging it to the desired size. Jill printed her snowflakes on transparency film that is used for overhead transparencies. The reason for this is that the ink does NOT dry immediately, so it is possible to sprinkle embossing glitter on the wet ink and emboss with a heat gun (carefully, so the acetate does not wrinkle). I did not have the sheet transparency that Jill referred to, but I tried my standard acetate sheets made for use on the home ink jet printer and it worked just fine. The important thing to remember is to print on the side that they tell you not to! The correct side has a finish that makes the ink dry immediately. The back side . . . or wrong side . . . does not have this finish so the ink stays wet, allowing time to sprinkle with the embossing glitter, then emboss. It worked perfectly.

When the snowflakes are completed, cut around the acetate in a circle, punch a hole near the edge, thread with a length of nylon thread or fishing line, and hang to decorate the sky!