A Homemade Yule - Part Two

Well, today was supposed to be all about homemade ornaments and decorations.  And it still is!  Just not the way I would have liked.  Brianna has been having sleep issues, might be lactose intolerant, and is just getting over the flu.  So, I've not had as much time as I wanted to do these crafty type things!

But fear not!  I have links!  And also ideas.  We kept forgetting to buy salt this week as well, and I didn't have enough on hand to do any salt dough. I really love this salt dough recipe on Artsncrafts-ideas.com, mostly because they give two ways to use it.  What I would make with this?  I would use my pumpkin cookie cutter and make apples!  Paint the stems brown, the rest red, and add some green felt for a leaf!  What is more Yule-y than apple cider?  Or Apple Crisp?!  I would also make some Suns, and maybe some Mistletoe.

I did crochet some ornaments, though.  That's something I can do even while we are trying to get Brianna to sleep.  I love these Ribbon Candy Ornaments on the Family Fun website.  I didn't have any ribbon in an appropriate color, though.  So I crocheted one.  I used a cream colored yarn and a maroon colored yarn.  I chained 32, and single chained 30 for each of the 3 rows.  Then I took a needle and thread and sewed through the middle to get it to stay together.  Then I just put an ornament hook through it, and voila! A crocheted ribbon ornament.  I do want to make some  with actual ribbon, but that will have to wait until I find some ribbon I like.  I'm ridiculously picky about my ribbon.

Next, I made an apple.  I think I did a decent job on it because when Sean saw it he said, "Hey!  An apple!".  I got the idea for this one from Crochet Pattern Central.  I don't even remember what I was searching for a pattern for, maybe hats, actually.  And then I saw their food page.  There are some seriously cute things on there.  If you only have a little time, you at least have to look at the "half dozen eggs" one.  It's super cute.  The bacon slices are pretty neat as well.  Okay, back to the apple!

For this I chained 6, joined, and did a single stitch all the way around the first row.  For the second row, I did two single stitches in every other loop.  Then I joined, crocheted a little brown stem and joined it on.  And then I crocheted a wee leaf and joined that on as well.  It's sort of hard to see the stem in the picture, but it's there!  I used the same maroon colored wool from the ribbon ornament, as well as some fuzzy brown wool that I usually use for doll hair for the stem.  And then I used some sage green yarn for the leaf.  I think it turned out pretty good!  Especially since I didn't have a pattern.  I'm sort of like that though.  I just go off on a tangent, all willy nilly.  You know, I like that term.  Willy nilly.  Nobody uses it enough anymore.

As well as these, you can do the popcorn and cranberry strings.  I also love this felt candle ornament on Kaboose.  The only limit you have is your imagination.  If you don't know how to crochet, it's easy to learn!  You can find dozens of videos on You Tube of people showing different crochet stitches.  I'm making (still) an afghan, it's a great way to stay warm in the winter.  This is the second year I've been working on it, and I really hope to finish it this year.  There is nothing you can't learn from the internet, and it is infinitely more satisfying to make something yourself than it is to buy it.

Happy Crafting!

S.

Update:  Here is the link to A Homemade Yule - Part One