BH&G Holiday Crafts 2021

ASIDE FROM the crazy number of jigsaw puzzles I did during the pandemic, I—like many of you—tried new hobbies to keep my hands and mind busy. As with life, my new crafting adventures had successes and failures. I tried to cross-stitch like my expert mother. The sad result is sitting unfinished in a drawer. Projects with my daughter by my side were more successful. Together, we explored macramé, watercolor drawings, and making clay ornaments for our Christmas tree. Now I have my eye on several designs we’d have so much fun making for the holidays. At the top of my list: ghosts for Halloween (page 8), needle felting (page 24), and clay cardinal ornaments (page 63) for my clay-loving kid. If you are ready to flex your newly discovered creative muscles, then…

1. PAINTED ORNAMENTS Packaged in an attractive box, this kit is a creative gift for yourself or your favorite crafter. Follow the images to match the designs or let your imagination guide your painting. The kit includes three stylized 4-inch wooden tree ornaments, eight paint pots, and a paintbrush. jillmakes.etsy.com 2. GINGERBREAD HOUSE STITCHED ORNAMENT Capture the winter charm of a Scandinavian cottage in an easy-to-stitch ornament. A blunt needle, precut holes on the laser-cut walnut wood ornament, and embroidery floss make this charming house a kid-friendly project. Other available shapes let you stitch up an entire collection. kirikipress.com 3. GNOMIE THE HOMIE PUNCH NEEDLEWORK Punch-needle embroidery is related to rug hooking. Using simple specialized tools, it has been popular for hundreds of years. This little gnome kit includes an adjustable punch-needle tool with four…

SLICE OF LIFE Celebrate seasonal plenty with a smorgasbord of fall flavors. Arrayed along a twine hanger, each felt wedge takes on the special character of its real-life pie counterpart. Drape a mix of your favorite slices across a buffet or make a single-flavor garland. Individual pennants can also be scattered across the tabletop. Designer: BETHANY KUNZLER GHOST SQUAD Hovering over the scene, these specters combine ethereal eeriness with unexpected charm. Thin dowels lift the apparitions above the fray while a secret formula gives each poltergeist one-of-a-kind form. The process is so easy, you’ll want your own ghost army. Designer: CHERIE GAILEY BOUNTIFUL BOUQUET Felt flowers bloom in lavish display to welcome visitors or create focal-point appeal in any room. Master a few simple techniques to transform ordinary felt into festive blossoms. Using your new skills, create…

BLACK FOREST Black and white connect the dotted, plaid, and houndstooth fabric trees, giving the grove elegant diversity. Raid your fabric stash and use your favorite coordinating remnants. Designer: SHERI FOSTER SWEET STITCHES Three basic embroidery stitches complete this small but striking candy cane. Framed with a 3-inch embroidery hoop, the design uses only four embroidery floss colors. The contrasting black-painted hoop ensures the classic red-and-white design grabs attention in a niche or on a canister or cabinet knob. Designer: LISA ELKSNITIS TINY CLAUS At only 13/? inches tall, this clay Santa boasts color and charm in a miniature package. Nestle the key-chain-size ornament in a tabletop tree, use it to embellish a stocking or gift, or give it as a party favor. For festive napkin ring finials, loop thin ribbon or cord through the eye pins…

WOOLLY WONDERLAND Needle felting is like sculpting, but instead of clay, you start with billowy, incredibly soft wool. No sewing required. Tiny barbs on the tips of the felting needles compact the fibers as you poke repeatedly through the wool, creating finished 3-D shapes in just a few hours. Get Started Note: Use a 36-gauge felting needle for initial shaping, a 38-gauge felting needle for joining pieces, and a 40-gauge felting needle for finishing. Refer to patterns in Pattern Pack for sizing of pieces. Materials □ 0.25 ounce each of needle-felting wool roving: cream (such as Corriedale wool from Desert Breeze Distributing, desertbreeze.co); orange, teal, light pink, hot pink, light blue, red, yellow, medium green, russet, black, dark brown, white, light green, dark green (such as colored wool from Carr Park Artisans, carrparkartisans.etsy.com)□ Felting foam…

“It’s like sculpting with cotton candy,” Katie Leporte says of her passion for needle felting. Her nimble fingers poke and shape soft, billowy wool into cute critters and keepsakes. The Des Moines crafter and magazine story producer hopes others discover the fun. “It’s an accessible and affordable hobby,” she says. “All you need is a little fluff of wool, a special needle, and a work surface.” BACKSTORY: “I’ve been making things ever since I could reach the kitchen drawer and swipe my mom’s tape. I’d staple drawings and writings together as a book and use the tape to ‘laminate’ the pages. I took scraps of fabric—I got into my mom’s stuff a lot—to hand-sew little animal friends. Making and collecting tiny sweet things and sharing them with others is my jam.” “Nothing…