Brown - Glittervilles Handmade Christmas: a Glittered Guide for Whimsical Crafting!

ALSO BY STEPHEN BROWN

Glittervilles

Handmade Halloween

Contents

Introduction

For me, the magic and excitement of the Christmas season has always been more about the weeks and days leading up to the long-awaited holidays arrival than the actual day itself. I love all the preparation and presentation the holiday season brings, so much so that when the actual day arrives, its a bit of a letdown because I know that all the make-and-do madness will soon come to an end. But just because its not Christmas on the calendar doesnt mean it cant be Crafts-mas every day of the year!

Although the activities in this book are all designed to make your home sparkle and shine for the holidays, the materials and techniques used to create them can be applied to making anything your mind can imagine! And because I dont believe your creativity should ever be limited by the number of expensive craft supplies you can afford, all of my projects are made from easily acquired basic materials (youll find them discussed in the Glitter Guide on )!

Crafting Christmas memories can be fun for the whole family, no matter the age. If a project seems too difficult for the very young, just simplify it to their current skill level, or show them the picture and let them make it their own way its OK! Thats the beauty of creating. There is no right or wrong!

Each December when I unwrap boxes of my handmade decorations, its like seeing old friends with whom I can remember the joys of Christmases past. And they know, because they were there, too!

And that is my Glittered Wish for YOU!

Stephen Browns

Glitter Guide

A Manual for Make and Do!

Mastering the art of Make and Do means learning to create anything your mind can imagine, using only a few basic materials, tools you already have at home, and simple techniques!

Sketching

Before starting any new project, the first thing I do is reach for a pencil and paper to do a basic sketch. This not only helps me envision what my finished craft may look like, it also allows me to think about the materials I might use and the projects basic construction. Keep in mind that this design doodle is not the finished product and doesnt have to be a work of art. Its simply a roadmap to your destination!

MATERIALS

Making magic for the holidays and every day doesnt require carts full of craft supplies... only a handful of talented basic materials. Although there are no hard-and-fast rules, Ive divided the materials into three categories describing the role they play in most projects:

STRUCTURE

Materials used for building the base of a project

STYLE

Materials used for defining the look of a project

SPARKLE

Materials used for giving your project that extra finishing touch

STRUCTURE

PAPERCLAY

One of the most important materials on your craft table is some sort of sculpting clay. This allows you to create your own original elements for a project, such as heads, hands, and so on, instead of buying premade pieces. Mixing sculpted clay elements with other kinds of materials, such as paper and glitter, will give your work a truly one-of-a-kind look.

After trying almost every sculpting material on the market, ranging from polymer clays that require oven baking, to messy and hard-to-mix instant papier-mch, I have found what I consider to be the ultimate clay for crafting. Its called Paperclay. Its texture is like a paper pulp; its easily sculpted, holds fine detail, and air-dries to an ultra-hard, sandable finish. Its inexpensive and can be purchased at most craft stores, or ordered wholesale direct from the company in large or small amounts. Paperclay is used in many of my projects, but you can use any sculptable clay material instead.

STYROFOAM

Nothing makes creating a lightweight form for sculpting upon better than Styrofoam. Its found in basic shapes, from various sizes of balls to sheets and cones. It can be cut with a serrated kitchen knife, and pieces can be combined and attached together to make practically any shape imaginable.

Its very important to remember when building a structure from Styrofoam that glue is not very helpful in holding it together. White glue is too slow to stick and has little effect on the porous material, and hot glue melts the Styrofoam completely. The best technique for joining pieces of Styrofoam together and making the structure much stronger is with round toothpicks.

Styrofoam usually comes in standard white and green. I prefer the white for aesthetic reasons, but there is absolutely no difference between the makeup of the two. Do not confuse green Styrofoam with a floral foam called Oasis; this is a completely different material and will not work for our projects.

Packing Styrofoam can also be recycled for crafting, but tends to have a slick surface thats not as friendly to cutting and shaping. I save every scrap of Styrofoam, large or small, just in case its needed for a future project.

CARDBOARD

There are many different weights and varieties of cardboard available at art supply stores as well as all around the house.

Poster board is a really lightweight cardboard that has a slick, clean surface, rolls easily, and is the perfect material for making cones for party hats.

Chipboard is made from recycled and compressed paper and comes in many different thicknesses. Its available in large and small sheets at art or craft supply stores. Its advantages over other cardboards are usually its weight and the ability to bond to itself very quickly with white glue. It paints without warping or wrinkling and is durable enough to be sanded on the edges to soften its rigidness.

Found boards are types of cardboard that are found and recycled from around the home. Many of my projects require cardboard tubes, and while I would like to pretend that I go to the cardboard tube store for those, in reality I usually go to the kitchen and try to free the tube from the still-full roll of paper towels. You can also use rolls from toilet tissue and wrapping paper. So to avoid the frenzy of leaving your paper products in a heap, save empty tubes from any available source.

Other found boards include packing cardboards and the backs of containers, such as your morning cereal box.