Handilady Crafting Projects

It is Christmas Eve and you have forgotten to buy something for your neighbour. Make a number of these wreaths to surprise her. Green leaves with contrasting red or silver berries should look very attractive. A bright idea is to make about fifty leaves and tie them in groups of two or three onto a string to hang around the front door frame. You could also arrange the four leaves of this project on a circle of eight leaves, and these on a circle of sixteen leaves with a candle in the centre. Combine the small leaves with the Christmas bells to decorate gifts or to serve as a table decoration at a Christmas dinner.

Here is something that might catch a teenager’s fancy because it is different — a hand with an upside-down heart, covered with a colourful selection of buttons, a lace frill at the wrist and embroidery. The hand can also decorate a cushion or a piece of clothing.

Candlewicking is ideal to light up a Christmas tree. Embroidered very quickly, these individual decorations are great fun and easy to make.

Because of the versatility of patchwork, a cushion is usually one of the first projects tackled by a patchwork novice.

This cushion is the ideal project because straight seams are used throughout and a cottage is always a popular theme.

An unconventional way with which to decoupage is by using fabric. For this brightly coloured blind, gingham stars are attached to a fabric blind using fabric iron-on adhesive which makes it simple to make and also very effective.

A really fun way to decorate a set of drawers is to disguise them as an alternative storage space, such as stacked shelves. Having found some pictures in a magazine of towels, cushions and fabrics piled high, I cut them out and glued them onto the drawers.

Wooden fruit and vegetable crates are much too good to be thrown away once emptied, so rescue them and dress them up with vibrant colour and ribbon to make a great set of boxes for candles or table-linen (linens).

A gilded sun graces the lid of a plain wooden box with a touch of celestial mystery. This luxurious effect is easy to achieve using Dutch metal leaf. Delineate the area to be gilded with Japanese gold size to provide an adhesive backing, then apply the Dutch metal leaf as a transfer.

This unusual box is almost as pretty in two halves as it is when assembled. For maximum impact, choose two contrasting or complementary colours for the two halves so that the pattern of the curves stands out.

A romantic keepsake for Valentine’s Day, or any time of the year. Avoid the usual whimsical “Victoriana” look by using strong colours and shapes. Découpage is an easy technique that gives spectacular results.