That's My Bix!

One of my favorite memories of Christmas Eve was my sister and I blowing through a gigantic pack of colored construction paper. I cut long strips out of green and red sheets and then together we used Elmer’s glue to construct a seventy-five foot paper chain. I still remember our glee when we realized that we could wrap it all the way through the kitchen, the hall, past the stairs, into the living room, the dining room and then back through the pantry into the kitchen again, making the ends touch. We probably spent 4 hours making that thing, only stopping when we were evicted from the kitchen table so we could eat dinner.

Craft projects are an integral part of the holidays, whether its popcorn garlands or paper chains or lacy snowflakes cut out in painful detail. The best part about holiday craft projects is that traditionally (despite what Martha Stewart would have you believe) they involve things that are already on hand.

• One of my favorite things to do on snowy winter days (or boring summer ones) was concoct a shoebox diorama. You just need a box of some kind and then props to put in it. I used to scrounge for twigs and rocks outside and then constructed pioneer vignettes, with a little stick log cabins, a well made from a piece of curled bark, separated cotton balls for snow and some crinkled plastic wrap to denote frozen ponds. Then I made a little pioneer Half-Pint Ingalls out of popsicle sticks and made her a frock out of a torn and stained flour-sack towel. I should also point out that I ignored the bulk of my Christmas loot to do this! If you don’t have hours to invest in your diorama, you could construct a pop-up version out of magazine cuttings too.
• Resurrect the ancient art of tatebanko, or paper perspective, and make your own little dioramas using card stock and an Xacto Knife. All you need to do is draw or cut out some shapes (either your own or found in a magazine) and then start layering. You can make one out of anything, including blown out eggs or discarded plastic containers. Some are amazingly sophisticated and chic!
• The American folk art movement was all about creating art with things that were available, usually discarded items. Dig through your recyclables bin and create a monster out of nothing!
• We get so much junk mail. So much! It always seems so sad to just throw it into the shredder or tear it up directly into the recycling bin. But what if you could do something a little more artful, a little prettier with all of those new credit card offers or circulars for local stores? Check out these adorable little trees, made from junk mail!
• Why spend $30 on a birdfeeder when it’s so easy to make them out of pinecones? You’ll just need to keep your eyes open during a neighborhood stroll and then whip up a little batch of wintery goodness for your feathered friends. Best part? You don’t have to worry about cleaning these feeders, because you can just pitch an empty one into the garden compost and start again with a fresh cone. No eco-guilt!

Still not inspired? The new digital (and free) issue of Readymade is bound to give you some ideas to use those crafty skills!