Answers- Part 5
Q: Can you share a neat Advent activity or craft with us?
For a Advent activity or craft – well, I like these stars from Dawn. We’ll be making those this year. Another quick and easy one is this little angel I made for the Jesse Tree Swap. They look cute tied to packages or hanging from a garland on your mantle.
You need 30 mm jingle bells, a spool of gold cord, a spool of thin gold ribbon, a spool of wide, white organdy ribbon, a spool of gold beads, a spool of lace and some wood balls with or without a hole through them. I found it all at Michael’s, but ran out of lace and went to a closer fabric store for more. I like the lace I got at the fabric store MUCH better. It had a finished edge, which caused the lace the form a circle almost by itself. Make the extra trip and get that kind of lace. You’ll also need regular and mini glue dots.
Start with the body. Cut a piece of lace that will go around the bell for a dress. If you’re making more than one, get some paper and mark your measurements. Don’t bother with a ruler, just mark the length and label it. Use a glue dots to stick on the lace.
Cut a length of gold cord for a hanger. Record your measurement. Thread the cord through the tab on top of the bell and tie. Try to stick the knot and end into the bell if you can. If not, don’t worry. Don’t go nuts with it. If your wooden ball has a hole through it, thread the non-knot end of the cord through the hole, make another knot right on top of the ball. Make sure you make an extra long cord to do this. If your ball doesn’t have a hole, just use a glue dot to stick it to the top of the bell.
Cut a small piece of gold ribbon and tie it in a bow. Use a glue dot to stick it on the front of the angel’s dress. You remembered to mark your measurement, right?
Cut a piece of organdy ribbon and tie into a bow. Use a glue dot to stick it to the back of the angel. Cut a piece of the gold beads to make a halo. A mini glue dot will stick it on just fine. I like to put it back on the head a bit so it’s just sticking up.
That’s it, you’re done. You can use colored pencils or paint to put a face on if you want, but they are cute as is. If you’re making a lot of these, use the measurements you recorded to cut all the ribbons at once and make them in an assembly line.
You can actually buy kits for these through Oriental Trading Company, but their shipping takes forever, unless you’re willing to pay a whole lot more. Might as well just get the supplies yourself. I made 29 angels from the supplies I had and I could have made more.
