Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 18

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 18 

Now that the Ivy is sorted I can move onto the next step.

Glue Holly

 

Using the Pine Cones as a guide I Glue part of the underside of the Holly and then Stick it down.

Sew through Holly

 

I have already Sewn two Berries on the Holly. I am now Securing them with Thread to the Ivy. This will help the Holly stay in place.

Sew through Ring

 

To ensure it definitely won’t move I am Sewing through the Ring. With the rest of the Thread I will add a Third Berry under the other two.

Holly Berries Placed

 

The Holly and Berries are now complete. I will repeat the process with the other two Holly Leaves.

Add Mistletoe

 

I felt that the Sides of the Wreath were a little Bare. Therefore I Sewed on some White Buttons as Mistletoe.

Mistletoe and Holly

 

I dotted around the White Buttons around the Wreath. Making little Clusters of Mistletoe Berries. In the above photograph you can see the angle.

It is not entirely easy to spot but I have place the Mistletoe Berries on the Wool that was Wrapped around the Ring. This is so it looks like they are attached to a Vine.

Berries all Sewn

 

I have now completed the actual Wreath. The next part is to add the Ribbon and to be able to Hang it.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 17

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 17

Back to the Ivy

Stick and Pin

 

After placing the Ivy I had to Glue and Pin in place. Now got to wait for it to dry.

Moment of Truth

 

The Glue is now dry. Time to take out the Pins and see how it is.

Wrap Ribbon

 

Since it is to be hung I Wrap a Ribbon around it. Then I can hold it and see what it looks like.

Not Happy

 

I am Not Happy with the placement of the Ivy. When I hung it up by the Ribbon it was Lopsided. Therefore I have Removed the Ivy from the Top most section.

Restick Ivy

 

I Pin the Ivy in place and keep checking with the Ribbon. Once happy I Restick the Ivy in its new place and Pin it. Now to wait for it to dry again.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 16

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 16

Back to the Holly.

Holly with Tails

 

I had left the Tails on the Tops of the Holly as I thought that I might need them to Sew to the Wreath. I decided that I was not going to do that.

Wind around Stalk

 

I decide the best thing is to Wind the Tails around the Stalk.

All Tucked in

 

I now have Sewn all the Holly Tails in so they are Tucked in neatly. However this has slightly rounded the Tops so I had to stretch the Wool a little to make them pointed again.

Match Thread

 

Since my efforts to make a suitable Pom-Pom had ended in disaster I bought some Red Buttons to use as Berries. I had no Matching cotton Thread so I had to delve into my Silks.

Leave Tail

 

I Sewed one Button in Place near the Bottom of the Holly Leaf. I left a Tail in case I need to use it to Sew on to the Wreath.

Double Berry

 

I like the way the Button looked so added the next one. It didn’t matter if the Buttons overlapped slightly. This is what happens naturally with Berries.

Triple Holly

 

I have now added the Buttons to all 3 Holly Leaf Pairs. I think the Triple Holly has come out smashing. They are certainly much better than with the Pom-Poms.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 15

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 15

Well my hand has healed so I can get on with more crafting. This is just as well since this is blog 15 and I am beginning to think it will be Christmas by time I finish making this.

Trying to Place

 

I now have to try and work out where to Place the Ivy. This is easier said than done. I have to take into consideration both the Top and the Sides of the Wreath.

In addition to this I have to think where I am going to Place the Holly and the Ribbons. 

Turn Ivy

 

After messing about adding and removing Ivy and Holly numerous times I decided to do a test.

Add Glue to Back

 

I turned the Ivy over and began to carefully add some Fabric Glue. I only wanted to put the Glue on the Upper most part of the Leaf.

Pin Low

 

I Placed the Ivy in line with the Pine Cone but leaving a Gap. I Pinned it just below where I had put the Glue. This is so I didn’t Glue the Pin too. If I did the Leaf would come away when I removed it.

Three Stuck

 

Once I was satisfied with the outcome of the first Placement I added another two Ivy Leaves. Again I Placed them underneath the Pine Cones.

This is going to be my basis for the rest of the Wreath additions.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 14

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 14

Warning do not look at the End Picture if of a Sensitive Disposition. ****

Pine Cone

 

I had an idea for some extra Decoration. I found one of the spare Pine Cones that I had rejected for the Ring.

Pine Cone Test

 

I began a Paint Test on the Pine Cone. First I did a few Seeds and when that looked alright I continued so it was all Painted.

Start Painting

 

I let the Test Cone completely dry so I could examine it properly. It didn’t take long as I was using a simple Watercolour Paint

All Painted

 

I Painted all 3 Pine Cones attached to the Wreath. I let them dry then I went to turn the Ring over so I could Paint the other side.

Pine Seed Stuck

 

It was once I tried to move the Ring for turning that I noticed that unfortunately the Superglue had seeped through on to the dish.

I had to tug the Ring to remove it and it left a Pine Seed behind along with some Superglue.

********

Should Know Better

Remember the old saying ‘more haste less speed’. I was impatient to crack on with the Painting therefore I grabbed the nearest thing I had to remove the Superglue and Seed.

So with the Dish in one Hand and the Scissors in the other I began to prise the remnants off. Of course the inevitable happened. I slipped and thrust the Scissors straight into my Palm.

Consequently I had to stop Crafting for about a week.  

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 13

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 13

A nice quick blog this week.

Pair of Pine Cones

I wanted to make the Wreath more 3 Dimensional. I know that sounds weird as it already was but simply being a Ring it looked too flat.

Therefore I decided to add some Pine Cones. I wanted them a similar size so began comparing them. I wanted 3 in total.

Trying to Glue

 

Once selected I took a Pine Cone and tried to Glue it in place using my usual Glue. It didn’t go well. The Pine Cones Shape meant that there was little surface to place the Glue.

Trying to Sew

 

To try and give it some extra Strength I tried to part Sew the Cone to the Ring. This was done by securing the Thread to the Ring. Then winding the Thread in and out of the Pine Cone. Needless to say all that happened was tangled mess.

Superglue to the Rescue

 

Luckily I had some Superglue in my Craft Stock. I used that to Glue the Pine Cones in place. This was done at roughly equal placing. See above photograph.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 12

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 12

Okay I have not had a good day. Even with the Holly Leaves Sewn together I am still having problems.

Pipe Cleaner

 

I have been desperately trying to place the Holly Leaves in Position trying to find the best spot. However they are simply Flopping all over the place. I need to find a solution. 

My idea is to imitate nature. Normal Holly Leaves have Stalks and Stems. Therefore I need to Brace the Leaves. My first thought was a Pipe Cleaner but that was way too big.

Black up Wire

 

I had found some Wire but was concerned that the Colour would show through. Therefore out with my trusty Permanent Marker Pen.

Cut Black Wire

I measured the Black Wire against my Leaf. I cut it slightly shorter so as to prevent any Sharp bits sticking out. I then carefully Slid the Wire through some of the Stitches on the Reverse of the Leaves.

This was easier said than done as the Wire kept snagging on Strands. I had to patiently manoeuvre any bits of Wool out of the way before continuing. Otherwise I would have broken a Stitch and it could have Unravelled.

Holly Standing Up

After I Wired one Leaf I Sewed it in place using the Tail of Wool. I then proceeded to Repeat with the other Leaf. As you can see from the above photograph the Wire has made a huge difference.

Instead of flapping Loosely when I pick it up it now holds its Shape. This will now assist me making my Wreath.