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How to Make Paper Ornaments
comments (23) November 27th, 2016
As someone who's folded 1,000 origami paper cranes, made miles of paper garland, and crafted individual paper shades for seven strings of holiday lights, I can say with some authority that if you're planning on creating crafts for the holidays, now is the time to begin work on those projects! Granted, Labor Day may seem a bit early to begin, but in my experience, things frequently take longer to complete than one anticipates. In the case of the 1,000 origami cranes mentioned above, I got that harebrained (birdbrained?) idea one year shortly after Thanksgiving. Making a paper crane is relatively simple, I thought, so how hard could it be to make 1,000 of them?
The truth is, it's not hard, not at all, but it is time consuming and there's the rub. After the first evening of folding (in front of the TV) I had a total of 15 cranes completed. A little bit of math revealed that was just over 1/10 of 1 percent of the full project. A little more math (of the slightly more complicated type) revealed that at my current rate of production, I would complete my project somewhere around February 4 of the following year! Yikes.
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More decorating ideas: • How to Make a Garland with Punch • How to Make a Snowstorm • How to Make a Surprisingly Simple Paper Wreath |
Not being the sort of person to give up (or listen to reason), I proceeded to increase my production output. I folded cranes on the subway, at the deli, in waiting rooms, at dinner, while watching TV, and walking to appointments. I fielded questions about what I was doing, and the subsequent question, "Why would anyone want to?" I withstood a lot of sidelong glances, a few quizzical stares, and one patently aggressive slur, but I could not be deterred. The project became my own personal Labor-of-Hercules, with myself in the role of demigod.
By mid-December, as I passed the halfway mark, I realized the task was substantially larger than anticipated. Yes, I had to make another 500 cranes, but I would also have to rig up something to hang each of them by. That meant using a quilling needle to make a perfectly positioned hole through each crane's body and threading a metallic cord through the hole and tying it off with a knot.
Time consuming!
The rest of the story you can write yourself: I did nothing but work on cranes; I grew irritable and withdrawn, and I suffered from a precipitous lack of sleep in the last weeks leading up to Christmas.
The result? Well, much to the relief of myself and my friends, I met my goal late Christmas Eve. However, the truth of the matter is, 1,000 cranes on a Christmas tree looked nothing like I'd imagined. One friend said, gently, that I could have achieved the same effect by taking a bushel of spitballs and tossing them into the branches. A neighbor's little girl was less kind-if more honest-when she asked, "Why didn't you do something pretty, like put Christmas ornaments on your tree? We got ours at Wal-Mart; you can borrow some."
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Dare to Make It! Holiday
We dare you to make your own gifts and decorations this holiday season!
Find inspiration and exciting how-to projects to get you through the holiday season in DIY style.
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Comments (23)
Posted: 11:29 pm on July 26th
Posted: 6:36 am on July 26th
Posted: 5:22 am on July 26th
Posted: 1:11 am on December 23rd
Posted: 7:27 am on January 25th
Posted: 3:39 am on January 7th
Posted: 1:58 am on January 16th
Posted: 9:02 am on January 14th
Your hand-made ornaments sure out-class any shop bought one; they're just magical.
Posted: 9:39 pm on January 6th
Posted: 7:25 pm on January 6th
Posted: 10:49 am on March 8th
Posted: 11:26 am on December 1st
Today I posted an entry to my blog with a link to this tutorial.
Would you let me know if that's OK?
Thanks,
Nancy Ward
http://paperfriendly.blogspot.com
Posted: 11:17 am on November 17th
Posted: 10:12 pm on November 11th
Posted: 1:28 pm on November 9th
Posted: 6:27 pm on November 8th
Posted: 12:04 am on November 8th
Posted: 5:05 am on October 12th
Posted: 10:54 pm on September 24th
After #2, I added enhancements. 1]green paper leaves,slightly curled and 2]the wire ends became longer and I curly-qued them.
I'm taking this project to a UU Crafters group this weekend. We're starting on Halloween decorations. Thanks soooo much
Monika [p.s. belated Birthady greetings, mine was the 7th]
Posted: 2:48 pm on September 10th
Angela
Louisville, Kentucky
Posted: 2:34 am on September 7th
Posted: 10:37 am on September 1st
Posted: 8:03 am on September 1st