Clove orange pomanders are so fun to make and are a lovely way to make your home smell festive and fresh! I remember my mum making orange pomanders when I was little and loved having one sitting prettily in a glass dish on the piano at Christmastime, greeting us with it’s lovely scent coming in the house on wintry days.

There are a number of ways you can make clove orange pomanders and I’ll detail a few options in this post, so you can try your hand at making whichever strikes your fancy! Not only do clove oranges smell delicious, but you can also create pretty festive bowls to display them in and add a lovely natural touch to your holiday décor this season.

what is a clove orange pomander?

An orange clove pomander is a decorative ornament made by studding an orange with whole cloves. To make a pomander, you’ll need an orange, a package of whole cloves, and an awl, needle or other pointy instrument to poke holes in the orange so you can easily insert the whole cloves.

Start by poking the awl or needle into the orange to create a small hole, then insert a clove into the hole. Repeat this process until the orange is completely covered with cloves. The pomander will release a pleasant, spicy scent as the orange dries out.

To create a more decorative pomander, you can also add ribbon or other embellishments to the orange once it is covered in cloves. Pomanders are often used as holiday decorations, but they can also be hung in closets or drawers to add a pleasant scent to the air as well as to ward off pests such as moths (who dislike the smell of cloves).

using other citrus fruits

Not just reserved for oranges, you can also use other citrus fruits to make pomanders! I’ve used clementines to make smaller pomanders to hang on the Christmas tree and you can use lemons, limes, tangerines, etc. as you can easily stick cloves into these and they dry similarly to oranges.

4 decorative pomander ideas

Here are a few ideas for how you can make a variety of different clove orange pomander balls. Scroll down for details on how to make each type.

• COVERED – Completely cover with cloves, add twine through centre of fruit for hanging.
• RIBBON WRAPPED – Wrap a ribbon or cut a thin length of linen to wrap orange, leaving some parts of the orange showing. Add cloves to the uncovered parts.
• CARVED DESIGN + CLOVES – Use a tool to scrape off parts of the orange rind so that the white of the pith is showing beneath. I found using a lino-cut tool is really great for this, but you can also use the corner of a zester or other sharp instrument to a similar effect. You can then dot cloves along the design you’ve created.
• DECORATIVE DESIGN USING CLOVES – Make a decorative design over the surface of the orange – as simple or complex as you’d like! Using an elastic band around the orange is very useful for keeping your lines straight. A scrolling design is also quite lovely.

#1 – clove covered orange pomander

what you will need

• Firm, ripe orange, clementine or other citrus fruit
• Awl, needle or sharp instrument for making holes
• Whole cloves
• Twine for hanging (optional)
• Large needle (optional)

Step 1. If making a hanging ornament, start by cutting a long piece of twine and threading large needle with it. Going from the bottom of the fruit, push the needle all the way through from one side to the other and then back down and through, so your needle comes out close to where you went in. Make a knot at the top and tie a bow at the bottom.

Step 2. Using your awl or needle, poke a few holes in the fruit and begin placing cloves in the holes. Continue until the entire fruit is covered.

Hang on your tree for a lovely scented ornament or year round in the closet to repel moths.

#2 – Ribbon wrapped orange pomander

what you will need

• Firm, ripe orange, clementine or other citrus fruit
• Awl, needle or sharp instrument for making holes
• Whole cloves
• Ribbon or narrow length of linen or cotton – length will depend on the size of the fruit

Step 1. Start by wrapping your ribbon around the orange so that you go over the orange and down the sides, cross the ribbon at the bottom side and come up to the top again. Tie the ribbon in a bow at the top.

Step 2. Begin making holes in the orange at the parts not covered by ribbon. Place cloves in the holes, continuing until all exposed parts of the fruit are covered.

Note: If you find that the juice of the fruit is messing your ribbon as you work, alternately you can make light pencil outline at the edges of the ribbon, remove the ribbon and add all the cloves, then retie the ribbon once all the cloves are in place.

Add an extra ribbon at the top for hanging by looping under the top of the ribbon already in place then hanging on the tree or on a doorframe, etc.

Another display idea is to place your clove orange pomander in a dish to display along with other festive natural items such as pine, boxwood, cinnamon sticks, anise, etc.

PLEASE NOTE: Oranges that are not completely covered with cloves are slower to dry out and risk molding rather quickly. To lessen the chance of your pomanders getting mold, you can add make your clove design, then place the orange in a paper bag to dry out for several days. Once the orange has dried you can then add ribbon and hang up.

#3 – Carved design with cloves orange pomander

what you will need

• Firm, ripe orange, clementine or other citrus fruit
• Awl, needle or sharp instrument for making holes
• Whole cloves
• Lino-cut tool or citrus zester
• Elastic bands
• Pencil for marking

Step 1. If you wish to make straight lines of cloves on the orange, place an elastic around the fruit to use as a guide for placing the cloves. Use the awl or needle to make holes and then push the cloves into the holes. On the example below, I made one line of cloves around the centre and then made swirl lines using the lino-cut tool.

Step 2. Using a zester or lino-cut tool, make patterns and designs by cutting shallow lines into the peel.

Step 3. Place cloves along the lines you made with your cutter or zester.

Make a pretty and festive display by placing a bit of raw wool in a wintry bowl or mug and placing the pomander on top, then tuck bits of natural elements such as lavender, holly, boxwood or pine behind the orange. Add anise, bells, cinnamon sticks, etc. to the bowl for a beautifully scented, festive presentation.

PLEASE NOTE: Oranges that are not completely covered with cloves are slower to dry out and risk molding rather quickly. To lessen the chance of your pomanders getting mold, you can add make your clove design, then place the orange in a paper bag to dry out for several days. Once the orange has dried you can then add ribbon and hang up.

#4 – Decorative design orange pomander

For this orange pomander idea, you will make a pattern over the surface of the orange using cloves. You can make a freehand design or if you like a bit more of a plan, try using a pencil to lightly map out your design on the surface of the orange peel.

what you will need

• Firm, ripe orange, clementine or other citrus fruit
• Awl, needle or sharp instrument for making holes
• Whole cloves
• Pencil for marking

Step 1. Map out your design idea. Swirling patterns look particularly nice, though radiating straight lines can look just as lovely! You can use a pencil to lightly mark the design or gently scratch the surface of the peel using a needle.

Step 2. Begin punching holes along your pattern lines and placing cloves in the holes. You can space the cloves either close together or further apart, depending the look you’re after.

Display your pretty patterned orange in a wintry mug or bowl with other festive elements such as pine branch bits, boxwood, berries and anise.

PLEASE NOTE: Oranges that are not completely covered with cloves are slower to dry out and risk molding rather quickly. To lessen the chance of your pomanders getting mold, you can add make your clove design, then place the orange in a paper bag to dry out for several days. Once the orange has dried you can then add ribbon and hang up.

The post How to Make an Orange Pomander with Cloves appeared first on Kindred + Willow.

This is a very simple craft to do with kids to teach about Remembrance Day. Using just an egg carton, some pipe cleaners (chenille stems) and a little paint, you can make a lovely poppy to display for Remembrance Day or make a few to put in a vase if you just love poppies (as I do!).

Teachers – if you’re using this for your class to make a poppy wreath, 1 egg carton will make 4 poppies (each poppy takes 3 ‘egg cups’), so for 30 students you will need 8 egg cartons all together ( I’m sure you could have worked that out on your own!)

how to make a simple egg carton poppy craft

what you will need

• Egg carton – use 3 ‘cups’ to make one poppy
• Green chenille stems (2 per poppy) or thick floral wire
• Green cardstock or construction paper (if not using egg carton top for leaves)
• Acrylic paint + brush
• Something to poke a hole such as an awl or big needle
• Glue (optional)

Egg carton poppy tutorial

Cut out 3 egg cups by cutting along the dividing line between the cups. (At the bottom left you can see how the cups will fit together once cut).

Cut around the top of one of the cups so you’ve cut the jagged bits off.

Cut 4 ‘V’ cuts to create ‘petals’ and round off the edges of each petal.

Do the same to the second egg cup, but cut the petals slightly smaller than the first.

With the third egg cup, cut off most of the top of the cup leaving just a small edge around the bottom – this will be the centre of the poppy.

Slightly push in the edges of this cup – this will help it fit inside the rest of the flower.

This is how it will all fit together once painted.

Cut out a leaf shape from your green cardstock (if using). You can also make the leaves using the top of the egg carton. Just cut a portion from the top of the carton and cut into a simple leaf shape.

For your poppy, you should have two cut leaves, a chenille stem (or 2 – I found it best to twist them together for strength to hold up the head of the poppy), and the 3 cut egg cups.

Now it’s time to paint! I mixed a tiny bit of black with the red paint to make a deeper red.

Paint each of the cups with the red paint. Don’t forget the paint the backs of the petals too!

If using the egg carton for the leaves, paint those too. I also mixed the green paint with a tiny bit of black to get a more muted green.

Once everything is all dry, you’re ready to assemble the poppy.

Using your awl (or whatever pointy thing you can make a little hole with), make two holes in each of your leaves (as shown above).

Put a little glue inside the largest egg cup, then place the medium cup inside the large one.

It’s not entirely necessary to use glue but it might help keep the poppy together a bit better.

Fold the petals down a little (carefully so the petals don’t rip). Then make a hole in the centre of the two assembled cups.

Prepare the stem – if using chenille stems, twist two together. I found that one wasn’t quite strong enough to support the poppy standing up. If using floral wire and it is thin, you might need to double it up as well. The one I had was very thick and strong enough to support the poppy.

Thread the stem from behind through the centre of the poppy and twist the end of the stem to secure it.

Now place the smallest egg cup upside down in the centre of the poppy. I found you don’t need glue as it stayed just fine as is, but you can add some if you’d like!

Now you can thread the leaves onto the stem by going up from the back of the leaf and down through the next hole and then carefully sliding the leaf up the stem.

Now add a little black paint to the centre of the poppy. You can leave it as it is or add a little more detail if you’d like!

I added a few little white dots to this one but some others I liked the look of just the back in the centre with some surrounding black dots.

Here are the completed poppies! The one on the right was made just the same as the stemmed one but I just glued the leaves onto the back of the flower – these ones are perfect for adding to a Remembrance wreath if making as a class.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and will have a go at making your own egg carton poppies!

The post Simple Poppy Craft for Kids ~ Kids Remembrance Day Poppy Craft appeared first on Kindred + Willow.

At our house, we love making homemade Hallowe’en decorations! Who needs store-bought plastic stuff when you can easily make your own haunting decorations that look great and are so fun to make?

The wonderful thing about Hallowe’en decorations in particular is that they don’t need to look perfect – they can be as messy as you like and it doesn’t matter, since Hallowe’en is the time for the old and worn out – torn/dirty fabric, broken things – they can all make great spooky decorations!

When I was little we always made a scarecrow to sit on our porch by stuffing old clothes with leaves, then making a head and putting some old boots and a hat on him – it was such fun to see our scarecrow come to life. A little bit different every year, but his name was always the same – Clem!

This year I wanted to try making a haunting ghost. I knew I wanted it to look old-fashioned and definitely spooky! In previous years I’d seen figures made from chicken-wire and some draped in cheesecloth, though I knew I wanted mine to have a face, so I decided to incorporate using my newest favourite printing medium – Solarfast!

I’d never used chicken-wire for any purpose before, but it was quite fun to try and make a person-like form with. I learned the hard way that you should definitely wear gloves when working with chicken-wire as part way through cutting I realised I was dripping blood all over my photo backdrop! Luckily I found some gardening gloves to use and carried on.

I am quite pleased with how our ghost turned out! She looks very spooky hung up outside, especially if you illuminate her by positioning a light beneath.

Now, just where to store our life-sized ghost lady the rest of the year…

how to make a diy haunting victorian ghost

using chickenwire & cheesecloth

You won’t need many materials to make this ghost, but it is a bit of an undertaking so you will need a bit of patience! You can also make your ghost without a face if you want to skip the Solarfast printing – I think it would look very spooky just with cheesecloth draped over the head!

what you need

for the ghost body & Head

• Lots of cheesecloth – I used about 10 yards – 5 of higher quality and 5 cheap quality
• Teabags for dyeing cheesecloth – 10
• Chicken wire – I bought a roll that had 1 inch cells and was 18 inches x 25 feet
• 20 gauge wire (not totally necessary but handy for securing chicken wire together)
• Heavy thread or fishing wire for hanging
• Needle and thread
• Head form or ball or something head-shaped to wrap chicken wire around

for the ghost face

• Piece of cotton, muslin or linen for face about 12″ x 12″ (prewash and dry fabric to prevent shrinkage after printing)
• Transparency sheets – 2 (8.5 x 11″ size)
• Solarfast dye
• 8.5 x 11″ piece of glass for placing over transparency (optional)
• High resolution vintage photo…or your own photo!
• Piece of board or cardboard the size of the cotton piece
• Sewing clips or clothes pins

tools

• Wire cutters
• Work gloves or gardening gloves
• Scissors
• Sponge
• Paintbrush

diy Haunting ghost – Process

shaping the head

Start by taking whatever you’re using for your head form – I’ve had this Styrofoam head for years and use it for many things, you can find them at Value Village for about $5. You’ll also need wire cutters and some kind of gloves to protect your hands.

Unroll the chicken wire and fit your head form inside.

Start cutting through the chicken wire ‘cells’ at the point where the two ends meet, so that it fits snugly around the head.

Cut across the chicken wire about 3-4 inches above the top of the head. Carefully remove the head from the form and start folding the overlapping wires to secure. I cut another smaller piece of chicken wire to strengthen the top of the head to be sure it wouldn’t come apart when hanging the ghost up.

Set the head aside for now while you work on forming the body.

forming the body

For the body, you will need to cut a piece of chicken wire that is 24″ x 36″. My chicken wire is 24″ wide, so I cut a piece that was 36″ long. Roll into a tube overlapping the long ends about 3-4 inches. Begin folding the cut wire edges over the wire cells where it meets to secure in place.

Now you’ll start bending on the wire to form a body shape – push in near the middle for the waist and at the top to form the shoulders.

Now take your head shape and place it on the shoulders and start bending the open wires around each other to secure. You can snip open some of the cells to make it easier to wrap the wires around one another. You can also use some of the 20 gauge wire if you have it to help secure the chicken wire together.

Now on to forming the arms: cut a cut two pieces of chickenwire that are 12 inches by 26 inches. Roll each into a long tube and overlap edges about 3 inches at one end and 1 inch at the other end – one end will end up wider (the shoulder) and the other narrower (the hand end).

At the hand end, pinch wires together to make a hand shape. Pinch in near middle to make an elbow.

At the shoulder end of the arm, snip open some of the chicken wire cells and fold outwards.

Attach the arm to the body by placing the arm at one side near the shoulder area and folding the open wires over the cells on the body shape. Then bend the arm towards the front of the body.

Here is one arm attached. Don’t worry to much about the shape of it yet, you can do some more forming when everything is in place!

Front view of the finished chicken wire body form.

optional: Adding Light inside the head to illuminate the face

This part is optional! I had the idea to add a light inside the head to illuminate the face by placing a plastic battery-operated ‘tealight’ inside. While it does light up the face a bit I think illuminating the ghost from underneath using a flashlight is a bit more effective. Here is how I added the tealight in case you want to try it..

First, open the cells at the top of the head.

Cut an extra piece of chicken wire that is approximately 6″x6″. Turn on your plastic tea light (these tea lights last quite a while so you can leave it on – once inside the head it might be too hard to get to to turn on from the outside).

Take the 6″x6″ piece of chicken wire and attach one edge near the base of the inside of the head, place the tealight inside, then close the piece of chicken wire over the light and bend the top wires to close off. Close up the head again.

creating a ghostly face

To create the face I used a method of printing on cloth using Solarfast dye. You can see my other tutorial here for further instructions on this method. Don’t forget to prewash your fabric to prevent it shrinking after you make your print – I forgot to prewash and my print turned out a little smaller than I hoped!

You will need a sunny or bright-ish day to do this printing since the dye develops under UV light. Overcast is okay too but the image will take longer to develop. Just make sure there’s no rain forecast!

Start by taking an image that will print to about the size of an 8.5 x 11″ piece of paper and turning it into a negative. Solarfast has a handy negative generator for making negatives.

Print out your negative image on a sheet of transparency. If all looks good, print out a second transparency negative (you’ll need two to make sure it’s dark enough).

Secure your two negatives together using a tiny bit of tape, making sure they are matched up exactly. Take your piece of cotton and mark on there where the corners of the negative are, this will help you see where you need to apply the Solarfast dye.

Take your bottle of Solarfast and give it a good shake. Place your piece of cotton onto an old board or piece of cardboard.

Pour a little of the dye into a small dish or cup. Apply the dye using a paintbrush or sponge all over the area where you marked off on your cotton. You want it covered completely but you don’t want it to be too wet either. Press with a rag or paper towel to soak up any excess.

Now place your transparency negative on top of the dye and then cover over with a piece of glass. If you don’t have glass, that’s okay, just make sure not to print on a very windy day or your negative might fly away! You could also secure the negative with a tiny bit of tape at the edges.

Time to take your photo printing bundle outside! I was printing with black dye on a pretty sunny day in October so I left it out in the sun for 30 minutes. Here is an exposure chart from Solarfast which lists the various times needed for different ink colours. The photo above shows what it looked like after 30 minutes – you can see the developed ink around the edges of the transparency.

Note: When the developing time is up, leave your negative in place until you get your print inside and away from UV light as it will keep developing and will make the parts you want to keep light develop darker.

Here is the print just after I’ve brought it inside. After removing the negative you need to wash out the Solarfast dye. I hand wash mine in hot water with regular detergent and it works out just fine. You can also wash out the dye in the sink and then throw your print in with the rest of a regular laundry load – I’ve never had the Solarfast do anything detrimental to my laundry, but you might not want to put it in with anything you don’t want damaged, just in case!

Here is my final print – printed with black Solarfast on white linen. I love how it turned out! Though it shrunk a tiny bit in the drying process – I forgot to prewash my fabric, oops!

Just to show the difference that different fabric and timing makes – I made this print previously, it was on cotton muslin fabric with a 20 minute exposure time on a sunny day, not under glass.

Here are the two prints side-by-side, you can see how much my new print (on the left) shrunk!

putting your ghost all together

Once your print is all washed and dried, it’s ready to attach to your ghost’s head. I first started by placing the fabric on the head and positioning it where it looked about right.

Next, use sewing clips or clothes pins to hold the cloth in place around the edges.

Using a needle and thread, make a few stitches at the edge of the cloth and then catch the chicken wire underneath to secure. Do this at a few points all around the head. I did a couple at the top and 2-3 around the sides. You can leave the bottom un-sewn as this will be covered by the cheesecloth.

dressing the ghost

Start by ‘tea-dyeing’ all of your cheesecloth in 2-3 litres of boiling water with about 10 orange pekoe teabags. Leave in the tea about 1/2 an hour, rinse with cool water and hang to dry. Some cheese cloth is already a natural beige colour, so you can skip this step if you’re happy with the colour of your cheesecloth. Some of mine left as-is, the rest was very white so I tea-dyed it.

Once dry, take some of your cheesecloth and rip or cut a few strips. These are handy for tying the cheesecloth ‘clothing’ to the body.

Cut a length of the higher quality cheesecloth for the first layer of clothing. You need a piece that will drape down both sides and extends a bit longer than the chicken wire body. Cut a hole about 7 inches in length in the middle centre of the cheese cloth. Fit this over the head. You can make some cuts and rips along the bottom edge of the fabric to make it look tattered.

At the underarms, roughly sew the fabric together down the length of the ‘gown’. You can use pretty big stitches as it doesn’t have to look pretty, just needs to hold together!

Using the higher quality cheese cloth again, cut two pieces of fabric to cover around the arms and hangs a few inches over the hands. Using the strips you cut, tie on the ‘sleeves’ at the elbow and wrist area.

adding a bonnet

Cut a length of plain cotton, cheesecloth or muslin that is big enough to cover over the sides, top and back of the head in a sort of bonnet shape. The piece I used was about 20″ x 22″. I sewed one edge to make a sort of front for the bonnet, placing the sewn edge at the front, around the face. Sew a few stitches to secure the bonnet to the face fabric.

You can just tuck some of the ‘bonnet’ fabric into the cells of the chicken wire at the back, this seems to secure it well enough.

Here is the back bonnet with the fabric tucked into the chicken wire.

Here is the bonnet sewn in place with a few stitches at points around the face.

You can also use some of the cheesecloth strips you cut to tie around the neck to secure the bonnet better.

Continue layering on sheets of cheesecloth until you’re happy with the look of the ghost’s gown. I used layers of the thicker cheesecloth for the base layers and then layered the thinner cheesecloth over top. I draped some of the thinner cheesecloth over the head and face to create a veiled look.

The last thing to do is to add a string for hanging! I used some thick nylon shoe-making thread, but you could use anything that has a good amount of strength. Using a needle threaded with your strong thread, go into the fabric on the top of the head and go under some of the chicken wire and back up. Do this a couple times so you have a few loops to hang your ghost from.

And your Haunting Victorian Ghost is finished! Isn’t she lovely!? Hang her up outside, add a strategically placed flashlight behind for some illumination if you’d like, and you’re all ready to spook some little children…perhaps some adults too!

Try out different lighting to get just the right spooky effect!

I hope you’ll try making your very own Haunting Victorian Ghost It’s a bit of work, but I think quite worth the effort!

Please let me know if you try this tutorial!

The post How to Make a Ghost for Halloween: Haunting Victorian Ghost Decoration appeared first on Kindred + Willow.

I came across fence board Hallowe’en decorations when searching on Pinterest (of course!) for inexpensive Hallowe’en decorations to make with kids. I loved the idea of these as you can repurpose boards that are in rough shape and might otherwise be throw out. We had a bunch of varying sized boards lying around from when the kids had tried to built a fort in the backyard but eventually lost interest.

These are so fun and simple to make, especially to do together with the kids! My son (then 8) and I made these together last year. We placed them in the garden along the front of the porch after hanging some old tea-dyed and ripped up sheets behind to make everything look a little spookier. We went with cute faces but you could definitely make them scarier!

If you don’t have a lot to spend on outdoor Hallowe’en décor, these fence board decorations are the way to go as all you need are some old boards and a bit of acrylic paint. To make the mummy, you will also need an old sheet to rip up. I ripped it into about 3 inch wide strips and then soaked it in leftover coffee to discolour the white a bit. Then just use a staple gun to staple the end to the back of the board, wrap around, staple again – do the wrapping after painting the board black and adding some eyes!

The post Repurposed Fence Board Halloween Decorations appeared first on Kindred + Willow.

At that start of the pandemic I started making cloth face masks, initially to donate to the hospital, but as word got out I started getting requests from family and friends for masks as well. At first I used a free pattern that our local hospital had put out but then thought I’d try making my own pattern as the free pattern did not seem to fit as well on those with smaller faces. So I set about to make a mask that had a closer fit and made it in four different sizes to suit various ages and face shapes.

As the kids have just returned to school – quite happily after a year and a half away – I had to dig out my mask pattern to make up a bunch for their school needs and the inevitability of lost masks throughout the year.

There are numerous mask patterns online but thought I would put mine on here in case anyone is still looking for one, or is looking for one that better fits their face shape.

You can print out your free pattern below and follow along the tutorial in this post. I have made the mask in four sizes:

• Adult Large – typically fits most men’s faces
• Adult Small – typically fits most women’s faces
• Children’s Large – typically fits children from 8 to 14 years
• Children’s Small – typically fits children from 5 to 7 years

diy face mask tutorial

what you will need

• Outer fabric – you will need a remnant, folded double, that is at least 8″ x 8″ for the largest size, for the smaller size, you will need a remnant (folded double) that is at least 6″ x 6″.
• Lining fabric – you will need a remnant of the same size listed as for the outer fabric.
• Elastic – a number of fabric stores now carry the mask elastics you see used in this tutorial, complete with a silicone ‘adjustment bead’. I like these as they can help get the perfect fit on your mask. When I started out making this pattern, I used regular hair elastics, the medium-sized type that measure about 7″ across when flattened. Most dollar stores carry these, so it is inexpensive to buy a lot of them. I’ve found though that those elastics can be a bit uncomfortable if you’re wearing your mask for long hours, such as at school or work.

how to make it

Note: As you trace and cut out your pattern pieces, keep track of which way is up on your pieces by marking a small x (in chalk or sewing marker) on wrong side of fabric. The top of the mask curves a bit more than the bottom to fit well over your nose.

Step 1: Print out the free pattern (found at the bottom of this post) and cut out desired size. Place patterns on fabric and cut 2 out of main fabric and 2 out of lining fabric.

Step 2: With right sides of the main fabric pieces facing together, sew along the front (curved) edge with a 1/4 inch seam allowance (shown with black dotted line in the photo above). Do the same for the lining pieces.

Step 3: Trim edge to 1/8 inch and press seam. With right sides together, and making sure that you have the tops of each piece matching, pin main and lining pieces together, matching edges and seams. Leave the straight edges open for now – you will be placing your elastic inside here.

Step 4: Fold back your main fabric and place your elastic inside, as shown above. The elastic ends should be flush with the edges of the fabric and about 1/8″ in from the top and bottom edge (mine isn’t quite aligned in the photo above, I usually adjust it as I pin). If you are using hair elastics, you will place them with the loop inside the mask and one side of the elastic at each edge. Hair elastics are a bit more tricky to sew in, but if you go slow and carefully they work just fine!

Step 5: Hold elastic in place using either pins or sewing clips.

Step 6: At the bottom of your mask, make a mark using chalk about 1″ to 1.5″ on either side of your seam. This part you will leave open for turning your mask to the right side, once your next seam is complete.

Step 7: Make sure you’ve got your elastic sandwiched in between your two layers of fabric – the main fabric and the lining and that you have your right sides together (how many times have I mistakenly managed to have one the wrong way around!).

Step 8: Starting at the bottom edge, sew all around the mask with 1/4 inch seam allowance, remembering to leave a gap at the bottom edge for turning.

Step 9: Once your seam is sewn, trim edge to 1/8 inch and trim corners on the diagonal, as shown above, close to the stitching line, being very careful not to snip through seam.

Step 10: Now you’re ready to turn your mask to the right side – almost done! Once your mask is turned, use something pointy (large knitting needles or chopsticks work nicely) to poke out your corners from the inside. Press seams.

Step 11: Ensure that the part along your seam that you left open for turning is pressed to the inside. Now seam at 1/8 inch along the bottom edge to close the opening. I sew all along the bottom, but you can just sew the gap closed if you’d like. This edge stitching also helps you remember that that is the bottom of the mask!

Free Printable face mask pattern

Four sizes available from child to Adult

I hope you’ve found this tutorial useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message!

The post Simple DIY Face Mask Pattern + Tutorial appeared first on Kindred + Willow.

Printmaking with Solarfast dye is so fun and easy and the possibilities are endless! I’ve made a few t-shirts with this method – it’s wonderful if you want to make a custom shirt for yourself or a unique gift for someone else! So far I’ve made an Albert Einstein shirt for my son, a Christopher Walken shirt for my partner and a Kurt Cobain shirt for myself.

To make a photo print, all you need is a high resolution photo which you will turn into a negative and then print out on a transparency. And of course you will need a bottle of SolarFast and a t-shirt to make your print. I’ll have all the steps in my tutorial below!

I first discovered this type of printmaking when I heard about a company by the name of Lumi who produced a product called Inkodye. Inkodye is a photo-reactive dye that develops its colour through exposure to UV or sunlight. I’m not sure if Inkodye is still being produced as it became quite hard to find (especially in Canada) . I was pleased to discover that there is now another company producing the same sort of dye – Solarfast by Jacquard. You can use either type to the same effect.

It is my mum’s birthday coming up and she is a big Leonard Cohen fan, so I thought it would be nice to give her a t-shirt with a lovely photo of Leonard on it! I think the print turned out quite well, though I think next time I will try putting a piece of glass (such as from a photo frame) on top of the negative as it develops as I’ve read it will produce a crisper image – forgot about that tip, but will definitely try it next time!

how to make a diy photo print shirt with solarfast

what you will need

• High quality photo – high contrast images work best
• SolarFast dye
• Transparency film or SolarFast film – you will need 2 sheets per project
• Cotton t-shirt of fabric to print on (or any natural fibre)
• Sponge or paint brush
• Paper towel or rags
• Board to place inside your t-shirt (to prevent ink bleed-through to the back)
• Glass to cover your print
• Painter’s tape (optional)
• A sunny day! Or at least not a rainy one – slightly overcast is ok

Here is a link to the Jacquard SolarFast Instructions so you can read all their tips and tricks too!

solarfast photo print tutorial

Step 1. You will first need to take your photo and turn it into a negative image. SolarFast has a handy Negative Generator or you can do it yourself in various programs such as Inkscape by inverting the image. You can play with the contrast and brightness to get your image as contrasty as possible.

Step 2: You will now need to print two transparencies of your image. It is recommended that you make two transparencies and stack them together so that the dark bits are dark enough to block the UV – otherwise you might end up with a hazy print with no contrast.

Place your two transparencies together, making sure they match up exactly, and place a tiny bit of clear tape at the edges to hold them together.

Some printers will have a setting for printing transparencies, so you can check if yours does. My printer doesn’t have such a setting but it seems to print transparencies pretty well anyway.

Double check that your image is set to the size you want it to print to before clicking the print button!

I print my transparencies on a regular Samsung Laser printer. I read on the Jacquard site that it is best to use their film if printing on an inkjet. I had tried to print transparencies on an inkjet before and for some reason, no matter how many changes in settings, it just would not print on transparency. Luckily the laser printer does it just fine.

Step 3: Find a t-shirt to print on and give it a little ironing if it’s wrinkly! I like the shirts from Bella + Canvas – they’re not completely cotton but seem to print well anyway.

Step 4: Place a board or something thick, like cardboard, inside in the t-shirt – this will keep the ink from soaking through to the back.

Step 5: Place your transparency printout on your shirt and find a good place for your image.

Step 6: Using painter’s tape you can tape off the perimeter of where your image will lie – this will give a crisper edge. If you’d like your edges to be ‘sketchier’ (couldn’t think of another word to use there), then you can skip this bit!

Step 7: Once you are happy with where you are going to place your image, get ready to apply the SolarFast. Strangely, I forgot to take a photo of putting on the dye itself… sorry about that! Just pour a little dye into a cup and then begin applying with a paintbrush or sponge. The key here is to not get the fabric too wet! If your shirt has gotten a bit too wet, take paper towels or a rag and sop it up a bit.

Step 8: Once you have the area covered in dye and not too wet, put your transparency in place atop the dye and place glass over top and then take your t-shirt outside where it can sit, undisturbed for a little bit. Developing time for black dye is 10-30 minutes.

I kept an eye out in case any of the neighbourhood kitties got any ideas about sitting down on the shirt while my print was developing. Watch out for falling leaves too – I had some land on another print but luckily saw them in time!

I left my shirt for 20 minutes on quite a sunny day in October. If your weather is overcast, your print will likely take longer to develop.

Here is a link to a handy chart that Jacquard has for the exposure times of the various colours they sell.

Step 9: Once your developing time is up, bring your shirt inside for washing. Don’t take the negative off outside in the sunlight, wait till you’re inside. Wash your shirt in hot water with detergent. I hand-washed mine first to get the dye out and then put it in with a regular load of laundry. It is recommended that if you hand-wash to keep the shirt submerged in the hot water for at least 10 minutes. You can also buy SolarFast Wash to wash out the dye.

After washing and drying, your shirt is complete and ready to wear! Enjoy!

The post How to Make a DIY Photo T-Shirt with SolarFast Dye appeared first on Kindred + Willow.

Quite a few years ago now, knowing how much I loved to sew, my aunt and uncle gave me a gift of a little pin cushion they had made – it had a lovely blue felt fabric and had a black ribbon tied in a cross through the centre and the base was made from a painted mason jar lid. I’ve happily used that little pin cushion for many years now and it has always served me well. Recently however, I noticed that the fabric was wearing out and it was about time to replace it.

I decided to make a tutorial here for how you can make your own simple pin cushion – it is quite easy to make up and so makes a lovely and quick gift for the sewist in your life! If giving as a gift and you’d like to include some pins along with it, I recommend Dritz Extra Fine Glass-Head pins – quality pins can make all the difference!

Using wool as the stuffing for your pincushion is a great way to keep your pins in good shape as the lanolin helps to keep them rust-free and can even help pins slide more easily into the fabric.

I love that you can make this little pin cushion easily with things you likely have lying around your house. Everyone has carded wool lying around, right? Well, if not…you can always use an alternate stuffing such as poly-fil, or even some fabric scraps!

Wool-filled pincushion supplies

• small amount of clean, carded wool
• fabric scrap – 7×7 inches
• mason jar lid
• scrap of cardboard
• thread
• sewing needle
• scissors
• paint – acrylic craft paint or spray paint *optional

wool filled pin cushion tutorial

Step 1: First prepare your mason jar base – paint with acrylic craft paint, let dry. If you have the type of mason jar lid used for canning that has a removeable centre, you’ll need to glue it to the outer ring – use a glue gun for this.

Step 2: Now measure out a 7 x 7 inch square of fabric and cut out.

Step 3: Using your scissors, round off the corners of the fabric scrap – it doesn’t need to be too precise!

Step 4: Thread your needle and knot one end. Half an inch in from the edge of the fabric, pull thread through and do a couple back-tack stitches to secure. Now start doing a running stitch around the edge of the fabric, staying at about 1/2″ from edge. Pull up as you go to form gathers. Stop when you have gone about halfway, holding thread taught to maintain gathers.

Step 5: Holding thread taught so that gathers don’t come out, take your carded wool and start to stuff the inside of your gathered fabric.

Step 6: Once you have stuffed all the wool inside, continue with your running stitch, pulling the thread to form gathers as you go along.

Step 7: When you reach your starting point, pull thread tight and form a knot close to fabric. You can also back-tack a few stitches and knot again to ensure thread is secured.

Step 8: Finish up preparing your mason jar lid base. When your painted lid is dry, cut a circle from the cardboard to fit inside the lid. Put some glue on the centre and press into lid. I use the ‘tacky glue’ above and it works quite well. You can skip this step if you’d like, but the cardboard acts as a bit of protection for the pins if you push them in too far and they hit the metal base.

Step 9: Add a ring of glue around the edge of the cardboard (or in the base of your lid if you skipped the last step). The tacky glue shown previously works well, or you could use a glue gun for this.

Step 10: Now take the wool-filled ‘cushion’ that you just made and turn it over so that the open side is facing down and press it into the base firmly, so that it makes contact with the ring of glue. You can place a book on top of it while it dried to ensure constant contact with the glue (if not using a glue gun, which dries faster).

All done! A quick and simple little pin cushion that you can give as a gift or keep all for yourself!

I would love to hear if you’ve tried this tutorial and how it turned out – please leave a comment below!

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When I have an idea for a new craft, I always look around my house to see if there is anything I can reuse or repurpose to avoid having to buy something new. It’s always great to find that I can use something that might otherwise have just gone in the garbage., no matter how small. I figure that every bit counts in reducing waste! When I thought of making plant markers, I looked around and saw some chopsticks that had come with a takeout order and thought they would be perfect for the job!

I love being surrounded by plants and flowers and have always admired those who can grow things and are able to identify plants easily. Sadly, in our house, we are all brown thumbs! Recently though, I have been trying to change my brown thumbs to green by trying my hand at actually keeping some plants alive for longer than a few weeks or months.

I think my lack of success with plants has much to do with how forgetful I am. When I come upon the poor, brownish-looking forgotten things, I’m always somehow a little shocked that they’re in such a state. Really, complete plant incompetence here.

Happily, I am changing my ways! My English ivy is thriving…several pots of it even. I’ve been doing little snippets and new little baby ivy plants are growing. And now, here I am growing things from seed. Well, the success of that remains to be seen. Having ordered these little packets of seeds from Etsy, I realised I would be in need of some plant markers to keep track of all my new, confusing-looking plant matter. For I know, as soon as I’ve got those little guys in the garden, I’ll surely be pulling them out as weeds if I don’t have anything to mark their place and help me remember where I’ve put them!

The seeds I ordered are all types which will hopefully produce lovely flowers for drying to be used in wreaths and as photo accents: River Statice, Pincushion, Baby’s Breath and Bunny Tails…they’ve all got lovely scientific names too, but I had a feeling most of them were so long they wouldn’t fit on my tags. Anyway! I’ve already got little seedlings of the Baby’s Breath and Statice so things are moving in the right direction. The raccoons round here have not been helping much though, so I’ve been bringing all the various pots in at night and then back out in the morning for lots of sun. If I forget and leave them inside, next thing I know the baby is elbow-deep in dirt and I’ve got to start all over. Between babies and raccoons, it’s been a bit of a challenge!

Back to the garden markers (which is likely what you’re here for) – they are quite simple to make up. I would say the trickiest bit is getting the little screw into the chopstick – it helps to poke a hole first and then screw in the eyelet with pliers. I painted some of the chopsticks but also left some in their natural state and I think they look quite lovely both ways!

I already had all the metal stamping tools and brass blanks so decided to use those for the identifying tags. If you’ve not tried metal stamping before, it is quite easy to do, so give it a try! Though it does add up to buy the tools required, they do come in handy for lots of other craft projects and for making last minute gifts. I think the plant markers turned out quite nicely and they do the job of keeping track of my new plants, which is the main thing!

How to Make Repurposed Garden Markers

What you will need:

• Wooden chopsticks
• 25mm brass stamping blanks – make sure to buy ones with a little hole in them
• 8mm x 4mm eyelet screws
• 6mm Jump rings – such as are used in jewelry making
• Needle-nosed pliers
• Metal stamping tools: steel stamping block (mine is the small Impressart 2″ block), Metal stamping hammer, 5/32″ metal letter stamps
• Stamping enamel
• Paint + brush- optional: you can leave yours natural if you prefer
• Optional: varnish or sealant – I didn’t use any, but for markers used outdoors, it helps to keep wood in better condition

Tutorial: How to make Repurposed Garden markers

I hope that this tutorial was clear enough, but do let me know if you try these out and have any questions.

Best wishes and happy planting!

The post How to Make Garden Markers ~ Elegant Repurposed Garden Markers appeared first on Kindred + Willow.

This is quite a simple little wreath you can make up very quickly and easily! It’s great if you’d like to add a little freshness to your home or to make up as a quick and easy housewarming gift. My son (who loves making Lego stop-motion videos) inspired me to make a little stop-motion video of my own (above) to show how easily the wreath comes together – now that I have a proper tripod hopefully my future stop-motions will be a little less wonky!

I made the wreath in this tutorial with fresh boxwood and some preserved baby’s breath. Boxwood is great for wreaths because it lasts quite a long time before it starts to lose colour and go brittle and baby’s breath lasts well even if you just hang it to dry. To make your wreath last even longer, I would recommend preserving the boxwood before putting your wreath together using the glycerin method – I will post the instructions for that below.

I used the glycerin method to preserve some fresh eucalyptus I bought from a lovely little shop here in Toronto called Pictus Goods. Pictus sells fresh as well as dried flowers and I love the big bunch of eucalyptus I got from there a few months back – they’re still looking great thanks to preserving them with glycerin. Pictus is an eco-conscious flower shop and I love to support such lovely businesses

Boxwood and baby’s breath are fairly easy to come by so I thought they would work well in this simple wreath. Many people will have (or know someone who has) boxwood in their yard and baby’s breath is often found in fresh flower bunches and is easily saved and dried, so hopefully you will be able to attain both of these fairly easily. Of course, you can also add in whatever other plants and flowers you fancy!

how to preserve boxwood with glycerin

what you will need for preserving boxwood

This makes a small amount of solution for preserving boxwood, if you want to preserve a lot of stems, you will want to double or triple this amount. The most important thing is to make sure that your solution is made up of 2 parts water to 1 part glycerin.

You can use this method for preserving a number of plants including baby’s breath, statice, eucalyptus and many more – just be sure to leave out the green dye if preserving flowers such as baby’s breath.

• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup glycerin (you can find this at most drugstores)
• 1 tsp green food colouring – I used the gel food colouring
• 1/4 tsp citric acid powder
• Bowl or bucket that you won’t need for awhile (ie. around 1-2 weeks)
• Boxwood stems – choose the best quality stems without any dryness or missing leaves.

1. Mix glycerin, food colouring and citric acid into the hot water, stirring well until all ingredients have dissolved completely into the water.
2. Tap the end of each boxwood branch with a hammer to break up the end (this helps the plant draw up the solution more easily)
3. Once your solution is cool, place the boxwood stems in the bowl and make sure the cut ends of all the stems are immersed in the solution and not too crowded – you might want to use multiple containers so the stems have plenty of room.
4. Place boxwood somewhere it won’t be disturbed.
5. Let sit for around a week or two or until it has soaked up all the solution.

This preservation technique is wonderful for preserving plant materials as it makes plants pliable and preserves their colour for quite a long time!

sweet spring & summer wreath tutorial

what you will need

• Boxwood stems
• Baby’s Breath stems
• Floral stem wire
• Brass ring – the one I used is 9 inches diameter
• Piece of twine – about 20 inches long.
• Silk ribbon – about 14 inches long

how to make sweet spring & summer wreath

Step 1: Trim your stems of boxwood so you have a variety of larger (above) and smaller (below) pieces.

Step 2: Take off the lower-most leaves on each stem so it will be easier to attach to the ring.

Step 3: Prepare the baby’s breath by cutting a few small pieces and divide into two bunches. Cut a length of silk ribbon about 14 inches long. My piece in the photo was way too short, I had to cut another!

Step 4: Cut your floral wire into a few shorter lengths of about 4 inches long.

Step 5: Take one of your short pieces of wire and wrap it onto the brass ring a couple times, leaving a length to the side, as shown.

Step 6: You are first going to attach the larger boxwood stems you prepared: lay a piece on top of the brass ring where you placed the wire and wrap the wire over the stem and around the underside of the ring a couple times.

Step 7: Now start attaching some of the smaller stems of boxwood in the same manner, adding more wire as needed. I found it’s easier to work with smaller pieces of wire, especially if you need to take a piece off the make an adjustment – then you won’t end up having many pieces fall off if they were attached with one wire.

Step 8: Continue added wire as needed and building up the boxwood stems adding several small pieces atop one another. I kept my wreath fairly spare, but you can add as many as you’d like!

Step 9: Once you’ve got all your stems on as you’d like them, take one more piece of wire and wrap around the middle of everything to make sure it’s all secure.

Step 10: You can twist the stems a little to arrange them so that the tops of the leaves are mostly facing outwards.

Step 11: Now it’s time to add the baby’s breath! Take one little bunch of flowers and lay them so the stems are in the middle of the boxwood – attach them with the floral wire in the same way as the boxwood. Attach your second bunch once you’re happy with the arrangement of the first bunch.

Step 12: Take your silk ribbon and make a nice little bow in the centre being sure to cover the wire. Trim the ends of the ribbon on an angle to avoid fraying. Cut a length of twine about 20 inches long and knot the ends, lay the brass ring on top of the twine, then pull the knotted end through the loop of the twine to secure it to the brass ring.

Step 13: Slide the flower arrangement so it is to one side of the ring, not quite to the bottom and slide the twine to the top. Very gently ‘fluff’ up the baby’s breath slightly so it’s not lying too flat.

Et voilà! Your simple spring & summer wreath is complete and ready for hanging up

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