string a few dangling nut head people

Nut head dolls, strung seed bodies
by kathy grimm.

Brief Description: These dangling nut head dolls were made from natural materials. I loved to spend time with my children gathering from the wooded areas during a Fall walks. This craft brings back to mind fond memories. Natalie helped me collect the acorns yesterday and then I strung these dolls together on my own. Had she still been a little girl, this activity would have elicited much excitement. I think that should she ever have little ones of her own, she will enjoy the project again someday.

Supply List:

• a handful of small wooden beads
• two acorns, include their caps
• dental floss
• an embroidery needle, not too large (some of these have blunt ends more suitably designed for young crafters)
• wood glue as needed
• soft bristle tooth-brush

Directions:

1.  Clean and dry all to the seeds and nuts that you have collected in advance with a soft tooth brush. I have already included directions in an earlier project that explain how to string pumpkin seeds.
2. I decided to string together my selection in a pattern. This reinforces important concepts about design to small students. You can also talk to them about simple math during this activity as well.
3. Thread your needle with dental floss and string together the bodies.
4. I attached the acorn heads with wood glue after stringing the bodies. Parents may decide that this requires a bit of patience. They may wish to hot glue the acorns to the seed bodies instead so that there is less drying time needed before the project is finished. Sometimes little folk get very anxious about playing with these nut head dolls so, parents may hurry the craft along in order to please their interests.
5. A word of warning. Do not give these little dolls to infants who may choke on the nuts! This project is appropriate for five year old children and up.

Additional Suggestions: Sometimes parents get interested in crafts that they intend for their children. This is often the case in the making of nut head dolls! So harvest enough seeds and nuts to make a few for yourself. I enjoy hanging my own samples on the Christmas tree every year. This is, in fact, a very old folksy tradition. Craft artists living in the Appalachian mountains used to make this kind of folk doll to sell to tourists. It was a popular craft around 1910. I still can find nut head dolls in flee markets on a rare occasion.

The nut head people finally rest after I have spent an
hour in the park looking for their heads.

I chose to string these dangling nut people with a
variety of pumpkin seeds, wooden beads, and acorns.

string a necklace made from seeds

The seed necklace above is from Mexico.

Brief Description: Stringing seeds to create jewelry and garlands is done by many different cultures of peoples. The seed necklace pictured here is from Mexico. However, native peoples in North America and many tribal peoples from Africa create similar crafts that also use the same methods. Seed necklaces are actually best strung while the seeds have not yet fully dried. This method makes it much easier for children to prick holes into the seed shells.

Supply List:

•  A variety of seeds
•  strong thin cord or dental floss for stringing
•  An embroidery needle with a sharp tip
•  one bar of ivory soap
•  a soft terry cloth towel
•  masking tape
•  one small pumpkin
•  one large metal spoon
•  access to a wash basin or a large bucket of water
•  knife to cut open the pumpkin
•  liquid dish soap

Directions:

1. Cut your pumpkin in half and hollow out it's interior with a large metal spoon.
2. The seeds are easy to clean. Just soak them for a few minutes in the bucket of water and the pumpkin pulp with separate from the seeds with a little plucking on your part.
3. Wash the seeds with a little liquid soap and then pat them down with a soft terry cloth towel.
4. Wrap the dull end of your embroidery needle with a little masking tape, so that it will be easier to handle.
5. Pierce each soft, pumpkin seed with a threaded needle.
6. Use a bar of Ivory soap underneath your needle to keep it sharp and to avoid contact with surfaces or flesh.

A fresh pumpkin will provide ample seeds for a necklace or garland.

The best way to prevent cuts and pricks is to use a bar of ivory soap
to buffer the entire process of piercing seeds. Ivory soap is best because
it contains fewer of the dyes and perfumes that little ones could
possibly be allergic to.

Emilie Lefler shows you how to make seed bombs.

Links to more projects that include the use of seeds:

• Indian Corn and Pumpkin Seed Necklaces Gone Astray!
• Pumpkin Seed Necklace from Martha Stewart
• Organic Seed Necklaces
• Melon Seed Necklaces
• Seeds of Beauty
• Make a Mimosa Seed Necklace

children can sew this miniature penny rug

Sample of a miniature penny rug.

Brief Description: This miniature sampler of a "penny" rug provides young sewers opportunity to practice their embroidery skills. 

Supply List:

• 4 felt squares from a hobby shop or scrap woolens (4 colors minimum)
• penny "templates" (below)
• contrasting embroidery floss, three colors
• embroidery needle
• scissors
• pins
• black permanent ink marker

Directions:

1. Print and cut out the penny template provided below.
2. Draw around the circle templates with a permanent ink pen after placing these on top of your felt or woolen scrapes.
3. Cut out your penny design and pin it down onto a rectangular felt or woolen shape according to your own tastes.
4. Use a blanket stitch to assemble the sample penny rug.

Additional Suggestions: Use all wool or all felt scraps for your project. Once you have mastered the technique, design a larger version to cover a tabletop or bedroom dresser.

Template for a variety of "penny" shapes.
This template may be downloaded and sized in a
word document. Read the Terms of Use before
using it folks.

All patterns and photographs by Grimm copyrighted 2011.

Felt ball rugs are so easy to make,
 even a child could assemble them.

wrap and tie a prairie yarn doll

Brief Description: These kinds of rag dolls were made by American settlers. They have an old-fashioned charm. My daughter took this one as soon as it was photographed.

Supply List: 

• One skein of yarn if it is bulky and soft
• scissors
• small piece of cardboard
• scrap fabrics and lace trims
• needle and thread that matches the yarn

Directions:

Twist the yarn around a notched piece
cardboard, first one way, then another.

Soon you will have made a tight ball
the size of my doll's head, approximately
one inch in diameter. This solid
ball will add weight and substance to
the doll. I want this doll to stand
up to a three to five year old's rough play.

Use a large book to twist the yarn around
repetitively (about 35 times) until
there is enough yarn to create a full
body with. My book measured
approximately eleven inches long.

After removing the yarn from the book carefully
tuck the ball of yarn beneath it. Pull the yarn
over the "head" and tie around the bottom with more yarn
to create the neck. Then thread a long needle
with matching thread and sew in and out of the head.
The thread should disappear into the yard but
if you continue to do this the doll's
head will become firm and compact.

Run your fingers through the yarn body and
clip the looped bottom apart. Gather up the
yarn ends and trim these ends off evenly.

You will need to repeat the third step above
(about 17 times).Tie off the yarn edges.
Braid the yarn to create the arms.
The braid is shown above
along with the yarn doll body. Divide
the doll's body in two even sections
and then position the arms between the sections.

Wrap more yarn around the doll body
to create a waste just below the doll's arms.
Thread a needle and sew in and out of the
waste, the wrist joints, and arms of the doll.
Sewing ensures these ties are firm and will
stand up to rough play.

Now you are ready to dress your prairie doll.
I gathered and sewed onto the body a skirt.

I added a lace shawl and mop cap.

Additional Suggestions: Yarn dolls are dressed in a variety of ways. Scarecrows and clowns are popular costume choices. Some crafts people prefer just to leave them without clothing as well.

photographs and written craft pages copyrighted by Grimm 2011 

Want something more contemporary? 
SoCraftastic makes a octopus doll from yarn.

paint a "shaker" box

A side view of my circular box.

Brief Description: This paper mache box was modeled after a Shaker band box I think. I painted it with a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch pattern. 

Supply List:

• prefabricated circular paper box
• red, black, yellow, and white acrylic paints
• tiny soft paint brush
• acrylic sealer

Directions:

1. Paint the entire outside of the box, including the lid, with red paint. Let it dry
2. Use the template below to lightly sketch the pattern on top of the lid.
3. Paint the sketch black and let the design dry.
4. Then add the painted yellow highlights and let these dry completely.
5. Lastly, paint the white highlighted areas.
6. This particular box had a delicate raised pattern already embossed on the sides. I simply painted the swirly floral pattern with the same colors used on the lid.
7. After the entire box was painted I then lightly dry brushed a bit of grey around the lid's edges to suggest an "aged" appearance for the box.

Additional Suggestions: Don't forget to spray your final piece with an acrylic sealer. 

The "Shaker" like box as seen from above.

This template may be downloaded and sized in a
word document to fit the above measurements.
Read the Terms of Use before using it folks.

photographs and written craft pages copyrighted by Grimm 2017

Margaret Meyer talks about how to 
seal a paper/cardboard box. This is
particularly important if your box is large. 

applique a pillow with wool hearts

Applique woolen pillows that
I created for my family room.

Brief Description: I hand-appliqued these pillows from old woolen trousers. I hate to toss expensive wool out when I can recycle it in a quilt, table runner etc... Wool is very durable and keeps it's shape longer than any other fabric. For this  reason, I prefer to use it in decorative pillows that I know my family will be using roughly for many years.

Supply List:

• wool scraps, if you purchase these, I would suggest no less than 14 inches of five different patterns/solids.
• embroidery floss in a variety of contrasting colors
• scissors
• the templates below, printed and cut out
• embroidery needles
• soft cotton filler of your own choosing

Directions:

1. Cut out the templates as directed.
2. Cut out six hearts for the pillow depicted at the front of the photograph. The hearts are hand-sewn with a blanket stitch on top of 6 inch by 5 1/2 inch rectangles. There are three rectangles across and two rectangles from top to bottom. 
3. Reserve approximately 16 1/2 inches by 13 inches of one woolen swatch for the back of this pillow. 
4. Stitch these pieces together and stuff.
5. For the folk star pillow, cut four stars, four lager penny circles and four small penny circles. Applique these pieces together as they appear in the photo. 
6. You will need four, 8 inch by 8 inch squares for each star pattern and four additional squares for the back side of the pillow.

Would you like to try sewing some for yourself?
Here are my free templates for the pillows pictured.
This template may be downloaded and sized in a
word document to fit the above measurements.
Read the Terms of Use before using it folks.

photographs and written craft pages copyrighted by Grimm 2011 

Penny rugs or Coin rugs