Make a Palm Frond Reindeer

Palm Fond Reindeer

Palm frond reindeer, especially red-nosed Rudolph, are found all over the coastal regions in the winter.  Having grown up in the north, I never heard of them.  Then I moved south and a neighbor of mine, who happened to hail from Tampa, FL, gave me one.  I've been a fan ever since.

Making your own palm frond reindeer is a snap, and can be a great kid's craft activity - I've made them with my own kids as playdate and pre-school activities.  They make great decorations inside and outside of the house and are always an appreciated gift.  Want to make one yourself?  Keep reading to see how you can.

Where to Find Fronds
Since not everyone has palm trees in their yard, even along the coast, keep an eye out for palm fronds in the following places:

• Felled Fronds:  When we lived in Savannah, our yard was home to several palm trees, including cabbage palm trees.  These are the ideal trees for this simple craft.

Cabbage Palm trunk with fronds

Palm fronds fell from the trees often enough that we could keep an eye out for craft-worthy fronds around the base of trees.

Backyard palm trees drop fronds throughout the year.

We even find palm fronds at base of palm tree in shopping center parking lots.

• Nature Walks:  Walking and biking paths are great places to find fronds along the southern coast.  Fronds are always around the base of the palm trees.   And, the next time you are at a GA, SC, or FL beach, keep an eye out for palm fronds that wash in with the tide.  These feature a nice, weathered look

Walking path in Savannah, GA

A palm frond washed in by tide and found along the rack line in Hilton Head, Island, SC. 

• Vacation Properties:  Next time you go on a beach vacation, take a look at the palm trees on the hotel property. Even the best maintained trees drop fronds. 

Palm about to drop its frond along hotel property walkway

I 'may' have helped it fall off.

• Phone a Friend:  Someone always knows someone, right?  If you don't live near palm trees, and aren't planning to vacation anywhere near palm trees soon, but still want to make your own palm frond reindeer, you can always call a relative or friend.  Ask someone to send you a frond, send you a completed craft, etc.  And, thanks to lots of great resources online, you can always order a completed palm frond reindeer from Etsy or eBay, etc.

Preparing a Palm Frond:
Once you have gathered a palm frond or two, prepare it for your reindeer:

• De-bugging:  Many tiny little bugs call palm trees home, and you definitely don't want these in your house.  The easiest way to de-bug a palm frond is to simply place it in an air-tight bag for a few days.  If you want to also spray some bug spray in there, feel free to do so.  
• Trimming:  Use a rasp, saw, etc. to trim the frond as desired.    

Making the Reindeer:

• All you need for the basic palm frond reindeer are googly eyes, mini pom-poms and a hook for the back.

Basic Supplies Needed for Palm Frond Reindeer

• Get creative.  More artistic folks paint beautiful faces.  Others enjoy adding jingle bells, ribbons, etc. to personalize the reindeer even more.  

Hot Glue Eyes and a nose.

• Add a hook by adhering a floral wire hoop by applying a generous amount of glue - I find hot glue holds the best.

Hot glue holds floral wire to the back.

That's all it takes. The reindeer is complete.  Hang him on display and enjoy!

Reindeer hung by screened porch door

Reindeer hanging on interior wall.

Reindeer hanging in the plants.

Next time you are in a coastal setting, take a look and see if there are any palm fronds waiting to become a reindeer!

Origami Christmas Cards

As happens every year, the whole idea of holiday cards and the obligatory holiday photo of the kids provided me with an ample dose of agita.   Last week, I finally sat down to choose a photo of the kids, upload said photo, create the card online and order cards.  The photo card software did not like the format of the picture I chose.  Or the next three.  Argh.  After a few more tries and a few more sites, I decided to simply order reprints and mail regular cards.
I started looking online at greeting cards, didn't really like any I saw, and considered just making my own cards.  Did I have time for making holiday cards?  With 12 days left before the holiday?  And shopping, school projects, and baking to do?  How did I get myself in this predicament again?
Then I stumbled upon an origami site that had tutorials for several holiday-themed models.  They were so cute.  I decided that, maybe, I did have time to make Origami Holiday Cards.  I scratched holiday baking off the to-do list and, instead, spent an afternoon folding paper.  Crazy talk, I know.  However, the process turned out to be relaxing and fun.    The decision was kinder to my waistline, gave me a new skill, and resulted in some really cute cards.  Bye-bye agita.

Materials I used:

• Greeting Cards and Envelopes - I purchased a pack that included red/green cards and white envelopes.
• Origami Paper - I purchased 7" x 7" Origami paper in multiple colors. 
• Paper Punches - snowflake and star
• Bone Folder
• Adhesive 
• Online Origami Patterns

Materials needed for Origami Holiday Cards

Origami Paper:
When I hunted around for some spare paper with which to create the origami, I realized that my scrapbooking paper was a bit heavy, and colored on both sides.  I headed out to the craft store and bought a package of papers (with assorted solid colors).  Origami paper is relatively thin, holds a crease very well, and is typically white on one side.  It's sold in several standard sizes.  

Origami Folds:
Most origami is created using a combination of standard folds.  Take a look at this website for descriptions and demonstrations of each fold.  For some folds, I used a bone folder, a common card making and book binding tool, to keep the creases smooth.

Making My Origami Models:
I found a tutorial for folding tree models and got to work.  It's pretty basic (requires seven simple folds), but was so striking when completed.  I added the yellow star on top using a mini craft punch.

Origami Trees

When I ran out of green papers, I attempted the Santa origami model.  It took a few tries to get the folds exactly the right way.  I had only 10 sheets of the red, so I made 10 Santa models.  Each one is a bit different, but still recognizable. The white snowflake is his finishing touch.

Origami Santa

When the red and green papers were all gone, I searched the website for another origami design.  The bell model was pretty, and used yellow paper - perfect.  The folds on bell were a bit confusing towards the end.  Luckily, there is a great video associated with each model on the website.  I watched the video and was able to complete a couple of good bells before I moved on.

Origami Bell

Wanting a more straightforward design, I finished up with wrapped package models.  They turned out really cute with snowflakes as bows.  I used a variety of colors, which was good because I had several non-holiday-ish colors left.

Wrapped Packages

Finishing Cards:
After all the origami was completed, I began assembling the cards.  I adhered the models to the card fronts,  glued the photo to the inside and signed the card.  The back of each card is punched with a snowflake and  initialed.  The snowflake appears white because the back of the photo (inside the card) is white.

Back of card

I was able to make fifty cards in an afternoon for less than fifty cents a piece.  I picked up a new skill, created something handcrafted, and reduced some of that pesky holiday stress.  Hooray!

Bye-Bye Jack. Hello, Fall!

I love the first of November.  I can officially say "Bye-Bye" to Halloween for another year and celebrate the fall season without all the ghoulishness.  I can put away all the decorations, costumes, etc. and mark another candy holiday off the calendar.  And, I can begin to fully appreciate the colors, smells, and sounds of fall.

We enjoyed Halloween, of course.  But, boy, am I happy it's over!  Today, I woke up with one mission in mind - pack up all the Halloween stuff and stow it away for another year.   Below are my top-five tips for storing Halloween decor:

1. Sort and Purge Each Year:

Halloween Decor Staging Area

Every year, before we pack stuff up, I put all the decor, paper goods, and costumes in a central staging area.  Then, I sort through everything.  I purge any decorations that are broken, ripped, or no longer my taste.  I pull out costumes that are outgrown, no longer able to be mended, etc.  We bag up the purged items and send them either to new homes, charity donation centers or the trash bin.  The next year, I'll know that anything I see when I pull out the storage bins are things that I love and can use. 

2.  Check for Batteries:

Remove batteries before storing flashlights and other decor.

My kids use orange/black flashlights on Halloween night to help them see - it get's so dark so early around here!  I make sure we remove the D batteries from the flashlights before we store them for the year.  This ensures that the flashlights will work the following year.  Nobody wants to see the acid leak from a  battery!  A few other decorations require  AA batteries - I pull those out as well.  
Note:  If you do find that an alkaline battery had an acid leak, check out this site for tips on cleaning it up. 

3.  Got LEGO Holiday Decorations?  Store them:

Halloween LEGO mini sets get stored between holidays

My son loves LEGO.  So, of course, we have purchased Halloween-themed mini sets over the years.  I store them in a zipper bag 11 months of the year.  We learned that this is for the best after searching high and low for a specific piece to a LEGO advent calendar two years ago.   So, while he is sad to see them go in storage, he is always thankful the following year that he does not have to go hunting through the millions of bricks for a piece.

4.  Protect your Decorations:

Ceramic pumpkin is wrapped in bubble wrap.

Small items are packed inside larger items.

It's always sad to learn a favorite holiday item broke in storage.  To avoid this, I properly protect items using bubble wrap, acid-free tissue and packing paper, etc.  To further protect small, delicate items, I pack wrapped items inside larger vessels, containers.  A lot can happen during the months between use, so if it's worth having, it's worth protecting. 

5.  Decorate with Multi-taskers:

Use decor that is appropriate all season.

Squash/gourds are inexpensive, seasonal decor - true multi-taskers.

An inexpensive tea towel became a decorative pillow

I made a decision a few years ago that any new holiday decorations must multitask.  This means I look more for seasonal decor, rather than holiday-specific decor.  

• Use what you got:  After Halloween, most of my jack-o-lanterns can be rotated to show their pumpkin-only sides (appropriate for the rest of fall).  
• Go Natural:  I look for natural items, such as squash, corn, and gourds, that are colorful, inexpensive, and last from September through November.  After that, I toss them at the back of the yard for composting/critter food. 
• Re purpose:  I recycled a Halloween tea towel by making it an accent pillow.  This pillow displays a cat for October, can be turned around for November, and then hidden with a pillow cover for other holidays.

Halloween bins, re-packed and stored for next year!

And with that, Halloween is officially packed away for another year.  I figure I have about one week of sugared-up kids before they get bored with the candy.  Then, we can begin preparing for other fall/winter holidays.  Check back with me and see what I'm up to as the year finishes up.