Ann R. RalphAt first glance, milkweed plants and poinsettias don’t seem to have much in common. If you live in an area where milkweed grows wild, however, you can use the dried milkweed pods to make poinsettia ornaments for your Christmas tree. Here’s how:

1. Collect some dried milkweed pods. In the fall, the milkweed plants have already gone to seed but the dried pods will still be attached to the plant. You will need six “halves” of a milkweed pod for each poinsettia flower that you are going to make.

2. After you have collected the milkweed pods and have brought them into the house, put them in a warm spot for a few days or a week to dry out more. This is especially important if it has been rainy and damp outside.

3. Glue the milkweed pod halves together side-by-side in a circle so that they look like a flower. A hot glue gun works well for gluing the pods together.

4. Decorate your poinsettia flowers with spray paint and glitter, or, if you don’t want to spray paint your poinsettias, just use glue and glitter. Mix and match and experiment with colors.

5. Glue a loop of string, yarn, twine or ribbon to the back of the poinsettia flower. Once the glue is dry, your ornament is ready to hang on the Christmas tree. You could also give these as gifts four or six to set, or however many you want to give.

1. Collect some dried milkweed pods. In the fall, the milkweed plants have already gone to seed but the dried pods will still be attached to the plant. You will need six “halves” of a milkweed pod for each poinsettia flower that you are going to make.

2. After you have collected the milkweed pods and have brought them into the house, put them in a warm spot for a few days or a week to dry out more. This is especially important if it has been rainy and damp outside.

3. Glue the milkweed pod halves together side-by-side in a circle so that they look like a flower. A hot glue gun works well for gluing the pods together.

4. Decorate your poinsettia flowers with spray paint and glitter, or, if you don’t want to spray paint your poinsettias, just use glue and glitter. Mix and match and experiment with colors.

5. Glue a loop of string, yarn, twine or ribbon to the back of the poinsettia flower. Once the glue is dry, your ornament is ready to hang on the Christmas tree. You could also give these as gifts four or six to set, or however many you want to give.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Are you tossing away your Christmas cards, or preserving them to make memories of your own?
What To Do With Christmas Cards by: Joyce Moseley Pierce

A few years ago someone mailed us a beautiful Christmas card with Mary and Jesus on the front. It’s probably taken from an original painting because the artistry and colors are absolutely gorgeous. It was much too pretty to pack away at the end of the season, so I put it in a pretty brass frame and placed it on my piano. It has remained there throughout the year, and when I look at it, I am reminded of this season where the Christian world celebrates the birth of Christ, and also remember my good friend who sent the card. I know she spent a lot of time picking out just the right card to express her feelings about the season, so that card represents a piece of her heart. Each time I look at it, it gives me a warm feeling inside.

At the end of the season I usually take all of the Christmas cards we’ve received and pack them away with the ornaments and decorations. Then, the next year when I open the tubs again, I find them there waiting for me. I read them again and find that I enjoy reading the letters as if for the first time. It also helps me remember who sent a card last year so I don’t forget them this year. Through the years I’ve found ways to either preserve the cards for myself, or pass them on to someone else. Either way, the card is recycled and not destroyed.

1. Frame them. If they touch your heart, put them in a nice frame. If they’re just something that helps set the mood for the holiday, a clear acrylic frame will do the job. Most cards will fit in a standard 5 x 7″ frame. You can then pack it away for next year, or put a new card in front of it when the next holiday comes along. I have done this not only with Christmas cards, but Valentine and Mother’s Day cards. It helps keep the sentiment in front of me for more than a few seconds!

2. Decorate frames. Cut the artwork out of the card and apply Mod Podge (TM) to protect it. Follow the directions on the bottle. Once the artwork is dry and ready to use, glue it to an acrylic or plain wooden frame. Include a picture and give it to a friend.

3. Make a card. Cut the front and glue it to a piece of cardstock to make your own card for someone else. Or, cut out shapes and use them to make your very own original! Get creative and use cutouts from several cards to make your own.

4. Posters. Take these cutouts and glue them to construction paper or poster board. Grandparents love homemade projects.

4. Gift tags. Either use the front of the card whole, punch a hole in it and tie it to your package with a ribbon, or cut out the trees, snowmen, santas and do the same. You can also use this artwork to decorate packages you’ve wrapped in kraft paper.

There is no right or wrong way to do any of this. Make this a family night project and let everyone get involved. You’ll be making memories of your own as you work together as a family.

Copyright 2002 Joyce Moseley Pierce mailto:piercejam@sbcglobal.net Joyce is a freelance writer and owner of Emerson Publications. She is the creator of “All They’ll Need to Know,” a workbook to help families record personal and financial information. ISBN 0-9725726 http://www.emersonpublications.com/pages/843554/index.htm She is also the editor of The Family First Newsletter, an ezine for families with young children. To subscribe: http://www.emersonpublications.com/pages/848640/index.htm

About the Author

Copyright 2003 Joyce Moseley Pierce mailto:joyce@emersonpublications.com Joyce is a freelance writer, owner of Emerson Publications, and editor of The Family First Newsletter. To view products that will strengthen your family or to subscribe to the newsletter, visit http://www.emersonpublications.com Joyce is also committed to helping women earn money while working at home. http://www.momswin.com/safe4me

Christmas Lightslisa b

A short piece describing the author’s Christmas decorations, her thoughts and memories of them, and a descriptive acknowledgement of the true meaning for the season.
I put up a mass of Christmas lights this year. Lights in the kitchen, lights in the kids room, seven or eight long strands of lights wound around the Christmas tree alone…and no ornaments yet. It shines like a new yellow moon at night, twinkles like a prickly green sky replete with glitter stars during the day. I put the old creche up, the one I stared at for what now seems hours when I was small…the rough Italian made figures still giving me a warm feeling as I placed the sheep behind the shepherds, the wise men in a line approaching, the babe who turned out to be God under the wonderous gazes of his unworthy earthly parents. the simple wooden stable, the angels balancing atop, the wrinkled brown donkey that reminds us of what an uncomfortable ride a very pregnant Mary endured to get to that unwelcome inn. The art deco stained glass angel was set on the top shelf of the bookcase to watch over us for this season, hands welded together in prayer for our well being…or something. A basket of cinnamon and pinecones, a red bowl of silver bells, the christmas books and music brought out into the open to be enjoyed another year. The things bought on clearance after the holidays last year and packed right away opened like new gifts.

I love the familial warmth, traditional securities, browns and reds and forest greens of Christmas…i love the sermons that weave into our imaginations what it was really like for the players in the great cosmic drama that night so long ago…and how close that same Saviour from then can be to us here and now. Enjoy this time, relax in it. Give what you can, whenever you can; remembering that the giving God did has opened our eyes at least enough to see need, to want to cover the cold out there with a soothing warm glow. Run into the arms of light and love this season, let your little light shine, and watch the flicker of flame in your own life spread like wildfire so that your joy becomes complete and your cup runs over.

Merry advent, happy first week of Christmas to you.

About the Author

Lisa has been writing for friends, family, and fun for a number of years. She is currently a stay at home mom planning to go back to school, and enjoys reading, playing hand drums, spending time at the YMCA, and making her house a home.

If it’s christmas lights your looking for, we have one of the largest selections on the web. Click on the following link Christmasdepot.com