The Crones Crafts

The Crones Crafts

Grapevine Ribbon Wreath
Create this decorative wreath in minutes! Choose your own colored ribbons and flowers for a personal touch and you'll have a custom made wreath that looks like it took hours to create, even though it didn't. Of course, you don't have to tell anyone that; it'll be our little secret!
Supplies:

12" grapevine wreath
3 yds. length of 5 to 7 ribbons of various widths (3/8" to 5/8")
3 to 4 silk flowers with leaves
Floral wire
Glue

Directions:

Cut 1-1/4 yds. From each ribbon, set aside.

Holding bundle of ribbons together, wrap wire around middle of bundle. Secure to wreath at the top.

Starting at the middle, loosely braid ribbons. Loosely knot ends (Knots will be removed later).

Attach ribbon bundles to wreath as desired.

Bringing bundles together at bottom, secure on wreath with wire. Untie knots at end of braids.

Pulling gently, allow individual ribbons in bundles to loop as desired.

Trim ribbon to desired length.

With remaining lengths of ribbon, form a bow. Glue bow to bottom of wreath.

Glue flowers and leaves as desired.

Herb Garden Centerpiece

These leafy centerpieces look good enough to eatand they are. Keep them on a sunny windowsill when theyre not adorning the dinner table. To make picket-fence herb gardens, purchase a 5-by-8-inch wooden planter box with a bottom seam for drainage, and about 4 dozen wooden plant markers. Glue plant markers around the outside of the planter with wood glue, lining up the bottoms of the markers with the bottom of the planter. Paint planter with one coat of white latex paint. Line each planter with fine gravel or perlite for drainage, then fill with potting soil and two plants. Settle the potting soil around the plants, and water. We used sage and thyme, but any herb will work.

from MarthaStewart.com

Pressed Pansy Coasters

Colorful flowers floating between squares of glass make beautiful and useful coasters. Press the flowers yourself, or use prepressed blooms. Although we used pansies and violas, you can use any variety of pressed flowers or leaves you like; a collection of coasters is even more charming if each one is unique.

Materials: Glass squares (two for each coaster); pressed pansies, or other flowers or leaves; tweezers; non-water-based clear-drying craft glue; 3 1/2-inch toothpick or small paintbrush; binder clips; 1/4-inch-wide silvered-copper-foil tape; scissors; pencil or Popsicle stick

Have a glazier cut 1/8-inch-thick glass into 3 1/2-inch squares, and sand the edges; or use the pre-cut panes included in the Martha by Mail Coaster Kit.
Wipe the panes carefully with glass cleaner and a paper towel. Be careful not to smudge the glass or trap any dust between panes while you work.
Handling the flowers carefully with tweezers, position them on one pane until you are satisfied with your arrangement. Using a tiny dab of glue on a toothpick or small paintbrush, adhere the flowers to the pane. Allow glue to dry before continuing.
Carefully place a second pane on top, sandwiching the flowers between the two panes and aligning the edges exactly.
To seal, hold the panes together with binder clips, moving the clips from one side to another as you tape. Place the end of the metal tape along an edge of the glass, and wrap the tape around the entire perimeter. Overlap the ends slightly, then snip the tape with scissors.
For a tight seal, rub the tape thoroughly until the edge is smooth, using the side of a pencil or Popsicle stick as a burnishing tool.
If necessary, clean the coasters with a soft cloth or paper towels and glass cleaner. Do not submerge coasters inwater; the tape does not produce a watertight seal.

From Marthastewart.com