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Turn garbage and recycled goods into fun and adorable crafts. This
whimsical pilgrim woman was fashioned from a plastic condiment bottle, a
little felt, tempera paint, and lots of imagination.
You will need:
Empty condiment bottle with lid
white felt
film canister lid
12" strand of raffia
small fruit and vegetable buttons
tempera paint in black, flesh, pink, and gold
black marker
hot glue gun
scissors
Instructions:
Note: If using craft glue instead of Tacky glue, extra time will be
necessary to allow glue to adhere. Be patient, or your project will fall
apart. Hot glue is recommended in this case, particularly for adhering
the fruit and vegetable platter.
Prep
Peel all labels from empty condiment bottle, wash and dry. You may need
to soak the bottle in warm water to help lift the sticker "goo". Paint
condiment bottle black up to neck. Paint the neck of the bottle with
flesh colored paint for the face. You may need two coats of flesh to
cover completely.
Collar
Using white felt, cut a rectangle large enough to overlap "shoulders" on
both sides of the bottle when folded in half. Using the cap from the
condiment bottle, trace a circle in the center of the felt rectangle;
cut out. Cut a triangle out of the front to form collar (see diagram).
When black and flesh paint have dried completely, carefully slip collar
over and down the neck of the bottle, resting it snugly on the bottle's
shoulders. Glue the front and back of the collar in place to keep it
stationary. Tie 12" piece of raffia into a drooping bowtie and glue to
the front-center of the collar.
Face
Replace bottle's cap. If cap is not white, pain it with white tempera
paint after putting back on the bottle. Let dry. Cut a 1/2" wide strip
of white felt. Starting at one shoulder, glue in place as bonnet strap
by running over the top of the cap and back down the other side. Trim to
fit and glue in place. With black marker, dot on eyes and draw on a nose
and the mouth. Dip paint brush into pink paint, dab several times onto
newspaper or paper towel to remove most of the excess paint. Blot onto
cheeks. Add a small touch of pink to her nose as well. Frame face with
hair by using gold paint.
Harvest Platter
Fill center of the underside of a film canister lid with hot glue. Place
various vegetable and fruit buttons into the "platter". The craft
pictured used apples, carrots, corn and tomatoes. Using hot glue, adhere
platter to front of bottle. Paint on round hands near platter with flesh
colored paint.
About the author
Amanda Formaro is the entrepreneurial mother of four children. She and
her husband live in southeastern Wisconsin. She is also the owner of
FamilyCorner.com Magazine. Subscribe to her free holiday newsletter,
Family Holidays, by sending any email message to
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SeptemberLady "Born and have lived in Southern MD most of my life. My husband and I just finished building a new home on the family farm, where I hope to retire in the near future.
My interests: Doll collecting, cookbook collector (especially old ones), antiques, family/friend get-togethers, cooking/baking, flower and vegetable gardening, bird-watching."
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