December 2019 | 111
YARN STARS
Made from wood
cutouts (consumer
crafts.com) and any
type of yarn, these
ornaments are as
easy to make as the
string cards you
remember from art
class. Use a heavy-
duty crafts punch to
ring wood shapes with
holes about a 1/4 inch
from the edge and to
punch a larger hole in
the center. Loop yarn
up through the center
and down through the
outer holes, working
your way around the
shape. (We threaded
one color yarn
through every other
hole then a second
color in the remaining
holes to create a
two-tone effect.) Knot
or hot-glue yarn
tails in back. Glue a
felt pom-pom to the
middle to finish.
DIPPED
GLOBES
A little color gives
inexpensive frosted
glass balls richness.
Clean the ornaments
with rubbing alcohol;
let dry. Meanwhile, mix
2 parts clear crafts
glue and 1 part water
in a jar wide enough
to dip your ornaments.
Stir in 12–15 drops of
gel food coloring. Tap
the bottom of the jar
on a table to force
any air to the top; let
stand 15 minutes to get
rid of bubbles. Dip the
ornament as deep as
you want. Hang
20 minutes to dry. (We
hung ours from
wooden skewers set
across the top of an
empty shoebox.) Use
a cotton swab to dab
away drips from the
bottom as they form.
Repeat as desired.
Mix and
match yarns of
different shades,
gauges,
and textures.