Cool Contrast
shown on page 52
MATERIALS
Parchment paper
Oven-bake polymer clay: white
(such as Craft Smart brand)
Clay roller or rolling pin
Tree-shape cookie cutters (optional)
Crafts knife
Bamboo skewer
Baking sheet
Acrylic paint: white and black
Artists brushes
Ribbon or twine
Break off a piece of polymer clay and place
on parchment paper. Using a clay roller or
rolling pin, roll clay to about^1 ∕ 4 inch thick.
Use cookie cutters to cut out trees
or use a crafts knife to freehand-cut
tree shapes.
Push the end of a bamboo skewer
through each treetop to make a hole for
hanging loop. Place trees on baking sheet.
Referring to manufacturer’s instructions,
bake the clay; cool completely. Carefully
shave off edges of each ornament using a
crafts knife.
Paint the ornaments white; let dry. Apply
more coats of white, as needed, letting
ornaments dry between coats.
Referring to photo, above right, paint
details on each tree using black; let dry.
Tie ribbon or twine through the hole in
each ornament for a hanging loop.Housewarming
shown on pages 50–51
MATERIALS
2×6 board: 9-inch length and
71 ∕ 2 -inch length
2×8 board: 7-inch length
Miter saw
Fine-grit sandpaper
Acrylic paint: black and white
1-inch-wide paintbrush
Transfer paper
Artists brushes
Wood glue
Cedar dollhouse shingles
3—3-inch-diameter grapevine
wreaths
Crafts glue
Preserved hops or artificial greenery
Red artificial berries
^1 ∕ 8 -inch-wide red-and-white
gingham ribbon
Artificial snow (such as Sno-Bond
Christmas Tree Flock)
Spray bottle filled with water
CUT AND PAINT HOUSES
Mark the center on one end of each board.
Using a miter saw, make two 45-degree
cuts through the center mark of the
9-inch-long board to make a roof peak. In
the same manner, make two 40-degree cuts
on one end of both the 7- and 7^1 ∕ 2 -inch-
long boards.
Sand the houses and wipe off sanding
dust. Paint all houses black; let dry. Sand
all edges.
Enlarge patterns in Pattern Pack onto
white paper. Lay transfer paper on bottom
portion of a house. Lay a paper pattern on
top of transfer paper. Using a pencil, trace
pattern to transfer the design. Repeat
for each house.
Using an artists brush, paint all lettering
white; let dry.ADD SHINGLES
Spread wood glue over angled edge of
one house. Starting at the bottom of the
peak, attach two dollhouse shingles for the
fi rst layer. Add glue to top edges of fi rst
two shingles, then overlap with another
shingle layer, using one whole shingle in
the middle with a half shingle on each side.Continue overlapping and alternating rows
of shingles (two whole shingles then half
shingle, whole shingle, half shingle) until
you reach the peak. Repeat on other half of
roof. Let dry.
In the same manner, add shingles to
angled ends of other houses.ADD DETAILS
Glue hops and artifi cial berries to the
bottom of each grapevine wreath. Tie three
ribbon lengths into bows; trim ends as
desired. Glue a bow to top of each wreath.
Glue a wreath to each house.
Dip a small paintbrush in water and
brush shingle edges. Sprinkle artifi cial snow
onto wet shingles, repeating as necessary.
Shake off excess snow. Spray shingles with
water to activate adhesive in artifi cial snow;
let dry.