In spirit of the holiday season The Dancing Dragon thought it would be grand to share one of their holiday traditions with all of the other fantasy loving homes out in the world.
Many of us have a list... and if you are like us a rather long list of our favorite things about the holiday season. One of Susan Marie's favorite things about the holidays is how wonderful the kitchen smells With all of the baking, cooking and simmering of those delicious holiday foods. And a tradition in her family to keep those wonderful scents around just a little bit longer is a Christmas Spice Rope. She also thought it would be even better not just to share information about this spice rope but to give you all a chance to make your own. The bottom portion of this post are directions on how to make your own Christmas Spice Rope, directions you can download and print, and pictures of what Susan Marie's own family spice rope looks like. Enjoy!
Christmas Spice Rope Craft Directions
One of the special and most recognizable things about the holiday season is how the house smells filled with all the warm and wonderful spices of the season. There is nothing like walking into a kitchen filled with the aroma of cooling pumpkin pie, fresh baked bread, apple crisp and holiday cookies. Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Mint and Citrus are just some of the scents that remind us of the joyful holiday season. For centuries mothers and grandmothers have been passing down a way to hang onto those wonderful scents and now we are passing the secret down to you, by letting you know how to make your own Christmas Spice Rope.
What you will need:
Yarn – 12 pieces cut 6 feet long (white) and 8 pieces of yarn 4 inches long (red)
5 Scrap square pieces of holiday print fabric 3 or 4 inches square (red and green)
A ring (keychain ring, shower curtain ring or something similar)
Cotton balls
1 piece of white construction paper
2 piece of colored construction paper (usually red or green)
Pinking sheers
Single hole punch
Small samples of the holiday spices you like most
(I recommend cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mint)
A ball point pen or fine tip marker
Glue
Directions:
Take all 12 pieces of yarn in a bundle and lay them out flat. String the ring on all 12 pieces and slide down the yarn until it is in the middle. Fold the yarn in half doubled on itself so that it is now 3 feet long with the ring in a loop at one end. Take one piece of the 4 inch long red yarn and tie a bow right below the ring around all the pieces of white yarn. Divide the white yarn strands below the red bow into 3 groups of 8 and then braid then together loosely through the entire length of the yarn stopping 4 inches from the bottom. Finish off the braid with another 4 inch long red yarn piece tied in a bow and set aside. Take each piece of scrap fabric and lay them down flat. In the middle of each piece add 2 cotton balls and approximately a ¼ teaspoon of your selected spices. Take one of the pieces of fabric and gather the spice and cotton balls into a small bundle. Tie the bundle closed with another red piece of yarn with a knot leaving the ends of the yarn long and loose. Do this for each of the 5 fabric bundles and set aside. Using the pinking sheers cut the white construction paper into a 3 inch by 5 inch rectangle. Take the color construction paper and cut a 4 inch by 6 inch rectangle. Glue the 3x5 inch white piece onto the center of the 4x6 inch colored piece. Write the phrase noted below on the white paper with the ball point pen and punch a single hole in the middle of the top of the card. Evenly space the bundles and card along the braided rope, with the card toward the bottom. Once spaced lay the bundle on top of the rope and wrap the yarn ends back around the braid and back to the front and tie a bow. Do this for each of the 5 fabric bundles. To attach the card, tie the last piece of red yarn around the braid into a small knot, loop one end of the yarn through the hole in the card and tie a bow with both ends. You now have your very own spice rope!
Phrase on card: “It is said that “Southern Grannies” always hung a spice rope within their kitchens. Should the little spice bundles lose their scent after a time, just open them and add a drop or two of either oil of cinnamon or cloves on top of the spices within the ball.”
christmas_spice_rope.docx | |
File Size: | 12 kb |
File Type: | docx |