St. Lucia Day Star Boy Hats

St. Lucia Day is a Swedish tradition, celebrated each year on December 13. It commemorates the martyr Lucia of Syracuse, who brought food to Christians hiding in Roman catacombs, lighting the way with a wreath of candles on her head. The modern celebration features a procession with Lucia, trailed by handmaidens, star boys, and gingerbread men. In addition to being the bearer of light, Lucia brings treats. These include gingerbread biscuits and S-shaped saffron buns. 

Many Lutheran churches in the United States celebrate St. Lucia Day, either annually or occasionally, on the Sunday closest to the 13th. I remember having celebrated it a handful of times in my childhood. On Sunday, my church will be celebrating St. Lucia Day, for the first time in many years. I was in charge of making the hats for our four star boys. Affiliate links below. 

St. Lucia Day Star Boy Hats

Materials:

• white poster board (one sheet makes two hats, 18" tall)
• scissors
• Treasure Gold paint
• binder clips
• hot glue
• yarn (I used the kind with gold tinsel in it)

Steps:

Tie the end of a piece of string to a pencil, then cut it so that it is 18” long. Hold the loose end of the string at one of the corners of the poster board, then use the pencil to draw an arc extending from one edge of the poster board to the other. If you need more than one star boy hat, repeat the process on the opposite corner of the poster board; it is large enough to make two hats. 

Cut along the arc. Draw or trace stars onto the center of the hat, then draw a 1.5" border along the arc. Fill in the stars and border with Treasure Gold. It will take two coats, but the shine is well-worth the effort. 

When the paint is dry, it is time to coerce your poster board into a cone. It doesn’t want to become a cone, so this is a little tricky. Once you get it into position, use binder clips to prevent it from springing open and trying to un-cone itself. Apply hot glue along the length of the seam, then remove the binder clips. 

Your star boys will keep their hats on with two pieces of yarn tied under their chins. Cut yarn into 12” pieces. Put a 1” line of hot glue on the inside of the side of the cone (where a strap would go) and place a piece of yarn there. Repeat on the process on the other side to make the second strap.

Shrinky Dinks Mouse Ears Keychain

Today I'm sharing the ninth craft in my series based on crowd-sourced responses to ten questions. This time, I asked my friends to "Name something Disney." Mickey Mouse was the top voter getter by far, but one person said Mouse Ears. I used that to inspire a keychain made with Shrinky Dinks. It turns out that shrinking a large design like this leads to a lot more curling and distortion than a smaller piece. In retrospect, I would have made my keychain smaller, both to make it easier to shrink and less prone to distortion, and better for carrying around. Affiliate links below. 

Shrinky Dinks Mouse Ears Keychain

Materials:

• Shrinky Dinks
• reference image of classic Mouseketeer Ears
• Sharpies (black and red) 
• scissors
• hole punch
• needle nose pliers (I LOVE this set)
• jump rings 
• key ring

Steps: 

Using the reference image as a guide, draw a pair of Mouseketeer ears on the shrink plastic. I recommend sketching it on a piece of plain paper first, then putting the plastic on top of that and tracing with the Sharpies. You do not need to color it perfectly; the colors will intensify and the pen marks will fill in when it shrinks. 

Cut out the ears using microtip scissors, then punch a hole at the top. 

Follow the instructions on the package to shrink the plastic. Let it cool completely. 

Put a jump ring through the hole you punched, then add more jump rings to make a chain. When you have enough, connect the last jump ring to the key ring. 

Obviously, you can use this technique to make anything into a keychain. I'm already thinking of all the other shapes I could make!

Newspaper Hat for the Kentucky Derby

Ever since touring Churchill Downs and visiting the Kentucky Derby Museum, I've thought it would be a lot of fun to take part in Derby Day. Not in person (I hate crowds), but from the comfort of home, with the hats and the burgoo and mock mint juleps and Derby Pie. However, the Kentucky Derby is traditionally held the first Saturday in May, which is also National Scrapbook Day... and you can guess which one matters more to me.

Enter COVID-19. Back in the spring, when I heard that the Derby would be postponed from May to September, I decided we'd be hosting a Derby party. Silly me, thinking back then that everyone would follow the rules and we'd have squelched the pandemic by now. We're still having our party, but we aren't having any guests. deRosier, Party of Three!

We aren't the only ones without guests. Churchill Downs recently announced that, for the first time ever, the race will be run without fans present.

One of the most important rules for the Kentucky Derby is that all women must wear a hat. Not just any hat, but a dressy, showy, and/or over-the-top hat. I'm not a hat person (and when I do wear a hat, it's my Mickey Mouse ball cap), so I made my own fancy hat out of newsprint and a bunch of other things from the craft room. 

How to Make a Newspaper Hat

Materials:

• newspaper or newsprint
• masking tape
• Folk Art paint
• ribbon, faux flowers, pipe cleaners, etc. 

Steps:

Separate the newspaper or newsprint into individual pieces, then center 3-4 sheets on your head. Press down to smooth them, then ask a helper to tape around the paper, just above your ears. Go around at least twice. 

(I'm smiling in this picture.)

Remove the paper from your head. Tightly roll the edges of the paper up toward the top of the hat to form the brim. It will hold in place. In this picture, you can see that I've started to roll the section by my hand, but haven't done anything with the rest. 

Once the brim is formed, you can gently shape the hat. Then add a coat of paint. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly. Now it's time to decorate! Anything goes. I started with a sprig of faux roses, then tucked in the ribbon. I curled silver pipe cleaners around a pencil, then added them. I hid the ends with faux ivy leaves.  

I'm ready for the Derby! 

I don't know anything about horse racing, but it's still fun to try to pick a winner. It's no fun betting on the favorite though; I want to root for an underdog. (Underhorse?) Based entirely on the name and the jockey's silks, I'm going with....

There are all sorts of official Derby events and contests taking place online, leading up to the 146th Running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at 7:00 pm EST. Go, Thousand Words!

Ocean Week: Fish Hat and Sign

Time for another stroll down Memory Lane back to my teaching days! 

When I was teaching 4th/5th grade, we had a school-wide Ocean Week every year. Each grade level studied a different ocean habitat (4th grade was Kelp Forest and 5th grade was Open Ocean). We decorated our classrooms and worked our study of the ocean into all our curricular areas. The kids made fish print t-shirts and we hosted an amazing Ocean Night for the community. The week culminated with a parade. 

Early in the week, each student in my class picked a different fish to study, focusing on its habitat, predators/prey, and the body structures that helped protect it or aid it in surviving in its environment. We then made fish hats and signs to wear around our necks. My students wore these to visit younger classrooms to present oral reports about their chosen fish, then wore them for the parade. Sadly, I have no photos of my class dressed up as fish from the kelp forest or the open ocean. What I wouldn't give to go back and get pictures of all the cool things we did! Fortunately, I saved a few samples (including the sea bass outfit I made and wore), which Trevor was kind enough to model.  

Picture a whole class dressed up like this, each with a different fish. It was awesome.

You don't have to celebrate Ocean Week to make your own fish hat and sign. Make your own hat based on your state fish! 

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State Fish Hat

Materials: 

• two pieces of 12" x 18" heavyweight construction paper (affiliate link)
• a good profile reference photo
• something to draw with
• paperclips
• scissors
• stapler

Steps: 

Lightly sketch the fish's body on one sheet of paper. It should extend most of the 18" length in order to be big enough to fit on your head. When you are happy with the size and shape, add the major details - an eye, gills, spots, stripes, etc. 

Use paperclips to attach the second piece of construction paper to the first. Carefully cut around the fish you've drawn, moving the paperclips in as you cut away scraps. You should end up with two identical fish shapes, paperclipped together. 

Hold the paperclipped fish up to a window with the blank side up. Trace the eye, gills, and other features so that you now have two fish pieces that are a perfect mirror image of each other. 

Remove the paperclips and color in the fish.

Finally, staple the fish pieces together at the head and the tail to make a hat. 

This is a cutthroat trout, the state fish of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Four more states (Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah) have particular subspecies of cutthroat trout as their state fish. 

Here's a sample done by one of my students, Catherine S., back in the day (modeled by Trevor, the most cooperative 13-year old boy of all time). 

It is California's state fish, the golden trout. 

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I checked out "fish hat" on Amazon to see what was out there and it did not disappoint. This light-up angler fish hat is awesome. I like the shine on these 'luau fish' hats, but I'm trying to understand why they only come in packs of six. And speaking of trying to understand, I don't understand this fish hat at all. It is just plain creepy. 

Crayon Resist Winter Hat Craft

We've been having gorgeous weather here in northern California, with clear blue skies and temperatures in the 70's. The trees have blossomed and the bulbs are up. Despite the way it's been around here, we technically have another month before spring actually starts. Which means it isn't weird for me to share a winter hat craft, right? I had the crayons out for a different project and decided it was time to do another resist project. I love the 'magic' of painting on a seemingly blank surface and having a pattern appear. Affiliate links below. 

Crayon Resist Winter Hat Craft

Materials:

• watercolor paper
• scissors
• white crayon (you can buy whole packs of white if you're doing this with a group)
• Folk Art acrylic paint
• paintbrush
• cotton ball
• Supertite glue

Steps:

Use the scissors to cut the watercolor paper into a hat shape. With the white crayon, decorate the hat as desired. I made narrow vertical stripes on the band and an alternating pattern of cross-hatches and dots on the top of the hat. You won't be able to see what you've drawn very easily, which is part of the fun. 

Water down acrylic paint until it is thin like ink. Use vertical strokes to brush it on the hat, revealing the design. 

When the paint has dried completely, glue the cotton ball to the top of the hat. 

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I often end up down the proverbial rabbit hole when I'm getting Amazon links for posts. I find all sorts of fun things. This time, I searched for "fun winter hat" and got some beauts. I'd totally wear this cute cupcake hat. And I like this non-traditional Santa hat, though I don't think I'd have many occasions to wear it. This Dracula hat is awesome, but it seems more fall than winter to me. This octopus hat seems toasty warm, particularly if you're considering some wintertime bank robbing, which I am not.

Cat in the Hat Fascinator for Dr. Seuss Day

Dr. Seuss Day (aka Read Across America Day) is celebrated annually on March 2, the birthdate of the beloved children's author. Schools, libraries, and community centers plan fun events that celebrate reading and often include Seuss-themed crafts and treats. I've come up with a simple fascinator-style hat made of recycled materials that's inspired by The Cat in the Hat. I'll be sporting my new hat on March 2 for sure! Affiliate links below.

  

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Cat in the Hat Fascinator

Materials:

• cardboard tube
• frozen juice concentrate lid
• Folk Art or Delta Creamcoat gesso
• foam brush
• Folk Art paint - Wicker White and Calico Red
• 0.94" painter's tape 
• red cardstock or construction paper
• craft glue
• scissors
• Supertite glue (or hot glue gun)
• hair comb or large bobby pins

Steps:

Use the foam brush to put a coat of gesso on the cardboard tube and the juice lid. When it is dry, put gesso on the other side of the juice lid.

Paint the tube and the lid with Wicker White. You want full coverage of the tube and both sides of the lid. 

Next, tape off the sections of the cardboard tube that will remain white. A standard cardboard tube is 4.5" and the Cat in the Hat's hat has 5 bands of color (red, white, red, white, red), so each band will be 0.9". By happy coincidence, I had 0.94" painter's tape on hand, which is plenty close enough. I used an engineering scale and pencil to mark the tube before I realized my tape was the right size; if I was teaching this in the classroom, I'd have the kids do the measuring as a skill practice and introduction to a different type of measuring device than a standard ruler. 

Paint the top, middle, and bottom sections red and let the paint dry completely. Remove the tape, then glue a piece of cardstock to one end of the tube. 

When the glue is dry, use scissors to cut the cardstock into a circle. The tube provides a guide for the scissors to follow. Glue the tube to the juice lid and let it dry completely. 

Finally, glue a plastic hair comb or bobby pins to the bottom of the juice lid (hair combs are more secure, but bobby pins are cheaper - your call). Your fascinator is ready to wear!

As I was writing this post, I realized what I need to make my fascinator even better. There, I've fixed it! 

  

I wish I'd thought of this back in my teaching days. It would have made Read Across America day even more fun! 

Loom Knit Hat and Matching Scarf

Remember the beanie I knit for my niece? I added a pom pom to the top and made a matching scarf. I'm so happy with how it turned out. I wish it fit me!

The yarn is Deborah Norville Everyday Soft Worsted Yarn and the shade is Parrot. Gorgeous. I made the beanie with the smaller loom in the Oval Loom Knitting Set by Leisure Arts. I made the scarf using a Knit Quick small round knitting loom. I wish I'd known years ago how fun and easy loom knitting is! I love it. Expect to see many more projects from me in the future.

Thanks to Leisure Arts and Premier Yarn for providing me with materials to make this project!