Simple Gifts for Black Friday

Black Friday sales are an abomination! All I want to do on the day after Thanksgiving is eat pie and whip cream, and think about Advent. I make about half of my holiday gifts, and usually spend this free day at home, working on projects.

Agenda:

1. Compile a family wish list

2. Collaged Votives

1. Compile a family wish list:
It's a family tradition that we make a list on the day after Thanksgiving of what we want for Christmas, but this year we started early because of the fear of shortages and delivery problems - I am mostly done with my online shopping.

I still have plans to make some gifts, and I've set aside a two hour block of time this morning to work on them.

2. Collaged Votives:

On Black Friday I always kick off my gifts workshop. This year, I'm trying to use up some of the supplies I have stockpiled in my studio: I found these 5 clear votives and thought they would make fun stocking-stuffers. You can also use small glass jars.

Supplies:

• glass votives or jars
  
• scraps of tissue paper in many colors
• watered white glue or acrylic medium or Mod Podge
• glue brush
• waxed paper or parchment paper

1. Tear the tissue paper into the shapes you want (tear enough so you won't need to find more once your hands get sticky!).

2. Set your votives on waxed paper so they won't stick. Brush  glue on the outside, in one area, and cover with tissue. 

3. Keep brushing more glue and adding more strips, overlapping each by a little.
(If your doing this project with children, this is a good chance to talk about additive color, since the two colors that overlap will create a third color.)

4. Gently brush more glue over the top of the tissue. Don't worry about the extra tissue at the top- you can trim that off later.
5. Let the glue dry, trim off the extra paper at the top, and add a tea light or a small candle.