Yule Egg Ornaments
Egg ornaments are a great way to recycle used eggshells if you do not compost them and can make beautiful gifts for loved ones at Yule. You will need:
clean blown eggshells
pencils
acrylic paint
thin ribbon
glue (with a little water added)
fine glitter and/or gold and silver acrylic craft paint
paintbrushes
hot glue and glue gun (optional)
acrylic glaze.

To make a blown egg, take a nail or large needle and hold the egg firmly in your left hand. Use the nail to drill a hole in the tip using a small amount of pressure. You can use a small hand drill if you wish or a small drill bit. Poke a hole in each end of the egg and hold it over a glass. Blow through one end of the egg into the glass. It may take a little bit of work, but the egg bits will soon come out easily. Once you have blown out all the contents, rinse the egg out under the water and let it dry for several hours.
    When you are ready to paint your egg, set it on a soft surface such as an old towel and draw your design on the egg in pencil. Don't worry too much about making a mistake. You can erase and you will be painting over the lines anyway. Be sure that the egg is completely dry when you begin to paint. Any type of acrylic paint can be used and bright bold colors work best. The large point of the egg goes at the top and the tip should point down. When you are finished painting your design, coat the egg with a thin layer of acrylic glaze. This will make the egg shiny and the colors bolder. If you want to cover the hole at the bottom before you paint, you can fill it with hot glue. If you want to add glitter to a portion of the design such as a star, you can paint the shape with Elmer's glue mixed with a little water. Then roll the egg in glitter while the glue mixture is still wet and let it sit for 10 minutes to dry. Once the egg is completely dry, blow or brush off the glitter with a clean, dry paintbrush. Cut a piece of ribbon about eight inches long and form it into a loop. Glue the ends down to the top of the egg. Make a small bow from the ribbon and glue it down over the ends of the loop. When the glue dries your ornament is ready to hang!

Scented Ornamnents:
1 cup cinnamon,
3/4 cup applesauce,
1/4 cup white school glue
Mix ingredients together, roll out on a lightly floured surface. Cut out with cookie cutters. Punch a hole in the top of each oramnet with a drinking straw. Dry for at least 48 hours. Tie a string or a ribbon through the hole, and hang on the tree. Do not eat

Leaf Printing
Gather fresh leaves together. Paint one side of a leaf and then press it down on a piece of paper to make a print of the leaf. This is a wonderful way to make gift wrapping, book covers, placemats, or other crafts that you can give as gifts

Candied Violets for a Springtime Cake
-by AmberSkyfire
Violets are edible and very high in Vitamin A. A good way to serve violets is to make them into candy and serve them on white cake.
What you will need:
violets (about twenty per cake)
a cake
white icing
egg whites
paint brush
fine granulated sugar

Bake a cake and put white icing on the cake. Make sure that the violets have been rinsed and let sit to dry a few minutes on paper towels. Beat the egg whites until they are light and fluffy. Using the paintbrush, CAREFULLY paint egg white on each of the flowers. Sprinkle fine granulated sugar over the flowers until they are covered. Decorate the cake with the flowers, serve, and enjoy!

Growing Beltane Basket - A great project for the kids to do (with adult supervision, of course.)

Greet the May Day spirit with this 'growing green basket'. 
An ideal green gift to surprise with!

Supplies:
Empty Milk Cartons 
lump of potting soil
Grass Seed 
(fast growing if you have it) 
a stapler
a roll of string and some wire
freshly picked herb sprigs, 
flower heads (orchids, lilies, or others) 
plant foliages( like ivy)

Take empty milk cartons, cut down to 4-5" high. 

Cover the basket with construction paper and decorate. 

Fill around 2/3 full with potting soil. 
Then generously sprinkle grass and some weed seeds. 

Have it watered daily. Grass should grow in about 4-7 days. 

With the remaining cartons, cut a handle out and staple it to the basket.

Do not add other greens till the last moment. Wire some herb sprigs and flower heads such as orchids, lilies, foliages of ivy or the likes, in separate bunches. Add them to the basket before taking it out to be hooked on the door knob of your dear ones.

Bath Buddies
Ivory Snow detergent (or any other soap flakes)
Liquid food colouring
Water
Vegetable oil
Bowl
String (if you want soap on a rope)

How To Make It
In a bowl pour approximately 3 cups of soap flakes.
Add 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of water with a few drops of food colouring added to it.
With your hands mix the contents of the bowl until it forms the consistency of play dough.
To shape it, take a drop or two of vegetable oil and rub it between the palm of your hands -- now shape anyway you wish.
If you want to make a soap on a rope, cut a piece of string and tie the ends together. Push the knotted end gently into the your finished shape.
Let the completed soap stand to set over night
Tips
If you can't find soap flakes, you can make your own. Get some bars of pure soap and finely grate them to make soap powder. This powder may not need as much water to be workable. Start with just 1/3 to 1/2 cup per 3 cups of soap powder. Add more as needed.

Brighid's Cross

Items needed:

• a handfull of wheat stalks
• warm water
• clothespins
• clear or red thread and needle
• perserverance

Directions:

1. Soak wheat stalks in warm water until pliable
2. Fold one stalk of wheat in half, leaving the kernels sticking out
3. Fold another one the same way, and thread through the first one. It now looks like a long "L"
4. Fold the third the same way, and insert through the second wheat stalk. It now looks like an L with a tail
5. Fold and insert the fourth stalk through the third
6. Use the clothes pins to help keep the shape as you weave more wheat
7. Continue folding and threading the wheat stalks until you have several wheat woven through each "arm"
8. Allow to dry with the clothespins in place
9. Using the thread and needle, sew the stalks together - this is cheating, but I find that it's necessary!
10. Hang over the fireplace or stove

Kissing Ball

Items needed:

• red velvet ribbon, 1/2 inch and 1 inch
• 6 or 8 inch embrodery hoop
• mistletoe
• florist wire
• hot glue

Directions:

1. separate the two pieces of the embrodery hoops and fit them together, one inside the other, at a 90 degree angle. Secure in this position with florist wire or hot glue
2. Secure a piece of the 1/2 ribbon to the bottom of the hoop. Wind the ribbon around the edges of the hoop, wrapping each "arm" in a spiral motion until the wood is covered completely.Secure with hot glue.
3. Form two bows with the 1 inch ribbons, leaving the ends dangling. Secure one to the bottom of the joined hoops, the other to the top.
4. Gather the mistletoe into a ball, secure the ends with florist wire.Insert inside the globe and twist the florirst wire to the top of the ball.
5. Hang the ball somewhere you are sure to get kissed!

Runes

Items needed:

• Glass gems or pebbles that are used in floral arrangements. Wal-Mart has them in the florist section.
• electric engraver
• safety glasses
• material
• ribbon
• sewing machine or needle and thread

Directions:

1. Practice your engraving on old drink bottles if you are not used to using one. Use the bottles later for the Bottle Tree! Make SURE you ALWAYS wear your safety glasses when engraving with glass!
2. Once you have become proficient at engraving, engrave the individual runes onto each pebble.
3. Fold the material in half and sew up the edges. Fold the top edge over approx. 1/2 inch  and sew, fold again and sew again.
4. Place the runes in the bag and secure bag with ribbon.

Fall Leaf "Stained Glass"

Items needed:

• fall leaves
• wax paper
• iron
• towel
• picture frame

Directions:

1. Collect as many different colored and size fall leaves as possible!
2. Cut two pieces of wax paper slightly larger than your picture frame.
3. Lay one piece of the wax paper on the towel, and arrainge the leaves in a pleasing design.
4. Lay the other  piece of wax paper over the leaves, and lay another press the two together using a hot iron and moving quickly but firmly
5. Tape the "stained glass" to the picture frame and cut off the excess
6. Hang in a window for best results.

Bath bombs

• 10 T baking soda

• 5 T powdered sugar (or cornstarch)

• 5 T citric acid

• 5 droppers full of fragrance or essential oil

• 2 T almond oil (too much or too little causes problems!)

Mix dry ingredients together. Gradually drizzle oils in. Spoon into molds (ice cube trays are good, but get creative!) Press very, very hard. Let dry several hours. cure 2 weeks before using.

Fizzing Bath Balls

• 1/4 C baking soda

• 2 T citric acid

• 1 T borax

• 2 T powdered sugar

• 2 T almond oil

• 1 T vitamin E oil

• 1/4 T fragrance

Combine dry ingredients in bowl and stir til blended. Drizzle in oil and stir until moist. Add Vit E and stir 'til mixed. Take teaspoon sized mixture & form balls. Will be crumbly. Place on waxed paper and leave 2 -3 hours. Let air dry 10 days and then store in air tight container. Make sure they are drying in a humidity free environment. When the author of this recipe took the balls out of her ice cube tray, they expanded a bit from the humidity in the air. If you have a dehydrator, that would be a good place for drying.

There is no end to the shapes you can make with these and they look beautiful in a pretty jar with raffia or ribbon at the top. Just use your imagination!

How to make a Goddess Dolly

 

Craft project for all Sabbats

 

Materials:

 

How to make an altar-sized Yule log

 

Small altar-sized log

Three candles:  one white, one red, one black

Bits of artifical holly to decorate with

Red and green ribbon to be tied in a decorative bow

Glue gun

 

The candles can be short squat ones orlonger ones if you're willing to drill holes in the log and insert them.  Just gluing them is fine.  The candles represent the life cycles of the deities, most commonly the Goddess.  The white candle represents the innocent phase of life; it goes on the left.  The red represents the childbearing phase; it goes in the middle.  The black candle represents maturity and wisdom; it goes on the right.  Arrange the holly around the candles so that the drill holes or blue gun marks don't show.  Tie a bow with the ribbon and stick on the bront.

 

 

Burn the candles during ritual or any time the Yule darkness threatens to overpower.

How to make a Yule Tree:

 

Tree of traditional seasonal type

Decorative materials:  popcorn strings, tinsel, wooden stars, ornaments of any sort, fake snowflakes ... use your imagination.

 

Simply decorate the tree however you desire.  One fun activity is using popcorn strings, which can be created by stringing them together with a needle and thread.  (make sure you get unsalted, unbuttered popcorn!)  Little brooms, apples, or stars, and any other symbls of Yule you like can be placed at strategic intervals all over the greenery.  It is suggested that you use a fake tree, because unless it is for a necessity, it's not required to chop down a live tree!  A Yule tree can differ from your usual Christmas tree by being decorated exclusively with traditional Pagan sybols or homemade (no store-bought) decorations, but many modern Pagans' trees will be indistinguishable from those of their Christian friends.

 

Candles or lights can be added to the tree and solemnly lit at a family or solitary ceremony.  Gifts can be stored under the tree and joyously given on Yule.