For anyone new to Artstraws, (which incidentally, are made in the UK- a factory in Wales to be precise!) Christmas is a great time to get started, they are so versatile, there are endless possibilities of things to do and make with them.
I first came across Artstraws at school when I worked as a Teaching Assistant, but soon bought my own ‘class pack’ box for design/technology projects at home with kids. I taught myself how to do corn dolly weaving from the booklet included in the box and made tree decorations for Christmas 3 years ago. I experimented with using washi tapes to wrap round some straws to get a variety of colours.
Since then, I have expanded my model making range to include hanging hearts, cats and owl decorations and sell my makes at a few local craft fairs around Lancashire. New for this year, cheeky Revelling Reindeers and Angels – so effective with white battery operated tealights underneath. A favourite last year was Snowmen with colour changing tea-lights, so I am busy making them too!
I love doing craft fairs, especially around Christmas time, and I enjoy demonstrating how to weave with them. Please have a look at my facebook page to see what I have been making.
https://facebook.com/HandkraftedbyManda/
I hope I have inspired some of you to give them a try!
Amanda Holmes