Making a Placemat

Getting ready for Christmas is a lot of fun. Do you like making presents for your family and friends? My favourite presents are those that are home made. They always make me feel special because I know that someone has tried very hard to make something just for me. There are always interesting things in the garden that can be used to make gifts. You could make a special Christmas place mat for someone in your family, or perhaps you would like one just for yourself.

What to Do

1. You will need an A4 sized piece of cardboard, a roll of clear Contact, a white-board marker and some leaves and flowers from the garden. 

2. First cut a piece of contact that is 4cm longer and 4cm wider than the piece of cardboard. Cut out a little square 2cm x 2cm from each corner. Cut a second piece of contact that is 2cm shorter and 2cm narrower than the piece of cardboard.

3. On the piece of contact with the corners cut out, sketch the outline of your placemat design. You might put a border. You could write someone's name. Perhaps you could draw the outline of a basket of flowers, or a garden scene.

4. Collect some colourful flowers and leaves from the garden. Choose ones that are thin and delicate. If you choose thick things the contact won't stick. Potato Jasmine and Johnny Jump-Up flowers are good and you can also use petals from larger flowers. Soft new leaves are the best to use. In the placemat above we used lobelia, geranium flowers and leaves, borage, campanula, salvia and bougainvillea flowers, grass seeds and many small leaves. (If you want the placemat to last a long time, you will need to press the flowers, leaves and grasses before hand. Using fresh flowers is a quick way, but the plant material may go mouldy after a while.) 

5. Carefully remove the backing from the piece of contact with the corners cut out. You might need to put something heavy on the very edges to keep it flat.

6. Using your sketch as a guide, press flowers on to make your design. Remember to put them on so that the pretty side is stuck face down on to the contact. You will be looking at it from the other side. Don't be afraid to overlap the flowers and leaves. Names will be in mirror writing - that's OK - they will look right when you see them from the other side. It's important to leave some spaces for the cardboard to show through.

7. When the design is finished, trim off any stalks, etc. that are sticking out.

8. Take the piece of cardboard and press it firmly on to the contact, over the top of the design so that the corners of the cardboard exactly meet the cut-out corners of the contact. Press down firmly and fold the flaps over and stick them to the cardboard like you do when you cover a book.

9. Remove the backing from the second piece of contact. Carefully stick it on to the cardboard so that it is 1cm in from every edge and covers the flaps.

10. Now turn your placemat over and see your design. Use a wet tissue to wipe off the outline (methylated spirits will remove permanent markers). Place the mat under a pile of heavy books, to make it perfectly flat and the mat is complete. 
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Making Autumn Leaf Wrapping Paper

Don't you love all the coloured autumn leaves? Many of them have really beautiful shapes too - I guess we notice them more when they are floating down around us. You can use autumn leaves as stencils to make beautiful wrapping paper and cards that are as individual as you are.

What you will need: sheets of brown paper, blu-tack, red and yellow poster or vinyl paint, a plastic plate, an old toothbrush, a can of gold spray paint, a black texta, scissors, sheets of newspaper, interestingly shaped leaves.

1. Spread sheets of newspaper on the floor to prevent any mess.

2. Spread sheets of brown paper over the newspaper.

3. Pour some of the red paint and some of the yellow paint on to the plate. Dip the toothbrush into the red paint and then into the yellow paint and paint scratchy patches all over the paper, a bit bigger than the size of the autumn leaves you have collected. You should be able to see bits of red, bits of yellow and some orange where the colours have combined together. Allow to dry.

4. Blu-tack the leaves on to the coloured patches. Use different shapes and turn them in all different directions as though they are falling from the trees.

5. Blu-tack the sheet of paper to a piece of newspaper and take it out side into the garden. Weigh the newspaper down with some stones.

6. Shake the gold spray paint can well and spray the sheet of paper until it is completely covered. (A grown-up can help with this part.)

7. When the paint is dry, remove the leaves. (If bits of blu-tack stay on the paper roll them off with a bigger ball of blu-tack.)

8. Fold a piece of brown paper in half. Blu-tack a large leaf e.g. from a plane tree or maple on one side so that the stalk end is over the fold. Cut around it with a pair of scissors, but leave the fold at the stalk end so that it forms a leaf-shaped card.

9. Tie your parcels up with raffia or gold curling ribbon and make a hole in the card with a hole punch and attach it with the ribbon too. Very swish!

10. You can also stick on the leaf stencils first and paint the whole sheet with the red and yellow paint, leave to dry and then peel the leaves off. If you have no paint, try drawing round the leaves with a black texta.

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As gardeners, what is happening with the weather is very important to us, because it can affect the plants we grow. If we know that bad weather is expected - a frost or high winds for example, we can take steps to protect some of our more tender plants. It is easy to make a barometer of your own to help forecast the weather - you might even be better at it than the weather bureau!

You will need: an empty glass jar e.g. a coffee jar, a balloon, a strong rubber band, a drinking straw, a small piece of paper, scissors, sticky tape

1. Cut the neck off the balloon.

2. Remove the lid of the jar. Stretch the balloon tightly over the mouth of the jar.

3. Secure the balloon with the rubber band so that it forms a flat, air-tight seal on the jar.

4. Cut a small triangular piece of paper to form an arrow head for the straw.

5. Snip one end of the straw crossways to make a 1cm slit in each side. Slide the paper arrow head into the slits.

6. Place the other end of the straw at the centre of the covering of the jar formed by the balloon. Attach the straw to the balloon with a piece of sticky tape so that one end is at the centre of the jar and the other extends over the edge.

7. A sheltered spot outdoors e.g. a balcony is a good spot to put your barometer.

8. When the air pressure is HIGH it will push in on the balloon and the cover will be sucked inwards, forming a saucer shape. This will make the arrow point UP. This means fine weather is on the way - good for gardening but, at this time of year, if the air is still, there could be a frost.

When the air pressure is LOW the cover will be puffed out and the arrow will point DOWN. Unsettled weather with rain can be expected. You may not need to water today.

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Making a Fruit Cone

The birds are very busy when their nests are filled with large and demanding baby birds. While it's not a good idea to feed birds all year round a little extra food at this time of year won't hurt and maybe next year they will build their nests in your garden!

What to do:

1. The pine cone needs to be one that has opened up to release all its seeds. Sit it in a bowl with the narrow end upwards.

2. Tie one end of the piece of string to the base of one of the scales near the top. Make a good firm knot. Tie the other end of the string to one of the scales on the opposite side so that the string forms a loop and the cone will hang straight.

4. Wedge the pieces of fruit in between the scales of the pine cone. Fill up spaces with dried fruits and bits of bread.

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