a humanitarian call to all ARTISTS in LEBANON

Chocol'art is looking for artists who are willing to volunteer in a festival of fun, taste, inspiration and creativity in support of regional Children's charities. This year Chocol'art is organizing its annual event in Beirut Souks on October 2012 in support of the Brave Heart Fund (www.braveheartfund.org). Please contact Chocol'art at mo@integrityme.co.uk, www.chocolart.org and like their facebook page www.facebook.com/chocolart.ME

Lebanese Crafts

Lebanese Crafts reflect the aesthetic sense, the attention to details and the skill and hard work of the artisans and craftsmen involved in this field. The magical touch of craftsmanship transforms daily objects into works of art. The style and beauty of Lebanese crafts attract the tourists visiting the country making the handcrafted items of Lebanon a significant memorabilia of the tour.

The artisans working in small villages in Lebanon produce handicrafts that exemplify their deft craftsmanship. The methods used are often age old and handed down from the previous generation to the next generation. The processes of making Lebanese Crafts utilize the raw materials available in the country.

The intricate details of the crafts of Lebanon make them unique in their own way. Different parts of the country specialize in various handicrafts. Tourists are provided the opportunity of getting a glimpse of the artisans working in their homes or in small workshops. The crafts of Lebanon include soaps, blown glass objects; mats weaved from grass, pottery, cutlery, textiles, woodcarving, etc. 

Your Easter Projects: Decorating Easter Eggs

 Project 7: Decorating Easter Eggs

Decorate eggs with paint to make personalized Easter decorations. It's a great job for the kids, too.

What you'll need:

• Eggs
• Newspaper
• Enamel Spray Paint in pastel colors
• Nail varnish
• Wicker basket

Step 1)
Place the eggs on a sheet of newspaper, in a well-ventilated space.

Step 2)
Spray them with Fast Dry Enamel Spray Paint in pastel colors.

Step 3) 
Leave them to dry, then use nail varnish to write a name or an initial on each one. Alternatively, use a toothbrush to flick paint onto them.

Step 4)
Once completely dry, fill a wicker basket full of straw and display in your living room.

Your Easter Projects: Palm Sunday Candles

Project 6: Palm Sunday Candles

Palm Sunday is almost here and Holy Week is beginning! All families will come dressed up extra-nice and bring decorated candles and you can make your own personalized candles for this blessed occasion . They are very simple, easy and inexpensive enough to put together in time for Liturgy this week.

Simple supplies:

• tall, white candle
• silk flowers
• decorative Easter eggs
• colorful ribbon

Pull apart the silk flowers so that you just have the buds. Then, arrange them with the eggs so that they laid nicely together against the candle. Hot glued the arrangements together. (It is hard to hot glue to the candle directly, it just melts the wax!) Then, tie the arrangements to the candles with the ribbon.

Add a round piece to the bottom of the candle to protect hands from dripping wax during the procession by cutting out a large circle from a sturdy paper plate. Then, poke a hole through the center with scissors, then push the candle up through the center of the plate.

  Have a blessed Palm Sunday!

Your Easter Projects: Pom Pom Eggs

Project 5: Pom Pom Eggs

Today's craft is super easy, cute and fluffy. 

What child does not love a pom pom.  If you have yarn and a scissor, you already have everything you need to make this craft and its a great use for all those little yarn scraps.  You can buy a pom pom maker at the store but God already gave you one, so lets use it.

 

 

Take your yarn and start wrapping around two fingers (I didn't measure but I probably wrapped it about 40 times. The more yarn you wrap the fuller your egg will be.

 

 

Slide your ball of yarn carefully off your fingers keeping your fingers over the center.

 

 

With a short string of yarn, tie off the center as tight as you can tie it.

 

 

 Take your scissor and cut in between the loops until all the loops are cut.

 

 

this is what you will have

 

 

cupping your little pom pom in your hand, start cutting and shaping your pom pom by cutting off yarn little by little in an egg shape leaving more in the middle and less on the top and bottom until it looks like an egg.

 

 

and there you have it.  

 

Your Easter-Craft Projects: Easter Tulips Craft

 Project 4: Easter Tulips Craft

This fun and colorful Easter craft is easy for kids, and allows them to be creative in making their own unique flower creations. See how to make tulips out of tissue paper with your little ones.

Watch the video here:

 http://video.about.com/familycrafts/Easter-Tulips-Craft.htm 

 

Transcript: Easter Tulips Craft

Hello, my name is Meredith Andrews from Little Shop of Crafts in New York City, here for About.com. When most people think of Easter they think of bunnies and jelly beans but today I am going to show you how to make some lovely Easter tulips.

Easter Craft Supplies

All you need for this project is:

• different colored tissue paper - I chose yellow, blue, pink, purple, and a little bit of green
• a green pipe cleaner
• a paint brush
• a pair of scissors
• some green paint
• the cup part of cardboard egg carton

 

Fold the Craft Flowers

First, what you're going to do is cut the tissue paper into a square. I do it when it's folded over just to give the flower a little more volume. 

Now choose a complimentary color and cut that piece into a square as well. Now you're read to start making your pink and purple tulip. Cross the pieces so that they're diagonal from each other, on top of each other.

 

Create the Easter Craft Base

Next, you'll take the egg cup and you can paint it green. This is going to be the bottom of your tulip. Now, pick up your tissue paper and place the cup in the bottom. Now this is the part now that if you're helping a child do this you want to do yourself. You want to poke a hole in the bottom of the egg cup with a pointy pair of scissors and that will also go through the tissue paper. Nest, you take your pipe cleaner and poke that through the hole.

 

Add a Middle to the Easter Tulip

Now we're going to cut a piece, a strip of yellow tissue paper to act as the middle of the flower. Place that in the center of the tulip where the pipe cleaner comes up and then just wrap the pipe cleaner around it. Now give the pipe cleaner a little tug and now you have the middle of your flower. You can fluff up the sides however you'd like.

 

Make Easter Tulip Leaves

Last we need some leaves. Those can be done by putting a strip of green tissue paper, and then wrapping the pipe cleaner around the tissue paper.

 

Finish the Easter Tulip Craft

Just take your scissors and you can give your tulip a little trim to make it the size that you'd like. If you'd like, you can also add a little bit of perfume to make it the scent that you desire. Now, you have your beautiful tulip and you can make many more as you'd like, kids will love to mix and match the colors and create a beautiful garden of their own.

Your Easter-Craft Projects: Antiqued Golden Eggs

 Project 3: Antiqued Golden Eggs

What you need:  

• Gold leaf paper
• Adhesive "size"
• soft bristled paint brush
• red acrylic paint
• eggs, wooden or blown out

What to do:

1. Paint the eggs, either wooden or blown out with red paint and allow to dry completely.
2. Apply a coat of dry adhesive "size", spray or paint on.
3. When the shine disappears from the surface of the eggs wrap the gold leaf around it using gentle brush strokes and smoothing surface as you brush. The paint will show through slightly to create an antiqued look.

Your Easter-Craft Projects: Knitted Easter Egg Decoration

 Project 2:  Knitted Easter Egg Decoration

This pattern uses oddments of  4 ply yarn and uses 2.75 mm needles. My tension works out to 8 stitches and 10 rows per inch. The egg is knitted flat and then seamed using mattress stitch. You can stuff the finished egg with polyfil / wool / cotton wadding or it will fit around a polystyrene egg.

Row 1: Cast on  11 stitches (leaving a length of yarn about 6 inches for sewing up later)
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: K2, (*M1, K1) 8 times, K1 (19 stitches) *M1=make one,
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: K2, (M1, K1) 16 times, K1 (35 stitches)
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: Purl
Row 9: K3, M1, (K2, M1) 6 times, K3, M1 (K2, M1) 7 times, K3 (50 stitches)
Row 10: Purl

Row 11: Change to yarn color for pattern band - work chosen pattern band over the next 12 rows (see charts below for pattern suggestions) or simply use a contrasting color for middle 12 rows.

Zig zag pattern using 3 colors:

Polka dot pattern using 2 colors:

Stripe pattern using 2 or more colors:

gingham pattern using 3 colors:

Or why not design your own band (50 stitches x 12 rows):

Row 23: change yarn color and work 2 rows without shaping
Row 25: K3, K2 tog, (K2, K2tog) 11 times, K1 (38 stitches)
Row 26: purl
Row 27: K2, K2 tog, (K1, K2tog) 11 times, K1 (26 stitches)
Row 28: purl
Row 29: knit
Row 30: purl
Row 31: K1, (K2 tog) 12 times, K1 (14 stitches)
Row 32: purl

Cut the work from the yarn leaving an end around 6 inches long, thread end through stitches on needle and pull up tight. Use this end to begin sewing up the seam. Sew around 1 inch of seam and then begin seaming at other end of egg. If you want to hang the egg as a decoration then cut a length of ribbon and tie the ends together. Thread the loop through the gathered stitches at the pointed end of the egg leaving the knotted part inside.

At the other end of the egg thread the length of yarn left by the cast on and use to catch up the 11 stitch loops and up pull tight. Continue in mattress stitch to close the seam - leaving around 2 inches of unclosed seam to stuff the egg (if using polyfil or similar). If you are fitting it around a polystyrene egg just sew around half an inch of seam at either end and close the rest of the seam with the polystyrene egg in place. When the seams meet tie off ends and thread inside trimming off any excess ends.

Copyright © Julie Williams 2006.

Your Easter-Craft Projects: Yarn Eggs

Lent just started today and it is time to begin with your Easter craft projects if you want to be ready on time! 
Here are some cute and easy to do ideas for you and your family.

Project 1: Yarn Eggs

Materials

• Thin cotton yarn
• Balloons
• Craft glue
• Newspaper

• Waxed paper
• Clothespin
• Clothes hanger

Instructions

 

For each egg, cut twenty 3-foot-long strands of cotton yarn and blow up a balloon to a 6- to 8-inch diameter. Mix equal parts of glue and water in a shallow disposable container.

Cover your work area with newspaper and a sheet of waxed paper. Hold a strand of yarn by one end, dip it into the glue mixture, then wrap it around the balloon. Repeat with the other strands, randomly overlapping them and tucking in loose ends, until the balloon is evenly covered.

Using the clothespin, suspend the balloon from the clothes hanger and let it dry overnight. (Cover the area below it with newspaper to catch drips.) Once the egg is completely dry, carefully poke a hole in the balloon, then pull it away from the string as it deflates. Hang your finished egg with ribbon or yarn.

Francois Ayoub: Craftman, Jeweler

Francois Ayoub is a young talented jewelery craftsman. Driven by passion and ambition, holding 10 years of experiences Francois Ayoub designs jewelery that stretches the limits of creativity.

He says: "After 11 wonderful years of experience in the jewelry field, making and creating the most prestigious designs with the highest accuracy and precision for many international and local designers, I decided to take my first step in fulfilling my dream… It consists on providing each and every creative person the opportunity to express his ideas and see his designs as a reality in the most professional and accurate way that fulfills his vision and reflects his personality. Or choose from  unique handmade designs that stretches the limits of creativity." 

You can find Francois Ayoub's beautiful creations on achtART.com here.