| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 4:41:57 PM
So have any of you done this with any success? What kind of thread and needle do you use? Does the popcorn fall all to pieces, and is it really hard to get a needle into a cranberry?
NANCY JO
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Nance in France |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 3:33:00 PM
Yep, beautiful and time consuming, so put Bing and "the boys" on the tape player and settle in for some cozy evenings! I used quilting thread and regular needles and it worked out great. Definitely let the popcorn sit a day or two after popping it, it gets nice and rubbery and doesn't split with the needle. The birds liked it anyway! Ho Ho Ho and Hugs to all, Nance |
| Amie C. |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 10:57:35 AM
I think I'm going to try this for the christmas tree indoors this year. We don't put up our tree until just a few days before christmas, so I don't think the cranberries will go bad. And then I'll hang the garlands out in the yard after the holiday for the birds/squirrels.
About the cranberries, I wonder if you could put the garland on a baking sheet after stringing it and dry it in the oven for awhile on a low temp setting? Might help preserve the berries if you need them to keep for several weeks indoors. |
| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 07:00:07 AM
I did this, along with some cheerios, and orange slices, for the birds. I strung them around our yucky yew outside and the birds love me for it!
For some reason, I've not done it for our tree inside---oh, probably because it was SO time consuming! The birdies did love it, though. I'll probably do it again for them 
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
| farmgirl blessings |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 06:49:39 AM
There is just nothing prettier to me on a tree than popcorn & cranberries. We make some every year as well and the dental floss works really well with a nice thin needle. I like the marshmellow idea too. I just might add some of those to my garlands this year ... if I can get them strung before I eat them that is!
One Christmast past, when my middle son wasn't yet walking, he would sit at the bottom of the tree and just eat the popcorn off the string with his mouth. We have photos of the bare bottom thread just hanging there and it is the cutest thing!
Have fun and post photos if you can!
Blessings, Lea
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 02:08:44 AM
That is a cute idea Kelly, and less work. You don't have pop the corn ;)
But sometimes we hang it out for the birds, If doing that I'd go with the popcorn.
www.torismimi.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| FarmGirl~K |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 12:22:49 AM
I saw in a magazine recently a photo where they strung mini marshmallows & fresh cranberries together. Looked very cute. I am sure the marshmallows would get hard too, but it won't crumble like the popcorn.
"Work as if you were to live a hundred years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow." ~Benjamin Franklin~
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| DaisyFarm |
Posted - Nov 28 2007 : 09:11:21 AM
Humidity in the house wouldn't have been the problem as at the time we heated solely with a wood stove and we actually had the opposite problem, the house could be very dry.
The berries may have been too fresh though. A large percentage of the cranberries sold in North America are harvested just over on the mainland, so we get them comparatively quickly.
Di
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| ivmeer |
Posted - Nov 28 2007 : 07:10:02 AM
I do it every year for sukkot. The popcorn doesn't fall apart. use a heavier needle and upholstery thread. |
| Amie C. |
Posted - Nov 28 2007 : 07:05:22 AM
I haven't done this since I was a kid, so I don't remember many of the details but I do remember that it is better to put the needle through the popcorn at one of the "arms" rather than through the center (not so likely to shatter that way).
Our cranberry and popcorn garlands were for an outdoor tree, so the cold outdoors preserved the cranberries. But I left a bag of cranberries out on the counter in my pantry last winter and they did not get moldy at all. Just dried up and shriveled. I think maybe the humidity level in your house has something to do with it. We are very dry during the winter. |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Nov 28 2007 : 05:39:05 AM
You could dry them first Nancy if you have a dehydrator or do them on a cookie sheet in the oven on 170 degrees. It takes a lot of time but they will last that way. At least mine do.
www.torismimi.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - Nov 28 2007 : 04:28:39 AM
I don't want furry!! I thought these things lasted like forever, is there a certain kind of cranberry you have to buy?
NANCY JO
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
| DaisyFarm |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 8:04:34 PM
Hmmm...we strung cranberries one year. They looked so pretty hung on the tree, such a nice shade of red...for awhile that is. By Christmas we had some nice grey, furry things strung around the tree. As I recall they were referred to as some kind of mouse anatomy. I'll stop now.
Di |
| Marybeth |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 7:21:38 PM
Dental floss---that's it!! I forgot. MB
www.strawberryhillsfarm.blogspot.com
www.day4plus.blogspot.com www.holyhouses-day4plus.blogspot.com
"Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!" |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 6:45:27 PM
Oh I love doing popcorn and cranberries. I find it is easiest to go through the really soft part though instead of through the middle of the popcorn.
www.torismimi.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 5:19:06 PM
Yes MB, I DO Remember the tinsel well, My cat used to eat it and then throw up. One stand at a time on the tree It was pretty.
Dental floss, I have that. Just have to buy the berries.
Nancy Jo
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
| Rebekka Mae |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 5:13:10 PM
It is super easy, just use dental floss and remember that the cranberries will shrink as they dry. I made 7 ft cranberry garlands last year and I ought to have added some popcorn, they just looked so pretty but shrunk alot and I had to help them all together again. One thing you might notice is that the acidity will tarnish your needle rather quickly. I used a large embroidery needle and regular dental floss.
Have Fun! Rebekka
www.bebebella.etsy.com
As a woman I have no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.
Virginia Woolf |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 5:13:03 PM
Well, I do love the birds, but I was thinking of the Christmas tree. Same plan?
NANCY JO
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
| Marybeth |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 5:11:02 PM
When my kids were little we tried to string those things and the cranberries were more successful than the popcorn. What was so maddening was that you would get so far and then the popcorn would split and nothing would work. Grrr. We used long skinny needles and just regular thread. We tried fishing line but it cut into the popcorn. Maybe the popcorn is not as tough as it was way back. Are you going to try? Show pictures!!! Do you remember the tinsel when you were little. Tons and tons of it. My Aunt MaryAlice would cover the tree with one strand at a time. It was beautiful though. And then taking it all off, one at a time to save for next year. Thrifty, thrifty. I suppose none of this answers your questions but you just brought back memories. MB
www.strawberryhillsfarm.blogspot.com
www.day4plus.blogspot.com www.holyhouses-day4plus.blogspot.com
"Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!" |
| celebrate2727 |
Posted - Nov 27 2007 : 5:08:42 PM
It is such fun Nancy-Jo. I would suggest a heavier needle, fresh berries and a heavy thread. Something else is not to make the strings too long as they will have a tendancy to break if you try to run too much along them. Instead try shorter strings tied together. Popcorn works best if it is a bit stale. I don't think the birds will complain too much! Let m eknow if you have any other questions.
blessings
beth
I Can
beth@maryjanesfarm.org
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