Corn Husk Dolls - A Nativity

Have you been following Corn week.  If not you can always stay a while and check out these other great posts.

Corn Relish

Corn Cob Pipes

Corn Warming Bags

So on with today's post history...

Way back in my flying days I was able to go to Europe for 10 Days.  My room mate and I flew into Germany then drove through the Black Forest into Switzerland, through the Alps, onto Austria and Prague then back to Germany and flew home.  What an adventure.  We had so much fun.  It seems like a dream that it even happened.  But I have pictures to prove it. While we were there I came across a shop in Prague. The people there are so talented. Hand made everything. I found this darling Nativity. All made of Corn husks.  I just had to have it.  So I bought it and packaged it with care to make the long journey home.   

I kept it in its box for a long time.  I finally pulled it out after I was married and had a safe place to put it.  (Safe is relative.  We moved a couple of years ago and now I can't find Joseph.  But here is the rest of the family.)

Isn't it amazing.  All made of corn husks and wood shavings.

After looking at it all these years I started to wonder if I could make one.  So for Corn week I made it my project.  Here is what I did.
Supplies:
Lots of corn husks.  You can either save and dry your own corn husks or you can buy corn husk in the Hispanic food section of your grocery.  They use them for Tamales.

Soak your corn husks until they are easy to bend. If you area using your own this process doesn't take long.  If you are using the ones from the store take much longer.  I used a mixture of the two.
First you need to make the head.  I wrapped corn husks around a bead.  Then tie it off at the base with thread. 

Next you will make your arms.  Roll up a corn husk as tight as you can.  At this point you should have a head and arms.   

Take your head and place it between 2-4 corn husks.  I used two of the tamale corn husks.  If you are using your own I would use more.

Tie off the corn husks as close to the base of the head as possible. As tight as possible.

Pull the corn husks back and down. Add your arms in between the corn husks. Tie off below arms.

Repeat the last step.  These corn husks will determine the height of your dolls. 

   

Here is my Joseph.  At this point if you wanted to make a boy pilgrim or something you can divide the corn husks in the center and time them off to make legs. 

Take strings and tie your around the base of your person, until he dries.  Bend arms into the wanted position.  Use string to hold them into place.  They may take a few days to dry completely.

Once Mine were completely dry I used a bit of glue and sprinkled wood shavings from our saw to Joseph's head & chin and Baby Jesus' head for hair.

Here is the finished family.   I think for Christmas I am going to add some twinkle lights and garland around them to finish it off.  If you make some of your own I would love to see them!

 

Corn warming bags

So what do you think of corn week??? There are so many things to do with corn.  Here is one more.

To continue with corn week we will be making Corn warming bags.  These area just like the Rice bags you can warm up and use. The great thing about using corn is that it retains the heat longer.  About twice as long as rice.
Here is what you need:
1. 2 different fabrics.  I used fleece and corduroy.  Two identical pieces.
2. Corn.  I used Field Corn.  They use it for animal feed, to track dear and to feed squirrels. I purchased mine a a grain mill.  They sold all kinds of grains including field corn.

1. Start with 2 types of cloth.  I used corduroy and fleece.  You can cut them 12x12 or 7x14. depending on the size you want. Place pieces right sides together.

2. Stitch around 3 1/2 sides. Leaving a hole open for add corn.

3. Turn right sides out. Press if you can.  Top stitch around 3 sides, still leaving the opening open.

At this point I also like to stitch a center row from the bottom to 3 inches from the top. This will help keep the corn balanced. I do this on my 12x12.

4. Fill your bag with corn about half way maybe a little more. If you would like to add a few drops of essential oils to your corn.

Stitch you bag closed  with the top stitch across the top.  Complete your bag by stitching your center line all the way to the top.

All finished.  Before you give these as gifts run them through the microwave a few times.  Sometimes corn has moisture in it.  Microwaving a few times gets rid of the moisture. Microwave for 3-4 minutes.

I love using these little bags.  They are great for warming your beds or for a sick tummy.  My kids love to warm them up after sledding or building a Snowman.

Just add a cute tag and your are ready to go.

Once there was a Snowman......Kit!

Well I am back again for another day of Corn Week.  Today we are going to talk Snow.  That's right snow. You might think I'm crazy but you are going to love this easy project.  Even the kids can get involved.

Everyone loves a snowman right??? When I was in college I had a snowman. His name was Winston. We had fun dressing him up and having him as our mascot.  As an adult I enjoy going out on a snowy day and building snowmen with my kids.  So a few years ago I came up with a fun little snowman kit. Complete with a corn cob pipe and a button nose.  I used them as my neighbor gift to my neighbors with kids. The key to my kit is to start planning now. So here is your supply list.

5x54 inch fleece or old scarf

Dowel knobs and Dowel (Size or dowel knob opening) for eyes

Large Button - You could also buy a carrot for the nose.

Rocks painted black for mouth. You could also use these for your eyes.

Hat- I like to use the 99 cent beanie hats at walmart
Corn on the cob (This is why we start now)

Corn Cob Pipe

Start with you corn on the cob.  Make sure to enjoy every bite. Thr butter, the salt every last yummy taste of summer. Once you have enjoyed your yummy delicious corn, cut your cobs into halves or thirds.

1.Trim off any access corn and leave your cobs out to dry.  It may take a few days.  You can also put them on low heat in your oven for several hours.You want them dry enough to drill holes in them. You can even dry them out and put them in a ziploc bag until you area ready to make them for Christmas.
2. When they are dry you will drill a hole in them, the same size as your dowels.
3. With a hot glue gun add a bit of glue in the drilled hole.
4.  Add your dowel and let dry.
5. Opt. You can spray your dowels with sealer.  This will help them last longer in a wet winter.

Eyes and Mouth

For the eyes and mouth have your kids gather some rocks from your yard. Wash them and  paint them black. Or buy some dowel knobs and dowels. Paint them black.  Either way your kids will love to collect rocks give them a bath and paint a shiny coat of paint on them. You can also pic up a bag of rocks from the dollar store.  They oftern have decorative rocks in black.  They are perfect for a snowman.

Nose:

For your button nose you can buy a button or a carrot.  I am using a button that I am going to glue a dowel on the back so it stays in place on my snowman.

Scarf

You can either use an old scarf or a long pieces fleece. 

Whatever you fancy.  I used fleece and cut the edges.  I had my kids sit and tie the ends into knots.  

Hat

I like to use the cheap beanies from Walmart.  But you could also make one out of foam or felt. For instructions on how to construct a hat See this post.

Add all your pieces to a fun little draw string bag or bucket.  Add the tag and you are ready to make a snowman. I added a vinyl face to my bucket or you could use iron on vinyl for a bag. No cutter needed just hand cut and apply. I love getting my vinyl here.   You can get all kinds and colors.  A lot or a little you choose.

A fun little addition would be to add hot cocoa or cider to your bucket or bag.

Right click each one and save to your computer.
Please remember to follow the rules of free printables. 
For more information please see my free printables page.

Corn Relish & Corn Cob Jelly

Welcome to Corn Week!  I have been contemplating ideas for projects. This week is all about corn.  A few of my projects are gifts, kids projects and food items. Some may be a little corny but that is what it's all about.

My first recipe is Corn Relish.  My wonderful neighbor invited me over to help in the corn harvest.  She planted 7 rows of corn this year in all different varieties. We pulled corn for 2 hours in the garden.  Do you know how to tell of your corn is ready to pick???

**** When you have your corn in hand, pull back the husks.  Pierce one kernel with your fingernail.  If the kernel pops and the corn juice resembles 1% milk it is ripe and ready to eat.  If it is more clear it needs a few more days.  If its old the juice will be starchy white.   So there is your tip for the day.  What a difference this knowledge has brought me.

Back to my corn harvest.  So we pulled the ears and shucked them.  (Save those corn husks for a later project) Keep your corn chilled.  We put ours in coolers with light layers of ice.  Once you pull the corn the juices begin into turn to starch.  Keeping them cold slows this process. Between the 4 of us we pulled and shucked between 500-600 ears of corn. We filled 5 large coolers with corn.

Corn Canning Day
The next day we all gathered together and got to work. Canning with friends it so much fun!

To start we brought our water to a boil.  We used a Camp Chef Stove and a large banquet table in the garage.  Working in the garage was great.  We were able to keep most of the heat outside and gave us a few extra burners and work space.

Step  1: Bring water to a boil
Step 2: Add corn and cook for 7 minutes
Step 3: Place corn in ice water for cooling. You want to cool it fast to stop it from cooking any longer.
Step 4: Cut corn off cob.  We did this using a serrated knife onto cookie sheets.  Save your cobs!! They will be used for the corn Jelly and a later craft project.

Now you can scoop into bags for freezing or measure for the corn relish.

Here is the recipe:

Corn and Cabbage Relish

9 C fresh corn kernels
3 C finely chopped cabbage
1 C finely chopped onion
2 C finely chopped, seeded red bell pepper (about 2 peppers)
2 stalks of celery (1/2 cup)
1 cuke, diced (1 cup)

BRINE
1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
1.5 cups distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T sea salt
½ t celery seed
½ t yellow mustard seed
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper, if desired*

Combine ingredients for brine in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil,
stirring to make sure the sugars have dissolved and aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add all of the prepared vegetables to the brine, and bring back to a boil, stirring well to combine.
Reduce heat to a strong simmer. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes till veggies
are tender-crisp. Taste and add salt if needed.

Spoon corn relish into hot pint-size jars, leaving 1/2" head space. Release any trapped air bubbles by
carefully running a chopstick or other non-metallic utensil around the edges. Wipe rims clean with a
damp paper towel. Set lids atop jars and screw on bands until fingertip-tight. Water bath 20 minutes.
Rest 5 minutes in kettle and remove. Makes approximately 6 pint jars

*Add small can of diced green chilis and ¼ t chipotle chili powder for some extra zip!
Here is what we used it in: Just add your relish, tomatoes, beans of choice, avocado and dressing.

Cowboy Caviar

Other uses for Corn Relish:

·         Makes a great topping for brats or hamburgers

·         Use as a base for Taco Soup

·         Add sour cream (1:1 ratio), ranch dip mix, and serve as a dip with chips. (Also makes a yummy baked potato topping)

·         Great fajita or taco topping!

Next we made Corn Jelly.  Now I had some reservations about this.  It is a little weird.  Remember those cobs I told you to keep above?  Well here is one use for them.

Corn Cob Jelly

24 large ears of corn
1 gallon water
¼ c lemon juice
2 packages powdered pectin
sugar (1:1 ratio with corn liquid)

1) Place corn cobs and water in a large stock pot with the lid on. Bring to boil, remove lid, and boil hard
for 30 minutes (you want to be able to concentrate the liquid). Turn off heat and remove cobs. Strain corn
liquid through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer–if desired (I kind of like the flecks of corn in there as a
reminder from whence it came!).

2) Measure how much corn liquid remains (typically about a third will evaporate during the boiling
process) so that you’ll know how much sugar to add. Return liquid to the large pot. Stir in lemon juice
and pectin and bring to a boil. Add sugar to match the measure of your corn liquid all at once (1:1 ratio).
Stir to dissolve sugar and bring pot to a ROLLING boil. Boil hard one-two minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.

3) Ladle hot corn cob jelly into hot jars. Adjust lids and bands. Process in pint size jars in a boiling water
bath for 15 minutes (times may change a bit for altitude).

Makes about 5 pints.

*Lavender version: Infuse 1 Tb lavender blossoms / quart of liquid. Steep during last 10 min of boiling
(while cobs are boiling) and strain.

*Kettle Corn version: After removing corn cobs, add sea salt and cracked pepper to taste.

*Citrus version: After removing corn cobs, add an additional ¼ c of citrus juice (tangerine, orange, etc.)
and several drops of tangerine and orange essential oils.

What do make with corn??? Come back tomorrow to find out how to use those cobs for another project and the husks we saved for later this week.