Rustic Fall Scarecrow Decoration

• 1). Take two sticks. Lay the longer one down on the table, vertically, and cross it with the shorter stick to make a cruciform. Tape them together to hold the form.
  
  
• 2). Tie the end of a piece of natural raffia to the cross section and begin wrapping it with raffia. Criss-cross the raffia over the front of the cross section to build it up and cover the tape first. Once the tape is covered, begin winding the raffia down to cover the rest of the sticks to their tips. Wrap it a second time to make the little doll form even fuller.
  
  
• 3). Wrap more raffia around the top shortest arm of the cross to make it fuller, almost like you are winding a ball of twine around the top end of the stick. This will be the scarecrow's head.
  
  
• 4). Hold out two fingers and wind the raffia around it five or six times to make a small loop. Slide the loop off your fingers and tie around it in the middle to hold it. Tie that to the end of one of the "arms" on your doll form, so the looped edges stick out. This is your scarecrow's hand. Make a second one for the other arm and tie it onto your scarecrow.
  
  
• 5). Decorate your scarecrow by hot-gluing acorns, twigs, pebbles, dried flowers or whatever other natural items you have. You can hang your scarecrow on a door or wall, or stick the bottom end of the stick into the dirt so he'll stand up.
  
  

Raffia Christmas Ornaments

• 1). Blow up several small, round balloons so that they are approximately 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Tie them off.
  
  
• 2). Wrap raffia around a balloon to cover most of it, but it should not be completely covered. There should be some spaces and holes in the raffia where you can still see the balloon.
  
  
• 3). Pour a large bottle or two of white craft glue into a plastic disposable container. Roll the raffia covered balloons around in it until coated, then place them on a tray. Allow them to dry overnight.
  
  
• 4). Pop the balloons, which will shrink inside the raffia ball. Pick through the holes in the raffia to pull out the latex pieces, using tweezers if necessary. Tie a loop of raffia to the ball (thread it through the holes) to create a hanger. Tie a piece of raffia like a bow around the base of the loop, right above the raffia ball.
  
  
• 5). Hang the ornament on the tree.
  
  

Raffia Hula Skirt

• 1). Measure around your waist and cut a piece of elastic to fit comfortably. Stitch the elastic to create a waist band that fits you well.
  
  
• 2). Measure from your waist to the length you want the skirt to be. Double that measurement and cut about 100 to 150 pieces of raffia to that length.
  
  
• 3). Drape one piece of raffia over the elastic band so that each end hangs down and the edges are even. Tie it in place and continue adding raffia until the skirt is complete.