As it’s getting to be that busy time of year, today I thought we’d look at something that’s fairly straightforward and quick to make: Magic Eyes.

They’re also known as Ojo De Dios or “Eye of God”, if you want to get fancy about it, but to be honest I don’t like to call them that as it reminds me too much of the all - seeing Mary, and if there’s one thing I think we can all agree on, it’s that she’s the last person whose penetrating stare you want following you around whatever room you choose to hang these in.

I find these a good little project to work on whilst I have to do something else, and once you’ve got three or four of them on the go, it’s easy to put one in your pocket and take it with you so you’ve got something to occupy yourself, for example, whilst on you are on the No. 11 bus.

I’ve finished about 38 of these now, and I’ve started to string them together and hang them between the kitchen and the lounge as a bit of a unusual room divider.

What you’ll need:

Two clean iceblock sticks (I find old Bubble O’ Bill ones work particularly well)

Wool/Cord/Leather thonging of various colours (good way to use up some of those scraps) - basically anything that can be wound.

Instructions

1. Make a cross with the two sticks.

2. Holding the sticks firmly together, wind your first colour choice tightly around them at the same intersection, about four times. Then wind the wool around the same intersection, but over the other two sticks in the opposite direction.

3. Once you feel the sticks aren’t going anywhere, take the wool of your choice and start to wind it around one stick, carry it over to the next stick and wind around in the same direction until you have gone around the four sticks.

4. Continue the same procedure until you are ready for your next colour. Tie this next colour to your first colour and work in the same manner until most of the stick is covered.

5. To finish the ends you can glue on home-made tassels or pom poms - or a combination of both as seen here, or paint the end of the sticks in a complementary colour.

Couldn’t be simpler, could it.

EDIT: Appropriately, this photo courtesy of Father John - we made these together when on a retreat earlier this year.

Finally, it seems my post about the Petone Vinnie’s shop has attracted a lot of questions. Bev will be pleased, she’s always complaining that the Sallies, what with their eft-pos machine and specially printed price tags, are always getting more attention than them, so I’ll let her know that clearly Vinnie’s does have a loyal following after all.