Straw Applique Educational Activity (Inspired by New Mexico)

During the 1700s, in many of the northern New Mexico villages, gold was a precious commodity and its use on crosses for worship was impractical. The gold had to be transported up the El Camino Real from Mexico and its use was strictly supervised. The necessity to have crosses and other decorated items that had the look of gold caused the early Hispanics to "invent" a process that adhered straw, corn and wheat to wood.