12 Days of Christmas 2014 – Day 9

Recently I went to Spotlight and purchased one of those jumbo pads of 12 x12 Christmas Scrapbook paper.  My plan was to see how many Christmas decorations I could make using just that pad.  After try all sorts of paper craft ideas I settled on three favourites that I would like to share with you as our 9th Christmas idea for 2014.

1.  The Paper Chain

It’s an oldie but a goodie.  In fact I have vague memories of making these in primary school.  Super simple to make and a great craft to do with the kids.  For those who never had the opportunity of making them as a child, all you need to do is cut a bunch of strips of paper all the same size, take one strip and make it into a ring shape then secure it with a couple of staples. Then thread a second strip though the first as you make that one into a ring and then secure it with a couple of staples.  Keep repeating the process until you are happy with the length of your chain.  If your children are a little older and can handle a stapler on their own you could even make it into a competition to see who can make the longest chain.

2. Stitched Paper Garland

These days the sewing machine can be used for more than just fabric.  I love these stitched paper garlands.  They can be used in a variety of ways too.  You can hang them from the ceiling or on your Christmas tree, use it in your gift wrapping, they can even be used as an embellishment on your scrapbook pages.  While I wouldn’t recommend this as one for the kids to make on their own, it is still rather simple.  You’ll need a sewing machine, thread, paper and a shape punch (as you can see, I chose to use a circle punch).  First punch out heaps of shapes from your paper.  If your paper is white on one side and patterned on the other and you want to make your garland double sided you’ll need twice as many shapes. Thread up the sewing machine and begin sewing straight through each shape.  If you are going for the double sided option you’ll need to put two shapes back to back before sewing them.  I counted about 5-6 stitches before putting the next shape into the machine to create the gap.

3.  The Paper Rosette

These are my absolute favourite.  They are the most difficult to make but they look amazing when arranged together on a wall or around a doorway.  If you are going to attempt these I highly recommend buying a Scoring Board as they making the folding process so much quicker.  You can buy these through a Close to My Heart Consultant or at most Spotlight stores.  What I thought looked extra awesome was layering a couple of different sizes together and inserting a paper or plastic doily in between to make a more complex rosette.  I found this excellent tutorial on You Tube that taught me all I needed to know about making these fabulous rosette decorations.

I hope this inspires you for your Christmas décor.

12 Days of Christmas 2014 – Day 6

‘Brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favourite things’.  This song has been playing over and over in my head all day, while putting this article together.  There is truth in these lyrics – brown paper packages do happen to be one of my favourite things.  It is also true that there is nothing new about wrapping gifts in brown paper, but in recent years it has again regained popularity.

There are a few reasons I like using brown paper to wrap my gifts.  Firstly, it is stronger that your regular wrapping paper, so it is less likely to rip.  Secondly, because of its neutrality it works well for any occasion. Thirdly, it creates a blank canvas on which a variety of creative trimmings can be unleashed.

We have tried three different ideas on these gifts.  The first is a combination of twine and a narrow ribbon (5mm wide) woven together.  It is probably the most time consuming of the ideas, but isn’t overly complicated.  For the second idea we wrapped the gift with a printed hessian ribbon and tied it in place with twine.  Simple, yet effective.  For the last idea we used two paper doilies and some more of the narrow ribbon.  We positioned the doilies and fastened them in place with a couple of pieces of double sided tape.  We then tied two separate pieces of ribbon around the gift to create the criss-cross look.  Perhaps a little more involved than the second idea, but it is still reasonably easy and very elegant looking.

I hope this inspires you to be creative this year when wrapping your own Christmas gifts.

12 Days of Christmas Ideas 2014 – Day 4

This year I am loving the glitter and bling for my Christmas Décor.  So I guess that is why I have fallen in love with these DIY glitter vases.  They are so simple yet beautifully bring the sparkle and shine to any room or table setting.

Here is what you need to make one of your own:

• A glass vase
• PVA glue
• Paint brush
• Glitter
• Polyurethane varnish spray

Begin by painting the sides of the vase with PVA.  Make sure you have good even coverage, particularly on any corners, but not so much that it will run or drip. Sprinkle the glitter all over and then shake off the excess. Set aside to dry overnight.  Once it’s dry, dust off any loose glitter before repeating this process a second time.  When the second coat has dried, again dust off any loose glitter then spray with the polyurethane varnish to seal it. If you find that the vase is still shedding glitter after it has dried you may need to apply a second coat of varnish.

Now you are ready to enjoy this stunning glitter vase whether it’s as part of your Christmas décor or as a gift for a friend.

12 Days of Christmas Ideas – Day 11

Sometimes it can be the smallest detail that gives a party that ‘Wow’ factor.  Even something as simple as presenting the disposable cutlery in a creative fashion.  I recently came across an everyday version of this idea and thought why not do this for Christmas.

I got the funky wooden cutlery from a New Zealand company called Disposable Tableware  – I’ll write more about their stylish disposable range in a couple of weeks time.  The stamps, pigment inks and bakers twine I got from Close To My Heart.

All I had to do was stamp the handle of each cutlery piece.  I found that the pigment inks worked best as they didn’t bleed as much as the water based inks.  Once the ink dried I simply tied each set together with Christmas coloured Bakers Twine.

I can just picture these on the table at a pre-Christmas BBQ or a Christmas Day dinner at the Bach – so simple, yet so festive.

12 Days of Christmas Ideas – Day 8

Magnetic Picture Frames are a favourite of mine.  I have seen a number of styles displayed in various people’s homes, and each time they capture my attention.  What I like most about these is that they allow you the freedom to easily update the display in a way that fits your personal style and level of creativity.  I have often looked at buying them for myself or as a gift but the price would always deter me – so recently I decided to have a go at making some myself.

Surprisingly they weren’t too hard.  I found some old frames at the second hand shop.  I liked the distressed paint effect so searched the internet for some ‘How to Guides’ and got painting. The base colour I chose was a silver and the top coat a blue.  I finished it off with a glaze that I made by watering down the sliver paint.  This gave the finished paint job a shimmery look.  Next we put the sheet metal into the frames.  We had an old filing cabinet lying around so my husband kindly cut it into pieces to fit the frames.  Because I wanted the metal to have a fabric finish to it, using a paint brush, I covered the metal pieces with PVA glue and stuck to it some white linen look fabric that I had got from the Dargaville Sewing and Curtain Centre.  Then using some little nails I fitted the metal into place along with a cardboard backing.  Lastly I covered the nails over with masking tape.  The little magnets I made out of covered buttons and a magnetic strip from Spotlight.

You could leave it there and give it as a gift or you could add a display of photos to give it that more personal touch.  A display could be anything from just adding a few photos like this …

 … or you if you enjoy scrapbooking it could look more like this …

… either way it looks fabulous.

If you have a go at making your own we are always excited to see the creativity of others so feel free to share in the comments section below.