Oh yeah! Needed to get that out of my system.
As we all start to put up our trees, the lovely Ella has written some great instructions on how to to save a few pennies and make your own decorations…take it away Ella…
It’s hard to avoid all of the commotion of Christmas now we’re officially in December; festive songs are now being played on the radio, wish-lists are being compiled and it’s not long until the Christmas tree is due to go up – which also means, it’s time dig out your best festive decorations that have been collecting dust up in the loft all year.
But, as you unwrap that glittery snowman from last year’s newspaper sheets and dust him off, you suddenly feel that decorating the house has become a bit of a chore, rather than a festive pleasure.
Why? Bien, because, having to use the same decorations every year is just getting a little bit boring, right? Si, it’s time to make this year’s decorations ten times better than the last. But, I’m not talking about spending those much-needed pennies by popping down to the shops and buying new ones here, I’m talking about making them – from scratch.
Now, I know with the mountains of Christmas shopping you have left to tackle, making decorations is probably the last thing you want to do. But, trust me, because doing so will add a whole new meaning to your Christmas celebrations, this year.
Si, grab yourself any craft materials you can get your hands on and give the following festive ideas a go:
(Image: mnn.com)
There’s often one festive home decoration that many of us seem to forget about, until we start seeing our neighbours putting one up, and that’s the wreath. As an important symbol of the advent season, it’s a key decorative requirement for your household at Christmas.
But, rather than nipping down to your local garden center to get one, it’s much more fun to make one!
To start, you will need:
- Two wire coat hangers
- A mixture of greenery; leaves, ivy, berries and ferns from the garden are a good place to start, as they’re guaranteed to make your wreath look beautiful.
- Floral tape
- Ribbon
- Lightweight floral wire or hot glue
- Any extra optional craft materials; such as glitter, glittery spray, paint or string.
Puis, to go about making your very own festive wreath, just follow these simple steps:
1. Make a circular base using two wire coat hangers. You can weave the hangers together for extra support, or just secure them together using the floral tape. For a bigger circumference, you may have to use more than 2 coat hangers to extend the original length.
2. For the body of the wreath, cut your greenery into 8” or 10” long branches – keep them longer in order to allow enough length to successfully wrap the greenery around your base.
3. To add a more festive touch to your wreath, add a little glue to the greenery and shimmer over some glitter. Or, use glitter spray to lightly coat the greenery.
4. Puis, using the lightweight floral wire, secure the branches to the wreath base by over lapping them, and then repeating the process for the other pieces of greenery. Keep adding the stems until the wreath base is fully covered.
5. Using the ribbon, tie together a big bow and secure to the top or bottom of the wreath using the floral wire or hot glue
6. Then all that’s left to do it hang it to your door and watch as your neighbours admire it!
(Image: potterybarn.com)
This festive decoration is great to rest on any fireplaces, shelves, windowsills and mantelpieces, because aside from looking great, they’re also great fun to make!
All you need to make one is:
- A selection of wooden letters (available from many craft shops. They cost around 75p – £1.50 depending on what size you choose) to spell out your chosen festive word; Noel, Joy and Christmas are popular choices.
- A mixture of greenery from your garden, such as leaves, ivy, berries and ferns (or any you may have leftover from your wreath!)
- Hot glue
- A flat wooden plank (available from most DIY stores)
- A selection of craft materials; for example, glitter, glitter spray, ribbon, paint, or felt tip pens.
To start making your festive mantelpiece decoration, follow these simple steps:
1. Start by decorating your letters and wooden plank to make them look a little more appealing, by either painting/spray painting them, covering them in glitter, or drawing on them using felt tip pens – it’s completely up to you how you want your decoration to look!
2. Once the letters and the plank have dried, use the hot glue to affix your wooden letters to the flat wooden plank, making sure to leave regular spacings between each letter. The wooden plank will not only act as the base of your ornament to make it a little more sturdy, but it will also act as a good base to attach your greenery to.
3. Once the hot glue has dried, all that’s left to do is decorate the rest of your ornament. Use the greenery to cover the entirety of the base to give your ornament more body – you can even affix any of your smaller decorations to the ornament; baubles or old tree decorations are great for this.
4. Once again, leave everything to dry. Once everything has been set in place, all that’s left to do is place the ornament wherever you like in your house and voila! – A brand new, homemade Christmas decoration!
Ella Mason, an experienced freelance writer, wrote this article. Ella specialises in providing useful home craft ideas to those looking to decorate their homes this Christmas.
Thanks Ella, you’ve inspired me to go find some cheap wonky trees and cut the branches to make a wreath 
Nicole @ beaufrog
