matchstick tree

via emma’s designblogg

christmas crafts: ball ornament balloons

we just sent this angel off to switzerland where it hopefully arrives safely at my in-laws. my daughter e. decorated the nacelle and choose all the materials. an assortment of things you could use to make such a balloon is shown in the picture below: a ball ornament, a little paper cup, trimmings, cord and little things to decorate, lots of glue and maybe needle and thread. 

first i’ve glued the trimming to the ball. then, i sewed the four cords to the trimming. to attach the nacelle i’ve punched four little holes in the paper cup and and pulled the cords through them. we then decorated it with beads, leaves and flowers. the angel we cut out from a christmas card.

christmas crafts: peanut santas

 to make these cute, little santas you need: peanuts, red poster paint, brush, black marker, cotton wool, needle and thread. paint the peanut red but leave a little round/oval spot for the face. with the marker, paint a face and glue a cotton beard below his mouth. pierce the peanut with a needle and attach a string. 

snowflakes, bells and balls

i like the lacy look of these paper snowflakes but also the bulky, colorful appearance of the giant paper bells and balls. via homebug

christmas crafts: pea star ornaments

to make such a star you only need toothpicks and peas. i would have preferred round peas but wasn’t able to find them in the grocery store. split peas will also do it (but round ones would definitively look nicer). soak the peas in water over night to make them soft. take 6 toothpicks and make two triangles using the peas to hold the ends together. glue the triangles on top of each other. attach a ribbon and a bead and hang them on you christmas tree.

christmas crafts: candles

we used old candles to make new ones. it’s easy to do and lots of fun for the kids.

use a cardboard box, paper rolls, cookie cutters or other shapes and fix the wicking (with some melted wax or by piercing it through the cardboard) in the middle of the mold. tie the end of the wicking to a toothpick and lay it over the mold to prevent loosing it once you pour in the wax. if you don’t have a wicking at hand you can also use a thin candle and place it with some melted wax in the center of the mold. to seal up the bottom corners of the box wrap some tape around them.

put the old candles in a tin and place it in a pan filled with water. heat the water (it shouldn’t boil) and let the candles melt. add an old crayon to the wax and let the wax cool down a little. then pour the wax into the molds. we first added one pink crayon to the wax and poured some of it into the molds. we then let the wax cool off a little and added another, red crayon to the melted wax. again we poured this wax into the molds and let it dry. you can do this over and over again until the molds are filled up.

let the candles dry for a couple of hours and tear off the cardboard.

christmas ornament

hand felted ornaments. if you want them in certain colors, just let kaytea know…

vintage christmas lights

 

available in many variations on ebay

shelf tree

chrismas season is around the corner. nice idea to decorate a shelf as a tree! IJM studio (found on emma’s designblogg)