Although I am really not a DIY buff or an arts and crafts pro, I really enjoy getting creative with crafts at home! I love scrolling Pinterest and spotting cool ideas that I think would be really fun to try out myself, and spending an afternoon attempting to recreate what's in the picture you are looking at is always great fun. At Christmas there are so many cool crafty ideas around - admittedly some look really difficult and I could not have attempted those! But I have come up with three projects which are really simple and make really lovely touches for your home and your wardrobe (they would also make sweet gifts too)! They were also all really cheap to make and they took up an entire afternoon, so I think this would be a great way to spend a day off over the holidays!
Mason Jar Candle
Everybody loves candles at Christmas and these sorts of candles are really 'in' right now - I see them in so many stylish blog photos! The great thing about this idea is that you can really make it your own and personalise the candle the way you want. This was also probably the easiest and fastest of all three of my crafts.
What You Need
❄ a couple of mason jars of different sizes
❄ some patterned card paper
❄ some nice ribbon
❄ a couple of small candles to fit inside the jars
❄ scissors, a pencil, sellotape and a glue stick
Instructions
1. Measure and cut out the card paper to fit around your jars. It might be helpful to mark it out with pencil on the back of the paper. Measure a little extra - you can always trim it after!
2. In the middle of your piece of card paper, and on the back, draw a little sketch in pencil - I chose a heart and a star for mine. You could also choose a Christmas tree, snowman, snowflake etc.
3. Cut out the drawing.
4. Fix the card paper around the jar and secure with sellotape and/or glue.
5. Place the candles inside the jars and tie some ribbon around the top.
6. Light the candles (carefully) and you're done!
Orange and Clove Scented Decoration
I love my house to smell nice, especially at Christmas time - walking into a delicious--smelling house just feels so homely and cosy! I would say the two kitchen scents that really define the smell of Christmas are oranges and cloves, so I have come up with a decoration to put in your house which will make the whole house smell of Christmas for days and days!
What You Need
❄ a couple of big oranges
❄ a couple packets of whole cloves
❄ some nice ribbon
Instructions
1. Working on a plate (to save cleaning later), decorate your oranges with the cloves by pushing the whole cloves directly into the outside of the orange skin. It takes some time to cover the whole orange so you might want to do this in front of a movie!
2. Tie some nice ribbon around the finished orange and put them in a nice place! You will wake up to the gorgeous smell of oranges and cloves throughout your house!
DIY Christmas Jumper
Christmas jumpers have definitely become something of a novelty over the past couple of years, so much so that they can actually be very expensive in the shops! It really does feel silly to spend so much money on something so ugly that you will only wear at one time of year! I have found a way to make them yourself, which is not only fun, but saves you a fortune too.
What You Need
❄ a plain warm jumper - I got mine for €1 from my local second hand shop!
❄ some fabric pens in whatever colours you choose
❄ any other decorations you might want - e.g. buttons, tinsel, iron-on patches, pins etc. Go as crazy a you like!
N.B. When choosing your jumper, make sure to get one that is just one colour and that is as plain as possible - ribbed jumpers, button/zip ups or ones with decorations are much harder to work with. Also, think about your colour scheme - in my experience a black fabric pen comes up great on a white jumper and vice verse. Brighter colours get lost on a jumper that is also a bright colour, for example, a blue pen on a red jumper will probably just come out as black and any bright colours on a black jumper don't really come out at all.
Instructions
1. Lay your jumper out on a flat surface and put a towel inside, between the front and back, so that the pens don't leak through.
2. Choose your slogan or design for your jumper and visually map it out so you know where everything will go. You might want to use a pencil to sketch it out lightly first.
3. If writing a slogan, make sure you are writing in a straight line and that your letters are the same size.
4. Start very lightly at first with the fabric pens. Once the initial sketch is there, go over it again 3 or 4 more times to make it darker and set it into the jumper.
5. Once the jumper is finished, turn it inside out and wash it so that the design stays on.
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Labels: Life
