D.I.Y Christmas Decorations

[keep-it-tidy]

Red-Nosed Wreath Deer


How the heck did this reindeer get his head through that door? We may never know, but, hey, he's got a friendly face to greet the kids coming home from school. Start with a pinecone wreath (as we did) or modify this design for an evergreen wreath.

MATERIALS
10-inch square of corrugated cardboard
Pinecone wreath with a 7-inch opening (approximately)
Pencil or pen
Scissors
Adult-size brown knit ski cap
Pair of brown gloves
Several handfuls of fiberfill stuffing
Low-temperature glue gun
Cloth-covered floral wire
1 red pom-pom (2 inches wide)
2 white pom-poms (each 2 inches wide)
Two 1/2-inch circles of black felt
Small piece of brown craft foam
1 yard of wide ribbon
Small bells (optional)

1. Lay down the cardboard with the wreath centered on top of it. Trace around the inside hole, then remove the wreath and draw a second circle about 1 inch bigger than the rough one. Cut along the line for the bigger circle.

2. Stuff the hat and gloves with fiberfill. Place the cardboard circle in the hat opening and glue about an inch of the hat material to it. Let dry.

3. Carefully push the hat through the wreath until the cardboard back is flush against the back of the wreath. To hold in place, crisscross two pieces of floral wire across the back of the wreath and attach to the wreath to create a cross support.

4. If your wreath has a built-in hanger, make sure that it's at the top, then glue the red pom-pom nose and white pom-pom eyes onto the hat. Add a black felt circle to each eye.

5. Cut ears out of brown craft foam. Ours are 4 1/2 inches tall. Wire the ears in place (just push floral wire through the foam and wrap around the wreath).

6. For each antler: a) Cut three 18-inch pieces of floral wire. b) Fold down the top inch of each wire. c) Insert the wires into the glove opening and up to the tops of three fingers. d) Twist the three wires together at the bottom of the glove and attach the antler to the wreath frame with this wire. Repeat with the other glove.

7. Tie the ribbon into a large bow. Use floral wire or a pipe cleaner to attach the bow (and bells, if you like) to the bottom of the wreath.

8. If your wreath did not come with a hanger, make a wire loop at the back of the wreath and hang.

[keep-it-tidy]

Sweet Countdown



Total Time Needed:
30 Minutes or less


This edible Advent garland will spruce up your holiday tree and give your child a way to keep track of the days until Santa's visit.

Materials

* Candy buttons on paper strips
* Tape

* Scissors

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Instructions

1.

Sweet Countdown - Step 1 Cut 24 same-size strips of candy buttons (ours had 8 candies each).
2.

Sweet Countdown - Step 2 Tape them together in a chain and snip off a loop each day starting December 1.

[keep-it-tidy]

Tabletop Tree



Total Time Needed:
2-3 Hours


This charming greeting arrives flat but easily transforms into a festive, 3-D holiday decoration, so it's a great gift as well. Our template makes creating the three-sided shape a cinch.

Materials

* 8 1/2- by 11-inch sheets of card stock in green and red
* Scissors
* Craft knife

* Hole punch
* Glue stick
* A6 (4 3/4- by 6 1/2) envelope

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Instructions

1.

Tabletop Tree - Step 1 Print our template or draw your own from the diagram here. (To create your own template, first draw the center tree on a sheet of paper, leaving room for the side trees. Fold your paper along one edge of the tree and trace over the outline showing through to mark the edge of one side tree. Repeat for the other side tree. Cut out the template, including a tab at one edge.)
2.

Use the template to trace and cut the triple tree from the green card stock and a 4 1/2-inch-tall, 3 3/4-inch-wide triangle from the red. Use a craft knife to cut a 1-inch slit along the outside edge of the trees, opposite the tab, as shown.
3.

Tabletop Tree - Step 3 Fold the card in thirds, then use a hole punch to make holes through all 3 layers.
4.

Open the card and glue on the triangle, then add your message. If you like, glue photos backed with colorful paper to the other 2 sides.

[keep-it-tidy]

Window Dressing



Total Time Needed:
1-2 Hours


Help your child put his holiday artwork on display with this fun, easy-to-clean-up project that uses fluffy paints made from soap.

Materials

* Kitchen grater
* Bar of mild white soap
* Lukewarm water
* Electric mixer

* Liquid food coloring
* Newspaper
* Masking tape
* New kitchen sponge

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Instructions

1.

To prepare the paint, first use a kitchen grater and a bar of mild white soap (we used a 3.1-ounce bar of Ivory) to make 1 cup of soap shavings.
2.

Combine the shavings with 1 cup of lukewarm water in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed, mixing just until blended. Increase the speed to medium high and beat for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is foamy and forms stiff peaks. For colors, divide the mixture among several bowls and tint each batch with a few drops of liquid food coloring. (This makes about 8 cups of soap paint; larger scenes, like our tree, may require more.)
3.

Window Dressing - Step 3 To decorate a window, first cover the floor with newspaper and protect the window casing with masking tape. Cut a new kitchen sponge into small pieces, then help your child create a wintry scene with a textured effect by dabbing the paints onto the glass with the sponges. Allow the paints to dry, then peel away the tape.
4.

To remove the design, first scrape off the bulk of the dried soap, then use window cleaner and a rag or paper towels to remove the remainder.

[keep-it-tidy]

that's all i can post today guys and girls, hope you like the crafts happy making :) if you make anything take a pic and stick it up :) be nice to see some il be speading 2mor making a few just have to decide which ones theres soo many

thanks for reading :) x x x x x

[Scrabble]

Thanks for sharing all these ideas.I love the chair back covers. So simple to make and I know the kids will love them. Another great site is www.oneprettything.com
I don't know if I found it through someone on jumbletown but I'm addicted to it.
Merry Christmas and happy crafting
Scrabble

[unapam]

These are so fabulous. I will spend some time this week trying them out. Thanks for all the ideas.

[keep-it-tidy]

thanks for the web site Scrabble :) will be checking that out too :) there is a few really nice stuff you can craft at home i no a few bits and bobs would cost a small bit but considering the amount shops ar chargin for stuff id prefer to make them myself and get the little lad to make something so he can have it :)

[mary donnellan]

amazing site

[elbo]

I received this Christmas decoration which was bought in the Christmas Market in Germany. I am sure it would be quite easy to make, as it is made from dried orange sprinkled with glitter; cinnemon sticks; anniseed stick; wallnuts; piece of straw.
The smell of cinnemon goes all over the house.

[Gormal]

thought I'd bump it up as it's getting to that time of year again. This has given me a few ideas. I have no christmas stuff.
Thanks for the link Scrabble. Elbo I think I will try dried orange slices with cloves to hang on the tree or sticks I plan to get.

[Gormal]

I found some decorative ribbon in Lidl today and have made a start on some bows for the tree. No sewing involved. Just cut a length of ribbon, fold in half to get the center then fold the ends in towards the center with some hanging down, pinch together and wrap with co-ordinating thread 2 times tie a knot to hold in place and another knot at top of thread. Depending on the type of ribbon you may have to gently melt the edges to stop them fraying

[Merienne]

I've seen a lot of pictures of gorgeous paper snowflakes in interior decoration blogs lately, and I think they can look really stylish.

I like subtle decorations, so these made from white printing paper do the trick for me, but you can obviously use coloured paper too. Good for adding to handmade Christmas cards, or to embellish the Christmas presents.

I googled for instructions and inspiration, and then made these while watching tv in the weekend. It doesn't take long to get the hang of how to cut to get different patterns.

These are two of the websites I used:

http://highhopes.com/snowflakes.html

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-...er-Snowflakes/

If you google "paper snowflakes image" you can get lots of inspiration for patterns.

Now I'm gonna decorate my alternative Christmas tree- my Olive tree that I took inside when the cold hit...

[Gormal]

they're brilliant thanks for sharing, am off to make some now.

[rumble2]

wow, they are great! Thanks for posting this!