Make your own Christmas decorations
Welcome the festive season with a few easy craft decorations for your home. Here are five we’ll be making this year!
Cardboard Christmas Trees
1. Cut triangles
Cut the cardboard into triangles with scissors, then use a brush to apply paint on both sides, leaving to dry.
Tip: Our trees are 300mm, 200mm and 150mm high with bases from 100mm wide.
2. Cut and attach dowel
Use a handsaw to cut three lengths of dowel to 400mm, 300mm and 250mm (to fit the height of each triangle and adding 100mm for the stem). Apply hot glue along the dowel the length
of the triangle, press onto the centre and leave to dry.
3. Wrap twine
Starting 10mm above the base of each triangle, hold the end of the twine at the back and wrap it diagonally, working your way up and leaving a small gap at the tip. Secure the ends at the back with hot glue.
4. Decorate
With the glue gun, attach mosaic glass to base and tip. Leave to dry.
5. Drill and fasten base
From the pine, cut bases to match the width of each triangle and drill through the centres with a 4mm bit. Dab hot glue into the holes, push in the matching dowelled triangles and leave to dry standing upright.
Furoshiki wrapping
Tools and materials
1m x 1m of fabric (this will wrap a shoebox)
1. Position the fabric and fold first corner
Place the fabric on a flat surface with the box positioned diagonally at the centre. Fold the closest corner over the box, tucking the tip under to create a straight edge.
2. Repeat fold with opposite corner
Fold the opposite corner over the box, tucking the tip under. Gather the two edges together and fold flat.
3. Fold remaining corners
Pick up the corners that are left and fold them across the top.
4. Tie and tuck
Knot to secure and tuck any remaining fabric neatly under.
Raffia Star
Tools and materials
1.2m length of 8mm Tasmanian oak dowel
Handsaw
Natural jute twine
Raffia (we used Whites natural raffia)
Scissors
1. Measure and cut dowel
Cut the dowel into five 150mm lengths with a handsaw.
2. Assemble and secure dowel
Position the dowel pieces to form a five point star. Join the points with twine, knotting securely.
3. Wrap the raffia around the star
Starting at one point, begin wrapping the star thickly in the raffia, always working in the same direction for consistency. To finish, tuck the raffia under the wrapping at the back of the star and trim the excess.
Name Tags
Tools and materials
Air dry clay (we used Boyle air drying clay in White)
Barbecue skewer
Craft knife
Gloss waterbased sealer (we used Mod Podge)
Raffia (we used Whites natural raffia)
Rolling pin
Ruler
1. Roll out clay
Roll the clay into an even 4mm-thick slab with a rolling pin.
2. Cut clay to name tag shape
To make the tags, use a craft knife to cut 100mm x 40mm rectangles, leaving them to dry for half an hour.
Tip: Letting the clay dry slightly before cutting makes it easier to work with.
3. Engrave name into each tag
On each tag, carve a name with the knife, using a skewer to punch a hole through one end, leaving to dry completely.
4. Roll beads and punch hole in centre
To make beads, roll a piece of clay into a thin log, flatten it slightly and slice it into 10mm-long pieces, leaving to dry for half an hour. Pierce the centre with a skewer and leave to dry completely.
5. Seal the clay
Finish the beads and tags with two coats of sealer, leaving to dry thoroughly after each.
6. Assemble all pieces with raffia
Thread a 400mm length of raffia through the holes in the tags, thread both ends through beads and secure with a knot.
Peg Stars
Tools and materials
Clothes pegs (we used Sunfresh wooden clothes pegs)
Craft paint brush (size 20)
Hot glue gun with glue sticks
Paint in two colours (optional; we used Taubmans Peach Cascade and left one star natural)
1. Separate the pegs
Gently ease apart 20 wooden clothes pegs, removing and discarding the metal hinges.
2. Flip over and reattach with glue
Position the peg halves with the backs together and secure with hot glue, making 10 sets, five for each star.
3. Combine the sets of reversed pegs
Dab hot glue onto the top of each set, pressing them together to create a star and leaving to dry.
4. Decorate the star
Use a brush to paint each star in contrasting colours or leave unpainted. Leave to dry.
5. Optional – repeat steps and attach two stars together
To make double stars, dab hot glue onto the centre of one star and position on another star, turning so the points are visible.
Now you’ve got the decorations, start planning the gifts!
Take a look at our Christmas gift guide, you’re sure to find a gift to suit anyone, on any budget.
Photo credit: Brigid Arnott
