DIY christmas table decorations

Each year I try and make something to decorate our table with on Christmas day. I like to create something that not only makes the table look prettier but also serves as as a name card.

This year I went super simple and made these little sacks, each filled with a selection of chocolates and tied up with a little salt dough tag with the recipients initials.

This DIY is very easy and very cheap. The bags are versatile enough to be used at any time of year- I just made them christmassy with some red ribbon!

Supplies: 
Salt dough
Alphabet stamps
Hessian material
Sewing Machine
Ribbon and twine.

To make the tags: 
1. I followed a really simple recipe for salt dough, simply 1 cup flour to 1/2 a cup of salt and 1/2 a cup of water. Mix and knead this until you have a smooth pliable dough. Roll the dough to about a quarter of an inch thick and then cut out circles with a biscuit cutter. Using a straw, punch a hole in the top of each circle.
Salt dough takes a while to harden. I just put them in the bottom of our AGA all day. Basically place them somewhere on a really low heat to dry out. Don't cook them!

2. Once your salt dough tags are rock hard it is your chance to decorate. Salt dough takes any kind of paint so you can go crazy! I simply brushed on some white accrylic paint with a bit of tissue. I then stamped the initial of each of the recipients onto the tag when the paint was dry.

To make the sacks:

1. Each sack uses a piece of hessian about 8" x 4". My sacks were very roughly cut though as I figured that I was going for a rustic look (its a great excuse for wonky sewing!).

2. Hessian frays really easily so to try and prevent this I quickly sewed a zig zag stitch around all the edges.

3. To make the top of your sack nice and neat,  take one of the shorter sides of material and fold it over about 1/4 of an inch. Using a straight stitch hem down this side. Repeat on the other end of material.

4. Fold the material right sides (the neat looking sides) together so that the hemmed edges meet. Using a straight stitch again sew each side of the sack. There is no need to sew the bottom as it is folded.

5. At this stage you can leave the sack as it is but I think it looks nicer if you "box" the bottom. Doing this will make the sack stand up on its own.

6. Holding the sack with the open end at the top, push down until one of the bottom corners folds into a triangle.

7. Pin across like this. Repeat on the other corner.

8. Sew a line just below this pin like so.

9. Your sack should now look like a little animal with funny ears!

10. Turn the sack inside out and voila! You have a sack with a lovely square bottom ready to be filled. These little bags hold about four 'quality street' sized chocolates.

10. To decorate thread your salt dough tag onto some twine and wrap it around the neck of the sack.

11. Add your ribbon and tie a bow to finish.

I think these bags would look sweet at any occasion. You could even make one for each day of advent, you could fill them with treats for valentines day or just leave it for someone to find. They don't even need a tag!

Do you make anything to decorate the table with on Christmas day?

DIY Paper Starburst

Each year I make a decoration for the Christmas day table. Something little to go on everyones plate.

This year I knew I wanted to go with the star theme and love a bit of origami. I finally found this pattern on a number of sites. I sort of combined a lot of tutorials because several were in different languages. I also made the starbursts a lot smaller out of thicker paper. So here is my own take on the paper starburst.

Tutorials I referred to here and here

Supplies: 

Thick paper. Not card as it could be hard to fold but not thin paper either.
Embellishments to decorate
Patience
A cup of tea (goes without saying)

Instructions:
1. For each starburst you will need 16 2' x 2' squares. It's just easier to cut these out first.

2. Take your first square and fold the corners into the centre like this.

3. Now turn the square so it is like a diamond and fold two of the edges in like this so it looks like a kite.

4. Turn the kite shape over and fold that top triangle over.

5. Now fold the shape in half so that folded edges are on the inside and that triangle you just made is on the outside.

6. You have completed the first point of the starburst! Make another just the same. To join them take one of your points and look at the folded edge. You should see two little openings. You need to push the pointed ends of the second point into these openings like this.

7. Because you have used thick paper the points should slot in tightly and hold their shape. I didn't use glue at all but if you want them more robust I would add a dab of glue to secure each point into the next one.

8. Keep making the points of the star and slotting them into the next one. I slotted eight together like this, left it, and then created another eight and joined the two halves together.

9. Joining together is the hardest part as it can be a bit wobbly but once all sixteen are in place it will hold together pretty well.

10. I decorated each starburst with the initial of the guest and some stars.

A few tips:

If you are having difficulty slotting the points into the flaps, open the flaps a bit more with a bit of wire.
Once you get the hang of it these are so easy. I suggest a large mug of tea, an audiobook and some slippers.

Enjoy!

Place names//star packets DIY

Hi

Hope you are all enjoying the festive run to christmas?

It is a tradition I have with myself each year that I will create the place names for the table on christmas day. To be honest the rest of the assembled family enjoy looking at these but aren't too fussed either way. For me though it is a chance to create something pretty and a bit different. Win win I say.

Last year I created these and the year before I created these.

Now, I try never to repeat myself so the week leading up to christmas I trawl the web looking for inspiration and ideas. I try and avoid the typical place name ideas like the small folded card etc etc!

The other day I stumbled across this.

I have developed my own idea with a few alterations on the original. Therefore this is not strictly my own idea but this is my tutorial on how to change the original design to suit my purpose.

First up grab a star template. It needs to be realtively large as the middle will hold the goodies but the pointed edges cannot really hold along. Go along the lines of the more I want to hide in the star the bigger it will have to be!

I think these look lovely on kraft but having nothing to hand I used old brown envelopes. Draw your star on the outside. Cut out and you have two pieces. Turn them inside out and voila, lovely textured brown strong paper.

Next, decorate the front of your star. I used an inital stencil I cut out from paper. I painted this on and then added two strips of coloured paper. I tried to keep to a simple colour schemes to bring unity. Don't put too much on at this stage because when you stuff them, the paper will bend so bigger items will just fall off. Keep it simple.

This is the most exciting bit. Sewing the star up. I used a zigzag stich around the edge making sure the foot was slightly off the edge so the sides were sewn up. REMEMBER to leave a gap to fill your star.

I filled each star with a celebration and a little note telling the recepient where their cracker present is hidden. (rather than toys in crackers my mum buys small presents she knows we will like and hides them around the house. After main course you go to the hiding place and find your gift.)
A little tip- don't put anything too big in as it distorts the shape of the star. I tried to add a lindt chococlate at first. Big mistake! looking back a chocolate coin would have been perfect!

Once your star is filled to your liking sew up the gap. It doesn't matter if it won't fully close, it will look fine.

I then finished my stars off with some bakers twine. I like the idea that one each plate there will be a lovely christmas package with the recepients inital and a treat inside waiting to be torn open.

Do you make anything for christmas day?


Loves xxxx

Guest Post!

Hi all! Today I would like to welcome the lovely Jo to my blog! Her post is fab so have a good read! Here are a few random facts about Jo, that you may or may not know!

The midwives had decorated her cot for Christmas baby but she came on Xmas eve,

she has been in ''Hello'' magazine,

She has sung in The Purcell Rooms on the South Bank,

She has stood inside the head of the Statue of Liberty,

Her favourite Christmas song is ''Fairytale of New York'' by Kirsty Maccoll and The Pogues
 
So....Over to Jo!!!
 

Hello bloggers and welcome to a new day and a small event between myself and the wonderful Abi. We are doing guest posts on each other's blogs today. Mine is about some of the knitting I have been doing for Christmas.

So without further ado, here are 2 of my knitting projects. They are not 100% completed. I decided that as part of my Xmas fun I would make some Christmas stockings for the mother and the dad. I first saw a stocking on Rachel B's blog which was gorgeous and then happened to picked up this magazine Woman's Weekly which had this beautiful stocking in it.

For this stocking, you knit like any traditional piece of knitting with 2 needles. I used 2 shades of wool - red and ecru - and it has actually come out much bigger than I thought it would. It was a lovely simple knit one row and purl one row pattern with some work with weaving in another colour and design. I just need to sew this one up. This one is for dad.

The second stocking is for the mother and I searched on Ravelry for a more feminine design. I found this one called Hearts and downloaded the pattern. Now this one gave me more of a challenge as I have never knitted using double ended needles and certainly never with 4!!!! So off I went to Youtube to search out some lessons and I actually found alot of helpful stuff. It took me a few attempts to get going without dropping the stitches and twisting everything around, but once I got the hang of  it I was away. The second thing I had to get sorted was wrapping and turning stitches, again nothing I'd heard of before. This turned out to be so simple anyone could do it, you just work the number of stitches, bring the wool to the front, slip ur stitch, bring the wool to the back and turn, then repeat the process. I am really proud of this sock, it is NOT perfect at all b ut I so glad I gave it a go.

Now all I need to do is do the finishing touches and put in the Santa presents.

Finally I have to complete my friend's Lucy Bag, which is a crochet design. I just have to complete the handle and do the bag edging design.


Love Jo Jo xxxxx

Making Christmas gifts.

Hi I know it isn't Christmas yet but you have to be prepared right??! Yesterday I made gifts for four of my friends and I am praying they aren;t reading this! If you are, go NOW!

I wanted something really pretty, a touch of homemade but also not too expensive as its 18th birthdays this year so I have to get a present for each of them then as well!!!

So.. I decided to make these:

A jar of cupcake mix. Its so easy but looks really effective. I printed out my own labels with designs from here.

Stuck them to the jars and filled each one with a layer of flour, sugar and chocolate chips.

I then cut a circle of fabric for each jar and zigzagged the edge on the sewing machine.
I secured it with a piece of ribbon and then wrote the recipe onto a tag downloaded from here.
I secured the tag with a twine around the top of the jar and voila! A quick, easy and pretty present!

Oh and it made my day to see something very similar in John Lewis for £9.99! I think I should go into business and make a nice profit! ha ha!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

Loves xxx