Love it or Loathe it, you can't ignore Christmas. I realized the other day that I'm normally a lot happier this time of year. I sat down and looked at what was wrong and it came to me. I have more work to do than time to do it, and less money than I'd like to spend at Christmas. It occurred to me that I can't be the only one thinking the same. Therefore I decided to experiment and come up with some decorations that were festive and yet quick and cheap to make. This would allow me and anyone else in the same boat to have a hand crafted personalized Christmas, without spending too much time or money. I thought about Ribbon.
Ribbon is cheap and plentiful at this time of year. Not only is it inexpensive to buy but many people have plenty spare in their homes. The other advantage of ribbon is it comes in many styles and patterns, allowing you to make a truly unique ornament which could also me a nice early gift to someone.
For the Cinnamon decorations you will need
Ribbon
Cinnamon Sticks
Scissors
Optional
Needles
Thread
Elastic Bands
For the Christmas Card Holder you will need;
Ribbon
Needles
Thread
Scissors
paper clips (or sticky tape)
Cinnamon sticks decorations.
This simple decoration is my homage to the yule log symbolizing warmth and comfort. Cinnamon sticks can be often found very cheaply at oriental supermarkets.
Bundle the cinnamon sticks together. Things are a lot easier if you hold them in place with elastic bands. I used Dalchini Sticks which are very thick.
You can simply tie the ribbon around the sticks and pull it into a bow. Then hang or rest the sticks into your tree. This also can give an artificial tree a warm subtle scent.
You can hem the ribbon first by folding the ends over double and top stitching in place.
Smaller cinnamon sticks give a more delicate looking decoration.
Christmas Card Holder
Christmas Cards always help a room feel festive, however finding space for them all can be a struggle.
For the cost of a piece of ribbon and a few minutes you can have a custom made card holder.
I find
Grosgrain Ribbon works best
To begin with take some ribbon, about 3 times longer than the Card holder needs to be. Pleat the ribbon along it's length, make the pleats around 1.5 cm deep.
Stitch the pleats in pl;ace with a singe row of stitching down the middle.
Take a paper clip and slip it into one of the pleats
Slide a Christmas Card under the paper clip so it's held in place
Add more cards as you receive them and just pin or otherwise fasten the card holder in place.
The pleated detail of the ribbon does add a festive charm to this little project
I chose brown to match my sofa but red, gold or green would look fantastic.
For more idea on festive projects and amazing wrapping ideas check out this fantastic blog I found today.
http://claireabellemakes.com/2012/11/19/christmas-wrapping-ideas/
Many people suddenly find themselves with more flowers than normal this time of year. I always struggle with getting flowers because I never have any vases handy. I normally end up using a jam jar or pasta jar, which can spoil the look of a gift of flowers. I saw a florist display flowers in a jar surrounded by organza and so I thought I would have a go at making one of these myself.
The vase cover is effectively a tube of Organza. I cut the organza to a 1 metre by 1 metre square. I decided to use either a flat fell seam or French seam. Both start by pinning the fabric WRONG sides together. Sew these sides together.
