Getting ready for Santa

When you're a kid, Christmas can seem like a long time coming....nearly every day I'm asked if its Christmas yet!  So since I wasn't nearly organised or crafty enough to make an advent calendar I searched for a much quicker option.....and viola we have the Santa beard countdown stuck to the fridge, with a new piece of beard being added each day.

If you would like to print one out for your little ones, you can find a free print out here.

To also help get ready for Santa I made a personalised plate for Santa's treats on Christmas Eve.  I had seen the idea around the traps (here and here) and thought it was a cute idea, so I bought a couple of porcelain pens, a cheap plate and gave it a go.  It turned out really well and was so easy to do...just a matter of finding a picture and a font to use, tracing it on your plate and then drawing it on with the pens. If you want more detail on how to do it, I used this tutorial.   This one has been sent off to my nieces in NZ, and now I just have to make another one for our house.....and then make some goodies to go on it {Santa likes lots of treats when he visits our house!}

A very felty Christmas

I love felt - its so easy to work with, easy to sew and can be made into some super cute things.  My Christmas crafting has been very slow of late (my mojo is totally MIA), but I did manage to complete some Christmas felt goodness before it went missing.

Now we just need a tree to put them all on...yep running very behind here....we have always had a real tree and don't have a fake one, but they don't sell real Christmas trees over here, so last year we had to acquire one by other means(ask no questions.....wink wink).  The boy has to make a tree hunting trip soon.....but in the heat we are having it will probably only last about a week anyway (maybe thats why they don't have them for sale here...ahh there is a logic to it).  I may have to be creative and find something else to masquerade as a tree in the meantime...wish me luck!

An upcycled Christmas

One thing that I love, is seeing how people turn something discarded or old into something new and interesting.  There are some amazingly talented people out there and I always love checking out the creative inspiration that is all over the internet.  And since it is the silly season, here are some of my favourite Christmas inspired upcycled projects.

Christmas Tree made out of bottle brush
Source

Wire Brush Card Display
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Christmas Tree made out of funnels
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Old Timber Christmas Tree
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Wine Cork Christmas Tree
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Pistachio Shell Christmas Ornament
Source

So are you using anything unusual to decorate for Christmas this year?

Paper Roses are a blooming

I have become a little obsessed with flowers on Pinterest...it all started with making the rosettes here, and has just blossomed from there.  I have tried a heap of different tutorials and types of flowers, and I will cover my favourites in upcoming posts but the one that has caught my attention the most is the paper rose.

I followed the fabulously detailed tutorial here and they turned out pretty well I think.  The tutorial uses coffee filters (which are great to work with) and I also used some old book pages to make them.  I mixed a bit of my daughters paint with water and painted away and both the filters and books came up really well. 

For someone with not so green thumbs, this is one way I can have flowers in my house......no watering, falling petals or wilted flowers....love it! 

For more paper flower inspiration check out my Pinterest board.

And now I must get back to focussing on Christmas!

Holy Crepe {paper} Batman

So{or should that be sew?}, carrying on from my previous post about sewing paper, I have been busy making more cards in the last couple of weeks after being inspired by this card that I found on Pinterest.  I just loved the bright colours and had plenty of crepe paper around so I just had to give it a go.

via Paper Crafts Connection

I had lots of fun doing these, and they all look so festive and ready for a party!

I had paper left over so I made matching tags to go with the cards

I love the red and aqua combination, its not something I would normally put together but I was inspired by the lovely blog A Spoonful of Sugar and it totally works.

So I'm prepared for any upcoming birthdays, but as for the very fast approaching Christmas I've still got alot of work ahead!  Must focus, must focus........

The Stash

One thing I've learning since living in the islands, is if you see something you want at the supermarket{or any shop really}, buy it there and then, because you can guarantee next time you go it won't be there and it may be months{or never} before you see it again!

So when I saw rice crackers in the supermarket the other day {which I've only seen twice in  1 1/2 years }, I made the most of it, is 30 packets too much....in normal circumstances I would say yes, but living in the islands does funny things to you, see one packet is missing already.....but the checkout chick may have thought I was a bit crazy as she gave me a weird sideward glance.

Now they can keep my stash of spaghetti company {seen only once here}, I think I took at least half the stock, snooze you lose people!

Christmas - its a hoot

I love Christmas....but I love the lead up to Christmas even more!! At the start of November my mind turns to Christmas and with my new Bestie Pinterest by my side this year, I have a lot of inspiration to work with!

First off the ranks this year are these little Christmas owls, I love how they turned out, just too
cu{hoot}!

Now I wonder what other animals I can add reindeer antlers too and call them Christmas decorations?

Sew not a sewer

Having a sewing machine means you can sew right?  Not in this household!  I have had my machine for a couple of years now and can probably only think of a couple of things I have attempted to sew...the whole sewing thing just seems to be beyond me. 

Do you know what i use it for, apart from another dust collector, not sewing material but paper.  Yep I bought my machine so I could sew paper.......am I crazy, maybe...but i was totally inspired by Moonmum's creations....she creates some gorgeous cards, notebooks and bookmarks by sewing paper into lovely designs.  Well I quickly found out it wasn't as easy as it looked so I had to find some easier ideas to sew. I found this card below and thought I could probably manage to sew a couple of straight{ish} lines.

via The Creative Place

I like to take an idea and put my spin on it, so here are a couple of cards I have made recently.  They are really easy to make and I love the dimension that adding layers to the cards create.

So is there anyone else out there that only uses their sewing machine for sewing paper?  Tell me I'm not the only one...please!

We have lift off!

Time to get this show on the road!! There may be a few bumps and wrong turns along the way, but the journey's whats important right?  

Last month my niece turned 6 and I was totally lacking gift inspiration after looking at the shops {shopping isn't exactly what you would call great here in the islands!}.   So something handmade it had to be!  I knew that she was getting a new desk  so I thought I would make a few things to pretty up her new workspace.

Firstly I made this cute little bouquet of paper rosettes, inspired by this halloween display.  The rosettes are quick and easy to make, and there are a heap of tutorials around to help you out.  My top tips would be to use paper rather than cardstock as its easier to fold giving you crisper folds, and when folding your two strips start each one differently - one starting with the patterned side on top, and one with the back on top...it should make sense when you do it.... doing this will help when you join the two strips together.

    

I hotglued skewers to the back of the rosettes and then popped them in a tin can that I covered with scrapbook paper and filled with florist foam.   To finish it off I added some green florist paper{saved from the old days when I used to get flowers!} and a ribbon.

Pretty cute ah.....I can see a lot more rosettes in my future, and with all the inspiration here it should keep me busy for a while. 

I also made a matching tin for her to put all her pens in, a little sign for her desk, and then just for fun a disguise kit.

     

I love giving handmade gifts, it adds that little extra bit of thought and love to gift giving I think. So do you like to make gifts too, do you have a favourite go to gift?  I've got my Mum's birthday coming up in a couple of weeks and have no ideas yet what to make her, better work on finding some inspiration again.

Michelle