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