Christmas tree decorations - Christmas crafts

Christmas tree decorations this time, and they're not that different from the sparkly birds.

You'll need:
egg box/carton
pencil
paint
plastic bottle top
sheet of newspaper
fine paintbrush
craft glue
strong all-purpose glue
glitter (optional!)
Sequins and other shiny bits
needle and thread
Nail scissors (to make holes - adult supervision needed)

1. Roughly cut a whole cone from the egg carton

2. Draw a rough pencil line all the way around the cone, just above the bumpy card join at the bottom, and cut along the line. Neaten up the edges so the sides are even and the cone sits flat.

3. Paint the cone green (if it's green already you could leave it). When the paint's dry, use the nail scissors to pierce a hole through the top (if there isn't one there already) - keep the scissors closed, press down and twist from side to side.

4. Thread a needle with a good length of thread - we used gold thread, but use whatever you have - and push the needle up through the cone and through the hole, then back down through the hole, leaving a loop for hanging your tree. Use sticky tape to stick down the two strands of thread inside the tube. Trim the ends of the thread.

5. Brush glue inside the cone and push in a scrunched up piece of newspaper. Don't fill it completely - leave a small space at the top.

6 Put a layer of strong all-purpose glue (like UHU or Bostik) on the newspaper and put some on the rim of your bottle top too. Stick the bottle top onto the newspaper and leave to dry upright.

7. When the glue's dry, brush some craft glue in a spiral, around your tree for the tinsel, then sprinkle over some glitter. Shake off the excess. A good way to save glitter is to do the sprinkling over a paper plate, then bend the plate in the middle to catch the glitter in the fold, and funnel most of it back into a container.

8. Have fun gluing on sequins or any shiny bits you have. You could also scrunch up small balls of coloured tissue paper to make baubles.

9. For the star on top, we used two identical stars from a pack of Christmas confetti, brushed glue on the back of one and stuck it onto the thread, just above the top of the tree. Then we stuck the other star to it, sandwiching the thread between them. Fiddly to get the stars to line up, but looks good when they do.

Next time Christmas fairies!

Crafty decorations from an old Advent calendar

I have a bit of a problem with Christmas tree decorations. I can't stop buying them. FAR too twinkly and tempting. My all time favourites are some Gisela Graham ones from years ago, bought in the days before her decorations lost a little of their magic. I think. You can still get the earlier ones, like her beautiful fairies, on ebay....
But I'm trying really hard not to look this year - and as we've been doing a fair bit of Christmas craft, I thought we'd have a go at making our own, using the plastic tray from inside last year's chocolate Advent calendar. I'd tucked it away with this in mind.

You'll also need some plaster of paris (I used a packet from an old model kit), thread, paint, metallic spray (optional), glue and glitter.

First cut some decent lengths of thread for hanging the decorations - make a loop and tie a knot at the end. Trim the loose bits quite close to the knot.

I put the threads into the moulds before pouring or spooning in the plaster, but you could do it after, if you're quick, and use the end of a teaspoon to push the knot in.

Two parts plaster to one part cold water, is what you're after - having looked up mixing tips, we poured the water into the plaster - and somehow missed all the instructions that advise adding the plaster gradually to the water! This probably would have been better, because ours was thick and lumpy - ideally you want the mixture to have a smooth, creamy consistency, like pancake batter. The backs of our decorations were a little bumpy (if this happens let them start to set and when still softish, wet your finger and smooth over)

Leave overnight if you can, and then carefully pop them out - do watch though, as some of ours flew out, with one or two little accidents. Pick off any extra unwanted bits.

Then decorate them any way you like. My 5 year old painted hers and I sprayed a few, using the leftover gold on the newspaper to add some highlights.

When they were dry we got out the glue and the glitter. Yay! The house is covered in it at the moment. Anything taken out of the kids school bags seems to leave a sprinkly, sparkly trail, and the carpet is glinting at me, no matter how often I run the hoover over it.
It is the time to give in to glitter...

A quick varnish or a coat of clear nail polish would help protect the decorations, and give them some extra shine.

Linking up with Kids Get Crafty over at Red Ted Art where there are loads of fun ideas,

and The Gallery - the theme this week is It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!