Friday 9 December 2016

DIY December, Day 6 of Christmas Craft making

9th December

Well I have some posts lined up that I'll have to stagger over a few days as they haven't been posted.

How I Store My Christmas Lights


How do you store your Christmas decorations? I have a plastic tree so I just store that in the box it came in, I put my Christmas baubles in a small storage container with a lid, and my Christmas lights... generally a hot mess.

Monday 5 December 2016

DIY December, Day 5 of Christmas Craft making

5th December

A couple of days ago I mused over ways to reduce wastage at Christmas and today I thought of a way to help in a small way. When creating any sort craft there's always going to be left over craft bits. Pieces of string, cuts of paper, and perhaps stickers that were more than what was needed for the project. Today I took a look through my craft boxes to look for things that more than likely I would have thrown out and instead will make them into Christmas Cards.

 Handmade Christmas Card

  • I looked through the scrap bits of paper to find a couple that I could use for the card. Once trimming the green polkadot the width was a little shorter than I'd like it to be, so I lined the pieces up leaving a border on the right hand side.
  • To hide the gap in the middle of the scraps of paper and the gap in the side I added some gold patterned craft tape to the middle and side.
  • I ran a strip of double sided tape along the middle of the card to attach a bit of left over gold tinsel from my Day 1 of DIY December.
  • I also had a Merry Christmas sticker that had lost its stickiness and had a blue border around it. i trimmed the border and added double sided tape to the bottom of the sticker so it would stick again.

To finish it off I added some Christmas themed bird stickers to the red area. The card was really quick to make and was a mix of scrap and already owned craft items.

Sunday 4 December 2016

DIY December, Day 4 of Christmas Craft making

4th December

It's exactly three weeks until Christmas!
handmade Christmas cards

I made some of these cute mini Christmas Cards on a string last year and they're incredibly simple to recreate so I'm making some more today for the blog.

What you'll need:
  • Something to use as the mini cards. I used paper chains from The Reject Shop for my mini cards but you could use normal Christmas paper or something with a cute character picture.
  • Gold string. I used gold string from an old pack of gift tags.
  • Plain paper cards, mine are from Lincraft.
  • Patterned craft tape.
  • A Merry Christmas sticker (mine is just cut from other craft tape).
  • Mini craft pegs.
  • Scrapbooking paper or cardstock with a plain sort of pattern. I recommend a gold colour with a pretty pattern as it won't detract from your little card decorations.
  • Double sided tape and normal sticky tape.
  • Scissors and/or a paper cutter. 

DIY Christmas Cards


handmade Christmas cards
  • Cut out a rectangle of patterned gold paper a little smaller than the blank cards you are using.
  • Add your Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays sticker.
  • Pick out 4 different things to use for the mini cards. Mine are paper chains.
handmade Christmas cards
  • Fold the little cards to shape and cut. Mine have a 2.5cm height and 2cm width.
  • Choose a peg for each card. I colour coordinated but you could choose any.
  • Pick out or cut a 20-24cm bit of gold string.
handmade Christmas cards
  • I put two little bits of double sided tape towards the upper corners so it will hold your string while you make any adjustments in placement.
  • One adjusted, tape down the pieces at the back.
  • Get your coloured craft tape and stick a piece along the very top, securing your gold string in place, wrapping the edges around the back.
handmade Christmas cards
  • Add double sided tape (or glue if you prefer) to the back side of the gold patterened rectangle and stick down onto the blank card.
  • To attach the mini cards to the string I wedge the card and the string between my fingers and thumb, then add the peg.
  • Add all four cards, adjusting as necessary. It's easy but fiddly.
handmade Christmas cards These were my favourite cards to make last year, as it's so simple but looks really cool.

Saturday 3 December 2016

DIY December, Day 3 of Christmas Craft making

3rd December 2016

Do you do a "spring clean"? I do general cleans (obviously) throughout the year, but I do try to do a thorough clean out of my house at least once a year... 

Well, I try. I haven't actually done one in a very long time so recently I've been going through everything in my house and getting rid of a ridiculous amount of things that I will just never use again or don't want anymore. How do we acquire so much stuff? It's crazy. Today I cleared out the much neglected garage which finally marked the completion of my "spring clean" even though it's just turned into summer.

What does this have to do with Christmas, you ask? Often Christmas can be a holiday over overabundance, expense, and eventually waste (food in particular) so something that has been on my mind whilst I've been cleaning is the adage "reduce, reuse, recycle," elements of "less is more," and cost cutting, and I wondered how I could keep this in mind for Christmas this year. It doesn't always have to be with the environment directly in mind, as an aside I find that if I have less clutter it's easy to clean and I will be less likely to be a scatterbrained mess-maker, which I am notorious for.

Sometimes after Christmas all you want to do is throw all the decorations in a box and forget about it until next year, and the idea of Christmas shopping after Christmas sounds crazy, but a cost cutting tip for Christmas-specific shopping like decorations is doing it AFTER Christmas for the next year. Go through your decorations and make a list of things that you should really replace, those half broken baubles, old tacky decorations, or maybe your tree is looking really bare. Then, see if you can find them reduced in store. Here when Christmas is over they reduce the cost of Christmas stock by so much that it's worth at least looking. I got my Christmas lights, baubles, and (plastic) tree all very cheap in late December or early January. It's not the most out-there tip, and if you can't find it in the remnant stock then you might have to buy full price next Christmas anyway but it's worth a try!

As the December theme in my blog would suggest, you don't always have to buy straight from the store... DIY it! You could re-purpose some of your own items into Christmas decorations or jazz some of the old ones up again.

As the theme of today is basically reusing and cost-cutting, the things you have available to you to reuse in your house might be different to mine therefore you might have to go out and purchase some things I already had so instead I want this as more of an DIY inspiration than an instructional DIY post, and encourage you to make one DIY Christmas decoration out of something in your house that you've been thinking of throwing out, or redecorate an old bauble. Tweet a picture of it to me if you like @SeaCityCrafts with the hashtag #DIYDecemberDecoration.

My example for my own decoration is a mini Christmas tree I made to Christmas-up my computer desk. Do you Christmas up your desk? Going back to the de-clutter talk from before, I wouldn't have something too big on my desk as I need all the space I can get.

Friday 2 December 2016

DIY December, Day 2 of Christmas Craft making


2nd December 2016

Christmas Gift Tags

Handmade Christmas Gift TagsHandmade Christmas Gift Tags
Handmade Christmas Gift Tags

I'm sure most of the time we just pick up a pack of gift tags or stickers from the store for our presents but a nice way to give your gift a personal touch is to add a gift tag that you've designed yourself.

Plain tags can be bought from a craft store or craft section of a store. I got mine from Riot Art and Craft. These measure approximately 8.5 x 5cm.


Gift Tag Type 1

Handmade Christmas Gift Tags

The first set of tags I made are just simple paper, tape, and embellishments. I used 3D foam Christmas Trees, and the Christmas wreaths I made yesterday (blog post here http://seacityhandcraftedarts.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/diy-december-day-1-of-christmas-craft.html)


Handmade Christmas Gift Tags
  •  Cut out rectangles of your chosen paper and place double sided tape on the back of them.
  • Stick these to your blank tags.
  • A tip to make your embellishments pop is by putting patterned tape under them.

Gift Tag Type 2

Handmade Christmas Gift Tags
  • For the next gift tag type measure out your tree on the back of your chosen paper. I measured 5cm width, and 6cm height. 
  • Make 2cm marks along the 6cm line you've drawn.
  • Draw lines horizontally where you've made the 2cm marks. My first line is 2cm, next is 3cm, and the final is 4cm.
  • Make marks 0.5cm in from both ends of the lines you've just drawn, which will be the start of the next angle in the tree. Connect the lines as shown in the bottom left picture above.
Handmade Christmas Gift Tags
  • Carefully cut out your tree, and a little square to be the base of the tree.
  • On the back of the tree add little foam squares so it will create a 3D effect when placed on the tag.
Handmade Christmas Gift Tags
  • I used little red and green beads on red string for the decorations on the front.
  • I did each layer separately: stringing the beads on, and tying the strings at the back.
  • Add larger bits of double sided foam to create more padding for the tree.

Thursday 1 December 2016

DIY December, Day 1 of Christmas Craft making.

1st December 2016

Yachts melbourne sandringham beach

Throwback to the pic I took just after summer was over earlier this year. I've missed beach weather and now it's officially summertime here again in Australia, and the beginning of DIY December.

I don't always fully plan out a craft project when I start. I have inspiration or ideas to start me off and then go from there. Maybe that's not the best way to do it, but it's the most creative for me. However I do tend to create the project around something, such as a theme or stand-out embellishments that may be a one off card or turn into a set.

Today I am making three of my own embellishments using various craft products I have. This way you can create some unique items that you might not have found in-store or perhaps you have but it is cheaper to make it yourself. It's very easy, cost effective, and takes hardly any time at all.

5 Minute DIY Mini Christmas Wreaths

Mini DIY Christmas Wreaths made from pipecleaner

There's really only one thing needed for this project (aside from scissors) and that is a packet of metallic red and green pipecleaners, also called Chenille sticks. You could use non-metallic if that is all you can find but I think that these really stand out.

Mini DIY Christmas Wreaths made from pipecleaner

One 30cm green pipecleaner is enough to make 4 mini wreaths, and one red 30cm pipecleaner can go towards making 8 mini wreaths. You should be able to find pipecleaners at any craft store or craft section in a discount or department store. I believe I got mine in the Christmas section. The packet came in green, red and silver.
Mini DIY Christmas Wreaths made from pipecleaner
  • Cut the 30cm green pipecleaner into four 7.5cm pieces, and the red into four 3cm pieces.
  • Fold the strip of pipecleaner around itself leaving a bit left at the top, enough to fold down on itself.
  • Fold both pieces down hidden into the rest of the wreath. For "fuller" looking wreath you can cut slightly longer pieces and leave more at the top to fold around, creating a "double layer"
Mini DIY Christmas Wreaths made from pipecleaner
  • Put one of the 3cm red pieces through the wreath, folding to create the v shape shown.
  • Twist these red pieces together once to secure and you'll have yourself a red bow!
 Mini DIY Christmas Wreaths made from pipecleaner

Christmas Tree Cut-Outs 

With Tinsel Decoration

Paper and tinsel handmade Christmas trees embellishments
 
For this you'll need some Christmas themed card-stock or paper, or even just plain coloured card-stock in Christmas colours. You'll also need some tinsel-type ribbon in whatever colour you like. I found mine at The Reject Shop, $2.50 for 3m. For the tools you'll need: double sided tape and double sided foam, scissors, a ruler, sticky tape, and a pencil or pen.

Paper and tinsel handmade Christmas trees embellishments

My paper tree size is going to have a base size of approximately 7cm and a height of 8cm. It is up to you if you use a plain triangle to represent the tree or create the more common tiered shape. For simplicity sake I am just going to make triangles.

Paper and tinsel handmade Christmas trees embellishments
  • Mark 3.5cm and 7cm lengths on the paper. 
  • Mark a spot 8cm up from the 3.5cm mark, which is the centre part of the tree and where you will draw your lines to so it is a precise isosceles triangle. 
  • Connect the marks to create the triangle shape.
Paper and tinsel handmade Christmas trees embellishments
  •  Draw out as many triangles as you wish with the patterns of your choice and carefully cut them out.
  • Cut 3 different lengths of tinsel ribbon. I found this more precise than just wrapping a large piece of the tinsel around the paper. I used 5, 7, and 9cm lengths.
  • Prepare the paper trees by using double sided tape to create the precise angles the tinsel ribbon will adhere to, folding it to the back as necessary.
Paper and tinsel handmade Christmas trees embellishments
  • Press the lengths of tinsel ribbon onto the double sided tape to adhere.
  • Use regular sticky tape to stick down any loose bits of tinsel on the back side of the tree.
  • Cut squares of different colour paper or cardstock to create contrasting bases for the trees.
  • Place double sided foam (don't rip of the uppermost sticker yet) on the back side of the trees and bases. Now you can use these for cards or scrapbooking in the future.
Paper and tinsel handmade Christmas trees embellishments for DIY cards

5 Minute Simple Pop-Up Bow for 3D effect

Craft bow 3d

You can use this technique with any type of ribbon you want. All you need is some scissors, double sided tape, and some ribbon - plastic, polyester, satin, or whatever you want. I'm using plastic.

Craft bow 3d
  •  Fold the ribbon loosely to determine what size you'll need to cut it. I did quite a large bow meant for the front of a greeting card, approximately 22cm.
Craft bow 3d
  • Put strips of double sided tape on both of the ends of the ribbon and fold in half to see where the middle is.
  • Fold the ribbon back in on itself and stick in the middle.
  • I also cut a small piece of the same ribbon to go around the middle of the whole bow.
  • Put strips of double sided tape on the back of this small strip.
Craft bow 3d
  •  Place the small strip of ribbon onto the middle of the ribbon, trimming enough off of it so it won't overlap around the front.
  • Once done, stick some double sided foam onto the back sowhen you're ready to use it, it adds that extra dimensional layer.
Handmade Christmas card with Craft bow 3d

These may be simple looking embellishments but can add some pizzazz to your creations. Do you make your own embellishments? Comment below.

Wednesday 30 November 2016

Welcome to DIY December!

SeaCity Crafts Merry Christmas handmade Christmas cards

December is here again tomorrow in Australia and I've been preparing my craft room and social media accounts for my daily blogging of Christmas craft making, generally Christmas cards, up until Christmas Eve. Follow for the inspiration or take a look at the DIY posts.

I like giving handmade Christmas cards to neighbours, friends, and family as they often look cooler than bulk store bought cards and gives that element of going the extra mile for that person.

I had a lot of craft items left over from last year, but I still had to go out and purchase new things to make cards for this year. This can sometimes be costly as bulk craft item buying tends to be, but it doesn't have to be too bad. Shop around in different places for different products and prices and you can build up a well-rounded collection. 

This year I bought from The Reject Shop, numerous "$2" stores, Kmart, Big W, Target, Spotlight, Lincraft, and Riot Art and Craft. eBay is also great for finding craft items but for this unless you won't need it for awhile it's a good idea to start buying early or for next year in mind, as the time frame of bidding and eventually postage can be quite long.

As for the "extras" .. the craft tools and other things you'll need aside from the Christmas themed stuff, I keep it really simple. The usual suspects: scissors, and blank cards and envelopes. But my absolute favourite items to use are double sided tape, and double sided foam. With tape this generally eliminates the need for me to constantly use messy glue, and is much more precise. With foam it's a great way to create "3D" or pop out bits on your card.

Let me know what your favourite crafts are to make (mine are cards) and if you're doing Christmas themed items this year!

SeaCity handmade Christmas cards