christmas craft

Home made Christmas wreaths 4

 in Christmas / Christmas Crafts / crafts  tagged christmas / christmas craft / make your own wreaths by

There is something about Christmas that just inspires me and I think I have said before we do not buy the adults in our family Christmas gifts, so this year I decided to make use of my dried orange slices and make some home made christmas wreaths for my mother in law and sister in law.

Materials:

Artificial wreath (I wanted it to last year to year)
Dried orange slices
Florists wire
Cinnamon sticks (from the florist as they are much cheaper)
Florists wire
Ribbon
Glue gun
Decorations (I used both wooden ones and also felt one too)
I got my smaller wreaths from Tesco for 97p and the larger ones from Hobby Craft on a three for two for £3.49

Method:

Firstly I dried my oranges slices and allowed them to dry.
For each wreath I made five orange, ribbon and cinnamon decorations by tying a bow in the ribbon and threading some florist wire through the back, then thread the wire through the orange slice. Using the glue gun apply a blob of glue to the rear of the orange and attach the cinnamon stick and wrap with the wire and allow to dry.
Then position your orange decorations on the wreath and using the wire tie them in.
Attach any other decorations or embellishments either with florists wire or a hot glue gun.

Christmas decorating with dried orange slices 2

 in Christmas / Christmas Crafts / christmas decorations / crafts / Nature crafts  tagged christmas / christmas craft / decorating / orange slices by

So you have dried your oranges, what do you do with them?

Well I wanted to make wreaths for my nearest and dearest, so I bought some decorative cinnamon from the florists and set to making and creating.

It was very simple. I picked up the wreath for less than a pound at Tesco. I also used cinnamon, florists wire, ribbon and some wooden cuts pouts I purchased from Paper and String. They look great and smell delicious too.

I also made a selection of ornaments too:

Other uses for dried orange slices

Make seasonal potpori
Fill a jar with them for a table center peice
use them to decoprate wrapped presents
Make bunting by adding to popcorn and cranberry strings (great for outdoor trees)
Thread through florists wire to make a wreath
Use to decorate napkin rings

Homemade Christmas – Decorate a pillar candle 7

 in Christmas / Christmas Crafts / christmas decorations / Homemade gifts  tagged advent / candle / christmas / christmas craft / craft by

I measured my candle both height and circumference (I used a piece of wool for the circumference!) and cut my tissue paper to size.
Then I cut a larger piece of waxed paper
Wrap the tissue around the candle and then cover with the wax paper, pulling it tight. The wax paper makes this easier to do and stops you burning your hands especially with thinner candles.
Then use the heat gun or hairdryer to melt the surface wax and the tissue paper will adhere to the candle.
I have been burning the candle and the tissue does remain and not burn, but this paper is rather thicker than standard tissue paper. I remember making these with my mum and we used the old fashioned sheets of wrapping paper (it was very thin) and rather than cover the whole candle we would cut an image out and just apply that. We would then cover with glitter that was iridescent and OK to burn. You can add glitter to your candles, but I would suggest using a water based glue and cosmetic grade glitters.