I am one woman. One lazy, disorganised woman with dreams of doing everything myself but in reality the draw of Netflix and going out for a pint becomes too great and i just don’t have time to do it all on my own. Luckily for me i have some wonderful friends who are far more talented than me who let me share their tutorials with everyone else.
Step forward My lovely friend Nicole who has been embracing the homemade,cheap Christmas this year and roping in her daughter and husband (of which i have neither) to get things done.
Firstly her pompom baubles. I used to despise having to make these things, cutting out circles of cardboard with over sized kitchen scissors as a left-handed impatient person was always a nightmare but Nicole put me onto plastic pompom makers! I got mine for a few pounds from Ebay, comes in three sizes and makes life so much easier. Nicole made a combination of small, medium and large, strung them up and they look wonderful! Use traditional “christmas” colours, something with a bit of sparkle in or keep them lovely and wintery with whites and blues and string them up around the house and on the tree. Follow a tutorial here to get started.
Now Christmas would not be Christmas without an abundance of stars. Nicole decided to go down two routes with these, the 5 point star made with song sheets and the 16 point star. This requires lots of paper but craft shops usually have some lovely packs or you can head down the pound shop and get yourself some wrapping paper and use that. Also, Ebay is your friend, i get so much crafting stuff there on the cheap if i know i haven’t the time to get to town (though if you can support your local independent please do!).
Nicole used this tutorial for her 5 point, you can either use the work photocopiers to print some sheets out off the internet or scour charity shops for something second hand you don’t mind cutting up (but please DO NOT cut up something that looks old or well loved) and hang them around the house or on the front door.
This bad boy was created using this tutorial (not a video this time) and would look amazing on the front door if you don’t like wreaths or you can try to make a mini one for the top of the tree. Nicole used coloured craft paper as you can see but experiment with colours and patterns to create so really stunning, low cost decorations that are easy enough for the kids to join in with (or, like me, reluctant housemates).
Liked what you see but can’t be bothered? Nicole would be happy to take on commissions, email her on nicolejstapley@hotmail.co.uk
Next time, salt dough decorations.
Bedsit Bonne Vivante 