Christmas Crafting! Challenge: Traditional Colours

We're back!  We took a break for a month at Christmas Crafting!, but now with September here I have already seen fruit mince pies in the grocery stores which means the wind up for Christmas is beginning.

Our sponsors this month are Lilly Of The Valley, who make the most adorable rubber stamps.  They were kind enough to provide the design team with a few images to work with, and our challenge this month was to use traditional Christmas colours.  

I love projects that are quick and that use up my scraps, and this fit into both categories!  The images are coloured with copics and then cut out by hand.  I used a circle punch and some nesties to create the backing out of Kaisercraft papers.  The whole thing is then taped to the candy cane using tissue tape.  It came together in a snap and would make a great project for kids.

Thanks for looking, and if you haven't done so yet now is a great time to start your Christmas projects.  Before you know it we will be wondering where the time has gone and be rushing around trying to get everything done in time!

Easy Gold Leaf Ornament

Technique: Basic Crafting

Materials:
3 sheets gold leaf
empty glass bauble

Tools:
tweezers

A beautifuly simple yet stunning ornament that has a beautiful glow from the refraction of light through the glass and onto the gold leaf.

Tear the sheets of gold leaf into 8 pieces. Can be as rough and ragged as you like. Using the tweezers place the pieces of gold leaf into the bauble. Replace hanging cap and enjoy. The simple things in life are often the best!

Cinnamon Anise Cluster

Technique: Basic Crafting

Materials:
cinnamon sticks
star anise
raffia
hot glue
rubber band

Tools:
hot glue gun

A classic country style ornament, made in many kitchens over the holidays in dozens of different variations. They are easy to make, the ingredients are easy to get, they fill the home with a beautiful scent and add a simple, rustic appearance to any kitchen or tree.

To make, bind three or four cinnamonsticks together with a rubber band. Wrap raffia around the band to hide and tie to form a bow. With hot glue, attach 2 or 3 star anise buds. Attach a loop off raffia to hang.

You could embellish with ribbon instead of raffia, use nutmeg instead of star anise, or add dried orange or apple slices.

Paper Heart

Technique: Cut & Paste

Materials:
old book
paper clips

Tools:
stapler
ruler
craft knife or rotary cutter

This project is so simple it hardly needs a tutorial! I used an old romance novel, but you could use any paper you like.

Cut 11 strips of paper one inch wide and six inches long.

Fold one strip in half and using a hole punch, place a hole up near the folded edge, this is the hanging strip.

Take two strips and put them to one side, they will remain six inches long.

Crop 1/2 an inch off two strips, so they are 5 1/2 inches long.
Crop 1 inch off two strips, so they are 5 inches long.
Crop 1 1/2 inches off two strips, so they are 4 1/2 inches long.
Crop 2 inches off two strips, so they are 4 inches long.

Starting with one of the longest strips of paper and ending with the shortest, make two piles. Take one pile, and ensuring that all the short edges are flush with each other, paperclip it into position about 3/4" down from the folded edge of the hanging strip. Repeat with the other side.

Gather all the short ends and make them flush and paperclip into position at the bottom of the hanging strip, you should be able to see the heart shape forming now. Fiddle around with the paperclips until you have the shape that you want. Having the short edges further away from each other will give you a more elongated heart, bringing them closer together will give you a wider heart. When you are pleased with your shape, hold the sections in place with your fingers, remove the paperclips and staple to secure.

Loop some string through the punched hole on the hanging strip.

Aussie Road Signs

Technique: Papercraft

Materials:
600gsm cardstock
glue
sealant

The Australian native wildlife are some of the most unusual animals in the world, and our road signs warning that they are nearby are very distinctive, making for wonderfully unique ornaments! Simply print and cut out the images below and glue them onto cardstock and hang.