Accordion-pleated paper flower and Christmas tree garland

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Tis the season to be jolly,

Fa la la la la, la la la la 

  

Christmas is just around the corner and thinking about it brought back memories of school and the fun we used to have as kids around this time of the year. 

There would be the much awaited Christmas play, rehearsals and if you were lucky you would be part of it which meant missing classes. So I always made sure I was in the play, no matter how small (or mute:p) the part! Then there would be Christmas carols  and school party where the lower grades got to show off their classrooms which were decked up with stockings, hollies, bells and what not made by little hands to the rest of the school. And let's not forget the much longed for holidays and break from school! 

So I thought I will do two tutorials today. In the first we will make accordion style paper flowers and in the second we will use that technique to create a Christmas tree garland. So lets begin.

 

Accordion-pleated paper flower.

Gather the following supplies:  2 pieces of square paper, scissors, pencil, ruler and a stapler. 

Mark one inch from the corner and make a fold. 

Use your first fold as a guide to make more accordion style folds. Remember how we used to make paper fans as kids? You are using the same technique here, but it has been given a more fancy name- so simply fold and flip, fold and flip..

until it is folded up like this:

Now cut off the ends in a pointed or rounded shape or leave as it is. Fold it in half and staple the ends together (you can also glue it or use a clear tape). Do the same with your other piece of paper so that you have two half circles.

Simply staple the two halves together to form a full circle and you are almost done.

To cover the center of the circle, pretty it up with a button, lace or a fancy piece of scalloped paper.

And that's about it. You just made your self an accordion style paper flower. 

Christmas tree garland

You will need: 

Red wrapping paper cut into 5 inch squares
Green card stock cut into 4 inch squares
Cream card stock cut into 3 inch circles (and if you want the circle to show from behind the tree, cut 5 inch or larger circles. You'll know what I am talking about in a bit.)
Stapler/tape/glue
UHU petafix (available at any stationary shop)

Grab your red squares and using the first tutorial make accordion flowers. I kept half inch wide accordion folds.

Now glue your circles to the center of each paper flower.

Next take your green card stock and draw a Christmas tree. I roughly drew a christmas tree on one, cut it out and used the template to draw and cut the rest. Once you have your trees cut out..

Take out your UHU petafix and following the manufacturer's instructions fix it to the circle like so:

Next, attach your trees to it.

Grab some twine, ribbon or whatever you'd like to use and tape it on the back of your flowers.

And you are ready to hang your garland.

Enjoy!

x

Paper snowflakes

It's December! How about some paper snowflakes to celebrate winter? 

All you need is a square piece of paper and a  pair of scissors.

And now comes the FUN part: unfolding the snowflake!

tada!

Why stop here? Make a few more..

and string them up on your door.

TIPS

Dip the edges of snowflakes in glitter and attach them to your windowpanes. Or glitter them in golden, green or any color to coordinate with your mayoun theme!

or simply use them to embellish Christmas presents!

Happy snowflake making! x

Let's make some STAMPS

What?! 

You’ve never made stamps before? :O

Not to worry! Below is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make one in no time...read on!

So a bit of internet searching will tell you stamps can be made from linoleum, eraser and even potato (I doubt the latter will last more than one or two prints). But the stamps I am going to share with you today are made from something that you will already have in the house. 

Yes, a SPONGE!

So let’s get started. Things you’ll need:

Sponge ((I prefer scotch bright because it has a scratchy backing that acts as a built-in handle but you can use any)

Craft knife

Scissors

Paper

Marker/pencil

Start off by drawing a simple design on paper or use designs from this template.  

Cut out your design and trace it on to your sponge. It’s important for the traced image to be a mirror image for the stamped image to turn out the way you intend it to. Simply put, once you draw the image, flip so that the pencil mark touches the sponge, and now trace around your design.

Then grab your craft knife and cut. Begin by cutting into the traced lines first…

then slice away the excess sponge (not-part-of-the-design parts) with your craft knife and remove with scissors.

Next remove bits of sponge around your design.

Continue cutting away until your design stands out. Squeeze out some paint onto your palette and dip your stamp in.

Stamp your design onto some scrap paper to see if you need to refine the edges.

If not, simply stamp away!

(Do not discard any of your prints, not even the bad ones. Read on to see how i put those to use!)

For a mottled effect, dip into paint, lift and stamp.

For a more solid image, load brush with paint and cover the stamp completely before stamping.

Cut out ALL your prints, darken the edges with a marker, punch and string them up!

don't they look festive and pretty?

will make lovely Christmas decor :)

Now spruce up label tags..

gifts..

and all that you can think of with your stamp!

Happy stamping!

x