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Arts and crafts

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Original poster

Easy peasy Christmas decorations

15 replies

ScarlettButler · 04/11/2010 20:42

Anything to suggest? I have nothing after moving house, and want it to be a nice Christmas for DD but don't have much cash...

OP posts:
JarethTheGoblinKing · 04/11/2010 20:43

www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/salt-dough-ornaments.shtml

or is that a bit too Kirstie Allsopp? Wink

JarethTheGoblinKing · 04/11/2010 20:45

damn MN.. why is it sticking gaps in links.

Original poster
ScarlettButler · 04/11/2010 20:46

hahaha my main concern is our microwave is slightly dodge and the bit about them catching fire is a bit scary Grin

OP posts:
shongololo · 04/11/2010 20:55

cut out shapes - baubles, stars, bells etc out of card and cover with scraps of tissue paper, foil, glitter etc. cut out the middle of the shape and do stained glass effect using coloured celaphane from sweets..

gingerbread men are cool and fun.

cheapy supermarket baubles, with extra sparkle added!

Paper snowmen chains here

lots here too.

soccerwidow · 05/11/2010 17:04

The salt dough you can just leave in airing cupboard or near a radiator for a few days and/or put them in a very low oven for a couple of hours.

Give them a tap to check if they are dry enough.

Or thread balls of tin foil and popcorn onto thick cotton.

LatteLady · 05/11/2010 22:22

I have salt dough Christmas stuff I made 20 years ago... go for it. Get to the library and pick up a couple of books now.

If anyone says anything, tell them Christmas is not about good taste but about things you and DD made with love - watch them wilt!

EssieW · 05/11/2010 22:25

salt dough was really easy last year. Used oven and not microwave to bake.

Then mixed glitter into normal paint and painted them.

They looked fab.

Original poster
ScarlettButler · 06/11/2010 09:20

I have no good taste anyway so will quite easily stare down anyone who dares criticise Grin

Those sound good. I just need a tree now. Are they horrendously expensive?

OP posts:
Niecie · 06/11/2010 10:45

I did a post yesterday and computer crashed before I could post it. Apologies for the lack of links but I might give them a go later.

I was going to suggest felt shapes, cut out and decorated. You can sew or glue sequins or ribbons on. If you wanted you could sew two shapes together and stuff them (old tights chopped up would do if you don't want to buy wadding). Put a ribbon on top and hang it from the tree.

Or you could make felt bunting or a felt wreath. For the wreath, cut out a cardboard ring from an old cereal box and then cover it in cut out holly leaves and decorate. Can do any size you want. You are bound to find a leaf template on the Net somewhere to make it easier.

Or paperchains. ELC do a packet for £2 and you could either use those or make them go further by adding some of your own links in made from paper. Or just make your own from scratch if you have some nice paper and a bit of glitter for decoration.

Depends how big you want your tree but I wouldn't mind betting at this stage in the year, you can get a tree for £10 or less from any of the supermarkets. One of them will have a special offer on.

emptyshell · 08/11/2010 08:45

When I was really skint I went to Ikea and bought a couple of big boxes of their baubles dirt cheap in a colour theme (I went blue and silver at the time), and then I've picked up other bits cheap that fit that same theme as time's went on (B+M had a load of decorations in when I was in there on Saturday). Tree was something like £19 from B+Q - I find if you keep to a colour theme and have a lot of big (cheap) shiny baubles things invariably look like you've spent a heck of a lot of cash getting the designer "look"

Could also do things like buy candy canes (69p in B+M for 10) and hang them from the tree as well. One year we were really skint when my dad walked out so we'd made things like mini-drummer boy drums from toilet roll tubes, gold paper for the top and bottom and some thread wound around to look like the drum binding, we wrapped up small boxes to be hanging decorative parcels from the tree (half of the tree that year was cigarette packets!), used bendy hair curlers I'd got bored with to make candy canes covered with ribbon and curtain rings to be wound around with ribbon, couple of festive bits glued at the bottom to make mini Xmas wreaths. To be honest though - this stuff probably cost more to make than me buying cheap baubles and lots of them did.

Kept us going in tree decoration for a good few years till funds got more fluid. Then my mum decided to fill the tree with ornaments picked up from all her holidays - so it's got things like a yellow New York taxi, a camel and assorted stuff on - going on hols to decorate your tree is a touch more expensive!

My tree looks brill for about two days - then a three legged cat tries to climb it - she's not as good as a tree ornament than as a pet!

trice · 08/11/2010 09:38

I made lots of these lovely origami balls from white paper for my tree. They are really easy to make and look fabulous. I even gave them as presents.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=NL&annotation_id=annotation_897124&feature=iv&hl=nl&v=lm2JEhBvxCg

trice · 08/11/2010 09:40

try again

LoveBeingAMummy · 08/11/2010 09:51

i'm going to be doing these

Niecie · 08/11/2010 11:21

Wow, love the paper things! I might give them a go myself!

Just wanted to add, had a look in Sainsburys today and the cheapest Christmas tree they do is a 4ft one for £9.99

No offers on yet but there is time - we got ours reduced at the beginning of December last year iirc.Smile

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