Crafty little things

Love Cake

2009-02-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

Made my valentine a yummy cake. Two vanilla cakes joined together with jam and topped with vanilla icing, hundreds and thousands and jelly hearts. Yummy yummy.

Christmas Decorating- The Best and the Worst of 2008

2008-12-20T11:47:00.000-08:00

So I'm thinking this could become an annual thing, Tracey the Christmas tree critic. First of all here are some disclaimers, I have only judged the decorating efforts of places I have encountered while doing my general day to day stuff (Wellington City and Karori), I am lazy and have not gone out of my way to search for these examples, also I am too lazy to take photos so if you are really interested you will have to go look for yourself.

The Worst

1. Christies Flooring, Karori
OK, I understand that decorating with carpet may not be easy but, this is an example of if you don't think you can do it well don't try. Here is a description: an angel made out of carpet with a polystyrene ball for a head with tacky tinsel and a couple of sheep. I suggest that next time they keep with the Nativity theme and the sheep but forget the angel and the tinsel. Just make a cradle from some wood and fill it with straw and a baby doll.

However Christies Flooring can share this prize with most of Marsden village, here are the exceptions Cafe 162, Hopscotch and Marsden Books.

2. Wellington City Council Tree, Midland Park
There is no excuse for faded decorations! In the past this tree has looked fine but now the red bows have faded and almost fallen off in the wind. Again I can understand, it must be difficult to design a tree to withstand Wellington's weather but, please can we have some new decorations next year.

3. Bennett's Government Bookshop, Lambton Quay
Bennetts mainly wins this prize because they have not lived up to expectations, they are very talented at making interesting shop displays but their tree looks like it was decorated by small children. I have seen what children can do and its not pretty.

4. Dymocks, Lambton Quay
I feel alittle bad saying this because I really understand what they were trying to achieve. Less is More is usually correct, however if only they have used wider ribbon it would of looked so much better.

The Best

1. Kirkcaldie and Stains, Lambton Quay
I'm alittle reluctant to give Kirks this prize because I do have a few issues with this years window display. Firstly as always the Christmas shop is beautiful and every tree in the entire complex has been decorated very well. However, while executed to a very high standard the window displays have been let down by poor conceptual planning. There doesn't seem to be an overriding theme to tie them all together and the mechanical actions are too small to be seen from anywhere other than right up close to the window. Kirks this is a warning, to keep this prize next year you must try harder.

2. City GPs, Willis Street
I wasn't expecting to find brilliance here but I did, well worth a look if you can find it. Their single tree is decorated with the theme of the Maori 12 days of Christmas (A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree). For the rest of the words for this song see http://folksong.org.nz/nzchristmas/pukeko.html

3.Holiday Inn, Featherston Street
Inside the lobby of the Holiday Inn there are two trees decorated exactly the same, the thing that makes them special is beautiful hanging lanterns. I have never seen decorations the same before and I really like them.

4. Farmers, Lambton Quay
Having visited Farmers in Cuba street early to look for decorations for my own tree I felt most of the decorations seem rather tacky and therefore, I am very impressed with how the tree in the Lambton Quay store looks. I am especially impressed with there ability to put pink and red together and make it look good.

Special Mentions

Starbucks, all stores
I love their theme! Homemade presents the perfect concept for this holiday season.

Plimmer Shoes, Lambton Quay
The best decorated shoe store. Simplicity is the key for small shops, love the baubles filled with beads.

Menswear Stores
Sorry girls the Menswear stores have outclassed the Women's boutiques, well done.

Statement of Intent

2008-11-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

I am planning to create a new painting and have decided to declare my intent to do so on here in the hope that I will follow through and finish it. I friend of mine recently visited my blog and told me they didn't know I could paint, this came as a shock to me because I often think of drawing and painting as being similar to breathing. But, in all fairness since finishing high school almost ten years ago (scary), I haven't exactly been prolific.

Anyway, I am planning to create a non-physical self portrait. This plan is inspired by a quote from Queen Elizabeth I, speaking about the catholic/protestant divide she stated;

"I have no desire to make windows into mens souls."

I believe no one can truly see or understand anyone, if you are wondering I do think of myself as a misunderstood introvert. I want to create a self-portrait based on those things that can't be seen. My painting will be in the style of a stained glass window, each glass panel will represent a different part of who I believe myself to be, my values, beliefs etc. I apologise for inflicting this deep stuff on anyone expecting just pretty pictures on this blog, but no one reads it anyway, right?

Tree 2008

2008-11-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

I'm a very bad blogger

2008-10-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

So this is my first post since May, not very good. It's not that I haven't been making crafty stuff it's just I keep forgetting to blog about it. Anyway some of the things I have done recently that I really like are long stemmed tissue paper flowers, cover seal fairy wings and three posters for work fairies, ballet and space.

It's now the start of October and Kirks Christmas shop is already open, time to start planning my tree decorating. Because we now live in an apartment with high ceilings we have to have a bigger tree, so we went to The Warehouse today and got a 6ft tree for $20. After visiting Kirks I have a plan, my colours are red, white and gold. Also I am working with a theme of things you would find on a tree, flowers, birds, fruit maybe even fairies. Don't really want to use tinsel this time so I'm planning on using thick wired ribbon instead. Hopefully I will put up pictures when it's done.

Crazy Noodles

2008-05-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Walked into work the other day and saw noodle boxes and rolls of ribbon next to each to other on the shelf. Well of course I had to put the two things together, and straws for chopsticks just makes perfect sense.

Another painting

2008-03-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Recently we bought a new duvet set. It's quite pretty and it inspired me to create a painting for our bedroom

Sewing

2008-03-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

My dear husband gave me a sewing machine for Christmas and a over locker for our anniversary. Have made a doll and hope to make some clothes in the near future.

Ohope

2008-02-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Thought I should post since it's been so long. Recently I did a painting of a photo I took while on hoilday and here it is.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

Just made up some baking parcels to give away. Ages ago we bought six cane baskets on the assumption I would eventually find a purpose for them, now they are filled with baking goodies ready for a new home. Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sparkle Snowflakes

2007-12-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

Inspired by a science book about snowflakes I decided to make some snowflake decorations. Yes I know it never snows at Christmas time in New Zealand but they are so pretty. These snowflakes were cut from cardboard then decorated with paint, glitter and glittery hot glue.

Menorah

2007-12-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

It's finished and took me less than two days. Firstly I made the shell from four plastic cups and a long thin box ( it previously held gourmet chocolates). I placed cardboard on the bottom of three cups and in between the two layers. Everything was glued together with a industrial strength contact adhesive (used some Bostik stuff, it worked well).

Next came the paper mache. I was abit lazy and only did one layer, if you want a smoother surface I suggest doing more than one layer then applying a layer of white paper. For the candlestick holders I used bottle caps, I glued upside down drawing pins to the inside of the caps then added blue tack. Then I cut strips of cardboard and folded them around each bottle cap and sellotaped the sides together. The cardboard and bottle caps were then hot glued to the base.

Then I covered everything in white paint. When that was dry I painted it gold. Then I put in the candles, to make them stand up as straight as possible and filled the sides around the candles with tissue paper.

Hanukkah

2007-11-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

Thinking of making a Menorah so we can celebrate Hanukkah, the husband wants donuts. Not much time, need it finished to start sunset Tuesday.

The Tree

2007-10-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas time already?

2007-10-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

Yip it's true! Took some time out from studying for exams and made up my Christmas wreath. The tree will have to wait a little bit longer. However, I can say it will be decorated in White and Gold, I'm thinking butterflies and doves.

Lip Balm

2007-10-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

Anyone wanna make some lip balm? I had a recipe but can't remember exactly what it said, but the following should work.

You will need:

Equal quantities of Honey, Vaseline and Kremelta (shortening)- about 1/4 of teaspoon of each for one lip balm.
add in a few chocolate chips if you want chocolate flavour -you don't need much I guess 5 would do for one lip balm. Remember chips not buttons, buttons would be too big.
Essence of what ever flavours you want

Put Honey, Vaseline, Kremelta and choc chips in a microwave safe bowl and put in microwave for about 20 seconds or until choc melts. Take out and add essence, then mix. Spoon into tin and put into the freezer for 20 minutes.

We put the lip balm into cute little tins that I'm guessing came from the $2 shop. I made a chocolate and raspberry one and it smells very yummy, only problem is I keep wanting to eat it.

Paper punches and hands

2007-09-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

I learnt something today! I was looking at a book on paper craft and I read a section on how to maintain paper punches. If you haven't already guessed, paper punches are the things in the picture above. Anyway, the book said to sharpen the them you need to punch some holes in tin foil, then if it is sticking punch some holes in wax paper to lubricate it, wow so simple but so helpful.

OK so what does the word hands refer to?

Well I was travelling on the bus today listening to my MP3 player and the Jewel song 'Hands' came on. While I was listening to the song I was watching the some children in the seats in front of me, A little boy was waving and making different shapes with his hands and the little girl opposite him was copying him (she was really little, I'm guessing about a year old). It was really poetic, beautiful, spiritual.

Elton John/ Dame Edna/ Crazy Glasses

2007-08-21T13:22:00.001-07:00

Here are some crazy glasses, what more do I need to say.

What you need:

Cardboard
Bendy Straws
Coloured cellophane
Coloured Paper
Crepe or Tissue paper (crepe paper rolls are good)
Sellotape
Scissors
Glue stick
Pencil
Glitter etc

This is what you do: draw a shape for the front of the glasses and cut out of cardboard. Tape cellophane to the back of the glasses so you can see through it, then decorate the front of the glasses with whatever you want (coloured paper, glitter, whatever). Pick up a bendy straw, bend the bendy bit and put that bit behind your ear, then hold the decorated glasses up to your face to work out how long the straw needs to be so that the glasses will sit right on your face. Cut both straws the same and cover with crepe of tissue paper, I use crepe paper rolls because it's easy. Next you need to tape the ends of the straws to the back of the glasses, this can be tricky so don't worry if you need to use alot of tape to get it to hold. When finished put your glasses on and look cool like me, he he

Scrapbooking

2007-08-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

I'm going to do some scrapbooking. This will be my second attempt, the first was our wedding album and although I didn't really know what I was doing I think it looks good. Yay scrapbooking, looking forward to spending hours cutting little pieces of paper and playing with stickers.

Buttons

2007-07-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

I love buttons! Recently I used up two packets of assorted buttons at work, the kids used them in necklaces, bracelets, badges and earrings. Buttons are so interesting. I want more buttons, more, more, more I say.

Snowflakes and Fimo Critters

2007-07-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

My hubby is away on business so I have resorted to one of my all time favourite pastimes to keep me busy. I love making snowflakes but my family aren't always so enthused about it. I think my mother banned me from scissors at one point because I covered the floor with tiny little bits of paper, and hubby wasn't very happy when I made snowflakes in the bed and used up his expensive post-it notes. Oh well it makes me happy and I think they are pretty.

Yesterday at work I got to play with Fimo. Fimo, also known as Du-kit is great modelling clay that bakes in the oven for just 10-15 minutes. Here's my little critters.

Personality type

2007-07-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

You Are An INFP

The Idealist
You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop.
In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards.You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings.
At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values.You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.
How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual
When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's" Your Personality Type?

I'm going to do some painting!

2007-07-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Got some new paints, canvas, palette knife and brushes last night. Now I'm all ready to do some painting. Made a painting for my hubbys birthday alittle while ago and got really excited about painting again.

Peg Dolls

2007-06-12T14:10:00.000-07:00

Made some little dolls from wooden pegs. This is a little tricky so you need some patience. You can make arms by scrunching up skin coloured paper then wrapping it in what you want to use for sleeves. I'm not going to do a big list of what you need because you can use what ever you want. Some things I would suggest however are using double sided tape, hot glue or glue dots (glue dots come in a roll, these things are great for sticking on hair). Have fun.

Paper is Beautiful

2007-06-11T00:16:00.000-07:00

This music video really inspired me, it makes me want to make thousands of snowflakes. Paper is beautiful, go make some Art with paper.

kaleidoscope Spinners

2007-06-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

Had a brainwave on the way to work and came up with the idea of kaleidoscope spinners. I'm sure someone has had the idea before but for now I'm saying it's mine. They are bright, colourful and they spin.

What you need:

Straws

Coloured paper (circles are good and wrapping paper works well)

Spilt pins

Sellotape

OK this is what you do: first you need a circle shape (this is where pre-cut coloured circles come in handy), now cut some more shapes of different colours and sizes but smaller than the first circle. Now you need to put a small whole in the middle of each shape including the first one. Then get your split pin and put it through all your shapes, you want the smallest shape on top and the first circle on the bottom. Don't open the split pin out, just put a little bit of tape around the ends of the pin, this to stop the paper falling off. Now just slip the ends of the pin into the end of a straw, hold the straw and spin spin spin. Another trick is if you have a bendy straw put a bit of tape around the bendy bit so it doesn't bend. You can make a number of spinners so if you get bored with one you can just pop on another. Warning excessive spinning may result in paper cuts.

At Last

2007-06-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

I thought my blog was broken because I couldn't open it :-( However, finally with the help of my IT magician husband I'm back online. Hooray! Now I just need him to get the stuff to finish putting the dolls house together.

Lollie Cake

2007-03-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made Lollie Cake for the first time! It's a really simple recipe.

120g Butter
250g Malt biscuit crumbs
190g Bag of Eskimo lollies (cut into pieces)
1 tin condensed milk
Coconut for coating (the person I made this for can't eat coconut so I used chocolate hail instead.)

Warm the butter and condensed milk in the microwave. Add the biscuit crumbs and Eskimos, stir mixture well. Then form the mixture into a roll and cover with coconut. Put in fridge for 4 hours. Cut into slices. Enjoy.

Split-Pin Flowers

2007-03-05T12:53:00.000-08:00

Did one of favourite craft activities yesterday, split pin paper flowers. You can turn them into brooches or like I did yesterday hair accessories.

What you need:

Split pins
different coloured/patterned paper (paper circles are good)
scissors
badges or ribbons
hot glue gun

First you need to cut a petal template. Paper circles make this part easier, just fold the circle in half three times then cut down the sides to make a petal shape (just like making a snowflake), then open it out and you should have a flower shape. Next you use this template to make flower shapes from different pieces of paper, using more than one template can create a good effect. When you have all the petals you want, make a small cut in the middle of each shape. Then slide the split pin through each shape then open the spilt pin at the back to hold the petals together. When you are finished you can curl the top petals inwards if you which. To turn it into a badge or hair ribbons just glue them on the back with hot glue.

Easter Already?

2007-03-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

Went to the Kirkcaldie and Stains Easter shop today, yes it's open already. I guess this means I should start thinking about easter crafts. Mmmmmmm chocolate.

Valentines Boxes

2007-02-12T12:14:00.000-08:00

Here is a cute idea for valentines gifts to make with kids or by yourself. Yesterday at work I decorated little pre-cut boxes with some of the children. After we had decorated the boxes we wrote little love notes, rolled then up and tied them with ribbon and a bell, then put them inside the boxes. Today I'm going to use little round boxes with lids. I'm going to take along some potpourri so they can make the boxes smell good. Will be working with the older children some hopefully they will have some great ideas.

Playing dress up

2007-02-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the Wearable Arts day at work and it went really well. For some reason everyone loves playing dress up, including me. The older girls were great making themselves complete outfits all by themselves, I was very impressed. Anyway we made some really cool masks, I love mine. Got a pack of 12 party masks from a $2 shop, they are great because they have elastic and are a good size for kids. Here are some of the materials you can use to decorate a mask of your own:

Coloured paper (looks great if you curl it)
wrapping paper
tissue paper
ribbon
sequins
glitter
feathers
cellophane

Go on, have some fun and play dress up!

Wearable Arts Day

2007-01-22T18:28:00.000-08:00

I'm planning a wearable arts day for the holiday programme at my work. Going to get the kids to make hats, masks, jewellery and badges. At the end of each activity we will have a mini fashion show and there will be a prize giving at the end of the day. Hopefully all goes well and everyone has fun.

Hama Beads

2007-01-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would post about something I really like using. Hama Beads are little beads you place on a board then iron. the beads melt slightly causing them to stick together, the board doesn't melt so the beads come off easily. These things are great as both boys and girls love them. I even gave my mum some for Christmas. You can find them in education toy shops. I suggest you get some and have a play, you can make hanging decorations, badges, fridge magnets and many other things.

Ideas, ideas, ideas

2007-01-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

Other than my dolls house I'm not currently working on any projects so I thought I would post about some of the things I want to do in the future. Firstly the husband wants me to make him a advent calender for next Christmas, I want to make a Tapa cloth to cover our coffee table (when we get one), a pink and white top of tree decoration (for next Christmas) and a polystyrene and paper mache sculpture starfish for the bathroom. There was probably some other things but i can't remember now. Also I'm planning a wearable arts day for during the holiday programme at work. If anyone has something they want to make but don't know how to do it, let me know and maybe I can help.

My Dolls House

2006-12-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

Thought I should post about the wonderful present my darling husband gave me for Christmas. He was so sneaky and hid it from me until Christmas Day. I had no idea what it was so it was very exciting when he handed me the great big parcel and I opened it to discover a kit set wooden dolls house, Yay! We have often talked about how I really want to make and decorate a dolls house, so it was a well thought out gift. So far we have put most of the house together, still have the roof, doors and stairs to go in. Can't wait to start painting and decorating. Found this great website that sells scrap booking paper, might use some of their designs for wall paper. See http://www.thepaperpeacock.co.nz I promise to post a photo of the finished product.

Pretty in Pink

2006-12-28T20:03:00.000-08:00

OK I'm back. Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Here's a quick idea for next time you want to give someone a pretty present. Had a friend come to visit us on Christmas Day, she likes pink so I gave her a special pink present. What I did was buy a pretty pink box (about the same size as a shoe box) and some pretty pink things like candles, soaps, lollies to go inside. I then wrapped each little present individually in different shades of pink tissue paper and put them inside the box. Then I wrapped the whole box with wrapping paper. It was kind of like making up a shoebox for operation Christmas Child, only by making them for your friends you get to watch them open it. Everyone likes opening presents so when you have lots of little things to open it's much more exciting.

Christmas Cookies

2006-12-23T00:43:00.000-08:00

Spent the day making cookies. Made Raspberry heart shaped cookies iced with white chocolate and spcied cookies shaped like stars and iced with cocoa icing. Made up little parcels of cookies to give to neighbours and friends. Made the parcels by wrapping cookies in cellophane and tissue paper then tied with silver thread.

Holly Christmas Wreath Update

2006-12-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

The holly wreath I made did not survived as long as I had hoped. If you plan to make one of these for a future Christmas I suggest you make it about a week before Christmas day. The husband asked me to make another one, I laughed. Anyway have now replaced it with an artificial one, I wonder if he will notice.

Christmas Vouchers

2006-12-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

Found some little gold bags at work so i decided to make little gift bags. Got the kids to decorate them and put in some lollies, also added a little something extra. Got the kids to make some vouchers for their family, little notes offering a hug or to do some chores. This is a sweet little thing you could do for anyone, sometimes what people really want is to spend quality time with people they love.

Kombi Campervan Performance

2006-12-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

The show went well and the Kombi except for losing one window wiper survived, yay! I have some plans to do some baking for Christmas but haven't quite decided what to do, expect to see a blog about it soon.

Christmas Wreath 2

2006-12-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

Did a little research into the meaning of a wreath and learnt that it symbolises eternity and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. If you like the symbolism but don't want to cut your hands on sharp Holly leaves this is how you make a wreath from craft supplies.

What you need:
cardboard
coloured tissue paper
sellotape
shiny paper
Glitter

Cut a ring shape from the cardboard to make the frame for your wreath. Wrap green tissue paper (you can use different shades) around the ring making sure you can't see the cardboard anymore, sellotape down on the back side of the wreath. Decorate with bows made of tissue paper, scrunch red tissue paper to make Holly berries, use shiny green paper to make Holly leaves and add glitter if you wish. This wreath should be put up inside, if it gets wet it will not be pretty.

Christmas Boxes

2006-12-10T22:39:00.000-08:00

Made some cute little boxes with the kids at work today. Don't know where you get the boxes from but I think spotlight might have some. They come as a pre-cut cardboard template and all you have to do if fold them into a box. You don't even need to use sellotape. Anyway, I got the kids to decorate the boxes with coloured paper, stickers, shapes and whatever. Then we put lollies inside and wrapped the boxes up with wrapping paper and bows. They make cute little Christmas pressies. They look so good that I took the ones I made home and put them under the tree. Unlike the wreath in my last post this is an activity that I recommend people do.

Christmas Wreath

2006-12-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

My darling husband had this great idea that I should make a Christmas Wreath out of the Holly we have growing at the front of our house. When he made the suggestion I immediately thought of the pain I would experience in doing such a task, however being the dutiful wife I accepted the challenge. Although the finished product looks alright the pain was as expected. Ever tried to give a cat a bath? well this was a similar experience. I now have a greater appreciation of what a crown of thorns might feel like. Anyway if you are interested in causing yourself immerse pain this is how it's done: First you need to cut a cardboard ring. then twist holly branches around the ring and attach with wire. I used solder wire but I suggest using florist wire as it's a bit stronger. Then add tinsel and decorations.

Cracker Flowers

2006-12-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

I guess I just can't help myself. Went out to a Christmas dinner last night and spent some of the night making flowers from the hats in the Christmas crackers. If you are a bit crazy like me, this is what you do: rip the hat in half (if two colours you separate the colours), then roll the hat up, start rolling tightly then loosely as you get to the end. The crinkly end becomes your flower, scrunch the other end in to make a stem. After that you can pull back some of the outside layers out to make the flower open out. A number of the hats were green and red so I used the green part to wrap around the stem to make it longer. At the end of the night I ended up with four flowers in a glass on the table.

Kombi Campervan

2006-12-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Our church's Sunday school kids are preforming a rendition of 'Kiwi Jingle Bells' at next weeks service. The first few lines of the song are as follows:

Dashing to the bay,

in a Kombi campervan,

Christmas at the beach-

the family's master plan

To complement the song I was asked to make a cardboard Kombi. Finished the Kombi today so it should be ready for a practice tomorrow. Cut the shape out of a big piece of cardboard (it was a movie display stand), painted it and used clear cellophane for the windows. I Also wraped red tinsel around the roof rack to give it a Christmas touch. Hope the kids like it.

Kiwi Christmas Decorations

2006-12-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

Living in New Zealand it's often hard to find decorations that suit our summer Christmas. I have seen some display trees dressed in All Blacks paraphernalia, but since I'm not a rugby fan I wasn't very impressed. Have to admit I don't think New Zealand's national identity is best represented by rugby, racing and beer. However I do have some ideas for making traditional Christmas decorations with a kiwi twist.

I like the idea of drawing inspiration from native trees. You could make small angels like my previous post but instead of using feathers for wings you could cut cardboard into the shape of fern branches. Also you could paint pohutakawa flowers in the angels hands. Another idea would be to make doves holding ferns in their beaks. One year I put a large glittery fern on the top of the tree. I think maybe I'm a little obsessed with ferns. Let me know if you have any great ideas of your own.

Christmas Angel

2006-12-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas, I think it's because I'm the baby of the family and still haven't grown up. I'm one of those people who put their Christmas tree up in November (sometimes October). So if you haven't already guessed my posts leading up to Christmas day will be filled with festive creations.

This post is dedicated to the Angel sitting at the top of my tree (we are calling her Angela). My tree is decorated in only two colours which I change every year, this year it's silver and white. Since I couldn't find a top of tree decoration that meet my requirements I decided to make my own.

To make your own 'Angela' these are the things you may need:

Polystyrene ball

Cardboard

PVA glue

Solder Wire and/or pipe cleaner

metallic thread (for hair)

feathers

paint

hot glue and glue gun

White Paper and tissue (for Paper-mache)

Okay, first you need to make a cone out of cardboard. There are a number of ways to this but the easiest way is to draw a large circle, the diameter should be about twice the height you want the angel to be. Then in the middle of the large circle draw a small circle about the same size as your polystyrene ball ( the ball will be used for the head of the angel). Cut out the large circle then cut a straight line from the outside of the circle to the small circle and cut out the small circle. Then fold the cardboard into a cone and staple or sellotape the sides together.

Next you can start the paper-mache. Attach the head by placing it on top of the cone and sticking pieces of paper on the head and cone. Then continue to paper-mache the rest of the body, tissue paper is good for moulding arms and shoulders. Paint when dry.

To make hair cut pieces of thread into lengths and hot glue onto the head. The halo can be made with either wire or pipe cleaner. I made mine with both, the circle part of the halo is silver pipe cleaner and the part that attaches to the head is solder wire. Attach the halo with hot glue.

The wings are made by cutting a wing shape from cardboard. Make the shape a bit smaller than you want the wings to be, this is because you will want the feathers to stick out from the cardboard. Using the hot glue, cover the front and back of the wing shape with feathers and glue onto the back of the angel.

My angel is silver and white but you can make one in any colour is want. You could also add a harp, trumpet or candle ( I think you can get things like these from the doll making aisle of spotlight).