Christmas Craft 5 - Rosettes

Day five brings you some beautiful rosettes. These can be hung on your Christmas tree, used and Christmas present tags or strung together to make a stunning seasonal banner.

To make these you will need the following materials:

Card, patterned or painted paper, ribbon, glue, glitter glue and embellishments.

When I am making any of the crafts blogged on this site, I like to spend time to cut out and prepare all of the pieces prior to assembling an item. However some people like to cut and prepare as they go - this is a personal preference to your working process.

To make this rosette I started by cutting a circle out of card about the size of a cup coaster. Next I cut out a circle of the same size from patterned paper. This is then repeated with a circle about half the size. So at this point you should have two large circles, one card, one patterned paper and two smaller circles, one card and one patterned paper.

The next step is to prepare what you want to put in the centre of the rosette. I chose to cut out a wiggly circle shape and my initial "L".

Now we get to put it altogether. To start glue the large card circle to the back of the large patterned paper and then the small card circle to the back of the small circle patterned paper.  When you have your two patterned paper circles you are ready to add you ribbon. On the back of the smaller circle, add quite a bit of glue. Carefully stick the ribbon around the outside of the circle allowing it to overlap at regular intervals to create ruffles. You can add tape to secure the ribbon if you find it is not sticking to the glue. Add plenty of glue onto the back of the small ribbon edged circle and adhere in the centre of the large circle.

Next add your embellishments to the centre of your rosette. I use sticky pads to secure my wiggly circle to the centre of the small circle and then glued my "L" or reindeer in the centre. For a finishing touch I lined the edge of my wiggly shape with glitter glue and secured a piece of ribbon with tape to the back of the rosette to act as a hanger.

Don't forget to send through you pictures of your crafts to lisamart@hotmail.co.uk the best ones I will blog at the beginning of December.

 Here is a picture of my completed rosettes. On one I have put my initial and on the other I have glued a felt cut out reindeer. These can be purchased from paperchase for £4.95 for 72 pieces. Have a look on their website http://www.paperchase.co.uk/

A close up of the reindeer rosette

Christmas Crafts 3 - Christmas Tree Cake/treat Stand

Day three brings you something a little bit different - A cake or treat stand in the shape of a Christmas Tree.

This looks complicated but is really easy to make so why not have a go?

Make sure you have all you need to make your cake/treat stand: you will need thick card, patterned paper, pritt stick, cutting mat, craft knife and scissors.

Ok now we have everything let’s get making. Using the templates below, photocopy to the size required. Remember to photocopy both sheets to the same ratio or else the piece will not work.

Once you have printed of the templates cut them out and draw around the shapes on a piece of strong card. Start off with the two Christmas tree pieces. If you want to add a specific pattern to your card - glue this prior to drawing round the template. Alternatively you could paint the card using acrylic paint and leave to dry for a more personal touch.

Draw around the templates and cut the out using scissors or a craft knife. Make you sure you carefully cut out the slots marked on the template.

Once you have completed the tree form you can start to make the three platforms. This is completed in the same way the two tree shapes were made. Choose your paper, glue to the card and cut out. Once again take care when cutting out the "cross" slots in the centre of the circles. If you get these wrong your tree will look wonky!

Once all the pieces are made you are ready to construct your tree. Firstly slot the two tree pieces together. Once these are firmly slotted in place you can add on the three circles. These not only serve as the platform for your treats but also make the piece stable and sturdy. Carefully slide the large circle over the top of the tree. It should rest on the ledges at the bottom. Follow this procedure with the next two circles.

For a final touch I have added a little star at the top of my tree. This was made but cutting out two stars and gluing either side of a piece of card. When dry this can be slotted on the top of the tree.

I have used plain circles for my tree but you could try cutting your circles out with crimped scissors, adding a wave or pattern to the edge to give the piece more detail.

For ideas on cup cakes that you can put of you tree have a look on

 LucyLeaCupcakes@groups.facebook.com

 

 The finished cake stand

 Template for centre tree

 Template for circle platforms

Detail showing the star slotted in at the top of the tree

Christmas Crafts 2 -Noel Card

Christmas Craft Number 2 is a beautiful Noel Christmas Card. This can be adapted to any saying, name etc but for the purposes of this piece I have used the word Noel.

First make sure you have all the pieces of equipment you need:

A piece of A4 card, patterned paper, ribbon, glitter glue, tape, gems, scissors, pritt stick, a craft knife and a cutting mat.

To start, fold a piece of A4 paper in half to make your card base. Measure a piece of ribbon that will fit across the card. Secure on the reverse with pritt stick or tape.

For my card I have glued 3 squares of ascending sizes in the centre of the card. Before gluing the top square to the others I cut out a bauble shape using a craft knife. On the back of this piece of paper I have iris folded coloured paper to create a textured area of detail. Iris folding is where strips of paper are folded in half and then layered in a specific order to create a pattern. It is called iris folding as it usually results in a spiral format. To find out more about iris folding follow this link http://bit.ly/toSX9I 

The bauble will be my letter "o". The remaining letters I have cut out of patterned paper. These letters are carefully glued into place using pritt stick. You could use foam sticky pads to add layers if you preferred.

Finally I have used the glitter glue to outline my letters and added a gem either side of the central square.

Don't forget to send me images of any crafts items you make from my seven days blog- or of any other Christmas craft ideas you would like me to share on my blog. Send images to lisamart@hotmail.co.uk

 Front of Noel Card

Detail of the iris folded bauble for the letter "o"

Christmas crafts 1- Star Burst

I love this time of year, the Christmas music, the shopping, wrapping presents... but most importantly for me the Christmas crafts. This year I will be running various Christmas craft courses in local schools and clubs, demonstrating some of the amazing pieces that can be made using felt material and paper  - my favorite two mediums. So for the next seven days I am going to blog an idea for you to have a go at.

This piece is made by cutting out two star shapes about the size of a cup coaster. I have chosen to use patterned paper used for scrap booking and card making, but alternatively you could glue wrapping paper or painted paper onto a piece of card and cut your stars out of that.

Once you have cut out your stars, glue them back to back. If need be tidy up any edges.

To create the star burst use a sharp craft knife and cut a cross through the middle of the star, be careful to make sure that you leave a gap at the edge of each cut. Now cut another cross so that this falls through the centre of the crosses in the original cuts. When all the cuts have been made you should be left with a star that has eight triangles in the centre. Carefully fold these back and voila a star burst.

In the pictures below I have added some additional detail, in one I have placed a bell hanging in the centre - the other has a contrasting piece of paper glued on the back of the centre and added a Christmas image. Alternatively you could add a family photo, or make a few and create a banner that spells out a Christmas message. Enjoy!

 Star burst tree decorations

Detail of reindeer star burst