Like most people, as a child Christmas was the most exciting time of year, there's no real way to explain that feeling of excitement for Christmas Day, knowing Santa was only hours away and that all your family would sit around a table full of amazing food (yum) telling awful cracker jokes, wearing those sexy paper hats, and watching all the Christmas specials on TV.
One of our family traditions is that we go out about a week before Christmas Day, pick a lovely real fur tree and then my sister and I would spend the afternoon decorating it, first lights, then tinsel and then the decorations. Sadly this year will be the first year we spend without my sister Daniella as she is doing an internship in Spain and isn't allowed leave over the Christmas Holiday (boooo) That means that I will have two trees to decorate, the one at my house, and the one at my dads.
I've always been a sucker for Christmas decorations, probably the over use of glitter and sparkly tinsel! But being a lover of all things craft, you can't beat a good DIY decoration. So I have FOUR DIY Christmas Decoration tutorials for you to have a go at!
First of all is the completely adorable Light Bulb Penguins.
What you will need:
-Cheap Light bulbs.
-Black, white, yellow and green acrylic paint.
-String or ribbon of your choice.
-A glue gun or superglue.
STEP ONE:
Take your light bulb and paint one half white.
STEP TWO:
When dry paint the other half black and extend the paint onto the white side creating the outline of a penguin like in the image above. It's up to you whether you paint on some wings.
STEP THREE:
Once that is dry, use the yellow to paint on a little beak and the green (or colour of your choice) to dot on two eyes.
STEP FOUR:
Use blue tack to stable them and allow them to dry, usually takes about five minutes, or use a hair dryer on cold to blast it dry.
STEP FIVE / SIX:
Once that has dried, take your desired ribbon or string, make a loop and glue to the end of the light bulb so that you can hang it on your tree! DONE!
Next is a more vintage shabby chic themed decoration (right up my street) The Teacup Bauble. Do note these can be rather heavy so either choose a lighter china, or be sure to hang on more sturdy branches!
What you will need:
-A light Teacup. (you can buy them from dotcomgiftshop here)
-A bell.
-A Drill (optional)
-A glue gun or superglue.
-Ribbon or string of your choice.
STEP ONE:
This step is optional! if you know someone who is handy with a drill (don't go in willy nilly and hurt yourself!) you can get them to drill a small hole in the center of the base of the teacup, I however just used my glue gun and it worked great, didn't peel off!
STEP TWO:
(If you drilled it) Feed your string or ribbon through the hole, tying the bell on the inside and making a loop on the top. If you didn't drill your teacup you can superglue a loop of ribbon on the top and glue a little ribbon on the inside with a the bell attached to the end. Wait for it to dry overnight before attempting to hang it. DONE!
Next on my easy decorations list is a super fun little DIY, the Bottle Cap Snowman.
What you will need:
-Three bottle caps per snowman (I bought a bag of 50 on eBay for £3)
-White spray Paint.
-Black and orange acrylic paint.
-Ribbon.
-String or wool.
STEP ONE:
Take your bottle caps and lie them flat side down on some newspaper in a ventilated space (or outside) Spray paint them white and leave to dry completely.
STEP TWO / THREE:
Lie down a strip of ribbon 5cm longer then the length of three bottle caps and starting at the bottom, glue three bottle caps onto the ribbon and create a loop at the top by folding the ribbon back on itself and gluing the end to the back of the top bottle cap. (might be best to lie them the other way down to let the glue dry without your caps getting stuck to anything else!)
STEP FOUR / FIVE / SIX:
When the glue is dry use the black acrylic paint to create eyes, a smile and buttons on the caps, then use the orange to create a little carrot nose. Then use a piece of ribbon or wool between the first and second bottle caps to create a scarf and glue shut. DONE!
Finally the last DIY I have to show you is another vintage inspired make, The Vintage Bauble.
What you will need:
-Polystyrene ball (I got mine from hobbycraft)
-Newspaper
-Silver / Blue Glitter
-PVA Glue.
- Bobby pin.
-Ribbon
STEP ONE/ TWO:
Rip up sections of newspaper and dip into watered down PVA glue, then place all over the bauble / ball like you would if you were paper macheing a balloon. Build up the layers until you have a somewhat even surface around the ball. This Christmas SVGs website has lots of festive options!
STEP THREE/ FOUR / FIVE:
Poke two small holes next to each other with a pair of scissors then feed a piece of ribbon through the bobby pin and push the bobby pin into the two holes you made until the curve reaches the base, this should secure the ribbon.
STEP SIX / SEVEN / EIGHT / NINE:
Mix the blue and silver glitter in the remaining PVA, glue the end of the ribbon together to make a loop and paste the glitter over the ball then leave to dry, I hung mine outside to dry in the sun. DONE!
Which of the four decorations do you like the best? Let me know if you attempt any of these DIY's by posting your photos onto instagram and tagging me (@serenasprettythings or @pretty_wildthings) so I can see them :)
If you aren't an overly messy person but still want a go at making your own decorations without the hassle of a glue gun, or the pouring of glitter you can buy these adorable owl decoration kits from dotcomgiftshop.com. (awww)
I hope this post has given you some inspiration and got you in the mood for Christmas! Only 363 days to go! Good luck!
Credit for ideas: Light Bulb Penguins | Teacup Bauble | Bottle Cap Snowman | Vintage Bauble.
