CHRISTMAS DECORATING TUTIORALS

Christmas is a special time of the year and I like to decorate the house in the spirit of the year. Here I will share some simple and cheap things you can do to add some cheer to your home without breaking the bank. And in most cases not cost you a penny (even better!)

By simply taking paper in bright Christmassy color and wrapping it around a pencil or crochet needle you can add a great looking garnish to a simple bowl or figure.

Curlies (as I call them)

materials

scrapbook paper (or any paper that will not tear easy in any color you want)

pencil or chrochet needle (i used different size knitting needles)

scissors

optional 

Christmas movie ( to keep me in the mood)

a basket or bowl( to hold all those curlies you will make )

WARNING!!!

This is a very addictive habit!I am not responsible for any lost persons or pets.Please do this craft responsibly.

Froggy one of my babies

Cut your paper in different sizes (length wise for good curls)

The smaller the width the curlier the curl .

1

Curl one end on to the knitting needle (or whatever you are using) Wrap the strip all the way around then slide it off the needle (figure 1and 2)

2

Take the beginning center and the end and gently pull to get this curl. 

 Don't pull to hard or you will pull the curl out.

 the more you pull the less curl you have.
Now for something extra get a snowflake punch and punch you some snowflakes to add to the curls .see how nice it looks below?

Here I put the curls in my Halloween glass jars and created a center piece for the table by my front door.i placed some old glass balls in the center and put more curls and flakes around. 

3

some tips for keeping those glass balls from rolling .Take one of the Curlies and  pull it .Making it  less curly.See image here (3)

Place the curly on table and set glass ball on top of them and no more rolling ! Something so simple it's scary!!

 Another thing you can do with the glass jars is add balls inside them as you see in this image(5)And the smaller jar has fake sugar fruit that has fallen off of the ornaments my mother in law made for me years ago. I wanted to keep them so I just repurposed them .

5

This is an image of the glass balls and the Curlies with a bowl full of mini clay stockings stuffed with gifts. This is the actual centerpiece I have set up this year.

The stockings and gifts are made from my homemade cp  clay (You can find it here in pdf format http://www.scribd.com/doc/52976927/Cold-Porcelain-Recipe-Instructions-With-Pictures)

I placed them in a bowl arranged them till I was happy and sat them on the table.Added Curlies and there was my finished center display.Am lovin it!

This is a box wrapped with curling ribbon on top.I made this when my first daughter was only 3 (she is 20 now) inside the box is an old music box that the figure it was in had broke I taped (grey tape) the music box inside and slipped the twist knob  through a hole in the side of the box.then taped it closed ,wrapped it .Put a bow on top and there I had a Christmas presant music box.I don;t remember where I got the idea for this but I am sure if you surf you can find more in detail on how to create this box.

next thing I have is a old bell door wreath that has seen better days.as you can see in the images below ,the paint is worn off of some of them.I actually  love the look so I unstrung them from the wires and placed them in a bowl the holly shaped tin I hung in between my stockings on the  fire place .simple and I loved it!

Remember 
Have fun doing what you love
and Love what you are doing!