Simple Christmas gift labels DIY

One of my favourite things about Christmas is the present wrapping. I find it so satisfying and quite relaxing. It gives me a chance to be productive and creative. Here is a quick post on creating your own labels for gifts. Enjoy!

They are super simple.
1. Start with cutting out a rectangle of card paper and folding it into a miniature card.

2. The next bit is drawing on designs. Christmas clip-art on Google can be good inspiration for things like this.

3. Write a little "Merry Christmas" on the front in a pretty font.

4. The next step was to punch a hole in the corner of each to attach a ribbon through.

5. Attach them to the gift with ribbon or tape and write your message inside.

These cards are far from complicated so if you are stuck for ideas or just want to add more to a present give them a go!

Étáin

xxx

DIY Christmas Cards ~ based on Disney characters

Card-making is one thing I take pride in doing. I have always made cards instead of buying them, it's just so much more personal and fun to do! I am the designated card-maker in my family for every birthday or celebration. My card crafting skills have however improved in recent years, I moved away from sellotape and staples (yes, staples) to pretty bows and ribbons, and glue which you can't actually see (I used blue pritt stick once or twice). I'm still not the neatest when it comes to anything crafty but I guess it's just my style.

I am a bit of a grown up  Disney fan (does 17 count as no longer being a child?) and I am constantly drawing characters so I thought it would be really fun to draw all of my friends as Disney characters and put them on cards.

There is something about giving and receiving something home-made and special that makes me feel so happy.

For the pictures I chose Disney princesses (and prince) who my friends looked a little bit like and changed the hair, skin tone, eye colour, face shape etc. I found that Cinderella and Belle suited quite a few of them in terms of face shape and features. Rapunzel was also a good start for some of the hairs. I copied some of their features from pictures of my friends, its much easier that doing it from memory. It all took time but was definetely worth it!

This one for example is of my friend Rachel, this is a mixture between Princess Tiana and Rapunzel.

 For the actual cards I put the drawing on a square of nice wrapping paper and stuck it on card. Most of this wrapping paper is from IKEA. Wrapping paper is my lifesaver when it comes to any kind of crafts, its versatile, quick and doesn't require anything other than sticking it on with glue or sellotape. I used these mini ribbon bows (I have no idea what these are actually called) from Tiger as well as lace (also from Tiger) and red ribbon that I had at home to decorate.

I hope you enjoyed this craft! I want to do more crafts like this for Christmas, possibly some gift or decoration ideas.

Also, am I the only one who finds blogging in the Winter really difficult? I use natural light for photos but by the time I get back from school it is so dark I can't do anything. The only time I can actually take pictures is at the weekend but I am always super busy and even then the days are dull and grim. I only have a couple days left of school so hopefully then I will have more time during the day!

Étáin

xxx

DIY Mad Hatter Hat for Halloween

It's been too long! I do apologise! I have had severe bloggers block but I have a couple posts planned for Halloween.
Recently I did a post about an Alice in Wonderland tea party I had and I thought I would do a DIY post on the Tim Burton style Mad Hatter hat which I wore. This is actually quite simple and everything that I used were things I found in my house, I didn't need to purchase anything. This is a great look for a Halloween party or it could be used as a prop or decoration.

I have another post to come on the makeup and outfit for anyone that wants to do the full thing. Here is how to make the hat in 12 easy steps:

Items used: 
Strong Cardboard (I used the bases of two cardboard boxes)
Paper
Cellotape
Staple gun or glue gun
Black or patterned fabric
Other fabric for inside and band
Wooden skewers
Cocktail sticks
Beads
Paper Mache + newspaper strips

Steps:

1. Create a circle for a base that fits your head using one or more pieces of strong cardboard. (I stupidly made it a bit small so it doesn't actually fit around my head, only sits on top)

2. Make the bottom band where the bright fabric strip goes. Attach to the base with cellotape or masking tape.

3. Attach 6 or 7 wooden skewers to the band. I stuck them into the cardboard and used tape to secure them in place.

4. Place a circle of cardboard, a similar size to the base on top of the skewers. Bring the skewers to the outside of the circle so that they bend a little, giving the frame of the hat. Push the circle down a little so it would stay in place and secure it to the skewers with tape. Make sure the top is flat.

5. Cover the sides with paper to form the shape.

6. Use paper mache over the paper and the board. The end of the skewers prove very handy as you can do the bottom of the hat without the paper mache touching the table.

7. Once you have done a layer or two (one will do, it's quite sturdy by itself with the frame) leave it to dry.

8. Cut off the top of the skewers that are sticking out.

9. Depending on what kind of fabric you are using, cover the hat by sticking it in place with glue or staples. I used a staple gun with mine as PVA glue wasn't strong enough and a glue gun went straight through the fabric. The staples do look a little messy but I tucked in what I could under other sections on the fabric.

Make sure you cover the whole bottom of the hat as you will see underneath it when worn.

10. Use another kind of fabric for the inside. No need to line the whole inside, just a kind of bubble in the centre.

11. Create a band of bright material around the outside of the hat. I used the same red material although I ended up putting a scarf around it as it gave a better effect.

12. Decorate the hat with the traditional 10/6 note which i made by drawing it onto some card and burning the edges to make it look old. Add any other decorations such as feathers or pins which I made from cocktail sticks and beads.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I haven't done a DIY in a while so I might get back into doing them. I hope this has given you some interesting Halloween ideas.

Étáin

xxx