Tag Time...

Now that advent has arrived we can officially begin the countdown to Christmas, and its nice to see the real winter days setting in where frost hangs in the air lending itself to a crisp winter walk. Christmas is such a warming time of the year, getting together with friends, seeing all the roaring open fires in country pubs, hotels and homes and sharing what can only be described as 'festive cheer' with those around you.

Over the past few years vintage and home-made has become increasingly fashionable appealing to all of our creative sides. Inspiration is everywhere  from TV and magazines to supermarket promotional catalogues. Christmas lends its self to enable our inner creative self to emerge by making decorations and gifts that provide sentiments that can not be achieved with shop brought items.

Sometimes the simplest crafted items, like these salt dough gift tags, can be the most effective. They add a sentimental dimension to the gift you are giving and what's really lovely about them is any one (young or old) can create them to suit wrapping schemes, reflect the gift being giving or be unique to the recipient.

Here's how to create them:

Salt dough ingredients:
100g plain flour
50ml water
50g salt

• Mix the salt dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl (if the mixture is too dry add a little more water or if it is too wet add some more flour) to form a dough.
• Roll the dough out on a flat surface and using cookie cutters cut out the shapes you want (I used Christmas trees and stars). If you can't find a cutter for the shape you want create you own designs with a flat rounded blade knife. - During this stage if the dough becomes too dry to prevent cracking add a tiny drop of vegetable/olive oil.
• I then pierced a hole using a skewer at the top of the shape so I could attach them to the tag using ribbon. It is really important to ensure that the hole is even in size and pierces through the depth of the dough to ensure easy threading of the ribbon later on. (If you would rather stick the shape to the tag the hole is not necessary).
• Once you have created all your shapes they need to harden up. Either place them on greaseproof paper on plates and microwave them for 2-3 minutes or  place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper in a pre-heated oven (180 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes until they are hard to touch. (You must be careful at this stage to ensure they do not burn and brown at the edges).
• Leave the shapes to cool.
• When the shapes are cool to the touch they are ready to be painted. I used acrylic paints (deep yellow, red, green and brown) however you could also use poster paints. Both of these types of paint are quite quick to dry and come in an array of colours including metallic silver and gold and can be brought from craft/art suppliers or even supermarkets. Once painted leave to air dry.
• After the paint has dried you can leave them plain or embellish them as you wish. If you are sticking things on I advise using PVA glue or UHU as they dry clear. For my shapes I wanted them to sparkle when under the Christmas tree so I covered them in PVA glue and gave a generous sprinkling of glitter corresponding to the colour I painted them. Again once complete leave them to air dry for about an hour.
• Optional step: if you decide to use glitter on your shapes I advise that you spray them with hair spray after they have dried to prevent the glitter from chipping off.
• Your next step it to create the tag. I brought traditional luggage tags to attach my decorated shapes to as they compliment the decorated kraft wrapping paper I am going to use. These you can buy from any traditional or high street stationer e.g. W H Smith, or the post office. Alternatively you could make your own just using cardboard, a hole punch and some white string. 

Template idea for traditional gift tag

• To attach the shape to the tag use 8cms of ribbon or thread (e.g. 6 strand of embroidery thread) of your desired colour and feed through the hole in the top of the shape (if the hole has covered over use a cocktail stick to gently pierce through the hole until it is big enough for the ribbon/thread to pass through). 
• Bringing the two ends of the ribbon/thread together (so the shape hangs in the middle). Feed the ends through the hole in the top of the tag. Pull through as much ribbon/thread as you wish dependent on where you want the shape to sit on the tag. Place one piece of the ribbon/thread under the tag string and tie together in a double knot (see diagram below).

                                          

• Once you have completed this for every tag they are ready to be filled out and attached to the presents. (The shapes do move around, to prevent this you can stick them to the tag using double sided sticky tape or a blob of PVA glue)

By creating your own gift tags they reflect a little bit of yourself, enabling you to share something personal with those you love and cherish. Every single tag you create will be different and may have imperfections or blemishes but these give them their unique charm. Not only will these tags add extra appeal to your presents, they boast longevity and will be cherished, instead of being added to the recycling pile instantaneously once they have served their purpose.

Ellie xx

Fairy Lights

Sometimes a homely feel comes from the most simple things. Whether living at or away from home these simple additions make you feel at ease and relaxed enabling you to cope with what lies ahead.

Moving out and into halls for term time I was faced with a blank canvas that had no charm or homely characteristic. So I sought to make it a warmer place to be.  I decided to invest in several sets of fairy lights as they are pretty and a focal point during the day and at night. The soft light they emit creates a peaceful warm and protective glow creating a more homely feeling.

While you can purchase decorative strings of lights from supermarkets and high street stores in abundance the decorative designs attract a premium price. But as we emerge into the Christmas season fairy lights fill the shelves and we have a much greater variety of choice from fancy and flashing to plain and static. Sometimes with such an array of choice it can be overwhelming and judgements can be clouded as to what it is you want. Or maybe you want something a little more unique than what's available on the mass market.

A simple way to overcome this is to create exactly what you want. I had purchased a really nice string of cream roses but I wanted something that provided a more concentrated light, like a lamp, but less conventional than a lamp.

I created my light using just two basic and relatively cheap components, and here is the method I used:

• I first selected my lights. I chose to use a  string of 24 standard green fairy lights which I sourced from a local 'reduced price' shop for a reasonable price of £3. However you can choose what lights you would like i.e. multi-coloured, white etc. (I would advise you go for mains lights as battery powered lights can be quite expensive if you wish to use them for an extended period of time)
• I then chose a small tumbler for the lights to be placed in. This can be chosen to suit your own individual colour scheme or décor. I chose a light pink glass with a floral and ridged pattern for 50p from a charity shop.
• Once I had the two items I collected all the lights together to form a bundle.
• Using the remaining wire I wrapped it around the bundle leaving 6 cm to the mains plug so it can be plugged in. (This length can be adjusted according to suit wherever you would like to place your light).
• Turn the glass so that the wire to the plug (or battery pack) is concealed.

My Fairy Lights Light

What is so lovely about this light is that it looks appealing during the day and really warming at night. It casts a glow of pretty shadows and light out in to the room creating that homely atmosphere where you can feel safe and relaxed. I think this is such a versatile creation as it takes a short amount of time to create and you can update the lights and glass as your tastes and décor change or even theme it to go with celebrations. What makes it better is that it is something personal and unique to yourself.

Ellie xx

The Heart...

 I think that the heart is more than just a symbol of love. It creates warmth and a sense of ‘completeness’ that can be shared among friends, families and lovers.

Today the heart has a chic presence in home-ware design filling the shelves of high-street and independent stores. But no matter how many I see or purchase I never get bored of them. Last Friday I went with my Mum to the Rockbourne Fair at Salisbury racecourse. Although so early in the festive run up the independent stallholders and crafter's provided an event full of Christmas inspiration from farm foods to decorations. It was inspirational to be around people so enthused by their individual skills and retail items.
Walking around the fair hearts adorned many designs and decorations. The hanging heart decorations are certainly one of my favourite items; you can hang them from door handles, mirrors, curtain rails etc. all year round giving a 'homely' and individual touch to the area you are decorating. Although such an array of the decorations were available from the fair I didn't find anything that I felt was unique to the collection I already have, so filled with the enthusiasm and inspiration provided from the fair's stalls I decided to try and create my own unique heart.

Using a local bead supplier I selected the colour scheme of cream pearls and faceted crystal beads (as they give a beautiful pattern on the wall when they catch the light). Here is the method and materials I used:

• I created the heart shape out of thick crafting wire (from the bead shop) twisting the central points  (the bottom of the heart and where the two arches join at the top) to maintain the shape. (I advise using smooth pliers when creating the shape as not to indent or damage the main wire.)
• Then using thinner more pliable wire I threaded the beads and wrapped them around the main structure. I used 3 sizes of each type of bead (small, medium and large). Between each bead I left between 2mm-5mm of twisted wire. There was no set pattern to the beading I just created what I liked (this way each individual heart will be truly unique).
• Once the beading was complete I tightly wound the wire around the main structure in the centre (about 2mm - using smooth pliers) to hold the beading to the strcture.
• (an optional step - heart dangling central bead: using an end of the wire in the central point where the two arches joined I created a small loop. I then threaded a clear glass heart shaped bead on to a 6 cm piece of pliable wire and secured it using a small knot pulled tightly at the bottom hole. Using the wire through the top of the bead I then created a small loop and wound the remaining wire from the loop around the piece of pliable wire coming from the top of the bead to secure it in place - see diagram below. This loop can now be attached to the loop on the main wire frame. Close the gap using pliers to prevent the bead becoming disconnected)

• I then cut 18 cm of thin cream ribbon and tied it in a simple knot 5 cm either side of the middle of the heart. (I would advise using a small amount of uhu glue on the back to hold the knots in place - use a cocktail stick to do this to avoid the glue dribbling/ becoming stringy and getting on the beads)
• Finally, I tied two small bows in the same colour ribbon (pre-made bows can be purchased from local crafts/fabric shops). I sewed these on to the knots of the ribbon using colour matched thread. (This is quite fiddly so you could attach the bows using uhu)

Please note: if the main heart structure is rolling of bending just place some heavy books on top of it for a couple of hours and it should flatten out.

My Completed heart

In reality I think this looks really effective yet simplistic. Its creation process looks long winded going through it step my step but it is quick and easy to work through. You can create whatever size and whatever colour way suits your needs and would make lovely decorations for you home throughout the year as well as during the festive season.

What I think is special about creating items like this for yourself is the fact that you can be confident in having something utterly unique reflecting your own individuality, and every time you see it or it is noticed by those around you, you will feel a sense of pride in what you have made.

Ellie xx