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