Cutout stars printed on Christmas gifts

For all my Christmas presents I made reusable bags from white craft paper and decorated them with prints from cutout stars. 

Beside being really fancy to look at, it was super fun making them. Of course it took lots of time I could have had also used for other duties shortly before Christmas eve ;-) 

Here are some pictures of the making of:

I cut out paper stars (everyone knows how to fold and cut those I suppose) and then dotted fine layers of acrylic paint with a little sponge (see my clever sponge holder - works great!). This gives quite nice negative space stars on the bags. In the end I always glued the used positive star beside the prints.

I closed the bags on top with clothpins, some ribbons and a name tag. So the bag can be reused after!

Hope you've had a very merry Christmas yourself too!

A bientôt,
Jane 

No green Christmas tree

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you have a wonderful time with no stress and your most loved people around!

We have my parents staying with us, who had been a bit surprised (not to say chocked) by our Christmas tree!  

We build! it ourselves the weekend of the second Advent! Husband welded three metal rods on a triangular ground plate and connected them on top. Me and the boys went to a lumbering zone where they left all the branches behind after cutting the trees. We got lots in different sizes and at home we assembled all together!

In the first moment I didn't like it too much and wasn't sure to keep it. But then very fast I got used to it. Our cat too.

I struggled a bit for decorating it. light garlands looked very odd and untidy because of the visibility of the cables. So I only put in one with warm orange light up and down the middle (the trunk). 

 

I made little buntings to hang around the tree.

Only last weekend I fixed red balls (I had to fix every single one with a thread and double knot - it took so loooong!) and with transparent thread some straw ornaments and my fabric bells.

Last step 12 real candles! For Christmas eve we always have real candles. Much more ambiance!

I really like our tree like this. For me it gives the same Christmas athmosphere like a real one, but we don't had to cut a beautiful fir-tree for only some few weeks of decoration. The last three years we had one in a pot, but it is too big now for bringing in and we planted it in summer into a friends garden.

joyeux Noel,

Jane

Seasonal table decoration - Christmas

For the Christmas time I changed the table decoration I made in autumn and adapted it to the season. 

The instruction for the fir trees I found already some years ago on pinterest. The gift boxes idea I had last year for the lutin-deco-frames. I added the deers to keep the forest theme and the star for Christmas.

The trees and presents hold on the deco support as I added tooth pics that hold in the holes. 

With some candles a nice table center for tea-time!

A bientôt,
Jane 

Star game

All you need is a wooden board (15x15cm), several (32) strong but short nails and rubber bands in different length.

After hammering in the nails in a certain order you can start inventing stars. This are only some of the most obvious star possibilities!

We had a board like this at home when I was young, I think it's still from my mom's childhood. I remembered it and asked my dad to send me a picture and then I copied it with the kids of my crafting class. You can imagine the noise we made with a group of children and 5 hammers!? :-)

A bientôt,

Jane

Advent Calendar 2019

In November I made a new Advent Calendar as an example for the elder kids of my crafting classes. 

The felt stripes are just folded and sewn together on the sides to form little pockets of 6cm depth. Quite simple but effective!

I added some decorations like the stripe with the gnomes and the felt rein-deer.

The children of the crafting class managed equally well. It took us three sessions, but all finished for first of December.

For my kids I use like every year this calendar, but I filled the new one for my husband with chocolate and small notes. I realised that the pockets are not deep enough to hide the surprise and I put little paper-handkerchief pieces on top of every pocket so you don't spoil the surprise just by looking at it.

Happy pre-Christmas time to everyone!

A bientôt,

Jane