Decorating during the holiday season always transforms the home into a warm and inviting refuge from the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations. Decorations that are created by the family create personal heirlooms that can be enjoyed for years to come. Creating adornments from natural items also helps remove some of the strain from the decorating budget. Many beautiful Christmas decorations can be made at home. Items can be either bought from a craft or large department store or obtained by gathering supplies from the environment. A beautiful door swag can be created from every day household items and natural items that are found in the yard.
Christmas Swag
- Supplies:
- coat hanger
- one sq. ft. chicken wire
- greenery
- winterberry bundles
- two or more apples
- dark green pipe cleaner
- large decorative bow
- wire cutters
Directions: Pull the wire hanger at the top and bottom until it forms a diamond shape. Using a wire cutter and heavy duty work gloves, attach the chicken wire to the hanger by bending cut pieces of wire around the hanger. Create six bundles of greenery by securing them at the top with the pipe cleaner. Begin attaching the bundles starting from the bottom up so they overlap and completely cover the chicken wire. Attach two or three winterberry bundles to the top of the swag, securing with pipe cleaner. Core two or more apples and run a piece of pipe cleaner through the centers, twist to secure at the back and attach to the chicken wire near the top of the swag. Top with a gorgeous holiday bow. Other Christmas decorations can be created that also make a fun project for almost any age family member. Holiday orbs that are made from gumdrops are easy to make and a beautiful addition to any tree.
Gumdrop Ornament
- Supplies:
- styrofoam balls
- ribbon
- straight pins
- hot glue gun
- gum drops
- scissors
Directions: This project involves scissors, hot glue and straight pins and may not be suitable for younger children. Start by applying a dot of hot glue on the styrofoam ball. Cut an appropriate length of ribbon and overlap the ends onto the glue and secure with a straight pin. Apply the gum drops closely to one another around the ball, attaching with the hot glue gun. Alternating colors will help produce a more balanced effect. Allow several hours for the glue to dry. The ornament can be hung on a tree or from a chandelier. Craft stores sell preservative sprays that can be used to keep the decorations from spoiling.
About the Author: Mike Jones is a keen blogger and has several years experience working within the arts and crafts industy. When Mike isn’t creating things he works for supplier Crafters Companion on a regular basis.
How many times have you been out shopping and found yourself drawn to an item just because it has a cool design to it? Even if you do not realize it, the majority of things sold in our global market are sold based on design, not so much for productivity or purpose. I am not saying that something can’t look good and still be useful, take a Macintosh computer for example, it’s elegant and extremely useful! You may not even realize that you are buying something based on it’s looks.