DIY Holiday Decorations
The holidays are upon us and in this economy, many are finding it hard to come up with the money for presents, let alone great decorations. For many, decorations are what sets the tone for the holidays. Great decorations can cost a pretty penny, but with easy to follow directions, you can make these high quality decorations yourself.
Accordion Paper Trees
Accordion paper trees are great as a center pieces for a table. Making an accordion paper tree is easy, all you need is a sheet of paper, scissors, a pencil and glue. In order to make this paper tree you will need a template, which you can find online through a web search. The template can be downloaded for free and printed from your computer. After you print off the template, you need to cut it out. Once this is done, trace the shape onto a piece of paper. If you are going for a Christmas theme you could choose green or gold paper. Once you have traced the shape, cut it out. The next step is to refer back to the template and fold the colored paper where you see the dotted lines on the template. To make it easier, you could draw a dotted line on the colored paper where you want to fold it. You then fold the paper like an accordion and glue the ends together and viola, you have a beautiful accordion paper tree.
Fur Wreath
In recent years a new trend has begun to emerge, fur wreaths. These have a warmer feel than traditional wreaths and can be used all winter long. In stores they are pricey, but with a little craftiness you can make them at home for a fraction of the cost. You will need a pressed straw wreath, a glue gun, scissors and a half yard of long haired fur. You can find these supplies at craft stores and/or fabric stores. You begin by heating up your glue gun. Once the glue gun is fully heated it is as simple as wrapping the wreath in the fabric and gluing it. In order to get the fabric to wrap nicely around the wreath, be sure to cut slits where needed. This will make the fabric overlap slightly, but not to worry the long haired fur is forgiving and will hide your mistakes. If you happen to have part of the wreath exposed, cut a piece of fur and glue it in the hole, make sure the fur is going the same direction.
Mason Jar Lanterns
During the holidays, it is wonderful to look at houses during a night time drive and see candles in the windows. An alternative to these candles are lanterns made from used mason jars. In addition to being used in the windows, they would look just as wonderful sitting on a mantle or coffee table. In order to make these lanterns, you will need a few supplies: masons jars, tea light candles, wire and sand (optional). Once you have clean mason jars wrap the wire around them to make a handle. The easiest way to do this is to make a wire circle around the top of the jar. Once you have made that, make a wire shaped like a U. Then take the wire and place the ends between the wire circle and the jar. Then, loop the ends around the circle. The next step involves placing a small amount of sand in the bottom of the jar, to hold the candle in place, you can omit this step or use some other object that is slightly more holiday inspired. Be sure that the object you choose to use is not flammable. The last step is placing the candle into the jar and lighting it.
Knitted Santa Socks
Knitted Santa socks are a great gift for anyone in the family, especially children. These socks come in an arrangement of holiday colors and are easy to find, but rather than buying the socks, it would be much more meaningful to make them. This requires some knitting knowledge, but is quite simple. All you need is yarn, knitting needles and a pattern. You can find free patterns for Santa socks by searching the internet. It is then as simple as following the pattern.
Jingle Bells Ornament
One of the timeless objects associated with the holidays are jingle bells, which can be heard jingling from Santa’s sleigh or on elves’ hats. Jingle bells are a great addition to any tree and can be bought in a variety of colors. You could simply put large jingle bells on the tree or make an ornament out of them. The ornament can be made with a glue gun, wire and jingle bells. Making the ornament is simple, shape the wire into a holiday related shape, place the jingle bells on the wire, and glue the wire ends together. If you would rather not have an ornament that makes noise, you can glue the jingle bells to the wire. Then place the ornament on the tree, the possibilities are endless.
The holidays are a great time to decorate and make your house feel like a home. It brings your family together to remember how lucky you are to have each other. With these decorations, you home can now feel festive, without breaking the bank.
BIO:
Pearce Corbin is an interior designer in-the-making and a freelance writer for MyProjectorLamps.Com. He’s a lover of vintage furniture and has a special affinity for spooky couches. In this guest post he shares some DIY holiday decorations.
