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Friday, November 4, 2011

My Handcrafted Christmas...part one


Okay...I love all things vintage, aged, old..no matter how you say it..I love it! They evoke a sense of history, of lives lived, of stories told...so wherever possible, I like to use (and buy!) old things. This year, with our Christmas decorations accidentally tucked away in long term storage...I have decided to make as much of my decorations as possible, with a vintage feel. I always look out for old books at 2nd hand shops, op shops (thrift stores in the US?) etc...and so I bought a couple of old Readers Digest Encyclopaedic Dictionaries for a dollar...circa 1965..and nice and old they are..the more age-d the better for me! I love text on things and sometimes use gift-appropriate text on paper to use as wrap etc...you know, pages with words about love for engagement or numbers for a special number birthday etc. Anyway...I digress! I think this year I'll keep the colour palette dull, aged colours in tones of charcoaly blue, faded white and a splash of red here
and there. A move away from the usual red and green (with gold and silver of course!) I may add in some antiquey metallic somethings here and there.

So first up I decided to make a star garland with these old book pages and some cool red buttons

I KNEW that bag of red craft buttons I bought impulsively once would come in handy
ONE DAY!! :)



All you need is some old books, craft glue (such as Fabri Tac - FANTASTIC fast grabbing, quick drying glue), a stapler, an ink pad in colour of choice (mine is red) buttons in colour of choice, double sided tape and some string/wool/strong thread for hanging, scissors....and we've got the makings of some lovely stars. (if you want a step by step, leave a comment and I'll repost with a how to) Here are my 'progress' pics along the way...

I used mixed buttons to keep it not too uniform...


And amongst the bag of various round buttons was this cute wee heart ...

Laying out the garland that I've threaded onto red wool...untangling was a little time consuming!
And I'm all about instant gratification so had to string it up RIGHT NOW!...so just used two hooks that are already in the wall...but not where it will hang
Nice closeup along the wall....
And there it is..but I must take it down now until I have made all our decos...and then closer to December, decorate with purpose!! And a plan!!

Thanks for stopping by...I'll be back soon with my next project...I think it'll be a bay wreath...cos I got a nice big Bay tree right on my back doorstep...and maybe i'll dry some oranges and apple slices in the oven to glue on...mmm...got some ideas coming now...cinnamon bark maybe??..
What do you have in your hands Ladies?
That's what I'm aiming for here....

ciao bellas!
blessings to you all
Jessie xx


7 comments:

  1. Hi darling! Good Morning! Such a very cute banner! Happy November!
    ~Lynne
    [w/L]

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Jess! I love your new look and name!
    ~w/L~

    ReplyDelete
  3. OH..love the book page star garland! Would you post how-to? (pretty please!)

    ReplyDelete
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