CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Christmas is here again!
Here are a couple of ideas for easy-to-make christmas decorations.
1. Wash the inside of old jars and soak them in water overnight so that the labels peel off easily.
2. Use acrylic or glass paint to paint the jars with a brush or even your fingers to get your desired design.
3. Use tube paints or stencils to add additional designs and decorations onto the jars.
4. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours.

CANDLES

Here's a way to "personalise" a candle.

MATERIALS:
1. Glass jar (empty, clean and dry)
2. Grout/paper mache
3. Decorative items such as dried flowers or other objects
4. Plain candle
5. Essential oil
6. Cloves
7. Candle wicks (bought from an art store)

METHOD:
1. Spread the grout/paper mache over the glass jar and decorate as desired.
2. Allow to dry (24 hrs)
3. Melt the candle(s). Use a large pan of water and melt the candles in a smaller receptacle floating in the water. Do not melt candles directly over an open flame as it could cause a fire.
4. Once melted, remove the old wicks from the liquid with a tweezer or kitchen tool
5. Add a few drops of essential oil
6. Measure out the appropriate length of candle wick and cut off the piece
7. Tie a knot and slide a satay stick or other object through the knot and place it over the jar so that the candle wick will "stand".
8. Turn off the flame and use a cloth to lift the receptacle containing the melted candle wax out.
9. Pour the wax into the jar. Try not to pour it over the wick.
10. Leave to cool for 1/2 an hour
11. Once slightly hardened, sprinkle cloves into the candle.
12. Allow to cool totally

CLOTH-WRAPPED CONTAINERS

Containers that package miscellaneous household items can be decorated for storage and other purposes.

MATERIALS:
1. Container
2. Cloth
3. Other decorative additions; ie dried flowers
4. Glue/pins


METHOD:
1. Measure out sufficient cloth to cover the container
2. Stick the ends onto the container with glue or secure them with pins
3. Add a sprig of dried flower or other decorative item

LEAF PAINTING

Dead leaves can be turned into a artistic object.

MATERIALS:
1. Dead leaf
2. Acrylic pain (preferably a dark colour such as brown or dark green)

METHOD:
1. Paint the dead leaf with the acrylic paint along its natural grooves
2. Allow to dry (24 hrs)

PAPER MACHE

Excess paper from the office can be put to more artistic uses.

MATERIALS:
1. Paper
2. Large basin
3. Water
4. Colour pencils/crayons


METHOD:
1. Shred the paper into tiny pieces
2. Soak in water until soggy
3. Squeese a fistful of the mix until all water is removed
4. Fashion it into a container or other object
5. Allow to dry (48 hrs)
6. Once dry, colour with colour pencils/crayons

COLLAGES USING EVERYDAY MATERIALS

Examples show a brown paper box and a wooden shelf which had fallen out of a cupboard :-)

MATERIALS:
1. scrap paper, cloth and other objects
2. glue & cellophane tape
3. spray-on adhesive (optional)

METHOD:
1. Wipe the surfaces dry
2. Lay out the scraps of paper, cloth or other materials, on the surface
3. Glue the materials on to the surface
4. Spray the adhesive onto the surface to secure all items
5. Allow to dry (24 hrs) flat (do not stand)

GLASS PAINTING

You can paint bottles, jars or other glass items with special paints designed for glass-painting.

MATERIALS:
1. Glass bottle/jar
2. Acrylic/glass paints
3. paintbrush or stencil

METHOD:
1. Draw out a design for decorating the object
2. Apply the paint with a paintbrush or stencil to get the desired patterns
3. Leave to dry (24 hrs)

DECORATING NOTEBOOKS/PLASTIC FILES

Plain notebooks and plastic files can be prettied up by using everyday materials.

MATERIALS:
1. Notebook or file
2. Cellophane tape
3. Scraps of paper, dried flowers or other flat objects
4. paint, crayon, glitter or other things that add colour
5. Laminate plastic film or transparent plastic wrap (the kind used to wrap books)


METHOD:
1. Select the materials to be used as decoration
2. Lay them out on the notebook/file according to your design and secure them with cellophane tape or glue
3. Use the paint/crayon/glitter to add further decoration
4. Allow to dry (24 hrs)
5. Apply the laminate plastic film or transparent plastic wrap to the notebook or file.

ALTERNATIVE GIFT WRAPPING

Gifts don't necessarily need to be wrapped in wrapping paper....there are more unconventional ways of wrapping them to add a personal touch.

See the example below.

Materials:
1. A flat surface to form a base
2. Cloth - preferably semi-transparent and of a neutral colour such as beige
3. Ribbon - either recycled, bought or made from a different cloth
4. Scissors
5. Pins (the kind used for sewing)

Method:
1. Place the cloth under the base.
2. Select the gifts to be wrapped and place them on the base
3. Bind them to each other with cellophane tape
4. Wrap the cloth over the base, covering the gifts inside and gather the excess material at the top.
5. Secure the excess material with cellotape, then wrap around with the ribbon
6. Use pins to tack any excess material down
7. Add a sprig or two of dried flowers into the ribbon or other additional decoration according to your own design.

DECORATING A PLAIN MIRROR

Materials:
1. A plain mirror (no plastic casing)
2. Grout/clay
3. objects to be stuck into the grout/clay
4. tea lights (optional)

Method:

1. Wipe the mirror clean
2. Apply the grout/clay using your chosen design onto the mirror
3. Carve out grooves or patterns using everyday objects such as knives, forks or coins. Tea lights can be stuck into the grout/clay to allow the mirror to be laid flat on a surface as a decorative item, if desired.
4. Stick the objects into the grout/clay according to your chosen design. [Example shows fragments of a broken porcelain vase; the fragments were obtained by wrapping the broken vase in cloth and smashing the large pieces into smaller ones with a hammer].
5. Leave to dry (24 hrs)

DECORATING VASES OR OTHER PLAIN OBJECTS

Materials:
1.vase or other object
2. grout, clay or other medium
3. small objects such as coins, beads, tiles, glass pieces and other objects to add texture to the coating
4. crayons, charcoal pencil or colour pencils
5. adhesive fixer (available from any hardware/art store)

Method:
1. Ensure the surface of the object is clean and dry
2. Smooth the grout or clay over the object to form a coating
3. Use forks, coins, brushes or other objects to create swirls and patterns in the grout/clay
4. Stick the coins, beads, tiles or other objects into the grout or clay. Press them in firmly or they will fall off.
5. Allow to dry (24 hours)
6. Colour the coating by running a crayon or colour pencil over the grooves and swirls in the grout/clay.
7. Spray the finished product with adhesive fixer

DECORATING CARDBOARD BOXES/SHOEBOXES/CARTONS

Instead of throwing away boxes used for packaging things that you've bought, why not decorate them so that they can be recyled.

Materials:
1. box/container
2. decorative materials - scraps of paper, beads, bits of cloth, buttons, ribbon, dried flowers, etc
3. paint, crayons
4. glue, cellophane tape


Method:
1. Choose a colour scheme to decorate the box and select materials from whatever is available on hand
2. Apply base colour (paint or crayon) first
3. Stick largest scraps of material on the box first to cover up labels, price tags, logos or other markings
4. Add smaller scraps of material and other objects to fill up visible spaces or according to a particular design
5. Add cellophane tape over bits which seem likely to peel off or fall off.

RECYCLING PAPER/PLASTIC BAGS INTO GIFT CARRIERS

Materials:

stiff-backed paper/plastic bags with handles
bits and pieces of paper (old cards, recycled wrappers, coloured papers, etc)
cellophane tape/glue


Method:
1. Choose a colour scheme to either complement or clash with the colour of the bag
2. Select papers or other materials of that colour for use
3. Cut them according to the way you wish to lay out the materials on the paper bag
4. Stick the materials onto the bag (front and back) according to your design, using either glue or cellophane tape. Cellophane tape is recommended as glue may not be sufficient to hold the materials onto the bag.

Possible uses:
1. to be used as carrier bags for gifts
2. to be used as all purpose bags (depending on the toughness of the material) to carry light objects

DECORATING GLASS JARS/TINS/BOTTLES

Basic materials:

Glass jars
Tins
Bottles
Grout (from hardware shop)
Tools that can be used to make patterns in the grout (old knives, forms, coins, spatula, etc)
Crayons
Odd bits and ends to stick on the objects for decoration (beads, tiles, pieces of broken glass, seeds, spices, etc)

Method:

1. Wash and dry the jar/tin/bottle.
2. Apply grout on the outside of the jar/tin/bottle
3. Use the tools to carve out patterns/markings on in the layer of grout, before it hardensIf you have decorative pieces to stick into the grout, stick them in before the grout hardens
4.Leave the -jar/tin/bottle to dry for 1 daySelect the desired crayon colour and run the crayon along the grooves and markings of the dried grout on top of the bottle/jar/tin.

Possible uses:
-Container for storage
-Can be filled with small stones and a tea light placed on top
-Can serve as a mould for a homemade candle