DIY: Christmas Gift Tags

Each year I make my own gift tags. I make sure that they are simple to avoid stress so that I can enjoy making them and get in the festive spirit. 

They’re made from the simplest of materials- card, stickers, sticky tape and my secret weapon- my heart and star puncher, which can be purchased from Hobbycraft. If you haven’t heard of one they operate the same principle as a 2 hole puncher for ring binders but instead of circles they punch pretty shapes. 

I really enjoy giving gifts that have a personal touch and these tags are a great way to do so with very little effort but a lot of love and care! In previous years i have made robin and bauble shaped tags so this year i have opted for Christmas trees. I would recommend choosing a simple shape that you can make a template of and then it’s quick and easy to make lots of duplicates.

 

I make each tag unique and different by thinking of different designs, once you get going ideas start rolling in left, right and centre and it becomes very satisfying thinking of how you can use the materials differently each time. 

Using stickers and coloured sticky tape is a great glue-free option that is convenient and mess free. I love these Christmas slogans that I picked up numerous years ago. Every year I pull out my box of Christmassy crafts I get excited to see these and I like that they’re specially for my Christmas tags- they’ll be dragged out of the depths this time next year too.

Happy Crafting!

Embracing Autumn

I love this crafty idea utilising autumn leaves from Emily Isabella. I have always admired art that uses materials that we overlook in our everyday lives- something as simple as a leaf can be rescued and transformed in to something that looks so pretty.   

I think that this is a great little project to get stuck into whilst the cold winter nights loom in. With a cup of tea and Downton Abbey on I can imagine this being rather therapeutic. The leaves could even be strung together to create garlands, now there’s a Christmas decoration idea!

Arty, Organising Goodness

After my recent blogging lull I want to introduce something to this blog that I haven’t divulged much of so far.Three years ago I graduated University with a degree in fine art- for a number of years afterwards I pursued an artistic career before landing my current job as cabin crew.

Since then I have really missed being creative and being able to translate my thoughts and ideas through pencil to paper or the many other ways of creating things.

Just before I started my new job I took it upon myself to start a fresh by throwing out many of my art materials with the intention of clearing up our spare bedroom. In hindsight although it seemed a bit rash I am glad that I did- it has meant that I can start over with my art practice and try new things. For example, I always sculpted before, where as now I am excited to buy some canvases and start painting. Painting is so therapeutic and all is needed is a small space for an easel and some paints..perfect when I don’t want to get the house too messy.

Anyway, the canvases are not yet bought so to satisfy my sudden urge to get creating I started off by dragging out some of my boxes of art supplies.

After sifting through balls of string, bottles of glitter and boxes of beads I decided that instead of spending the rest of the afternoon creating something long lasting I would simply use the materials to hand to create something a little more ephemeral.

I started off by collecting all the items that were circular- for example rolls of tape and tins of glitter. I expanded my horizons by rummaging around in the kitchen and the living room- finding clocks and pieces of bread to arrange in to circles. I then went about by organising them in a composition that I found satisfactory! This meant lots of arranging and rearranging to find a composition that was pleasing to the eye. I must admit that organising objects is really quite relaxing and it was fun using my imagination to find objects- see if you can spot a cactus!

I really enjoyed this mini project and will be setting myself more for the future and documenting them on this blog. Happy creating!

Bring Back Letter Writing

I had a penpal when I was around 7 years old. For the life of me I can’t remember her name, however, she lived in Minnesota America and we exchanged letters a handful of times.

My mum had a pen pal when she was young and encouraged me that it would be a fun idea. So I signed up (or rather my Mum signed me up to a company who delt in the world of pen pals) Albeit short lived, lets face it- most things are at that age, I still remember receiving that blue Pochantos pack of letter writing stationary, equipped with air mail stickers and envelopes, I was so excited, common it was all Pochantos themed!

Im reminising about that today because it suddenly struck me that we now live in a social media-everyone can be connected in 2 seconds- no matter where you live modern age world. Me as a 7 year old now would probably be bamboozled at the prospect of writing letters. We have facebook duh.

This train of thought got me yearning to write a letter. So I did- I wrote a letter to a close friend in Italy. I perosnalised the envelope with some crafty goodness and I felt satisfied and knew that she would appreciate it far more than a facebook message.

My trusted Writing Kit:

This consists of my address book by Jan Constantine (I got mine from WHSmiths for around £10) and then my Wedgewood Writing set which was a gift (although it can be purchased at John Lewis)

So, I got crafting with my envelope to transform it from dull to dazzling, using odd bits of paper and stickers, it really was very simple & only took 2 mins tops. Here are the results:

I also came across some beautiful examples of letters and envelopes- it’s just a matter of stretching your imagination. Letters are so special to receive, adding your own touch is a reminder to that person how much you care.

These gorgeous envelopes are available on etsy.

These printable envelopes can be yours from here.

I’m a sucker for calligraphy.