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It’s nearing the end of the year, and as such it is important that we set some time aside to rest and recharge. And what a better study break than creating some handmade crafts, something which is both fun and therapeutic!
Whether you want to decorate your own house or make some personalised gifts, now is a time to get both creative and into the festive spirit with some Christmas themed creations!
Before we start, it’s worth looking in and around the house for any items you can decorate with. This might be a left-over glass honey pot or even some garden leaves! If you do need to buy some supplies to make your crafts, we do recommend you buy from small, local businesses in your area. Small business’ need our support this year more than ever, so please think about this before purchasing! #communitysupport
Here are some of our favourite Christmas Crafts:
Salt Dough Ornaments
Create your own ornaments from scratch using salt dough!
What you’ll need:
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of table salt
- 1 ½ cups of warm water
- Cutting shapes
- Toothpick
- Glitter/paint
- Ribbon
- Stamps
- Coloured spray
Instructions:
In a bowl mix together your flour and salt, followed by your warm water. Stir together with a spoon before this gets too difficult, then use your hands to knead the dough until smooth.
Place the dough onto some baking paper and roll it out using a pin until its around 1cm thick (you don’t want it too thick as the dough will split), use your cutter to make your shapes.
Poke a hole in the top of your dough to be able to threat some ribbon through and hang up your ornaments!
Decoration time! Decorate your ornaments as you please! You could use your stamp or toothpick to draw some patterns onto your dough or add some colour with glitter, sprays or paint – enjoy! *please don’t eat the dough. First on all it tastes like salt and it’s not edible!
Winter Wreath
A wreath is a perfect item to hang onto your door to welcome visitors! You’ll need to invest in some of supplies for this item as below:
- Wreath ring
- Green twine
- Florist wire
- Moss
- Foliage
- Any decorative items including fir cones, dried oranges and ribbon.
Instructions:
Add the moss to the wreath ring, securing it tightly with the green twine.
Add your foliage on top of the moss, covering the whole space and again securing with your green twine.
Decoration time! Use the florist wire to add your fir cones, dried oranges and whatever you want to the front of your wreath (cinnamon sticks are a great option too, they also smell like Christmas!)
And there you go you are ready to hang your wreath up – make sure it’s all secured!
*Top tip – why not try spraying your foliage silver for some Christmas sparkle.
Holiday Shakers
Similar to a snow globe but much cheaper. This is a very basic but quick and easy craft, great for some dining table décor!
All you need to do is get a glass saltshaker and make sure it’s half full of salt (providing your snow). You can then add in some objects, we recommend a deer and mini Christmas tree or a cute mini snowman! *if you can get your hands on some glitter letter stickers place them around the shaker wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! And there you go, a quick but very cute craft just in time for Christmas!
We hope you like our creative ideas, please comment below your favourite, and direct message us a picture of your masterpiece on Instagram @novelstudent- we’d love to see them!
