Browsing Tag

ornaments

Craftiness

Homemade Decoupage Bird Ornaments

18 December, 2012

It is true, I do have a thing about birds. And sticking paper onto things (or decoupage as the fancypantsies call it) – so here is my perfect craft, homemade decoupage birds. I made them with our Christmas tree in mind, but depending on the paper you use could be done with any season, person or occasion in mind. birds3

You will need:

Air drying clay

Cookie Cutters

Cool patterned paper

Homemade mod podge

The clay bit

Take some air-dry clay (salt dough could well do, I imagine, too)

Take a cookie cutter (I used my new homemade birdy one) or even just some scissors.

Cut out your shapes out!Air drying clay birds

Poke a hole in the top wear you want to thread them and then leave to dry.

The decoupage bit

Place your shapes onto your chosen paper and draw around it once.

Draw around your outline AGAIN -this time with an extra 1cm border.

Cut around the BORDER shape, so it is about 1cm bigger than your clay item

Cut into it, towards the original pencil park, at 1cm intervals

It will look like it has flaps all around- this makes it super easy to curve your paper around the corners.Decoupage clay birds

Get out your homemade mod podge and brush it onto the inside of your paper, and your clay item.

Pop your clay item onto the inside of your paper – so that the pattern is on the outside of your item-   and use your fingers to curve the flap around the edges of your item.

Turn it over so you can see the patterned item, and push the paper firmly onto the item.

It might take a bit of careful manipulating, until your are happy with it – no air bubbles of papery/ sharp edges. Give the whole thing an extra lick of mod podge.

Re-poke your hole.

It should  be dry in a couple of hours. I gave mine all a lick of resin, to shine them up. You could also use varnish, or leave them matt. DIY Decoupage birds

A whole flock of them now adorn our tiny potted Christmas tree.

*eeek a little physical surge of excitement just came upon me* …

WAHEY!! CHRIIIIIIISTMAS!!!!!

Have you made any Christmas decorations this year? Would love to see them if you have link?

Craftiness, Thrifty

Cinnamon Christmas Bird Ornaments

11 December, 2012


There has been an image doing the rounds on Pinterest, of some homemade, cinnamon smelling heart shapes. I am SURE you will have seen them, possibly you are one of the millions of people who re-pinned it. Because it’s genius, no? Who doesn’t want a house smelling like Christmas, and the wondrous smuggity feeling of having created that pong yourself?

(Some people get this same feeling on the Underground. They let one go and the whole carriage is retching, and they are thinking to themselves, all proud, “I did that.”  I SO know who guffed when I look around a crowd like this, Tube Farters nearly always fit into one extreme –  either Mr I Dealt It You Smelt It with the subtly vainglorious posture, or the opposite purple-faced, Wishing They Could Squeeze Out Of The Crack in the Doors mortified soul.)

Putting together some ingredients to fill your home with the heavenly smog of cinnamonny Christmas is a winner, so I got some stuff together and made it happen.

The gorgeous, original recipe is Stateside so calls for applesauce and bulk cinnamon, of which I had access to neither so here is how I did it:

To make 6 birds and 6 hearts you need….

1 huge apple, peeled and cubed

1 35gram pot of ground mixed spice

1 35gram pot of cinnamon

  • Put the apple in a pan along with a table spoon of water, cover and simmer on low until it is totally soft. It doesn’t take long, around 20 minutes.
  • Leave to cool then blend using a whizzer/ blender until it is smooth as a babies bum.
  • Stir in your spices, bit by bit. Soon you won’t be able to stir, you’ll need to get in with your hands and knead it. You want it to be totally combined. It will be just like a dark dough. Keep adding more spice until it is super dry, like a biscuit dough.
  • I used one pot of cinnamon and one mixed spice as the pots of mixed spice are dead cheap, but still smell lush.
  • Pop your oven on to Gas Mark 2 to heat up.
  • Roll your dough out, using spice like flour so it doesn’t stick.
  • Cut out your shapes.  (Why, YES, I DID use my home made cookie cutter – of course, you could make any shape your fancied!)
  • Push a skewer through to make a hole for hanging.
  • Put on baking tray, with a light dusting of spice on the bottom.
  • Leave in oven for 1 – 1.5  hours or until completely rock hard. (Mine didn’t take long as we have a really hot fire and brimstone oven from the 50’s)
  • Once they are cool thread them up with some ribbon and hang!
  • I also did a layer of  home made mod podge and glitter, to give them an extra sparkle, the smell is still super strong.

handmade christmas cinnamon decoration birds

Happy Christmas pong creating!