Christmas Craft at Home – 3 ways to make and save!

Christmas Craft at Home

With the festive season upon us, what better way to brighten up your home, with some Christmas Craft in your home for decorations! Here at Zetetick we are keen to support and promote sustainable ways of living, as seen in our sustainability projects here: https://zhc.org.uk/green-charity-zeteticks-8-super-steps-to-eco-friendly/

By making your own Christmas decorations with recyclable items, you may benefit from an overall sense of well-being.  The stimulation of thinking about and creating something attractive for your home – the physical application of creating something, knowledge you are removing the need for unnecessary waste by recycling items and reducing expenditure where it wasn’t needed – can only be a good thing!

Christmas decoration ideas can be simple and inexpensive, but creative and unique – turning walls and Christmas tables into centre displays that set a festive mood, impressing with cheerful and colourful designs. Making your own Christmas decorations and table centrepieces with old items you have at home is a creative and fun way to enjoy time with your family while saving money on new decorations.

Creating unusual Christmas decorating ideas can be done by all ages, being resourceful and recycling old decorations and transforming them into fresh and innovative decorations.

Let’s get crafty!

Recycled Xmas Card decorations

We’ve all got a few leftover Christmas Cards lying around and you can use them to make very simple but pretty garlands and ornaments which will cost next to nothing. They’re also very easy to make!

Method

• Gather your Christmas cards and cut out 2in circles (go fancy and cut scalloped edges if you like!)
• Cut out as many circles as you need. You can use six per ball or fewer or more than that. You can alternate colours from different cards on some of the balls or use all the same colour on others. Do whatever works best with your assortment of cards.
• Fold all the circles in half.
• Get a length of string, thin ribbon, beading cord or anything else you want to use to use to create the garland. You can also use the same if you prefer to make these as individual ornaments.
• Use a glue stick to apply glue to the back of each one and stick all the backs for one ball together. If you leave the last two panels open on each ball, you can glue them once adding in the beading cord.
• If you want to make an individual ornament; cut a length of ribbon, cord or whatever you’re using; long enough that it can run through the centre of the ornament and have a loop at top to hang it. Spread a line of glue down the centre of the inside spine of an ornament that hasn’t had the final panels sealed yet, and then lay the folded-over ribbon (or whatever) down the centre, leaving a loop at the top. Apply more glue, if needed to hold the ribbon in place. Apply glue stick to the last two panels and seal the ornament shut.

Sheet music angels

Hang these pretty Sheet Music Angels on your tree or give as homemade Christmas gifts to your friends and family.

Method

• Take one piece of sheet music (you get bonus points if it’s for a traditional Christmas song!) and fold it back and forth in accordion-like pleats
• Hold the folded sheet music on its side while tying a thin, 12-inch piece of string around it approximately two-thirds of the way down.
• On the larger portion of the sheet music, use scissors to cut out small diamonds
• Cut a wedge in the edge of the sheet music to make a decorative fringe-like edge for your angel’s dress.
• Take the shorter portion of the sheet music and cut it down the middle to make two wings.
• Pull the ends of the string through the middle of the wings. Thread it through a bead for the head and a button for the halo, then make a knot to secure it.
• Use any remaining string to make a loop so that you can hang your angel on a Christmas Tree… or anywhere that needs a little holiday magic!

For more ideas just look here

So, does Christmas decorating have a positive mental impact?

It has been shown that the simple presence of Christmas decorations generates a feeling for most of hope, joy and celebration.  A feeling of well-being.  Whether you celebrate Christmas in your home for religious, cultural, or social reasons, making and displaying decorations can brighten the darkest time of the year in any home.

Here at Zetetick, improving the mental health, the home environment and feeling of social responsibility for our tenants is what we try to achieve, and this can be seen in the values https://zhc.org.uk/zetetick-our-values/ we have as a charity.

Merry crafting this Christmas!