7 DIY decorations to get your home Christmas ready

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Photo credit: Easypeasyandfun.com

Clothespin reindeers

Apart from a month-long food coma, every holiday season leaves you with a pile of DIY decorations that you either have to throw out, or store away in a box that will only resurface ten Christmases down the line.

Wouldn’t it be ideal if Christmas decorations could be repurposed right after they’re done making your home look festive? Cue the DIY clothespin reindeers trotting in…

Material required:

• Clothespins
• Brown paint
• Paint brush
• Black marker
• Brown paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Red pom-pom
• Yarn

Directions:

1. Paint the clothespins brown.
2. Be careful as the paint dries, you don’t want it acting like a glue and sealing shut your clothespin.
3. With a black marker draw a line, vertically dividing the bottom half into two, for the legs and colour in the hooves, then draw the eyes.
4. Stick on a red pom-pom for the nose.
5. Cut antlers out of brown paper.
6. Glue the antlers on the clothespin (inside).
7. Tie a bit of yarn around the clothespin to make a scarf.
8. You can clip these on a cloth hanger, and just like that the cutest DIY decorations are ready.

DIY: Easypeasyandfun.com

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Photo credit: Themakeyourownzone.com

String Christmas trees

Your home might be just the right size for you and your four-legged furry friend, but a Christmas tree is larger and more high maintenance than your kitten (yes, that is possible).

For all those who can’t fit a Christmas tree in their homes, or are apprehensive thanks to their plant murderer background, these pocket-sized alternatives are your best bet.

Material required:

• Cone-shaped form (foam/cardboard) – one 12-inches-high and one 6-inches-high
• Plastic wrap
• Crochet thread
• Water and glue mix (equal parts of both)
• Foam applicator brush
• Small adhesive gems for decoration

Directions:

1. Wrap your cone form in plastic wrap.
2. Make a small slipknot in your crochet thread and slip it over the top of your cone.
3. Begin winding your crochet thread around the cone. After you have done a bit, dip your applicator sponge brush in the glue mix, and dab some on what you have wrapped so far to help hold it in place.
4. Continue wrapping, going up and down the cone in random patterns, dabbing it with glue mix as you go to help hold it in place. Do several tight wraps around the bottom of the cone to help create a base for your tree.
5. When you are satisfied with the amount of string coverage on the cone for your tree, cut the crochet thread and dab it with some glue mix to hold it in place. Then do a final dabbing with the glue mix all over the cone.
6. Let the cone dry for several hours, and preferably overnight, to make sure everything has dried and is stiff.
7. Remove the tree from the cone. This might take a little wiggling and twisting to release it from the plastic wrap.
8. Add some adhesive rhinestones to the tree if you wish to give it some decoration.

DIY: Themakeyourownzone.com

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Photo credit: Apumpkinandaprincess.com

Snowy Mason jar lights

The twine-wrapped jars packed with fudge you received at the beginning of December, now look as good as new. You did do a great job of prying out fudge from every nook and cranny.

Now that the jars are empty, here’s how to turn them into DIY decorations that add just the Christmas cheer your cozy space needs.

Material required:

• Mason jars
• All-purpose glue
• Epsom salt
• Glitter
• Holiday-themed faux greenery
• Twine
• Battery operated tea lights
• Hot glue

Directions:

1. Combine one cup of epsom salt with a tablespoon of glitter in a disposable plate or bowl. Depending on how many jars you plan to make, you may need more of this mixture.
2. Apply a layer of glue around the mason jar. Be careful not to layer it on too thick or the glue will start to drip once the epsom salt is applied.
3. Sprinkle the glitter and epsom salt mixture around the jar until evenly covered. Place the jars on paper in case glue drips down while drying. Allow the jars to dry for several hours, preferably overnight.
4. Cut a small piece of faux greenery and use a dot of hot glue to adhere to the top of the jar. Then wrap twine around the mouth of the jar a few times and tie a bow using it. Add a flickering tea light to make it glow.

DIY: Apumpkinandaprincess.com

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Photo credit: Thekwendyhome/Instagram

Paper bag snowflakes

Sweltering Decembers have never come in the way of you rocking faux winter fashion lewks. So why should they stop you from being surrounded by snowflakes while blaring Let It Snow in the background?

Create your very own Winter Wonderland with these snowflakes that can be made using things you already have lying at home.

Material required:

• Glue
• A pair of scissors
• Paper lunch bags

Directions:

1. Make an upside-down T using glue on the front side of the paper bag and stick another paper bag on it.
2. Repeat this seven times, till it seems like you have seven paper bags stacked on top of each other.
3. Mark a dot at the top centre of the beg on the top of the stack. Mark one dot each along each side of the bag, joint it with the centre point to form a triangle, you can curve these lines too, to give the snowflake a rounded edge.
4. Cut along these lines, ensuring that you’re doing this for the entire stack and not just the bag on top.
5. Now, cut random shapes along the left and right edges of the bag stack.
6. Finally, gently unravel the snowflake by aligning the paper bag on top with the one at the bottom of the stack, and glue them together.
7. For a better understanding of the process, watch the instructions video.

DIY: Thekwendyhome/Instagram

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Photo credit: Onecreativemommy.com

DIY Olaf using rice and socks

The monster that hides in the washing machine loves devouring just one sock. So, you live with a heap of lonely mismatched socks, that apart from being a great metaphor for your love life, is also quite an inconvenience.

Pick the pristine white ones from the lot, and make your Frozen dreams come true. (Yes, even adults are obsessed with it)

Material required:

• 1 bobby sock
• 1 1/3 cups of rice or pulses (for larger socks, use more rice)
• 2 1-inch white pom-poms
• 1 small piece of orange felt
• Large stick-on googly eyes
• Black felt
• Fabric glue
• 3 clear hair elastics
• Hot glue

Directions:

1. Pour just under three-fourth of a cup rice into the bottom of the sock, and squeeze and shake it down until you have the shape you want for Olaf’s bottom. Make sure that the top of the sock is centred and in the middle.
2. Using a clear hair band, secure sock tightly just above the level of the rice.
3. Pour just over 1/8 of a cup of rice into the sock, squeeze and shake down the rice, and secure the section with a second clear hairband.
4. Pour a little less than 1/2 a cup of rice into the sock, and squeeze and shake down the rice. Shape the head so that it is higher than it is wide, and secure it with the third clear hairband.
5. Starting where the middle section touches the bottom section, secure the ball with hot glue so that Olaf keeps his shape. Repeat where the head and middle part touch.
6. Cut the black felt to form Olaf’s mouth and stick with hot glue. Do the same for the eyes, nose, and buttons.
7. Stick on the felt arms and the pom-pom feet.
8. Don’t forget the hair, attach it to the bottom of the elastic hair tie, or it will look like it’s floating. And there you have one of the cutest and possibly the easiest DIY decorations that you’ll ever make.

DIY: Onecreativemommy.com

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Photo credit: Thekwendyhome/Instagram

Citrus ornaments FTW

It’s Christmas tree decoration day. This day also marks three weeks of you getting by without having to encounter a single temper tantrum – the real reason to celebrate.

So as you gloat, you realise the tantrum-free streak is set to end because you forget to buy ornaments for the tree.

But before you have a temper tantrum of your own, we have just the solution for you – put all the citrus fruit you bought to up your little ones’ vitamin C levels to good use with these super easy DIY decorations for Christmas.

Material required:

• Oranges or grapefruit
• Oven
• An oven rack
• Ribbon
• A sharp knife

Directions:

1. Slice your oranges or grapefruit approximately one centimetre wide.
2. Place them on a rack, if you put them on a tray they will end up sticking to it. And pop it in the oven set at 120° celsius.
3. Leave the slices in the oven for two to three hours. Flip them twice or thrice, through the course of this time, and keep checking on them to ensure that you aren’t burning them.
4. Remove from the oven when done, allow the slices to cool, and then pierce a hole along the edge, and string it on a ribbon, which will let you hang it on your tree or wherever it is that you want.

DIY: Redteart.com

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Photo credit: Myturnforus.com

DIY wreath? Wine not?

The lockdown has substantially increased your stress levels, your love for pyjamas, and your wine consumption.

And while you’ve tried to guise your love for wine as a love for plants by popping a money plant in each of your empty bottles, here is another way of keeping people from coming face to face with your unhealthy obsession with wine – use the stray corks rolling about your apartment floor to make a beautiful wreath.

Material required:

• Styrofoam wreath (size depends on the number of corks you have)
• Assorted wine corks
• Christmas-themed faux greenery
• Fake cranberries
• Hot glue gun
• Hanger to attach the wreath on the door

Directions:

1. The first step is to cover the styrofoam wreath with two layers of cork. Set aside some of the most unusual or interesting corks and save them for the top layer of the wreath. To do this, apply hot glue to the back of each plainer cork or those you decided to be on the first layer and place it to cover as much of the foam wreath as possible in a haphazard fashion.
2. After the wreath is covered with corks, start the second layer, gluing the prettier corks or your favourite winery’s corks in a haphazard fashion covering the first layer of corks.
3. Now add the faux greenery and cranberries to the wreath in a pattern of your choice using hot glue.
4. Finally, add the hanger, and top the DIY decorations game with this corky wreath that looks like it’s right out of your favourite home decor store.

DIY: Myturnforus.com