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How to Make a Dried Citrus Wreath

December 10, 2016 · 11 Comments

How to Make a Dried Citrus Wreath

One of my favourite pre Christmas jobs is to make a wreath for the front door. Usually I’ll make one from greenery and berries, but this year I wanted to try something different.

This dried citrus wreath has slices of dried orange, lemon and lime, with bay leaves and ribbon in between.

It’s fairly easy to put together and the bits and pieces are all easy to find. A trip to the supermarket should cover it if you don’t have what you need already!

The bit that takes the time with this wreath is preparing the fruit slices, sorting out the bay leaves and cutting the ribbon. Once you’ve done that, it all comes together quite quickly.how to make a dried citrus wreath

Instructions for Making a Dried Citrus Wreath

I’ve included some affiliate links.

You will need

Thick garden wire or a wire coat hanger, about 85 cm
Wire cutters
or old scissors
Strong tape, like gorilla tape or electrical tape
About 60 dried fruit slices (8-10 in total of oranges, lemons and limes should be enough). Instructions for drying the fruit can be found here.
Ribbon (about 5 m cut into 15 cm lengths)
Bay leaves (the cheapest ones I found were Polish ones in Tesco)
Wide ribbon for the bow
Florists’ wire (optional)
String, raffia or bakers’ twine for hanginghow to make a dried citrus wreath

Assembling the Bits and Pieces

1. Cut the wire to size. If you’re using a wire coat hanger, just cut off the twisty bits and the hook. To do this, I cut through the plastic casing with the scissors, then bent it back and forth until it snapped.

If you’re using garden wire, you’ll need a length of about 85 cm.

You can make the wreath bigger or smaller by changing the length of the wire.

2. Cut up the ribbon. It will need to be in lengths of about 15 cm, into 4 roughly equal piles.

3. Sort out the dried fruit slices. You’ll need 8 piles with 7 in each pile. If there’s a lot of variation in size, choose larger slices to go in the middle of each group and smaller ones for either side. Check whether each slice has a hole in the middle. If not, poke a hole through with a knitting needle, darning needle or skewer.

4. Sort out the bay leaves. You’ll need 4 lots of about 15. Each bay leaf will need a hole through the middle.

5. Make the bow. Tie a bow in a length of wide ribbon. You could thread a piece of florists’ wire through the back, but if you don’t have any, strong thread will do.how to make a dried citrus wreath

Making the Wreath

1. Take one of the piles of fruit and start threading the slices onto the wire. Push them on so that they are about half way round.how to make a dried citrus wreath

2. Thread on one of the piles of bay leaves in the same way. I found the bay leaves to be quite brittle, so gently is the way to go!how to make a dried citrus wreath

3. Next thread on 2 more lots of dried fruit. You’ll be tying ribbons in between these once all the fruit and bay leaves are on the wire.how to make a dried citrus wreath

4. Thread on another pile of bay leaves, then another pile of fruit. You should have 4 lots of fruit slices, with bay leaves between the first and second group and the third and fourth group. This is one half of the wreath.how to make a dried citrus wreath

5. Take the other end of the wire and repeat steps 1 – 4.

6. Using the tape, stick the ends of the wire together. They’ll need to overlap by 5 – 10 cm. Wrap the tape around the overlapping part a few times to hold them securely.how to make a dried citrus wreath

7. Make a loop from the string or bakers’ twine and tie it to the top of the wreath.how to make a dried citrus wreath

8. Tie on the ribbons. These need to go in between the groups of citrus slices that are not separated by bay leaves, including the top part.how to make a dried citrus wreathhow to make a dried citrus wreath

9. Attach the bow to the top of the wreath. If you are using florists’ wire, wrap the wire around the wire of the wreath. Otherwise just tie it on.how to make a dried citrus wreathhow to make a dried citrus wreath

Now your dried citrus wreath is ready to hang on your door!how to make a dried citrus wreathhow to make a dried citrus wreath

If you have any dried fruit slices left over, you might like to take a look at these tutorials:

 Dried Fruit Decorationshow to make a dried citrus wreath

Some More Dried Fruit Decorationsdried citrus wreath

Dried Fruit Garlandhow to make a dried citrus fruit wreath

how to make a dried citrus wreath

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Filed In: Blog, Christmas, Wreaths / Tagged: christmas decor, dried fruit, how to

DIY Decorated Glass Jars

December 5, 2016 · 1 Comment

DIY Decorated Glass Jars

Making some diy decorated glass jars is something that I’ve wanted to try for a while. I’d previously done something similar using glass paints, but they were expensive, messy and difficult to clean up.

So when I was sent some Chalkola chalk markers to try out and review, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to dry doing this in a different way!

I also needed an activity that I could do with the boys to keep them out of Daddy’s way while he attended to a diy emergency. As chalk markers are totally non-toxic, this was something that they could join in with.

DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

If you like the idea of making DIY decorated glass jars, keep reading because I’ve got a discount code for you that will give you 20 percent off!

Using the Chalkola Chalk Pens

Before using the pens, to get the ink flowing, you have to give them a good shake, then repeatedly press the nips down. The advice I was given said that this might take a couple of minutes, but it was more like a few seconds. We did this on some bits of scrap paper.DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers getting started

Once the ink starts flowing, it’s best to stop, otherwise you’ll end up with a puddle of chalk ink!

Then all you have to do is start drawing!

Any mistakes or chalk in places where you don’t want it can simply be wiped off with a baby wipe or a piece of damp kitchen towel.

Decorating the Jars

One of the things I really loved about doing this was that I could squeeze in a sneaky bit of craft time while simultaneously being a “good parent” by doing stuff with my kids ;).

When it comes to Christmas, I love everything vaguely Scandinavian. This has only increased since we went to Norway at half term. So I wanted my jars to have a Scandinavian theme.

I did one with a star. DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markersI actually used the drawing I made when I was designing my felt baubles as it was already the right size. Using washi tape, I stuck it to the inside of the jar.DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

Then all I had to do was draw over it with the chalk pen.

I also did this one with mountains and trees. I drew the design on a piece of paper to get an idea of what I wanted to do, then I drew it straight onto the jar.DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markersDIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

And I made this one with houses, which I did in the same way.DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

My boys were not bothered at all about doing their jars so that they would fit in with Mummy’s Nordic Christmas decor.

Barnabas, who’s 7, did this one featuring the Titanic and the infamous iceberg.DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

Aidan, who’s 9, did this one. I’ve no idea who this chap is.DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

Cosmo (he’s 4) just had a happy time scribbling.DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

 

It was very easy and a lot of fun. I actually only scored a G in my GCSE Art, but despite not being able to draw at all, I was still able to produce something that I was happy with. And my boys had a lovely time! In fact, they had so much fun we ran out of jars and I had to have a rummage in the kitchen to find some more.DIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markersDIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markersDIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

The Verdict on the Chalk Pens

Pros

Very easy to use
Not too messy
Non toxic
Lots of fun and you don’t have to be good at drawing
Easy to clean up
They don’t stain
Mistakes are easy to fix
They’re cheaper than glass paint
They are versatile and can be used on a range of non porous surfaces.

Cons

My younger ones had some issues with the caps. I found them fine to click back on, but they had a bit of trouble. We had caps flying about and I was worried about chalk ink going everywhere, although it didn’t.
The nips are quite thick so it would be difficult to do anything very detailed.
Even after the ink has dried, if you touch it with damp hands, or rub it, it will come off it.

On reflection, I was very happy with the Chalkola chalk markers. My boys and I all enjoyed using them and I’m looking forward to trying out some other ideas. I fancy decorating some stones to make paperweights!

If you want to try this and you need to buy the chalk markers, they’re here on Amazon (affiliate link) you can get 20 percent off with the code 20OFFSTRDIY decorated glass jars chalkola chalk pens chalk markers

 

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Filed In: Blog, Christmas / Tagged: Christmas, decor, how to

Nordic Star Cushion Tutorial

December 3, 2016 · 3 Comments

Nordic Star Cushion Tutorial

Decorating for Christmas is a lot of fun, but there’s no need to stop at Christmas trees and fairy lights!

Changing your cushions is an easy way to add a little bit of the current season to your home, and Christmas is no exception. You don’t even need to buy new cushion pads. Just slip the new covers onto your existing cushions!

This Nordic star cushion tutorial shows how to make a simple, envelope back cushion with a Scandinavian style star appliqued to the front. The star is made from 8 diamond shapes, and you can download the template for this here.

nordic star cushion coverI used fleece fabric in red and white as I love the warm snuggliness of fleece. It’s easy to sew and doesn’t fray. The hems can just be folded over and the appliqued pieces don’t need to backing with interfacing.

You could make the cushion in red and white, as I did, or you could use other colour combinations like grey and white or blue and white.

The cushion cover should fit a standard sized cushion pad. A 1 cm seam allowance is included in the measurements.

How to Make a Nordic Star Cushion

Cutting Out

From red fleece, cut 1 square 42 cm x 42 cm and 2 rectangles 42 cm x 30 cm.
From white fleece, cut 8 diamonds (you can download the template here).

Sewing Up

1. Take one of the red rectangles and hem along one of the long edges. Repeat for the other rectangle. Put them to one side.nordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushion

2. Take the red square and position the white diamonds onto it as in the pictures below. Pin them in place.nordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushionnordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushionnordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushionnordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushion

Don’t be tempted to skip this step! You’ll not get them all in, then you’ll have to spend lots of quality time with the unpicker. I’ve been there!

3. Using a long, straight stitch, applique the diamonds to the cushion front.nordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushion

4. Take one of the rectangles and place it top of the cushion front with the right sides together. The top edges need to be aligned and the hemmed edge should run across the middle of the cushion.nordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushion

5. Take the other rectangle and place it on top of the other pieces. This time the bottom edges should be aligned.

nordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushion

Pin the pieces together, then sew around the outside of the cushion cover. I turned it over before sewing, just to be sure that I wouldn’t sew over the points of the star.nordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushion

6. Trim the seams and turn the cushion out. Pop a cushion pad inside.nordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushionnordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushionnordic star cushion tutorial diy christmas cushion

Now you might like to make a reindeer cushion or two to go with your new nordic star cushion!diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

If you liked this Nordic star cushion tutorial, you might also like these tutorials:

Christmas Present Cushionchristmas present cushion nordic star cushion tutorial

Nordic Star Decorationsnordic star cushion tutorial

Felt Bird Decorationsnordic star cushion tutorial

nordic star cushion tutorial

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Filed In: Blog, Christmas / Tagged: christmas decor, cushion, how to, scandinavian

Reindeer Christmas Cushion Tutorial

November 27, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Reindeer Christmas Cushion Tutorial

Changing the cushion covers is an easy way to mark the changing seasons at home, and Christmas is no exception.

Pretty cushions made in some snuggly fabric cry out for cosy times indoors, the best way to enjoy winter!

There’s no need to buy new cushion pads (unless you really want to). All you have to do is slip new covers onto your existing cushions, then, once Christmas is over, put them away with your Christmas decorations until next year.

This reindeer Christmas cushion tutorial shows how to make a cushion with an envelope back. This is my favourite way to make cushions as it is easy and doesn’t require any fiddling around with zips or buttonholes.

I used fleece because I wanted to use a fabric with a warm and snuggly texture. I actually used the wrong side as the right side because I liked its woolliness.

I’ve got another Christmas cushion tutorial planned for next week too, so watch this space!diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

How to Make a Christmas Reindeer Cushion

You Will Need

Half a metre of fabric (I used fleece. This is an affiliate link), a reindeer template (I have one available as part of the Christmas bundle), usual sewing supplies.

Bear in mind that if you are making the reindeer from cotton or another fabric that frays, you will need to back the fabric with fusible interfacing first.

The measurements here assume that you have a standard 45ish cm cushion pad that’s probably gone a bit saggy, as this is what I made mine for! A 1 cm seam allowance is included in the measurements.

Cutting Out

From the white fleece, cut 1 reindeer.
From grey fleece, cut 1 piece 42 cm x 42 cm, and 2 pieces 42 cm x 30 cm.

Sewing Up

1. Pin the reindeer to the centre of the square piece of fleece, on the right side.diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

2. Applique the reindeer to the fleece square. The best way to do this with fleece is to use a straight stitch and sew close to the edge of the reindeer. It’s generally recommended that you use a ball point needle (affiliate link) when sewing fleece, although I used a universal one and it was fine.diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

3. Take one of the smaller fleece pieces and hem along the long edge. As fleece doesn’t fray, it’s fine just to fold it up once. Repeat for the other piece.diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorialdiy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

4. With the right sides together, place the top back piece on top of the front section, so that the hemmed edge is in the middle and the top edges are aligned. diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorialRepeat for the bottom back section. diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorialPin them in place.

5. Sew all around the edge of the cushiondiy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

6. Trim the seams and threads. Cut across the corners. Turn the right way out and stuff your cushion pad inside.diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorialdiy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial finished cushion 1diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorialdiy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

Tips and Suggestions

If you’re struggling to sew the fleece, try using a ball point needle.

If you are using cotton or another fabric that frays, you’ll need to use fusible interfacing on the reindeer.

Other fabrics you could use include felt (for the applique), velvet, thick cotton jersey or faux fur.

If you feel that your cushion is a little plain, you could add some ribbon or other trim.

If you liked this reindeer Christmas cushion tutorial, you might also like this Christmas present cushion tutorial.how to sew christmas cushion present tutorial diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

diy reindeer christmas cushion tutorial

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Filed In: Blog, Christmas / Tagged: cushion, easy project, home decor

How to Make Dried Fruit Decorations

November 24, 2016 · 1 Comment

How to Make Dried Fruit Decorations

There’s no question at all that Christmas is a special time of year.

Obviously it wouldn’t be Christmas without presents, but I like to focus on getting somebody something they would like rather than feeling that we have to buy all the stuff. In the world. Ever.

I also like to focus on the things that don’t centre around stuff. Like family time, togetherness and memories. Remembering people who don’t have all the nice things that we do. And also remembering when God came to Earth as a tiny human baby to bring to fulfilment God’s plan of salvation for the whole of humankind.

I prefer to do this without filling up the bin with a ton of plastic tat, and this is one of the reasons why I like to make Christmas decorations. Another reason is beacuse it’s fun!

One of the things I really love to do is to make dried fruit decorations. I’m already looking forward to a couple of weeks’ time when I open the box of Christmas decorations. I’ll get lovely orangey whiffs from the dried fruit decorations that I’ve made over the last few years! And once those decorations are no longer any good, I’ll put them in the compost bin or dispose of them with the potato peelings and tea bags.how to make dried fruit decorations

Making Dried Fruit Decorations

Drying the Fruit

Drying the fruit is very simple. All you have to do is slice citrus fruit thinly, then pop it in the oven on about 100 degrees c. Any hotter than this and the fruit will cook, which is not what we’re doing here! It takes a few hours and the smell is amazing!

It’s also possible to dry whole fruit. I usually stick to satsumas as they are small and take less time to dry out. Obviously the whole fruit takes longer than the slices.how to make dried fruit slices

Full instructions (with pictures) for drying citrus fruit can be found here.

How to Make the Dried Fruit Decorations

You Will Need

2 dried fruit slices per decoration (I used a variety of orange, lemon and lime), a button, raffia or bakers’ twine, a cinnamon stick or a piece of star anise. These are affiliate links.

Making the Decorations

1. Thread a length of raffia through both holes of the button so that the button is in the middle.how to make dried fruit slices

2. Thread both ends of the raffia through the hole in the middle of the first orange slice. If there’s not a hole, you’ll need to make one with a darning needle or a skewer.

3. Thread on a second slice. It’ll look better if this slice is slightly smaller than the first one.how to make dried fruit slices

4. Use the ends of the raffia to tie the cinnamon stick or the star anise to the fruit slices. Trim the ends.

5. Take another piece of raffia fold it in half. Thread the folded edge through the first slice just under the outside edge. You might need to make another hole here.

6. Push the ends of the raffia through the loop and tighten. Tie the ends together.how to make dried fruit sliceshow to make dried fruit slices

If you have more time, you might like to try these ideas.

Dried Fruit Decorations Using Whole Fruit and Slices

Dried Fruit Garland

Pine Cone Garland

And if you like to make your own decorations and you’d like some free templates, if you sign up for the updates and extras, you’ll be sent some! The form’s below.

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Filed In: Blog, Christmas / Tagged: christmas decorations, dried fruit, how to, natural christmas

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I'm Anna and I live in rural Norfolk in the UK. My mum taught me how to use a sewing machine when I was 10 and I haven't looked back! I love making all sorts of things and I hope you find inspiration here.

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