Handmade Paper Mini Christmas Card and Envelope Tutorial

A lovely touch for Christmas is a handmade card. Mini cards are cute and can bed attached to a small present under the tree. This card and envelope has been made from handmade paper but any paper you like can be used, rice paper, scrapbook paper, sheet music or wrapping paper would also work well.

Materials:

Mini envelope template

Copy paper

Glue stick

Scissors

Handmade paper

Green paper scraps

Pencil 

Ruler

Craft knife

Instructions:

Do an internet search and find a free mini envelope template you like. Print it and adhere it to some cardboard (a cereal box works well) and then cut it out.

Trace the template onto a piece of handmade paper using a pencil. Cut it out on the line.

Score the envelope flaps with a ruler.

Fold the envelope and glue the flaps down.

Cut a piece of handmade paper, which will be folded in half to make a card, mine was 7cm X 5cm. Make sure your measurements are slightly smaller than the size of your envelope.

Fold in half.

Draw a tree and use a craft knife to cut it out.

Cut a scrap of green paper to fit behind the tree cut out. Mine was 3cm x 4cm.

Place glue on the inside of the card, around the tree edges.

Attach the green paper.

A cute mini card and envelope.

Origami Pinwheel Card

Recycle an envelope to make this cute origami card

Recycle an envelope which has a pretty inside pattern. Cut a 10 cm square from the envelope.

Follow the diagrams to make a pinwheel.

Glue the pinwheel to a square of contrasting paper and adhere it to a blank card.

DIY Halloween Invitations (with a swinging bat)

Make some great handmade invitations to set the scene for your spooky soiree.
The bat is sure to cause a scare when your friend opens their mail and it swings out at them!

Materials:

Orange cardboard

Black cardboard

Pencil

Ruler

Scissors

Stapler

Black business-sized envelopes 

White copy paper

Instructions:

1.

From the orange card, measure and cut out a rectangle which measures 41 cm x 10 cm (16 in x 4 in).

2.

Measure 19 cm (7.4 in) from the left and score with your scissors. Measure a further 22 cm (8.6 in) in and score.

3.

Fold along the scored lines.

4.

Search for a free clip-art bat on the Internet. Print it out so it measures about 9 cm (3.5 in) across. Trace it onto black cardboard and cut it out. 

Also do a search for a free black cat clip-art on the internet. Print it out so it measures about 7 cm (3 in) across. Trace it onto black cardboard and cut it out.

5.

Staple the smallest flap closed, as close to the bottom edge as possible.

6.

Pierce a hole with a needle in the top left wing of your bat and attach a 10 cm (4 in) length of cotton thread with 3 knots. Pierce a hole through the centre-front of the invitation and thread the other end of the cotton through it. Knot it off several times on the front of the card. 

7.

Design the written part of your invitation on the computer. Use some free clip art if you like. Print it on a sheet of white copy paper. Trim it to 9 cm (3.5 in) x 16 cm (6 in). Paste it to the bottom half of the inner card.

INVITATION TEMPLATE:

It might be scary,

It might be a fright,

But it’s sure to be fun,

This Halloween night!

You are invited to a

Halloween costume party

On October 31^st

Time

At our haunted house

Address

Please bring a plate of festering fare,

For the other witches and ghouls to share.

RSVP by 17th October

Phone number

8.

Stick your black cat onto the front of your card to cover the hole. 

Print out your friend's name on copy paper and cut and paste it above the cat.

Place your invitation in the black envelope with an orange address label on the front. Happy Haunting!

A Quick Mother's Day DIY

Make your Mum a bookmark for Mother's Day. It makes a great gift, paired with a book.

Get your free printable bookmark from By Dawn Nicole:

http://bydawnnicole.com/2015/05/free-printable-coloring-page-bookmarks.html

Colour it in, mount it on some coordinating cardboard. Laminate it or cover it in contact paper.

Your Mum will love it!

Mini Crocheted Christmas Wreath Brooch

This is an easy Christmas gift you can make in about 15 minutes. The crochet techniques we will be using are a slip knot, slip stitch and single crochet (double crochet in UK terms). Easy enough for a beginner!

Materials:

3.5 mm crochet hook

1 cm jump ring

Yarn needle

DMC embroidery thread, red and green

Scissors

Stitch marker 

Small safety pin

Instructions:

IMAGE 1

Slip knot.

Insert hook and pull to secure.

Insert hook into jump ring. Yarn over. Pull through. Yarn over. Pull through.

IMAGES 2 & 3

Round 1

9 single crochet into the ring. Slip stitch to join.

IMAGE 4

Round 2:

Chain 1. 

Insert a stitch marker into the top of this chain.

2 single crochet into each chain around. 

Join with a slip stitch where you inserted a stitch marker.

IMAGE 5

Trim yarn, leaving a 5cm (2 inch) tail and fasten off.

IMAGE 6

Weave in the ends on the back of your wreath.

IMAGE 7

Take 30 cm of your red thread. Using the yarn needle, weave in and out of the second round of your wreath, leaving 2cm hanging down a where you begin and end.

IMAGE 8

Tie a knot.

Tie another knot.

Tie a bow.

Trim the ends to make them even.

Sew your small safety pin to the back of your brooch and give it to a friend!

DIY Terrarium

Learn how to make an affordable terrarium in a fish bowl.

Fish bowl ($10 at the discount store)

Potting mix ($3 at Bunnings)

Horticultural charcoal ($10- enough for twenty terrariums!)

Colleus ($6)

Golden hahnii ($6)

Geranium (cutting from the garden grown in water for a few weeks)

Thyme (little bits from the garden with roots attached)

Rocks (from the garden)

Cover the base of the fishbowl with charcoal. Fill the bowl one third of the way up with potting mix (angle it so it is higher up one end for display purposes). 

Make a hole for the plants and arrange them the way you please. Place the rocks in a river formation and fill the gaps with the thyme.

Water lightly and place in indirect sunlight. Allow the terrarium to become dry before you water it again (usually more than 2 weeks).

How to Sew a Sleep Mask - DIY

A free pattern and tutorial for a handmade sleep mask.

Materials:

Dark coloured felt

Black satin

Black printed cotton

Black elastic (about 30 cm)

Sewing pins

Scissors

White chalk

Sewing machine 

Black thread

Free pattern CLICK HERE

1.Cut out your paper pattern. Use the chalk to trace two mask shapes on the felt, One on the black satin and one on the black cotton. Cut them out. 

Hold your elastic at one temple and stretch it around the back of your head to your other temple. Add 4 cm (1.5 in) and cut. Mark 2 cm (0.7 in) at either end of the elastic with your chalk.Make a stack of you fabric pieces. First lay down the felt, then the black satin and then the printed cotton (right side down).Place the elastic between the black satin and printed cotton layers, allowing the 2 cm (0.7 in) either end to hang out (the majority of the elastic is inside).

2.Sew around the edges, leaving a 0.6 cm (1/4 inch) seam. Make sure you leave a gap of 5 cm (1.9 in) along the centre top edge for turning out. Tip: Snip a fringe on the curved edges to make turning out easier.

3.Turn your mask right side out and iron flat. Hand sew the gap along the top closed.

Make An Origami Photo Frame

Here are some great DIY instructions showing you how to fold an origami photo frame.

They are great for scrapbooking, card making and gift tags. How pretty would some of these look hanging from your Christmas tree?

Start by making this origami boat base:

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-boat-base.html

Then move on to these instructions for the rest of your frame:

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-photo-frame.html

How To Make An Origami Teapot Card

With a photo for every step, you will be able to whip up this sweet card in no time!

Materials:

Blank card

Scissors

Glue

2 sheets square origami paper

Teapot folding instructions:

Cup folding instructions:

D.I.Y. Disposable Painting Palette

Learn how to make your own palette for free with materials you already have around the house. The surface is non-stick, meaning you will not be wasting precious paint. You can even cover it with plastic wrap and continue painting the next day.

Materials:

Cardboard

Foil

Sticky tape

Scissors

1.

Cut a square from an old corrugated cardboard box.

2.

Take a piece of foil which is twice as large as your cardboard and wrap it around.

3.

Secure the sides with sticky tape.

4.

Turn over and apply your paint.

Make A Very Warm Jelly Roll Quilt

This quilt is a perfect lap-sized quilt. My aim was to make a really warm quilt, on a budget.

Half a jelly roll (20 strips of fabric measuring 2.5 inches by 44 inches) 

Sewing pins

Sewing machine

Cotton thread

1 metre polyester wadding (mine was $7 a metre at Lincraft)

1 metre of polar fleece fabric (I bought a blanket from Coles for $6)

1. Make your patchwork quilt top according to the instructions on THIS video. 

Now place your quilt top on your polar fleece fabric. Allow for about a 2.5 cm (1 inch) extra on all the edges and cut out.

2. Cut a piece of polyester wadding the same size as the polar fleece. 

Next make a 'quilt sandwich' - polar fleece, then wadding, then quilt top.

3. Pin or hand-baste the three layers together around the edge. 

Now pin or hand-baste along each square (the seams of each block) in your quilt top.

4. Machine sew in the 'ditch' (where the blocks meet) using a sewing machine and matching thread. 

Remove the pins or basting as you go.

5. Your quilted blanket will look like this on the front...

6. And this on the back.

7. Using scissors, trim the wadding and polar fleece so that they line up with your quilt top. Sew a straight stitch very close to each edge of your quilt.

Follow THESE instructions for using bias binding tape on the edges of your quilt.

8. A completed blanket.

How To Make An Origami Flower Wreath

Make this beautiful wreath to hang on a wall in your home or as a gift for a friend.

Materials:

Various sized sheets of origami paper in white, pink, yellow and green

30 cm heart shaped wreath (or a piece of cardboard in a heart shape, about 1 cm in width)

White acrylic paint and brush

Wire

Hot glue gun

Copy paper

Instructions: 

1.

Purchase a wicker wreath or cut cardboard into a heart shape.

2.

Paint the wreath with a white acrylic paint.

3.

Insert a piece of wire through the middle centre of your heart and twist to close the ring (you'll use this to hang it).

4.

Make 20-30 origami flowers in different styles and sizes. I made a white, pink and yellow flower for each style (eg. Lily, lotus, frangipani).

Make 10 leaves using the green origami paper.

Click here for some of my favourite origami flower videos

5.

Heat up the hot glue gun. Lay the copy paper on your table and place the wreath on top. 

6.

Start by gluing the leaves onto your wreath.

7.

Glue your flowers in a random pattern, varying the colours, styles and sizes. Start with the largest and leave the smallest to fill in any gaps.

8.

All done!