christmas is childs play

The girls and I made this fantastically easy wreath for the front door. We used some beautiful felted wool that I had left over from a project and ribbons from our ribbon collection.

It is so easy to assemble you just cut the felted wool into squares and thread it on to a piece of wire shaped into a circle. You could make the wreath any shape you like including a heart. Once you have threaded on all the squares, you loop together the wire and cover up the messy ends with ribbon. What could be more simple!

To felt your own wool, scour op shops for second hand, pure wool (ideally not fine knit) jumpers and put them on the hot cycle in your washing machine. Once wool is felted it can be cut to the shape you require and does not need to be hemmed as it will not fray.

Swift gifts

My Tuesday kids sewing group and I came up with this simple gift for Christmas. It takes only about 30 minutes to make and is ideal for little ones looking to make gifts for Christmas.

First, cut two strips of felt measuring 22.5 cms long and 11cms high and two circles with a radius of 7.5cms. We used a blue and purple piece of fabric.

Second, make a cylindrical shape out of the two strips and pin together, don't allow the fabric to overlap as you don't want it to be be bumpy. This shape will form the basis of the holder. We did a simple over stitch to secure it, which worked well. Trim any excess felt to ensure the two pieces are the same size.

Third, seal one end with blanket stitch. Pin the two pieces of felt together then attach the circles of felt to the other end also using a basic over stitch.

The project is suitable for children as young as six, as the stitches are very basic they will need help with pinning and trimming the felt.

You can add things to your holder like embriodery or buttons or felt applique, enjoy!

It's in the bag

I made this satchel (above) for my littlest one to take to preschool. It was so simple to make. I doubled over a piece of linen and hemmed it, then turned in inside out or outside in so no seams were showing and then folded and hemmedit to form a pocket and flap. I made it from some heavy weight linen, that should withstand the occasional wash in the machine. I love using linen as it gets softer with age and is so durable. The appliqued heart was made out of Wiltshire Liberty print.

The white bags are her sleeping bag and her baking bag (to bring the bread they bake home on in on Fridays!) They were also really easy to make, all done in an afternoon. The white bags are made of an old cotton sheet.

Dolls on holiday

Our divine local children's shop Spoilt Rotten had these gorgeous papier-mache hot air balloons in the window recently and each morning we would drive past on the way to school and the girls were keen to make their own. They were so simple to make but they do take a few days to make, as you need to let them dry.

To make you will need a balloon, newspaper cut into strips, cornflour paste (recipe below) paint, ribbons and buttons.

Blow up the balloon to the desired size, remember the bigger the balloon the more work required so start small. Using lots of paste stick the strips of paper onto the balloon, you will need four or five layers of paper to make it nice and strong. Leave to dry for at least a day possibly longer in cold weather. When they are ready paint and decorate as desired! We painted ours with stripes and then decorated them with buttons and ribbons. The gondola was made out an old cereal box and attached with string. The doll usually lives in the doll's house but she was keen for a holiday.

Cornflour paste recipe (taken from The Best of Children's Art and Crafts)

You will need

3 parts water

1 part cornflour

saucepan

Bring water to boil, remove from heat.

Dissolve cornflour in a little cold water and add to hot water, stirring constantly. Boil until clear and thick (about one minute). This paste will keep well in the fridge and can be used for other papier-mache projects