New in My Shop: Wooden Snowflakes, Toadstools, and More!

Things have been a bit quiet on my blog recently but I've been busy working on lots of new projects and adding lots of new things to my shop.

I was particularly delighted to receive a batch of new wooden bits and bobs from one of my suppliers recently: there are so many crafty possibilities in these lovelies!

There's a box of 45 little wooden snowflakes...

... big plywood buttons...

 ... a trio of toadstools...

 ... and a set of Christmas / fir trees, too! (How fab would those look decorated with paint and glitter??!?)

I just ordered a few sets of each to try them out, so my stock levels are a little low right now (in fact the Christmas trees sold out already!) but I'm hoping to order lots more in October. 

 

Click here to visit my shop and see everything that's new! 

My listings are set up with UK & European shipping but I'm happy to chat about and quote for worldwide shipping, too, just send me a message.

Easy DIY Christmas Card Ideas #4: Christmas Trees!

Hello again! For today's entry in my DIY Christmas card series I'm sharing ideas for making crafty Christmas tree cards using washi tape, patterned paper, and festive stamps.

(Missed posts 1-3? Follow the links to make stripey washi tape cards, cards decorated with simple shapes and crafty scraps, and cards full of festive JOY).

 

UPDATE: follow the links to find all DIY Christmas card ideas in this series!

1. Washi Tape.
2. Simple Shapes and Crafty Scraps.
3. Simple Lettering.
4. Today's tutorial, Christmas Trees.
5. Baubles.

This tutorial originally appeared on The Village Haberdashery's blog - visit their shop for lots of crafty goodness, including Christmas paper pads and washi tape sets.

To make these easy Christmas tree cards, use my Christmas tree templates (click here to view and download the template sheets!) to cut out lots of tree shapes then use them as the focal feature your designs. There are three different templates to choose from: simple trees, mini trees for small cards, and fancy trees.

The minimal shape of the simple tree means you can go bold with the patterns:

Instead of using a blank card for this design, I used half a sheet of fancy festive card – cutting it then folding it in half, and pairing it with a brown kraft paper envelope.

I used the tree template to cut out a patterned green tree then glued it to a piece of white paper. I then carefully cut around the tree, leaving a border of white to frame it and help it stand out from the background pattern, and then stuck it to the card.

For this card I used two Christmassy stamps and a white ink pad to print a pattern on a blank card – the white ink stands out really well against the red! Then I added the tree shape and a handwritten “Merry Christmas” on a small strip of white paper.

To make this stripy tree, I cut out a tree shape from white card and covered it in washi tape stripes. I used gold tape for the tree’s trunk then used pretty festive tapes to cover the tree.

I then cut a piece of brown paper as a simple frame for the design and positioned the tree leaving space to write “Merry Christmas” underneath.

For small Christmas tree cards, use the mini tree template provided.

These are so quick and easy to make! I decorated one card with a stamp and silver ink, one with three strips of washi tape, and made the third from a sheet of patterned card... then added a little tree to all of them.

The fancy tree shape is a little more time consuming to cut out, but it’s totally worth it!

The first card shows off the tree’s shape, with a simple bit of paper to frame it – I chose a pale pink to make the dark tree really stand out. You could add a festive message at the bottom of the card, but I quite like the design as it is.

This is another simple design: I used four pieces of washi tape to make a frame, added a small piece of gold tape to the tree’s trunk then stuck the tree in the centre of the card.

 

You need a bit of patience to make this stripy card but the end result has a lot of wow factor.

Decorate a white card with stripes of Christmas washi tape designs, leaving a small gap between the tape. Start in one corner and work your way across the card, trimming the excess tape as you go.

Glue one of the fancy tree shapes to a piece of white paper or card and cut it out, leaving a narrow white border to frame the tree. Then glue the tree to the centre of the card.

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Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

How To: Sew Modern + Minimalist Felt Christmas Tree Ornaments

A few years ago I shared a tutorial for making minimalist Christmas cards, featuring simple tree shapes cut from neon felt. At the time I thought "ooh, these would make fab Christmas ornaments, too!", cut out some extra shapes for making ornaments with... then ran out of time to actually make some for Christmas. Now here I am a whole four years later, finally getting round to it.
 

 

  
(As always, I am firmly team Better Late Than Never).

 

 
I used bright and zingy neon pink felt for my trees, stitching them together with lime (almost-but-not-quite-neon) green embroidery thread. Neon pink is a total nightmare to photograph but I hope these photos give you a vague idea of just how bright and fabulous these look IRL.

I love how super simple they are, but also how much they POP. They'd look particularly fab on a white tree!

You could, of course, make these ornaments in any colour you fancy - how about stitching a whole rainbow of trees and making a festive garland?

You will need:

- felt in your chosen colour
- contrasting embroidery thread (floss)
- the template sheet from this tutorial
- a sewing needle
- sewing scissors

Optional: narrow ribbon, sewing thread (to match the felt), sparkly stuff like seed beads or sequins.

To make each ornament:

1. Use the tree template to cut out two tree shapes from your chosen felt.

2. Thread a sewing needle with a length of embroidery thread, and thread it into the top of one of the trees (sewing into the felt but not through it).

Make a small loop of the thread, then sew another small stitch (again sewing into the felt but not all the way through it). Set aside the needle and knot the two ends of the thread to secure the loop you've created.

Trim away any excess thread. 

Alternatively you can add a ribbon loop, securing the ends with whip stitch and matching sewing thread.

If you'd like to add some sparkle to your tree (and make it a bit less minimal), use matching sewing thread to stitch some sequins or seed beads to the other tree shape.

3. Place the two tree shapes together and join the edges with blanket stitch. Use more of the embroidery thread, but this time use half the available strands instead of the full thickness of the thread. Keep your stitching as evenly spaced and sized as possible and finish it neatly at the back.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many ornaments as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial / share my templates on your site. Thanks!

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P.S. Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

Christmassy Days Out

Isn't this warm weather weird? When I went to the Post Office to post the last of my Christmas orders I didn't even need to wear a coat! In late December!! Crazy.

Despite the lack of "proper" winter weather, I have been doing my best to enjoy the festive season with lots of Christmas-themed Nice Days Out...

The absolute highlight so far has been Christmas at Kew: a one mile illuminated trail through the gardens. I have to admit that (with an eye on my budget which, like most peoples, is a bit squeezed at this time of year) I ummed and aahed about buying a ticket to this as it looked a bit pricey and I wasn't sure if it would be worth the money but oh my goodness you guys it was so wonderful.

Look how amazing the Palm House looked all lit up!

 

There was so much loveliness to see along the trail...

 

 

... including a garden of fire...

 

... and fun installations like a choir of singing holly bushes (you can see a short video of them here, make sure you have your sound on!) and a fabulous colour-changing curtain of lights to walk through:

 

I had a huge grin on my face the whole way round, nearly cried with joy a couple of times and positively skipped home (where I proceeded to talk loudly about how awesome the evening was to anyone who would listen).

This year's Christmas at Kew trail runs until 2nd January, you'll find all the info here. In case you hadn't already guessed, I highly recommend it!

I've also visited a few of the big London Department stores Christmas departments, and took an after-dark walk down Oxford Street to enjoy all the bright and cheerful window displays.

Selfridges have a Zodiac theme this year:

 

 

 

I also rather enjoyed the woodland-themed windows at Accessorize (those owls!)...

 

... and the explosion of stars at Debenhams:

 

My fave windows so far this year though are probably those at Liberty (just off Regent Street) - they're absolutely jam-packed with beautifully arranged, lovely things.

Other festive outings have included a trip to the cinema to see Die Hard on the big screen (not exactly a traditional Christmas movie, but a very fun one all the same!) and a visit to the Geffrye Museum in East London.

The Geffrye is a fab (and free to visit) museum with 11 period rooms showing how the English have lived, from the 1600s to the present day. For their annual Christmas Past exhibition they decorate the rooms, showing how we've celebrated Christmas through the centuries. This was quite delightful! I also learned a lot about how our seasonal traditions have changed and evolved over time, which was rather fascinating. The Christmas displays at the Geffrye run to Jan 3rd, click here for all the info.

Finally, I'm planning a visit to Windsor Castle, which is currently decorated with a Regency-themed display to show "how the Prince Regent (the future George IV) celebrated Christmas at Windsor Castle in the early 19th century". Windsor is always worth a visit but it was especially wonderful to see it decorated for Christmas last year - I'm really looking forward to seeing this year's decorations!

You can enjoy a Regency Christmas at Windsor until Jan 5th, click here for all the info & a short video.

I'm taking a short break from blogging to spend time with family, etc, over Christmas but I'll be back soon! Best winter-y wishes to you all xxx