Paper Fabric Christmas Fun

One of the many materials that I enjoy working with is what I call paper fabric. It's not paper and it's not fabric, but a combination of the two. The basic technique is pretty simple: you saturate a piece of cotton with diluted PVA glue and then add papers to it. Thinner papers work best, and I like to combine papers that I've bought or found with papers that I've decorated myself.

A selection of tissue paper with stamped and hand drawn patterns

It's wise to prepare all the papers in advance, because the technique is quite messy and it's difficult to tear paper with sticky fingers...

The most difficult part is waiting for it all to dry...

A sheet of paper fabric ready to be used. It's difficult to describe: it's a bit like card stock, and a bit like artificial leather or plastic and a bit like birch bark. It's stronger than paper and you can sew it by hand or machine.

When I first started making paper fabric I used it mainly for card-making:

but later I've discovered all sorts of other uses for it. This time I set myself a challenge to use it for a variety of Christmas decorations.

I cut it into strips and made a Froebel star

As I realized that both the front and the back of the paper fabric would be visible, I painted the back with white acrylic paint. The star looks quite different when you turn it around.

I also made a woven heart basket, and realized that weaving thin strips like this is pretty challenging.

If you want to make life easier for yourself, you can skip the basket and make the heart two-dimensional instead.

This round little ornament is quick as well as cute.

But my favourite has to be the pod! (I made a pod last year too. Perhaps I should make a new one every year?)

I thought it'd be fun to make a filigree candle wrap too, but of course this is only for LED candles. I wouldn't want to start a fire!

And then I made a filigree ornament.

Finally, I made a little garland with hearts on a string

and festive bunting for the Christmas tree:

Of course you could use ordinary paper or card stock for these objects, but I think it's a lot more fun if you can use a material that you made yourself. I hope I've inspired you to make some festive decorations yourself!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Deck the Halls

In a recent episode on Design Matters TV, Linda Kemshall demonstrated how to make some beautiful little Christmas ornaments, and I was so intrigued that I had to make one myself.

The shape of the ornament wasn't unfamiliar to me. In fact, Ive seen something similar by Clover called a 'Clam Shell Accessories Case'. You can buy the pieces that make up the walls of the case, and cover them with the fabric of your choice. In DMTV Linda demonstrated that it is very easy to make these pieces yourself from card or sturdy watercolour paper. Or why not stencil plastic to make them even sturdier? For a Christmas ornament, however, card is probably enough, as most of the time it will just be hanging in your home looking pretty. I say most of the time, because you can also use them for hiding little objects or sweets, if you leave an opening, so they'll have to be able to withstand a bit of handling. If you don't have access to DMTV, Clover has also published an instructional video that will show you another method for making these little cases.

So, with a bit of patience, three little leaf-shaped fabric-covered pieces of card

could turn into something like this:

And if you want to hide something inside it, you just press it open like this:

Pretty neat, right?

And while I'm on the subject, here's another Christmas ornament that Linda and Laura Kemshall have inspired me to make. A few years ago I learned from them how to make triangular hanging bags (here's one that I've made), and that inspired me to make a tiny version that you could hang on your Christmas tree. There's room for a sweet in this one too!

It is so enjoyable to make precious little ornaments like these that I'm thinking perhaps I should start a tradition and make a new one very year.

Thanks for visiting!

Troll the Ancient Yuletide Carol

Fa la la la laa, la laa laa laa. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, even though there's not much snow in sight this year, at least not in this part of Finland. I'm visiting my parents in Ostrobothnia, and have enjoyed a walk with Fia the terri(fi)er, followed by a traditional Finnish Christmas sauna. Dinner is in sight, and Faith, Hope and Charity (or Love, as it's called here) is lighting up the darkness. These lighted symbols are very common in these parts at Christmas, and have become almost synonomous with the town of Jakobstad/Pietarsaari.

As you can see below, the Doodlendar is finally completed. Working on a small scale like this worked very well for me, so I will continue in a similar manner for a while. Perhaps that will help me form a habit of drawing regularly. I'm also thinking of making a small stamp a day in January, unless that's too ambitious. But first I'll enjoy a Christmas holiday with lots of rest.

To all my friends and readers:

God Jul

Merry Christmas

Hyvää Joulua

Fröhliche Weihnachten

Joyeux Noël

Feliz Navidad

Thanks for visiting my blog and hope to see you again soon!

Livet efter julmässan

Nu har livet återgått till det normala efter julmässan. Det gick bra. Folk köpte av mina pulsvärmare, kort, broscher och askar. Dockan är såld, men inte tavlan, ännu. Jag försöker på nytt senare. Själv köpte jag en liten nåltovad mus som stal mitt hjärta. Och av mamma fick jag en läcker bakelse för badkaret.

När jag hade återhämtat mig lite drog jag fram mina käraste juldekorationer, och nu är min lilla lya pyntad. Det känns bra. :)


Life after the Christmas fair

Life has returned to normal after the Christmas fair. It went well. People bought my wrist warmers, cards, brooches and boxes. The doll is sold, but not the mini-quilt, yet. I'll try again later. As for myself, I bought a little needle-felted mouse that stole my heart. And mum got me a delicious cupcake for the bath.

When I had recuperated a bit, I pulled out all my most cherished Christmas decorations, and now my little den is decorated. It feels good. :)

Musen - The Mouse

Bakelsen - The Cupcake

 

Mina käraste julprydnader

(vissa av er kommer att känna igen ett visst föremål - tack!)

My most cherished Christmas decorations

(some of you will recognize a certain object - thank you!)