Monday, November 26, 2007

Paper Can Become Elegant For Christmas

Making an elegant centerpiece for your table, that you can paint a design on to match your Christmas table settings. Here I will show you how to make a elegant bowl to hold fruit, nuts or sweets.

This will also help recycle your old news papers.

The art of papier-m"ché is one of the cheapest and easiest crafts to do and can result in some stunning beautiful pieces. This can be fun and rewarding to see your own work as center of attraction.

There are two techniques of papier-m"ché. Pulping involves mixing pieces of paper with water and boiling them to a pulp and adding an adhesive this makes a clay like substance. This type is used for sculpting and is for the more advanced person.

The second type and most popular is layering, in which layers of torn news paper are pasted over each other onto a mould, this method is used for more delicate projects and is the type I recommend for beginners, and this is the one I will be sharing with you today for your elegant centerpiece.
Tip! Take the total of your Christmas expenses and divide it by the total amount of pays until next Christmas.

The materials you will need are.

News paper
Several sheets of waste plain paper
Flat bottom metal, china or plastic bowl for mould
Petroleum jelly
PVA glue
Scissors
Craft knife
Thin cardboard
Masking tape
White matt emulsion paint
Paint brush
Soft pencil and eraser
Colored gouache paints
Non-toxic watercolor varnish

What to do.

1.Tear news paper and plain paper into strips about 10cm to 15cm long and 2cm to 4cm wide.
Tip! Family Fun Cookies for Christmas: 50 recipes for You and Your Kids by Deanna F.

Smear a thin layer of petroleum jelly over the mould. Mix the PVA glue with a little water.

Dip strips of paper into glue mix and start pasting to mould. To ensure a consistent thickness, alternate layers of news paper with layers of plain paper.

Apply eight to ten layers of paper, leaving each one to dry before applying the next.

2.Trim around the top and bottom edges of the bowl with scissors. Gently insert a knife between the mould and the papier-m"ché shell, and separate the two.
Tip! Put in place a strategy that will help you survive Christmas with as little pain as possible.

Bind the top edge of bowl with more strips of glued paper. Cut a circle of cardboard to fit the base and secure this to the outside with masking tape.

Remove the bowl completely from the mould and cover the inside and outside with two more layers of glued paper strips.

Allow to dry completely.

Note: Apply glued strips at right angles on the last layer to keep the surface as smooth as possible.

3. Paint the bowl with two coats of white matt emulsion paint to give a neat strong surface leave to dry.

4. With a pencil lightly draw your design on the surface, then fill in with gouache paints and again leave to dry. When completely dry cover with two layers of clear varnish.
Tip! Prelit Christmas trees come ready decorated, so you can have your tree ready in a matter of minutes, without the need to spend time hanging decorations and untangling last year's light bulbs.

I painted mine in a deep red and painted gold stars just here and there for a Christmas theme and filled with assorted sweets hanging candy canes around the edge.

This technique can be applied to most moulds that have straight sides or even plates and trays.

Plates can make a very attractive wall hanging with a photo of your family or pets in the center.

Let your imagination go wild and most of all have fun, these projects are suitable also for supervised children, you can make wonderful piñatas for parties using balloons as moulds and when dry pop the balloon and cut a small hole in the top to fill with sweets then with tape stick the piece you cut out back and decorate with shredded tissue paper.
Tip! Keep track of all your Christmas spending. A good way of doing this is by carrying a small notebook and pencil and writing your purchases in it.

About the Author: Sandra Hedditch.

Sandra is a retired Primary School Craft Teacher, who excels in the fine art of crafts -And has just written an E-Book on a craft she invented look out for it at
Tip! Your Christmas wreath is made from Dunkin doughnuts.

…http://imagine-craft.com/index.php Who knows you may get inspired to make something yourself.

Scrapbooking Your Christmas Memories

Christmas memories are some of our fondest, most heartwarming ones. So of course we want to preserve them in our scrapbook albums. However, when the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is upon us, we may forget to take particular photos or save certain memorabilia. To help you remember, below is a list of Christmas memories and keepsakes you'll want to capture in your scrapbook album.

Cutting Down the Tree For those who get their trees from a tree farm, cutting down the tree is a favorite Christmas activity. Take pictures of the tree before, during and after the cutting. Journal about who picked out the tree, where you got the tree and what the weather was like that day.

Trimming the Tree Whether your tree is real or artificial, trimming the tree is a special event. Take pictures of the tree in various stages of being decorated. Include people hanging their favorite ornaments, putting on the star or angel, and posing with the fully decorated and lit tree.

Deck the Halls In addition to the tree, you probably have lots of other Christmas decorations throughout the house. Take photos of the foyer, staircase, dining room or any other room you've spruced up for the holidays. If you have outdoor displays and lights, remember to take pictures of them, too.

Traditions We all have our own Christmas traditions such as baking cookies, going caroling, or hosting the neighborhood party. Make sure to capture these special traditions with photos. Keep in mind that journaling is especially important when it comes to traditions. For example, include your family's cookie recipe or some of the words from a favorite Christmas carol.

Letters to Santa/Christmas Lists If you have children who write Christmas lists and/or letters to Santa, make copies before mailing them so that they can be preserved in your scrapbook album. You, your children and your grandchildren will surely enjoy reading those letters together one day.
Tip! Celebrate -­ Christmas is time to celebrate YOU! Uplift yourself with memories of the joys you discovered and successes you achieved over the year. Spend moments in gratitude for these wonderful memories.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas Here are some ideas of what to take pictures of on Christmas Eve: the family dinner; a gathering of family and friends; everyone dressed in their "Sunday best" for Christmas Eve mass; stockings hung by the chimney with care; snack/drink/note left for Santa and his reindeer. If Santa leaves the note behind, remember to save it for the scrapbook album.

Christmas Morning If you have young children Christmas morning can be quite chaotic, and it may not be easy to get certain shots. Some to try for are: the kids coming down the stairs and/or into the room with the tree; the tree before all the gifts go flying; the full stockings hanging by the fireplace; everyone with his/her favorite gift; the family breakfast.
Tip! Remember that Christmas is only one day a year. You don't have to spend a weeks worth of grocery money on one day.

Christmas Visiting Whether you're traveling over the river and through the woods or hosting at home, it's hard to get pictures of everyone you're celebrating with. Try for a whole group photo (if the group's not too big) or break it down into smaller groups: the grandparents with the grandchildren; the grandparents with their own children; the men/boys; the women/girls; three or more generations; a photo of each family. Remember to include everyone's name in your journaling.
Tip! You knitted your dog a Christmas cap and shirt.

Christmas Card and Newsletter Particularly if your Christmas card has a picture of your family or children on it, be sure to put it in your scrapbook album. You may also want to include any special cards you received - for example, a baby's first Christmas card from Grandma and Grandpa. And if you write an annual newsletter to send out with your Christmas cards, put a copy of the newsletter in your scrapbook album as well.

Christmas Portraits The holidays tend to be a time for formal/professional portraits: family portraits, portraits of the children, and the traditional picture with Santa. If you saved your children's letters to Santa, you can make a two-page spread of the letters along with the picture of the children on Santa's lap.
Tip! Anchor Steam Christmas Ale The Ale recipe is different every year as is the label! This ale's motto is to celebrate the newness of life. http://www.

Keep this Christmas list of scrapbooking ideas handy during the holiday season, and you'll be sure to capture those precious Christmas memories. Merry Christmas and Happy Scrapping!

Lisa Fleming is an avid scrapbooker and the owner of Scrapbook Town. Scrapbook Town is a scrapbooking website that has scrapbook supplies, ideas and information.