Ok, it’s the 15th, we still have a few more days of work and then for some of us the whole family is descending next weekend. Let’s not panic! If you still haven’t quite got on top of the hosting game but want to add a few last minute handmade touches to your festive decor, wrapping or presents then I have found a few great ideas that we can all steal and anyone can make these happen with very few resources or crafty skills.

Why not make a lovely little display with the stockings on a branch from the park with an odd sprig of Mistletoe or any foliage from the garden. Use command hooks to hang it on the wall or from the ceiling. Image via: The Merry Thought

Need a few festive touches for the table? Buy some Hyacinth bulbs from the supermarket (don’t tell me you won’t be going there this week!) or your local florist or greengrocer and pot them up in sweet jars. Alternatively, wrap potted plants or herbs in white tissue paper with string. Done. Images via: Annixen /  The Waves We Make

A lovely last minute gift idea for anyone that deserves the special handmade touch. Details over at Style Me Pretty.

I bet we’ve all got a drawer full of dinner candles (I’ve got a box of them from Ikea that I’ve had for years!). Stick them in glass bottles and place around the dining room to make it feel magically festive. Alternatively, find some bendy twigs to make into a heart shape or brittle twigs to make in to a star shape, add some lights and you have an instant wall decoration. Images via Decor Dots / Peek and Pack

Chuck a few apples, oranges and spices into a pan to make you home smell amazingly welcome and Christmassy before your guests arrive. Details over at How Sweet It Is

A couple of easy ways to make your wrapping extra special is by using potato printing or little brown bags with sprigs of Eucalyptus. The smallest token gift will seem so much more thoughtful wrapped in either of these ways. Images via Trendenser / The Beauty Dojo

I hope everyone can enjoy the last few days leading up to Christmas!

Katy x

Stuck for ideas for Christmas decorations, homemade presents or table settings this year? Well, I have rounded up twelve of my favourite Christmas projects that I have done over the last couple of years and I hope they will give you a bit of inspiration. I know it can seem like a lot of effort to get into craft or DIY projects at this time of year but don’t see it as a chore: it is such a wonderfully relaxing thing to do when it is cold and dark outside, the Christmas lights are on and you’ve got mince pies or a box of chocolates to keep you going. There really is nothing better to bring the festive feeling alive…

1. Liberty baubles

Find the full tutorials here:

1. Liberty print baubles
2. Gold tipped feather baubles
3. Dried Hydrangea wreath
4. Gingerbread syrup recipe
5. Homemade nutella recipe
6. DIY candles
7. Succulent and herb wreath
8. Christmas in a jar gift
9. Eucalyptus garland
10. Christmas table
11. Advent calendar
12. Paint dipped baubles

2. Gold dipped feather baubles

3. Dried Hydrangea wreath

6. DIY candles

9. Eucalyptus garland

12. Paint dipped baubles

I hope some of these projects will get you in the festive mood and you can enjoy a crafty afternoon here and there over the next couple of weeks.

Katy x

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Do you ever get bored of the traditional Christmas colours? Red, green and gold has never really been my thing so I’m always on the look out for alternatives. I tried pastel pinks, greens and blues one year and last year I went for fresh greens and white. This year, I still want to incorporate as much nature in the house as possible but I have also been challenged by Harveys Furniture to add a burst of bright colour by creating my own festive decoration. So, I have decided to combine nature and a touch of colour.

I have a collection of pine cones that I have gathered each winter from the park. I always love making a wreath for Christmas so I decided to make mine a bit different this year by using the pine cones and adding a touch of neon pink to add a flash of colour. I think this will look great on a dark grey front door.

You will need:

• Wire coat hanger
• Pine cones (around 16-20)
• Neon acrylic paint
• Paint brush
• Floral wire

Step by step:

Step 1 – Stretch the wire coat hanger out into a circle, leaving the hook at the top in tact.

Step 1

Step 2 – Space out the pine cones around the wire hoop to figure out how many you will need for the wreath.

Step 2

Step 3 – Use neon acrylic paint to add a touch of colour to the tips of the pine cones. Leave to dry overnight.

Step 4 – To attach the cones to the wire hoop wrap a piece of floral wire around the centre of each cone and twist the wire lengths around each other so that it is secure.

Step 5 – Attach the cone on to the hoop by wrapping the excess wire around it tightly.

Step 5

Step 6 – Place more cones on to the hoop, securing them as you go, until the entire hoop is covered.

Step 6

You can then hang the wreath using the hook at the top of the wire hoop.

If you have any painted pine cones left over you can use them as festive place name holders for your Christmas table. Just slot a name card in to each cone and they will add a modern touch to your feast!

You can see more creative Christmas decoration ideas over on the Harveys Furniture blog. Have you got any crafty plans for this weekend?

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with Harveys Furniture.

I made this cute project in 2014 for the Liberty craft blog but the whole blog has since been removed (sad face) and I had an email from a lovely reader who had started to make it last year and wanted to finish it in time for advent this year and could no longer find the tutorial. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to publish it here and it may be just in time for any one who didn’t catch it the first time to make it for this year (just two weeks to go!).

You will need:

Hessian (felt, heavy cotton or linen would work well, too) – approximately 1 metre

Liberty print cotton (any light or medium weight fabric will work) – approximately 1/2 metre of fabric

4 metres of bias tape

Fabric paint pen

Stencil and pencil

Ribbon, fabric glue and bells to decorate

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Cut 48 rectangles of hessian. Each rectangle should measure 12 x 14 cm.

2. Cut 24 rectangles of your Liberty print. Each rectangle should measure 12 x 8 cm.

3. Turn over a hem of about 0.5cm of each Liberty print rectangle. Press this well.

4. Sew the hem using cotton that complements the prints you use.

5. Place the Liberty print rectangle on top of one of your hessian pieces. Place another piece on top.

6. Sew three sides of the rectangle using a zig zag stitch to prevent fraying. Leave the top of the rectangle open.

7. Turn each flag inside out carefully, poking out the corners.

8. Use a stencil and pencil to draw on the advent numbers 1 – 24 on each flag.

9. Go over the pencil number with a fabric paint pen.

10. Decorate your flags using ribbon or bells.

11. Use fabric glue to stick on strips of ribbons.

12. Sew your flags together by pressing the bias tape in half. Pin each flag at regular intervals into the tape and sew together.

13. Fill each pocket with chocolates or presents!

Here are other advent calendar ideas that I have done the last couple of years…

2016

This year’s calendar is an easy chalk board idea using beautiful Houseology baubles. See the full post here.

2015

Last year I made these sweet advent packages sewn in to Christmas shapes with a hidden treat inside. See the full post here.

What are your advent calendar plans this year?

Katy x

Ok, I know it’s early but bear with me on this… to prepare a DIY advent calendar that begins on December 1st takes a bit of planning and time to get it ready so blogging about Christmas at the end of October in this case is perfectly acceptable, right? Plus, if you aren’t already excited about the festive period then that just makes you a big grouch in my books 😉

This is a really simple idea for a slightly more interactive advent calendar than the bog standard chocolate ones as some days there are Christmas baubles from Houseology (aren’t they beautiful?) to add to the tree and other days there are little brown packages filled with whatever treats you like. It really didn’t take long to put together and a chalkboard door or wall is the perfect backdrop.

Otto definitely gets more than his fair share of the advent treats but Jules also gets some of his favourite chocolates stuffed into the brown paper bags. Adding christmas baubles to the calendar makes it feel a lot more festive and it is such a nice tradition to steadily add more and more decorations to the tree as advent goes on until Christmas eve when the tree should be full.

All you need to create the calendar are lengths of string, clothes pegs and small brown paper bags (so much quicker than wrapping individual parcels) with a hole punched in the corner. I decorated each one with a sprig of Eucalyptus and a label for each day.

Houseology collection heart bauble, porcelain cone bauble and gold metal sleigh decoration / Lene Bjerre bird ornament / Pine garland 

The Houseology collection pine garland is the perfect decoration to use year after year either draped on a mantel piece, along the Christmas table, over a doorway or you could even hang your advent calendar gifts from it. Take a look at the rest of Houseology’s gorgeous christmas collection this year – it will definitely start to get you in a festive mood! I can’t wait to get my LED christmas tree out from last year.

Two of my favourite decorations from the Houseology collection are these glitter and feather baubles and this cluster of glass pine cone lights. So beautiful!

Other baubles I have used are: pearl pine cone, jute snowflake and hammered gold heart bauble.

So, you’ve got about four weeks to go…are you ready?!

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with Houseology.

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