It is already the second part of November and Christmas is coming. So, maybe this is the time to remember, that it’s not the pile of presents under the Christmas tree that is important, but the time spent together. And so, you’ll have an excuse to spend more time together, I am offering you an easy idea of how to create a Christmas gift together with your kids, and also to save some money. The sweet business of cookie decoration, ornament making, gift creation and helping others is what makes this time of the year really special.
The most important material
The most important items for creating this Christmas gift are… your family and friends. Organise them for a coffee or tea party and start creating. I still remember how, many years ago, my best friends and I, after a long day walking in the nearby forest and collecting branches and berries, created our own Christmas wreaths. We were warming our frozen fingers holding hot mugs of coffee and warming our hearts laughing about our forest adventure. We had, of course, gone completely unprepared. Imagine three young women with elegant coats and high heel boots walking in the mud between the trees. We all sacrificed our gloves this day, but the great memories are still alive.
How to start
If you are a paper crafter, you probably have different stamps for your paper projects. If you don’t have any, maybe you can borrow some from a friend for a day. Or – better yet – invite this friend to your gift making party!
Choose a design you like and stamp it on watercolour paper. The better the quality of the watercolour paper, the more chic and expensive your creation will look.
Then, with simple watercolours colour your stamp. You can also use the Marker watercolour technique. I love it!
For my project I chose a flower stamp, because of its universal message. But you can choose anything you like – a ship, animals, Christmas elements… Anything which will add more joy to your work.
How to create your wall art Christmas gift
After the ink and the watercolours are dry, outline some of the lines with a black marker or a pen. Then tear the edges, to make it look like handmade paper or a page torn from a special sketch book. A metal ruler can help you to keep a straight line while tearing.
Leave it aside and take another piece of paper, at least 1 inch (better 2”) bigger on all sides. And stamp or draw different images. Position them like a frame.
It is not necessary these to be theme related. I mixed a hot balloon image, with flowers and leaves, a G-clef, and butterflies – everything which in this moment to me looked good together.
You can even add some text to highlight a good message with your gift. I chose “beautiful” and “blessed”, but you can even write words from a favourite poem or song.
Then tear the edges again. If (as in my case) you have to tear a thin line, first press it with a knife to sharply define the tear line.
Then tear it with your fingers.
The idea is for it to look like this:
Some little touches
It is not mandatory, but why not add some very light shades of colour to your frame too? I did and like the look.
The colours I chose were close to the ones in the “main” picture.
Final steps and framing your wall art Christmas gift
When all the colouring is finished, glue the “main” picture inside the frame. Don’t put the glue too close to the edges, let your glue line be about ½ inch inside. This will keep the picture edges free and will create a more “artistic” feeling.
Then I chose to glue the frame the same way on top of a grey A4 sheet of paper. I used grey because I love it, but you can chose any colour which will look good in your project or in the home of the person for whom you are creating this art.
Then frame it. I used simple white IKEA frame and think it looks really good! Of course, if you have at your disposal a heavy, decorated, wooden frame, the contrast between the frame and the naive art piece will look very good.
And your art piece is done. The best thing is that In your gift-creating party you can make different art pieces like the one shown to make great gifts for other friends and family members or maybe even sell them in a charity market to help people in need. What would be more precious for your older relatives than a piece of art created by their grandchildren? The gift is very important when people feel your soul, love and attention in the making of it.
Merry Christmas days!
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One more idea how to make Christmas decoration:
