Paper Christmas Baubles

For the past, quite a few, years we have had popcorn strings on the Chrismtas tree.  And even those these generally take two nights to make, which has nothing to do with the amount of popcorn that I eat instead of thread, I like the look on the tree.  In fact when the bathroom was refitted (now finished and lovely – pics to follow at some point) the plumber said ‘I bet this gets a lot of use’ as he moved the popcorn maker to get to the stop tap.  ‘Yes it does’ I replied ‘regularly once a year.’

This year however I had to give a thought to our new furry addition and I didn’t think that stringing the tree with something edible would be a super wonderful idea.

So I needed something to take the place of the popcorn.  Since we, well I say ‘we’ I mean ‘I’, decorate the tree with shells and wooden sea creatures – just one more reason why I refrain from using the n word ((((normal)))).

So I decided to make paper baubles – for want of a better word similar to the heart ornaments I made earlier in the year and decided to share the easiness of them with you…

Ingredients

Paper or thin card (I tried thicker card but it tends to crease rather than bend)

Stapler

Sticky tape (or masking tape! – I can’t leave the stuff alone)

Scissors or guillotine

Thread, ribbon or fishing line

Method

Take the paper or card and cut it into 1″ wide strips.  I printed Merry Christmas onto my paper, in varying sizes via a table in Word so I could also print the cutting lines.

 

Cut the strips to length

2 x 4″

2 x 4 1/2″

2 x 5″

Attach a loop of fishing line to one of the 4″ pieces with masking tape (ohhh)

Stack the strips together with the longest at the bottom (and with the pattern facing out if you are using patterned paper)

Place one lot of strips on top of the other with the shorter lengths in the middle

and staple at the loop end.

Line up the unfastened ends of the strips and stple them and you should end up with something like this…

Here’s some examples of varying sizes…

Obviously you can add as many strips as you want.

And since I can’t find the big seashell for the top of the tree (I know how do you loose a seashell – maybe Buddy ate it) I made a large heart to replace it…

And here’s our tree with them on…

And here’s another Christmas present off my list – I made these with two strips of paper to make them that bit more robust and used eyelets instead of staples at the ends.

Considering the eyelets required the use of a hammer and my wrist is still sore I thought it wasn’t going to work out too well however using a hammer is fine but slicing toast is a major no-no – apparently it’s the bending and twisting whilst under pressure it objects to!

Made – 12/29 with 3 days to go (3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) It’s okay I have a bunch half done and four I’ve not yet posted about so it’s okay, it is okay, IT IS!

Panic level – 4/10 (Although to keep it low I did something that I am about to confess and that you may need to look away now if you are a sewer, sewerist, er… if you sew – I used my dressmaking scissors to cut paper – this is something I have threatened to divorce B over in the past but I couldn’t find my craft scissors and then when I did they had sticky on them, possbily from cutting too much masking tape, and I couldn’t be bother to go get the nail varnish remover to get it of – I am so ashamed)

Christmas Tree

I felt the need to share our Christmas Tree with its alternative decorations.

Necessity really is the mother of invention. A good few years ago I went to get the decorations out of the loft on Christmas Eve eve and to my horror found that the salt dough tree decorations had suffered from heat and subsequent cold exposure, worse than a pensioner in a vest. So not being able to drive and my husband being at work. I thought about the stuff I had once bought on holiday in Scotland for our bathroom and which I had never used. Thinking and subsequently reading in a Feng Shui book that sea based themes in bathrooms would disrupt the flow of pee, I mean chi. Although the former is probably even more messy.

So I popped popcorn in a pan, having bought some a while ago on the basis it was a healthy snack and then realising it was but it was also not a patch on the popcorn in the cinema or covered in toffee. But the tree did not mind that it was several years out of date.

I then threaded but was still full of enthusiasm and then draped round the tree.

Christmas Eve I glue gunned whales, dolphins, angle fish, balls (not belonging to any of the prior), mini wreaths and fishing line together along with my fingers several times. Glue and I are not on overly friendly terms.

I then had a similar gluing experience with shells of varying sizes and green thread realising that the fishing line was way to fiddly for the shells and anyway I’d already used in on the fish.

So a tradition was born… and every year since I sit and curse whilst I thread metres and metres of cream thread with popcorn then brush the escaped bits of popcorn up off the floor. This year I was actually glad to do it as with the problems I had with my back last Christmas it took be two days to finish the tree.

I do then look at it and think WOW it looks so good! And just so you can admire it too here it is.