The Christmas Magazine UK features our Shine Bright Fairy Lights and Chalk It Up Place Markers

The Christmas Magazine in the UK have done such a fantastic job featuring 2 of our Craft It Up Around The World Christmas projects in their 2015 edition! 

Quick jazzed up jam jar

This jar was made for the Tickle The Imagination magazine shoot we did recently. The issue is out now and available from their website http://www.tickletheimagination.com.au It's such a gorgeous magazine. Hop on over and see if you can snap up some back issues too.

For this quick project we used a jam jar with a lid, which makes the perfect size for storing tiny treasures or everyday items like paper clips, rubbers or even a few rolls of washi tape! Glass jars are awesome. They're widely available, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. 

We used some gorgeous fabric tape from our friends at Sarbe www.sarbe.com.au The middle tape is a glittery paper tape. Washi tape would also work really well. 

Ombre pinecones for Fall

How cool that my 2 favourite seasons happen simultaneously on opposite sides of the world. That means I can work on both Spring and Fall craft projects! This Ombre pinecone project is a quick and satisfying Fall project. You could do a bowl of ombre pinecones for a stunning centrepiece, scatter them down the middle of a table or hang them up on matching strands of beads.

Rainy day craft box

It's always awesome to have a craft box stuffed full of crafty essentials. I've compiled a list of things I like to have on hand for any craft emergency :-) 

Here in Sydney we're looking at a solid week of rain, so having some indoor craft activities lined up could be a life saver. 

If your kids have started back at school this week after the summer break, maybe a little craft activity could help them unwind and relax after a busy day. 

Button flowers

These simple button flowers first made an appearance on the blog a year ago, and are still one of our most visited posts! They looks so beautiful but are brilliantly easy and cheap to make. Win, win!

Gracie's washi tape window canvas

Today's project is a collaboration with my awesome teenage daughter. We managed to use materials we had around the studio, so it turned out to be a great holiday activity! The gold sparkle panel really adds something special. Be sure to press your washi tape down firmly to stop paint from creeping underneath it.

Sassy sample pot canvas

On a recent visit to the Art Gallery of NSW I was struck by the beautiful vivid colours of an abstract painting from the 1940's. Its modern, energetic look really stayed with me. This weekend as we were using some sample pot paints for another project, the colours took me back to that canvas. 

Just add paint until you're happy with how it looks. Using house paint sample pots gives really thick dense coverage, but you could use acrylic paint too.

Deconstructed craft

Clearly I love a craft project and the structure it teaches. But I am also a huge proponent of allowing kids to let their imagination run wild and to create without boundaries or restrictions. My 6 year old made me this fruit bowl yesterday. She's my fifth child, and it wasn't always easy for me to stand back and allow thick brown plastic packaging tape to smother pretty pink tissue.

This holiday or weekend or rainy day, make sure you've stockpiled some cereal boxes, toilet rolls and tape. If you have the materials available, it makes it so much easier for kids to experiment. And you can put the kettle on...

'An apple for the teacher' note cards.

How often do you need to grab a little note card for an occasion but don't want to shell out big bucks for a greeting card? We've just printed up a pile of these apple cards for next to nothing. They'd be super sweet for your favourite teacher (and we just happen to have THE best teachers in the world!) but they'd work for every other occasion too! 

If you don't have an ink pad, you can use acrylic or poster paint. You might just lose some of the detail with a thicker paint.

'Spring has sprung' felt flower bouquet

Today's project has been influenced by my lovely Mother's Day tulips and by our Netherlands project in the book. But the finishing touches were provided by my 6 year old studio assistant today who was too sick to go to school, but miraculously recovered when I started cutting out the felt. She has designed the flowers and added the genius touches of detail on the leaves. 

These flowers are super easy to make, and because felt never fades, they really are everlasting flowers. If you don't have the book, you can buy it online...

http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Around-World-Traveling-Adventures/dp/1782490388/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399860551&sr=1-1&keywords=craft+it+up

They're really quick to make. We used scraps of felt and a few pipe cleaners. Draw flowers onto paper to use as templates and then cut out the flowers and leaves. A couple of tiny snips in the centre of the shapes, feed the pipe cleaner through and you're done!

Pretty Autumn Pinecone

 

Autumn has well and truly arrived 'Down Under' in Sydney. The leaves on the trees range from hot pink to brightest yellow. We've borrowed some of these colours and used a pinecone to make this sweet 'pretty autumn pinecone'. Now we know the rest of you are enjoying sunny Spring...so watch this space for a gorgeous Spring project!