It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - December randomness

If you are anything like me once December hits Christmas seems to be here before we know it. So for today just some December randomness.

It is summer in Australia and the colours around where we live during the lead up to Christmas are vibrant - the yellow of the Candlestick Bankisa, the yellow-orange of the Australian Christmas tree and the purple of the Jacarandas.

And my front garden this time of year in particular looks a treat - with the yellow and green kangaroo paws flowering in profusion with the backdrop of red Coral Bush and purple agapanthus. 

LOL the tinsel garlands around my kangaroo paws are to keep the parrots away, but it doesn't seem to help too much. 

I've been to a few Christmas crafting free workshops lately in our local library, handprinting gift wrapping paper and making twig decorations, 

On Friday I went to another short workshop - floral gift wrapping toppers.  This one was run by lovely Francine Metcalfe from Pollen Nation Floral Studio. Francine makes the most glorious wreaths and bouquets from Australian natives and she is partners at the Green Depot floral studio and gift shop.  We simply wrapped boxes in brown paper, tied with string, and topped with florals. Inside the boxes we popped an inspirational card - a present to ourselves or to a special friend when you or they might need a boost. I spent a lovely hour with the ladies in the workshop.

This time of year there are parties and get-togethers with family and friends. We live in a small cul de sac street, and every year we have a "street party" on the front lawn, rotating which lawn hosts the party. We all bring our own chairs, drinks and a plate to share. This year I made Cranberry Brie Bites, which someone had shared on Facebook, from Delish.com - they really were delicious and oh so easy to make. Here is a link to the recipe - Cranberry Brie Bites. 
I used almond slivers instead of the pecans and didn't use the rosemary springs. I used puff pastry sheets and the recipe made about 30 small tarts. They are just as good cold. 

I am yet to do my Christmas baking - but will have to get to it this week!

This is also the time of year for cherries - yum!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed my little look at the lead up to Christmas. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit and 50 Shades of Age
Little Things Thursday

Life in Reflection

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How to fold a book Christmas tree table decoration

Do you do Christmas crafting? A few years ago I tore this how-to page out of a magazine. The project was to make Christmas tree table decorations from old books. I put the page away to do "later". It is now "later". 

I had a quiet morning to myself the other day, so I sat down with the bits and pieces I had, to make the book tree. I had stored away a couple of 6-monthly programme books from our city entertainment centre which had a thicker paper and coloured pictures which I thought would be nice to add some colour to my book tree. Old Reader's Digest condensed books, or unloved paper back books, the ones with slightly thicker paper, are great for these projects too.

The instructions say you need about a 100-150 page book for this project.  It is a good idea to have a paper folding tool or a ruler, so you can fold nice crisp edges, and work on a firm surface.

First you need to carefully tear off the cover of the book.  Then fold over the right hand side of the first page diagonally longways so it lines up with the spine.

 Then fold this page again diagonally longways, so it again lines up with the spine. Sharpen your folds with your folding tool and make sure you get your fold right into the spine as far as you can.

 Then fold up the little triangle at the bottom of the page, and tuck it in, so that the tree has a flat bottom.

Repeat with the rest of the book.

Form the completed folded pages into the tree shape, and put a line of glue down the spine to hold. I had two 50 page books, which I glued together once I had folded all the pages. Make a star to go on the top, or decorate as you like.  For some reason I didn't end up with a star on the top of mine, I might have to fix that!

 Another project I did this week was started at one of the free mini workshops at our local library - making stars and trees out of twigs. All you need is thin twigs, a hot glue gun, leaves, gold, silver, red or glitter paint if you wish, string, ribbon and embellishments. Thin florestry wire is also useful. These can be small to hang on a tree or bigger to decorate your front door instead of a wreath. And can be as plain or decorative as you wish.

 Thank you so much for stopping by. Do you have a craft project for Christmas. Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

You might also like:
How to make a paper wreath 
How to make a simple paper flower 
Exploring your creative side in retirement

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit and 50 Shades of Age
Little Things Thursday

Life in Reflection

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

If you are a blogger you can also link your blog to Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global.

An InLinkz Link-up