Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

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Showing posts with label how to make. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to make. Show all posts

Monday, 10 December 2018

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

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Sunday, 7 January 2018

How to make a Kusudama flower ball

Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog. How is your 2018 going?

Whether you are in the depths of winter or the heat of summer in January, it might be a time for staying indoors out of the weather, and doing a little crafting, so hence my blog post for today.

How to make a Kusudama ball. 
I must admit that until I read my copy of "Breathe" magazine a few months back I had never heard of a Kusudama ball. which is a traditional Japanese decoration that can be hung to twirl in the breeze.


According to British Origami Society - "Kusudama (medicine ball) is believed to have originated in the Heaian Period (794 - 1192). At first fragrant woods and herbs were placed in a small cloth bag, which was decorated with blossoms of sobu or iris and other flowers. Long silk threads of five different colours were attached to it. This was hung in the house on May 5 to dispel evil spirits and disease."