Day 6: Miniature House Dinner Favors

 

Happy Christmas Eve bloggers!This is the last day of my countdown to Christmas and I wanted to give you some inspiration for Christmas dinner favors, which also act as name cards as well.

Now you know what I said about houses the other day, I'm completely in love with them this Christmas so these fitted in quite nicely.

This house design came from Design Mom blog, where you will find some great inspiration and a printable house template that you can download. I imported the file into a design software so I could add a greeting and name on the side of the house. You can also add stamped images to add details to the house. I've also used these as gifts for friends and included a hanging ribbon from the top of the house so they could hang it on the tree.

Fill them with chocolates, small gifts or even Christmas puzzles to keep the children (or big kids) entertained!

Well that's a wrap for 2014, I hope you have gained a bit of Christmas inspiration from these past 6 days and we both hope you have a Merry Christmas and a great start to the New Year!

Day 5: Vintage Snow Jars

 

Hi bloggers, so this idea may be a bit of a cheat since this was our Christmas workshop this year but I think they are just a fab idea to jazz up boring old kilner jars and if you are as crafty as us then you will know that a kilner jar can be used for almost any gift these days, from hot chocolate mixes to Christmas survival kits and everything inbetween. So why not turn your kilner jar into a festive scene. 

 

 

We used die cuts to make these adorable winter scenes but you could also use tiny ornaments or old decorations, so get creative!

Day 4: Miniature Birdhouses

 

Hi bloggers, with only hours to go I bet you thought I might not make it, but I couldn't let you down like that, its just been one of those days!

Day 4 brings us these adorable miniature birdhouse decorations made from corrugated card, painted and then glittered up. Add some tinsel around the hole, a seasonal greeting and of course a bird nesting on the roof! These look brilliant in a range of pastel colours hanging on the tree and make a change to the traditional Christmas decoration.

Day 3: Christmas Putz Houses

 

Hi bloggers, day 3 is all about Christmas Putz Houses and I have three beautiful houses to share with you. The first one above is handmade using a Melissa Frances kit, it's been covered with paper and then painted with an added sparkle of glitter. The kit also came with the three trees and the fence you can see in the picture and there is also a small hole at the back of the house so you could place some tiny lights inside or adhere a LED candle to the back to light it up at night. We've put ours in a candle dish with some added snow to make it a wintery scene.

 

This next example is a real vintage putz house that we collected last year at a Christmas Vintage Fair. This house is tiny in comparison and we've used it as an added decoration to our book shelf.

 

This last example isn't really a putz house but it is a more contemporary light up house decoration that we picked up at a Next store. It looks simply stunning on our bookshelf with a switch on the back to light it up at night. We know its not vintage but it fits in with the house theme which I have loved this Christmas..... houses everywhere!

 

 

Day 2: Christmas Wish Bottle

 

Hi bloggers, today I am sharing with you the cutest decoration! This Christmas wish bottle allows you to make a Christmas wish and hang it on the tree. The scroll inside can be written on with your wishes for Christmas then simply place it back in the bottle, give it a little shake with the glitter and hang on your tree. Loved ones can then come along and view your wish and hopefully make it come true! These decorations are ideal for children and let's the magic of Christmas live on in all of us!

6 Days of Christmas: Day 1 Vintage Merry Go Round

Hi bloggers, I am so delayed with my Countdown to Christmas this year that I've decided to cut it short to only 6 days to take us up to Christmas Eve. I almost thought to for-go the whole thing but I owe it to you guys to give you that last bit of inspiration for 2014. I have to say the last few months have been very hectic and a certain passion for writing on the blog had started to fade. However I love this time of year and for the last 6 days leading up to Christmas I want to share with you some of my favourite things about Christmas with some creativity thrown in-between.

So apologies for the late delay but I promise I've saved the best 6 ideas for this all important countdown.

So let's start with Day 1: Vintage Merry Go Round

 

 

So Day 1 starts with this stunning vintage merry-go-round ornament that we are proudly sitting on our sideboard this year. This was a very lucky find at a recent Vintage Christmas Fair in Penshurst and we have to say it was a very fair price considering the more modern versions around today - only £50. All in good working condition with a range of  non-Christmas and Christmas songs including Carol of the Bells ( an all time favourite of mine). The paintwork is gorgeous and its just one of those pieces that you look forward to getting out at Christmas.

There's still time before Christmas to try and get yourself an original piece, look out for Vintage Fairs happening near where you live.