DIY Christmas Decs!

 I've gone a bit overboard on Christmas spirit already this year. I've been painting my own tree ornaments for a while but it was getting a little boring so today I decided to make a Christmas bunting! I didn't use a tutorial or anything I just made it up as I went along but it actually turned out okay.

Now, I am not a very crafty person. I am way too impatient to get things right and I don't have any craft materials, but with my mum's sewing kit, some printer paper and some paint I managed to make something that looks quite cute. If you're as craftily challenged as I am and you want to try it I'll prove you with some handy instructions! I made mine out of paper but it would work just as well with scraps of fabric and fabric paint too.

To make a simple bunting you will need:

• Paper/fabric cut into triangles in your own choice of size.
• Scissors.
• Glue
• Sewing kit/sewing machine (optional).
• Paint/pencils/crayons/fingers/your chosen art medium.
• String.

Step One: OKAY. So, what I did first was cut a triangle out of some paper and I just kept snipping until it looked the right size that I wanted. Then I used it to trace around for all the other triangles I needed. Make sure you double up the number of triangles you cut out because you will be using two bits of paper per triangle to make it more sturdy.

Step Two: Space your triangles out along a length of string. Leave equal space between all your triangles and make sure the string has a little excess at either end for when you hang your bunting up! Cut the string and leave that to one side too.

Step Three: Set up your painting area and paint your little triangles! You can put whatever you want on them. I chose a fawn, a robin, a Christmas tree and some candy cane stripes. It doesn't matter if the paper starts to curl, just let it do its own thing. When you've painted all of them leave them to dry.

(I also planned my paintings in a sketchbook before I did them cuz I'm a nerd.)

Step Four: Once your paintings are dry grab your extra triangles and put a thin bit of glue along the top only, line them up with your painted triangles and stick them on the back. This will give your bunting a little weight so it hangs nicely and also so that the paper is more sturdy. You could skip this step if you're already using thick card instead of printer paper like I was!

Step Five:  You should now have a number of triangles that are still open at the bottom but closed at the top. If you don't feel like sewing (it can be tricky sewing into paper), slot your triangles onto your string and 'close them up' by gluing the rest of the edges. You're finished! One at a time, slot your triangles onto the string. Get your needle and thread out, choose what colour thread you want to sew with and start stitching all around the edge of the triangle. This will attach the paper to your string and also uncurl any triangles that have curled up whilst they were wet. Gluing the top makes it easier to start the stitching and I think the stitching looks quite nice (unless you're useless like I am).

Step Six: YOU DONE. You just creating a motherfucking bunting all by yourself. Go hang it up somewhere!

 As you can see mine is not perfect, I am a terrible at sewing! Bunting is really cool though. It would be great to recycle old Christmas cards into decorations. Or finger paint with your babies. Or adults. The possibilities are endless! SEND ME PICS IF YOU DO A BIT OF BUNTING.