Christmas Gift Tags Tutorial: Useful Origami

With Christmas bells ringing and knocking at the door very soon, here is a quick and easy DIY that you can try all by yourself this season.

I had made a few origami stuff for Christmas a month back with the intention of making some cards but I couldn't make them due to unavailability of time. Some origami elements I had in stock were; an Origami Santa, a Boot, a Heart, a Xmas Tree, a Snowman and a Bell. As usual, left with a tight schedule for the day, I had to make something that would be quick and easy too and something that I could use as gifts this season itself. So after a little bit of online searching, I had decided, no cards, nothing complicated...let's keep it simple and let's make it fast.

Here, is how they ended up... cute little Christmas Gift Tags that I could use this year itself.

Christmas Gift Tags 

Below is a brief tutorial, with pictures that highlight the steps the way I made them - the Art Hours' way. Well, that's what my FB page is called..."Art Hours" - this is where I keep uploading most of the work we do as students and teacher.

Generally, the gift tags come in various standard sizes such as; 1.75"x3", 2.25"x4.5", and more...However, the gift tags shown are of size 4"x 2.5" in size and I didn't follow any standards for I made use of whatever scrap paper I had in hand. I make sure to use every scrap paper even newspapers for that matter since I believe in recycling and reusing of paper. I am sure unlike many other crafters or artists, I am comparatively more frugal when it comes to making use of paper and I use every last bit of scrap. So let's begin with the tutorial. 

Materials required:

Card paper, origami paper, scissors, scale, pencil, glue, a hole punch and some ribbons or strings.

Step 01:

Prepare the base for the tag. Here I have used two different sizes, one for the base and another layer to add on the base. I would suggest use card paper or any thicker sheet for the base. 

Here, the orange base is about 4"x 2.5" in size, and the green paper is about 3.5"x1.5" in size.

Step 01: Prepare the base for the gift tag

Step 02:
Glue the green paper on the orange base, leaving equal borders on the 3 sides and more margin on the top to insert the ribbon. You can also leave more space on the bottom to write personalized messages. The size of the 2nd layer depends on how you want to design your gift tag.

Step 02: Glue one colored paper over another.

Step 03:

Now, glue the origami element made earlier onto the surface of the tag. I used several different elements viz: the Xmas tree, a Heart, a Boot, a Santa, a Bell and so on. These origami elements have been made using square origami papers of size 3.0"x3.0".

Step 03: Glue the origami element on the base

Step 04:
Once, the origami element is added, make a hole on the top center of the tag using a hole punch. 

Step 04: Make a hole at the top center

Step 05:
Next step is to give a shape to the tag, you can trim the top sides or you can even leave them as it is.

Step 05: Shape the tags by cutting the top sides

Step 06:

Now, all you need to do is insert some strings or ribbons through the hole made and the gift tags are ready. 

Step 06: Pass the ribbons or strings through the holes made

Step 07:
Lastly, add messages to your tags. You can either follow a calligraphy style or write messages in your own good handwriting to make it more personal. You can even use stamps or stencils to make it look neat. I leave that option for you to decide.

Step 07: Add personalized messages

Here's how the Christmas Gift Tags look like after adding the handwritten messages.

Christmas Gift Tags with Handwritten Messages

You can use these lovely gift tags to tie with your gifts or you can even hang them as decorations on the Christmas tree. If not then you can just gift them to your friends as a small gesture of love and good wishes for the season.

---

Handmade Diyas from Salt Dough: Budget friendly Diwali DIY

Diwali is over...the five days of festivities are over!

I wake up in the morning only to realize that the festival time is finally over and I have to get back to the daily routine...we feel so awful when we come in terms with the reality...call it post festival depression or whatever, nothing could change how I felt the way I felt!

As I went about the house clearing up the things and removing decorations from around the house, I collected the colorful diyas we made just before Diwali. It's an activity we don't do every year, and Diwali also was just a few days away...but we gave it a try all the same...better late than never!

Here's a picture of the few Diyas, we made from Salt Dough for the Diwali celebration this year. 

Salt Dough Diyas

And while I am at it, let me share the recipe for the salt dough diya too. Maybe, next year some of you could give it a try. It happens that you will find flour and salt in every home in the Indian household and it turns out that this diyas are budget friendly too. So here's presenting a budget friendly Diwali DIY that you should really try for, next year, same time.

Recipe for Salt Dough Diya:

Dough (Atta or Maida-refined wheat flour) - 1 cup

Salt - 1/2 cup

Water - Enough to knead the flour ( I used about 1/2 cup)

Method:

Mix the Atta or Maida with salt (here I used Maida and salt), and then add water gradually as you knead them or else the dough would end up being too loose. Once, the dough is ready you can start making the diyas, or you can also refrigerate them in an air-tight container to use later. In fact, I used mine after a couple of days only.

The dough kneaded with using the above proportions yielded about 8 medium sized diyas; the size was big enough to hold tealight candles. To shape the diyas we used the same method as per the tutorial I posted earlier for making diyas using air dry clay. You can view the same tutorial here. We made the diyas experimenting in different shapes and sizes; we made some in the shape of a mango leaf, a couple of pentagons and hexagons and a heart shape too.

I experimented by trying to bake one of the diyas in the microwave and the result was disastrous for it just got burnt in a couple of minutes; probably the temperature was too high. I wasn't in the mood to burn the rest of them that my daughter and I had both made with so much patience and hard work. So I left them to dry in the sun to let it dry naturally. It took nearly 4 days to dry off completely.

Salt Dough Diyas before drying

Once the diyas were left in the sun to dry, I kept on checking them everyday on their progress...All of them had dried from the top but the bottom surface was still wet...so I had to turn them over so that the bottom surface would also be exposed to the sun and would eventually dry out. Finally, on the 4th day, I found them all dry and ready to be painted.

Sun-dried Salt Dough Diyas for Diwali

Once these diyas dried, I found they had shrinked in size - a little wee bit. We used acrylic paints to add colors. It was just a day before the Kali Puja, and we left the Diyas to dry again - this time the paint had to dry. Finally, the wait was over and the result was beautiful. We had some beautiful handmade decorative diyas ready to be used for the Diwali nights. And yes, they were budget friendly too!

Hand-painted Salt Dough Diyas for Diwali

Hope you find the tutorial useful. Do share your views and ideas if you try making them. Hoping to hear about your experiences too and learn from them also.

Do share this tutorial with your friends and family too.

Thank you for stopping by...have a good day!

---

Tutorial: How to Sew a Braided Fabric Rug

Sew - a needle pulling thread,

La -  note to follow so and 

Tea - I drink with jam and bread...why this song? well to make a braided fabric rug you will need to do all the above three things...sewing, listening to music or singing, and lots of tea to keep your patience...atleast I needed them all...

Often, we do not want to throw away old clothes or fabrics that have some emotional strings attached for they may have been gifted by our dear ones or they are too expensive to throw away, but you don't know what to do with it since they are of no use now, or maybe they have worn off only from certain areas and look like new mostly...What to do with such clothes? They are in not so good condition and still you don't want to throw them, and they occupy that little space in your closet too. I was in a similar dilemma months ago; Left with a cotton bed sheet that was too precious to be thrown away despite being worn off completely! 

It could have been used as a napkin or maybe for dusting purpose. A single bed sheet - what could it be used for - I wondered. Finally I decided to make a rug out of it. I cut the fabric into long strips and then made braids from it. After making the braids, the braids were just lying off in some closet and I got busy with other things in life. Just a couple of days back, as I got to cleaning the closet I found the braids tucked away in a corner - Oh...and I was feeling too lazy to start...I took the braids out out and kept them on the table where I could see them daily, as a reminder to make the rug soon. But I didn't have the time...finally I brushed aside my laziness, admonished myself that I had to do it now 'kal kare so aaj kar' and I sat down with it all - the braids, needle & thread, and there it was...after hours of laborious stitching, a beautiful small rug. It was beautiful since it was handmade and I had invested a good amount of my time into it. I also ended in making a small container using the same braids to hold some junk jewelry.

A braided rug and a container to hold junk jewelry

This tutorial presents how to make the braids from fabric strips and then how to stitch it as you keep coiling the braids around. It shows how to make a rug as well as the container to hold junk jewelry. Mind you, it requires a lot of patience to make the entire stuff so be prepared to have a lot of time in hand. Since, I had made the braids in advance, it didn't take time to make the rug - only some couple of hours. It could have been much quicker if I had used some fabric glue instead of stitching it and would look neater too. Since, I had no fabric glue with me, I went ahead with sewing it by hand. The end of the tutorial includes tips and suggestions for alternate use of the braided fabric rug and the braided fabric container. So please go through the entire tutorial.

Here's presenting the tutorial to make a braided fabric rug from an old bed sheet.

Materials required:
Long strips of fabric (preferably from bedsheets or curtain),
A pair of Scissors,
Sewing Needle,
Thread either to match the fabric or of a neutral color

Step1:

Firstly, cut the sheet into long strips, preferably of similar width, using a pair of scissors. I had cut the sheet into @2" wide strips. If they are not of equal strips do not fret, but try to maintain the width as far as possible, for it will make the braids look neater. Thereafter, take 3 strips at a time and sew the top edges as shown in the picture below. This will help you to hold the strips at the top in place as you start with the braiding process next.

Step 1: Sewing the edges together

Step 2:

Start making the braids neatly. Once you are done with the 3 strips, add other 3 more strips to it. I kept on sewing one strip to the another and continued braiding them. The resulting product will be a long braid that will cover your entire room and more...

Step 2: Making the Braid

A suggestion while you make the braid; keep some music handy to keep you engrossed with the braiding activity or do it while you watch your favorite television show, for after a while, you may start losing all the patience.

Step 3: 

Now that you have the long braid ready, start sewing. Sew... a needle pulling thread.

Start by coiling around the centre. 

Step 3: Start making a coil and sewing them as you keep coiling

Step 4: 
Keep sewing the braids as you keep coiling around the centre. If you need to take a break in between, keep your needle tucked into the coil as shown in the picture below to avoid the coil opening up.

Step 4: Keep sewing as you coil the braid around the centre

Step 5:

So here we are...after hours of laborious work, we are done with the sewing work. Just make sure to stitch the edges of the braid at the ends carefully, so that they are not hanging loose and are neatly sewed to make it look complete.

Step 5:  Sew the edges at the end carefully

Done: 

We are finally done with the braided fabric rug. You can use a thread to match with the fabric or preferably use a neutral color so that the stitches are not visible, unless of course you want to show the stitches, then you can use some contrasting color.

Done: A circular braided fabric rug 

Finally, turn it over if you don't want the stitches to be seen. You could also paint it with fabric colors to upscale it or leave it just with the natural look.

The circular braided rug as you see in the picture below is around 11" in diameter. It can be used as a mini floor rug or as a centre piece under flower vases.

Turn it over and you have the final rug ready for use

I also made a jewelry container from the braids. The procedure is the same as above up to a certain point. Keep coiling around the centre to make a round base, thereafter you have to change the direction of the braid. Actually it was a mistake I made as I started coiling. The direction of the braid changed and it was too much of hard work already and I didn't want to redo the entire sewing again so I continued as it is. As I kept sewing, following the direction of the braid, it shaped into a small container that I could use for storing things. 

Coiling the container

The handmade fabric braided container that you see in the picture below is around 5" in diameter - an ideal size to just hold anything!

A braided fabric container ready for use

The circular rug and container to hold junk jewelry

Suggestion or Tips for use:

Other than using the circular rug as a centre piece under a vase or under a flower pot, the size of the same (@11inches in size) is ideal to be used as a pot holder in the kitchen or it could also be used as a coaster. Similarly, the fabric container (@5 inches in size) can be used in the kitchen to store vegetables or fruits. 

Finally, this is where both the products ended up being used in my house, adding a warm personal touch to my home interiors.

Circular rug under a flower pot

Container to hold vegetables in the kitchen

---