Welcome to the 12 DIYs of Christmas! This month I’ll be sharing 12 simple DIYs for Christmas that you can easily do at home. They’ll range from decor, to personalised present ideas and even a little something to eat & drink.
For me, Christmas is the ultimate time to get crafty and feel the joy of the season! Not only that, but in opposition to the commercialised Christmas that is all around us, there’s just something about bringing a little magic back in through creativity and making things special.
I hope you enjoy the 12 DIYs of Christmas!
#1: Raffia & Rope Trees
You will need:
-Raffia
-Cardboard & Tape
-Baking paper
-PVA Glue or mod podge
-Hot Glue Gun
-Cotton Rope
-Foldback clips
For this DIY, I used a technique of wrapping raffia like I used in these DIY Raffia Pendant Lights. So if you need extra info or inspo, check out that post for more details!
To start, we’ll need to make our cone mould shape from cardboard. Roll the cardboard into a cone and fix with sticky tape. You can make them any size and width you like.
To make sure we can remove the raffia off the cone when we’re done, we’ll need to add baking paper over the top. This stops the glue from drying and sticking to the cone mould. Wrap the cardboard cone in baking paper and fix with clips (There seems to be nothing that will stick to baking paper!)
If you are using PVA glue, make a mix of 1:1 glue and water. Take a strand of raffia and dip it into the glue mix or mod podge. Starting at the top of the cone, wrap the raffia around, up and down. You may need to tuck the end of the raffia underneath the wrapping to get it to stay until it dries. Work your way down the cone, wrapping raffia and overlapping it to make sure it forms a solid shape.
Once you’ve wrapped the whole cone, leave it to dry. Once dry, you should be able to pry the cone mould out from the raffia cone. You may need a knife to remove any bits that are stuck.
To make a rope tree, you will need to use a hot glue gun. Take the end of rope, wrapping it around the top of the cone with a dab of glue to keep it in place. Continue wrapping the rope down the cone, being careful to only glue one layer to the next (try not to get the cardboard mould with the glue). Once you’ve wrapped the whole length, cut the end and tuck it in. You should be able to remove the rope tree from the cone mould.
What do you think? I created a little scene with a bunch of raffia and rope trees by adding some wire fairy lights under each tree.
Don’t forget to check out my other posts on the 12 DIYs of Christmas!
