This week, with Christmas almost upon us, Roy decided he wanted to make something which he could use to add a personal touch to the presents he plans to give. Roy loves making his wrapping special and beautiful, and when he saw some old, paper and tinsel Christmas decorations in an antique shop he wondered if he could somehow create his own version, but as gift tags. With a little trial and error, he created something he was very pleased with and decided to share the instructions. So this week, Roy Creates Old Fashioned Christmas Tags
You Will Need:
- An old Christmas picture. You might have some cards you can use, or you can draw one yourself if you prefer. You could also find a picture on the internet. If you use one with a motif which is easily cut out it is best.
- Tinsel. Try not to get the very thick tinsel as it will be hard to glue in place!
- PVA Glue
- Cardstock (thin cardboard). If you are printing a picture off the computer you will want to print it onto the cardstock, otherwise you will want it for the back of the decoration. Alternately, if you use a picture from a card, you can use the other side of the card. Otherwise, just glue your picture onto the cardstock.
- Foamcore or two layers of corrugated cardboard, stuck together
- Pens
- Scissors
- Optional – glitter glue for highlighting the image
Method:
- First, choose the image you would like to use on your gift tag. You want one which will fit nicely into a circle, or one where you can cut the motif out easily. Roy made all his cards circular, but you could make them in the shape of bells or anything else you like.
- If making circular cards, lightly trace around a cup or plate to mark the circle you will be using. Carefully cut the circle out
- Cut a circle of the same size out of the plain cardboard (this will be where you write the message)
- Cut a circle about 1 centimetre smaller than the picture out of the cardboard or foamcore
- Cover the 'inside' (the bit you don't want to see) of one of your circles in glue. Glue the tinsel around the very edge and then press the foamcore circle on top of the tinsel. Put a cup on top of the foamcore circle while this side of the card dries.
- If you want to hang your card from a present or on the tree, glue a loop of ribbon onto the other side of your piece of foamcore.
- Cover the other side of the foamcore in glue and press the other circle onto the glue. You might want to put the cup back on top to hold the card while it dries. Note: if you are putting ribbon into your card make sure you check the design before you glue the outer circles so that the string or ribbon you will be hanging it from is at the top!
- When your decoration is completely dry, write a short message on the blank side.
- Now you can glue or tie it onto a present, or hang it from the tree!