DIY Christmas Tree...

As we shared over on facebook yesterday, our dear friend Larissa created a fabulous DIY Christmas tree from a couple of magazines.  We fell in love with it straight away, and promised to attempt our own version. 

So here goes...forgive the dark pictures but it was a Saturday night project :-)

We made our tree from a Frankie magazine (we initially felt a little guilty for folding the beautiful pages of this magazine, but we later figured that the awesome people over at Frankie would forgive us!)

1. Fold down the page from the top right hand side towards the spine.

 2. Repeat the fold towards the spine again (your page will now be folded longer than the bottom edge of the magazine).

3. Fold up the bottom of the folded page.

4. Continue with the same process for each page of the magazine.

5. When you have finished, fold the front and back cover around to meet each other and staple together.  We only needed to use one Frankie magazine for our tree, but Larissa used two magazines to fill hers - it will depend on how many pages your magazine has as well as the thickness of the paper.

Attach a decoration to the top of the tree, and voila, your very own DIY Christmas tree!

We would love to see your own versions so please send them through to info@presse.co.nz and we will post them up on our facebook page.

Good luck! x

freebie xmas activities...

We love the DIY and free printable activities that emerge each Christmas season!  There are always lots of unique ideas that won't cost much at an often expensive time of the year...

Plus as school and kindy wraps up for 2011, these activities are perfect timing to help entertain your little ones as well. 

1. Make your own DIY christmas crackers.  Pop over to www.minieco.co.uk/crackers/ for easy peasy instructions.  Thanks Lil Magoolie for bringing these to our attention!

2. We used to love word searches when we were younger, and were really excited to find this fun, christmasy word search designed by the clever Li-Ann over at Ham&Pea Design and Paperie. 

3. Gorgeous free printable gift tags for Xmas, or fun stickers to play with all year long.  We love everything that comes out of the Studio of Love Mae!

4. This colouring competition ends on the 19th December, but the pretty picture will still be a great colouring-in idea for children long after Christmas Day.  Spotted over at the Countdown to Christmas at babybites.

And lastly, we can't go past a baking activity this Christmas season.  These star cookies from Donna Hay will be well appreciated by friends and family this year.

xx

confetti...

Confetti is completely in trend at the moment!  We keep spotting it in various forms, and love how it evokes a bright and colourful feeling in people of all ages.  Perhaps once reserved for party celebrations only, it is now being embraced in lots of creative outlets! 

Rebecca Baumann's Confetti International as part of the Primavera 2011 Exhibition
 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney

Rainbow Confetti bags from Poppies for Grace - we have to get these in stock!

New MT confetti masking tape - OMG!

Confetti for weddings at Martha Stewart

Confetti Giftwrapping at Tokketok

Happy feelings, right! x

parties and gift wrapping...

We've had countless children's birthday parties over June, and aside from watching all the excited little faces and eating lots of cake, we have to admit that of course, our favourite part of any birthday is wrapping the presents! We love the creative potential of seeing the paper, tape, string and tags all come together and become an extension of the present itself!  Of course, it is typically ripped open in less than 30 seconds but that's not the point :-)

(Sorry about the amateur pictures, but that is another reality of children's birthdays - you snap when you can!).

xx

DIY gift tags and labels

Every now and then, it's nice to find a freebie or two so have a look at these DIY gift tags and labels that I found looking through the archives of the gorgeous blog Eat Drink Chic.  All you need is some nice paper, your printer, and a pair of scissors to create these little gems...

Set of 4 French inspired gift tags

Home made Jam labels

Vintage style flash card gift tags

Vintage Tea Cannister labels

Happy creating! and be sure to send us some pics of your creations xx

More DIY projects to add to our list...

Thanks pinterest - our love affair just keeps getting stronger and stronger! xx

DIY fabric-covered notebooks

It felt time for another creative project at presse-papiers, and with Mothers Day only a few weeks away, we found this great DIY guide to making a fabric-covered notebook. Choose some beautiful fabric and supplies, and you can custom design the perfect gift!

It is easy peasy, if you can find the time :-)

How to:

After ironing your fabric with spray starch, place it print side down and lay your notebook on top.  Cut out the fabric, leaving a 3cm border around the notebook.

Stick double-sided tape around the outside edges of the notebook, leaving the spine clear, and then with the notebook closed, stick it down in the centre of the fabric.

At the top and bottom of the spine, cut two snips into the fabric so that you can leave the spine clear but still be able to fold and stick down the rest of the fabric onto the inside of the book. Tidy the corners.

You can now decorate it how you like.  If using a button and ribbon, you need to sew the button through the fabric at the front, and then stick a piece of ribbon or string in place on the inside using a sticker or washi tape, which is long enough to go around the notebook at least once. We used a colourful badge, which worked just as well.  Alternatively, you can simply tie a ribbon or leather string around the notebook.  Get creative with the inside pages of the notebook, by creating pockets for notes/receipts and giving space for the owner to record their details.  We included a little bookmark as well.

Thanks to Sania Pell at www.homelife.com.au, the gorgeous blog by Inside Out magazine.

Have fun! xx

a few of our favourite [gift-wrapping] things....

Right now, we are loving:

* Buttons - now I know why I kept all of those buttons that you receive when you buy new clothes - they are a great accessory for brown paper packages!

* Stamps - a quick and easy way to personalise your gift wrap, envelopes or cards.

* Twine - okay, this is an old love that has turned into a recent obsession thanks to The Twinery with their amazing colours that make you think of your favourite childhood lolly!  We will have these in our shop soon thank goodness! 

* brown envelopes - these have made a comeback recently and look so much prettier and original than a boring white envelope.  You can place letters, cards, or small gifts inside for a lucky someone!

* washi tape (of course) - we can't get enough of this stuff, and are looking forward to seeing the new range at Instyle in Sydney later this week.

All these pretty parcels are off to our baby sister who is moving to a new city this week to start university! Good luck babe!

xx

Pretty paper flowers

Inspired by all the romantic hints of Valentines Day just around the corner, I made these pretty paper flowers recently.  I found the original idea in the DIY section of the Inside Out Christmas edition - so thanks!

To create your own paper bouquets, you will need a range of different papers that you can cut into different shape circles, and some florist wire to make your stems.  For my flowers, I used pink cupcake cases, some small white doilies leftover from the Christmas wreath, and some baking paper, and I picked up some florist wire from the local flower shop.  Using different types of paper media help to texture the flowers, but really you can use whatever colour or paper you like.

Collect 3-4 paper circles together, starting with the largest circle on the outside and getting smaller as you come to the front of the flower.  Pierce the heart of the flower with a piece of florist wire that is folded in half, and you can then bend over the end of the folded wire to create a stamen.  I then twisted the florist wire together to make a more durable stem.  

Easy as that! And now you don't need to wait for the flowers to be brought for you...although that would be lovely also :-)

xx

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone is enjoying the start of the New Year!

As the Christmas tree and decorations are packed away for another year, I thought I would share with you my creative attempt at a paper doily Christmas wreath! I found the idea on the gorgeous blog The Red Thread, and thought I would give it a go! The blog gave a great tutorial on making the wreath, so we'll be watching out for new DIY projects in the future and will be sure to share them with you.

One of our resolutions this year is to explore our creative side a bit more, so why don't you join us? :-)

xx