Tag Archives: paper crafts

Project Zakka: Mini Paper Pine Trees

It’s no secret I love all things miniature. So, when I finally got around to it last week – I decided to fold some mini Paper Pine Trees for fun!

Mini Paper Pine Trees

I made a little mountain scene but you can make a lot of them in different sizes and create a mini forest if you wanted to! And since it’s the time of the year where pine trees are best celebrated, they’re such a cute way to add something special to the Christmas table.

Sit one little tree next to each place card at your Christmas dinner and enjoy your family and friends’ compliments when they sit down to something so cute!

As always, instructions are included below – pine it up!

What you need:

  • 1 x 5cm (2”) green paper square – this will form your tree
  • A strip of brown paper to form your tree stump – mine measured a tiny 0.5cm x 2.5cm!
  • General craft tools – craft knife, cutting mat, pencil and glue

*Because the tree piece has several folds, I’ve included a downloadable PDF to guide you through the folds. Click here for the PDF.

Instructions

  1. Follow the folds as outlined in the PDF.
  2. Using a round greylead pencil, roll up your strip of brown paper to form a tree stump. Using some glue, stick your tree stump into place.
  3. Place your mini pine tree on top of your stump – your mini tree has sprung!

Tip: If you want your mini tree to be one whole piece; add a bit of craft glue to the base of your tree before placing it on top of the stump.

PS > Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback about my first PDF tutorial for my Paper Dahlias – I hope this one’s easier to follow!

Project Zakka: Paper Dahlias / Christmas Stars

When I think of Christmas, one of the first things that pop into mind is always a star. Whether it’s because of the story of the Three Wise Men following David’s Star or just for the fact that they are pretty, stars are an emblematic part of Christmas.

I’ve bought some pretty nice ornaments in the past but this year, I wanted to add something that I made to the mix. After looking around for what shape to use, I decided to create paper dahlia flowers because I loved the way they looked when hanging and they way they reminded me of a Christmas star.

I don’t have a lot of space in my little house so I can’t fit a tree – I have a few bare branches that act as my festive corner over Christmas instead. Versatile enough to be an ornament or wrapping feature, the paper dahlias looked great hanging in amongst my ornaments and paper pinwheels!

What you need:

  • 6 x patterned paper squares – I used papers with hints of gold for an added Christmas feel!
  • Baker’s twine / cotton thread of your choice
  • Single-hole punch
  • General craft tools – craft knife, cutting mat, pencil and glue

*Because the dahlia pieces have several folds, I’ve included a downloadable PDF to guide you through the folds. Click here for the PDF.

Instructions:

  1. Fold 6 x dahlia flower components as per the steps outlined in the PDF.
  2. Apply glue to the sides of the dahlia pieces – make sure you only glue about 2/3 of the dahlia side from the base otherwise your dahlia won’t fan out nicely!!
  3.  Stick all the pieces together side by side, making sure that they are all facing the same orientation.
  4. Once you reach the last piece, you will need to apply glue to the side then stick this back to the other side of the first piece to create a circular / fanned effect.
  5. Allow for the dahlia to dry for about a minute then start spreading each point (outer) and petal (inner) – there should be two outer points to between each centre petal.
  6. Using a single hole punch – punch a small hole at the back between the sides of two of the outer points.
  7. Thread through your string – your dahlia flower / Christmas star is ready for hanging!

Multiple Exposures.

I’ve been slow off the mark but this week, I learnt how to create multiple exposures in PS – all thanks to a great tutorial from Pugly Pixels! Multiple exposures might well be ‘Hipstamatic’ cool but it’s also reminiscent of what you can do with toy film cameras like a Diana Mini.

I actually have a Diana Mini. But despite being very cute and pretty, she’s not as fantastic as I hoped she would be. After all, she’s not an SLR and she’s definitely not digital! Film is great but I still like (and prefer) the idea of being able to create a multiple exposure effect digitally.

You can use a variety of apps to do this but I wanted to challenge myself… if you can call this a challenge! I’ve been exploring and learning PS because it’s fun and definitely something I want to get better at using.

Using both film scans and digital shots in PS, I created some replica-Diana Mini photos of Hong Kong below… I hope you like them!