Sunrise Creations Blog

Like many of our modern traditions, the Christmas tree has it's roots in pre-Christian times.   Throughout history different cultures have used trees, especially evergreens, in their celebrations.  In the cold and snowy climate, the evergreen was a symbol of life.

The Christmas Tree Farm Network says "Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.

Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth."

From around 1700AD the Christmas tree as we know it began to evolve.  That's when we all got into the fun of decorating them.

Here is a little decoration that your kids will love to make.  Remember the paper chains you made at school?  Imagine how pretty they are when they are made of ribbon instead. This works best with wider ribbon.  The idea comes from Martha Stewart.

(image from Martha Stewart)

How to make a ribbon chain.

Cut your ribbons into 15 cm lengths.  Staple a piece of ribbon with the right sides together, 1cm in from the ends. Now fold the ends back against the ribbon with glue with a glue stick to cover the staple. Turn them back to right side. Now take another length of ribbon and pass it though this loop and repeat the process of stapling and gluing. 

Nothing says Christmas is coming like a handmade card or decoration lovingly made by a child at child care or at school.  Or even better, at home!

Simple homemade decorations will not only add the personal touch to your home, but also make great gifts for friends, neighbours and teachers, and the person who drops in unexpectedly who you forgot to buy something for!

A visit to a craft shop will be fun.  Find little eyes, and cutouts to decorate flat sticks and they become characters to hang on your tree. Add a cardboard hat and a bead for a nose and every one will be unique.

A very simple but effective project for your Christmas table are Candy Cane napkin rings, that can be made inexpensively and to match your own personal decor with the help of kids aged 4 and up.  How exciting for a little person to see their handiwork being admired as the guests sit down to dine together.

A simple florists ball can be decorated without fuss and yet still produces a stunning result.  Just add plastic or paper flowers and stick them onto the ball with a craft pin.  Add a ribbon at the top and it's ready to hang.

Christmas crackers or Bonbons are another great project for children young and old, and can be as cheap and cheerful or extravagant as you wish, both in their decoration and the trinkets you include. Scratch Lottery tickets, chocolates and pens are popular inclusions on the cheaper side; with pen knives, cufflinks or costume jewellery good options should you feel more generous.   Christmas Crackers can serve a dual purpose as place cards, and can be personalised with sayings, jokes or a memory you share with the lucky recipient.  What an individual and thoughtful addition these would be at your dining table.

Paper garlands, Homemade gingerbread tree decorations or a gingerbread house, a family wreath for the front door, cards and wrapping paper or whatever takes your fancy. Christmas decorations can be made to suit any budget, skills and age group, and are a wonderful tradition to start or continue with your kids in preparation for a visit from the big man in the red suit!

Photo display boards are a really nice way to display some of your favourite photos in and around your home.

The also make a great feature-piece on large, blank walls, or create a personal, yet stunning accent to any room.

You can make your own display board, or pick one up online, or at places such as scrapbooking outlets, photo processing shops or Spotlight. No matter where you get your board, it’s what you do with it that will make it a feature.

They are also highly personal, so make it really special.

You may like to have your favourite snapshots of great times with people you love; the images you caught unexpectedly that make you smile, or remind you of a fun moment.

Simple framed board with patterned background by Country Living

It may be a random display of your family, featuring photographs that highlight each family member’s personality, which features well in kitchen and living areas, or capturing the essence of a particular day, celebration or other special moment.

The display in itself can tell the story of a person, featuring a careful selection of images, or a special day, including specific moments, guests or other happenings.

Family feature display by Woman's Day

For themed living areas, or bedrooms, you may like to create a feature board, with similar coloured or themed pictures. It may be your daughter dressed in her favourite fairy princess dress ups. You may prefer a theme, featuring images of beaches, trees or your favourite animals.

Country style ribbon board by Christine Chitnis

Ultimately, your photo display board can be created around what it’s purpose is; to make you smile, inspire and motivate you, to add character and colour to a room, or just remind you of special moments in your life.

If you like the style of the ribbon board pictured here, Christine has a tutorial on her site showing exactly how you can make one.

Your photo board is what it is to you … so go create.

There is no law that says you have to have a theme for a party.  Even a child’s birthday party can be loads of fun with just a general party atmosphere but let’s be honest; themes do make parties more interesting and memorable, and you can have as much fun in the planning as your guests will have on the day.

 

Half the fun is in picking the theme, especially for children who have a favourite character, toy or colour you can work with.

 

Make every effort to follow your theme the whole way through, from your invitations through to your lolly bags and thank you cards because making it truly memorable is usually all about the details.

 

There are many wonderful examples of themed parties on blogs and websites and it is worth doing a search on themed parties in general as well as the theme that you choose to work with.

 

One of the finest examples of a Mary Poppins “Jolly Holiday” theme as lovingly depicted on Sharnel’s “My Life My Loves” blog.

 

 

Don’t feel overwhelmed by the lengths that this amazingly creative woman as gone to in her efforts to recreate the “Jolly Holiday” experience, her work is inspiring but you can invest as much expense and effort into your themed party as you choose.

 

If you choose a theme subject that you and your child already know and love it gives you greater room for creativity and you can often utilise items that you already have for decoration and in activities.

 

Having a theme that allows for dress ups and costumes works well as all kids love to dress up and role play, and the natural play acting that comes with that adds to the festive atmosphere.

Sometimes the big day sneaks up on us, making it a mad scramble to create an atmosphere where there is none.  When you are working under pressure it can block your creativity.  Ideas are suddenly few and far between.

I found these gorgeous images at Better Homes and Gardens in one of their Halloween slideshows.  What appealed to me about these ideas is that they are all created using just paper cut outs or ribbons and string.  They aren't hard to do at all.  I hope these images give you some ideas that you can use at your place at Halloween.  Drop into Better Homes and Gardens and look through the rest of the images.  They are fabulous and really not difficult to do.

Have a happy and ghoulish Halloween!

 

I love seeing new and unusual things, especially decorations.  They are such an important part of setting a mood and creating an atmosphere, particularly for parties.

I was wandering through Etsy today and I found a store called Fake Cupcake Creations.  Aren't they fabulous? 

 

Can you picture these cakes in a fantasy setting?  Think Alice in Wonderland or even a cake palace.  How colourful and decorative are they?

Fake Cupcake Creations make fake cakes for all occasions.  The Halloween ones are ghoulishly delightful.  If you are a real cupcake fan, you can also buy a headband with a creamy cupcake sitting on top!

This store is a feast for the senses so  pop in and have a good look around.  Your imagination will go wild!

 

Gone are the days of equating the word ‘party’ with garbage bins full of throw away plastic and paper rubbish at clean up time. These days when we celebrate many of us want to know that the environment isn’t going to suffer unnecessarily just so that we can have a good time.

Consider using washable and re-usable cutlery, crockery or plastic plates, table cloths and serviettes, perhaps providing only finger foods on washable platters or even cutting banana leaves into different shapes for use as individual plates.

There are many different options available for disposable party products that have been made from recycled materials such as the bamboo range from An Eco Dream .  No one wants to wash the dishes after a party and these product free you from the sink without harming the environment.  There are so many other fun ways to achieve a unique party experience without having a negative impact on the environment.

 

Make a list of items you need for your party, starting from your invitations and working your way through to pack-up time and find a fun and environmentally friendly alternative for each one.

Electronic invitations are onet way to remove paper from the invitation equation and for informal occasions they are great.  For something important, though, I still love real, paper, personalised invitations.  There is nothing like them.  If you are choosing paper invitations, make them personal and include a photo so that they become a keepsake. 

A great alternative to balloons can be paper lanterns and other decorations made from recycled paper and cardboard and materials from your garden. Decking your halls with garlands, vines, grasses and flowers gives a stunning effect in place of streamers.

Catering with organic, natural and healthy foods is not only fun and much easier these days with the ready
availability of natural food colours and dyes, you are less likely to end up with a group of manic children and you can relax, knowing that they are enjoying party food that is actually good for them too.

With a little bit of planning you can still put on just about any kind of party and give it a few eco friendly tweaks so that it sits comfortably with your own sense of environmental responsibility.

(image by Aneta Blaszczyk)

Bonbonniere are the little gifts or keepsakes you get at a wedding as a token of appreciation from the bride and groom.  Whilst they are tradition in Italy, they have become more and more popular in Australia as well over recent times.

Traditional bonbonniere contained a tulle bag holding five white sugared almonds, each almond representing health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life.  Attached is usually a card with the date of the wedding and names of the bride and groom.

In more recent times bomboniere have taken many different forms and really creativity and imagination are the only things between you and amazing bonbonniere. 

Whilst most Australians associate bonbonniere with weddings, traditionally they are used as guest gifts for any special occasion such as engagement, anniversary, christening, communion or confirmation.

A quick google search will show you just how many options there are for bonbonniere.  You can choose from traditional or create little handmade gifts such as candles, bath salts, chocolates, cookies and more.  You could find something quirky that really represents your personality. If you are a coffee lover you could use little jars or sachets of special coffee.  You could frame the name at each seat so the frame becomes the gift while it fills a functional role at the reception.  You could use candles or plants or CD's filled with photos and your wedding vows. It's really up to you.

Use your imagination when it comes to packaging your items and tie the colours in with your wedding theme. When creating packaging make sure it can withstand being moved around and placed in handbags etc.  Noodle boxes are a definite favourite when it comes to bonbonniere packaging.  Always be sure to include a thank you message for your guests.

A relatively new bonbonniere concept is to have gingerbread cookies made with guests individual names included. These are used as place cards for the tables and then double as the bonbonniere. 

There really is no limit as to how creative you can be with your bonbonniere but keeping it tasteful is always best.

Let your creativity shine and make your thank you gift one to remember.

If you are like most people, you have taken thousands of photographs over the years but never found the time to do anything with them. 

How about this for an idea?  A fantastic way to display your photos and also create a focal point in your home is to create a wall of frames.  The frames don’t need to match; they don’t even need to be made from the same materials.  In fact, the more creative you are with the frames the better the finished project.

There is no need to rush out and purchase dozens of frames.  Take your time to think about what you want the wall to look like then begin your search for frames.  Visit opportunity shops, second hand stores, markets, discount stores and department stores to build up your collection.  In addition to buying frames you could make some yourself from sturdy cardboard. Use varying colours and layers to create eye-catching frames by cutting the sizes varying sizes larger than your image and layering the board before adding the image.

If you are feeling really creative you could scrapbook style the frames adding embellishments, paint, fabric and anything else that catches your eye.

Your imagination is the only thing you really need to get started on this project and before you know it you will have an amazing focal point that will not only bring back amazing memories but also help you to share your stories with friends and family when they visit.

(iimage from B.Splendid which has some lovely examples of grouped framings to look at.)

Today I thought we might have a little bit of fun.  Do you remember doing those puzzles that test your powers of observation by asking you to identify the differences between two images?  I used to love those and I believe that they helped me improve my powers of observation and that has helped me with my photography and design.  It also helps immensely when you are putting together a special event.  That's how you'll see what works and what doesn't.

So, how well do you pay attention?

There are 5 differences between these two images.  Can you find them all?  You'll have to look carefully!   Leave your answer as a comment.  

Good luck!

Check in tomorrow for the answers.