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Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations

  December 20, 2013 - 8:00 PM | , , , ,
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Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

Christmas is so close, and hopefully you are all organised for the day!?  We are literally in the middle of packing boxes at the moment and are moving house over the weekend, so there is no Christmas tree up, no Christmas decorations hanging, no presents wrapped, and no Christmas food cooked.  That hasn’t stopped us from thinking about Christmas though.

Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

Maybe, like us, you need some last minute Christmas decorations to hang on the tree that you haven’t put up yet?  Get the kids crafting over the weekend and you can have a tree full of decorations in no time!  Annie and Elissa have been busy behind the scenes making some pretty, sparkly, Christmas decorations… from milk bottle lids!

Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

That’s right!  Milk bottle lid Christmas decorations!

While these ones won’t be hanging on our tree this year, Annie has made a huge bundle of them, about 60 in fact, as she plans to give lots of them away as small gifts to family and friends.  She loves giving gifts and she loves being creative!

Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

Do you want to make some too?  If so, we have free instructions and diagrams for the children to follow (or yourself), and all you have to do is click the button below to open the pdf file.

Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

Even though we have rated these as 4/5 on our difficulty rating system, Annie, at aged 8 made almost all of them by herself.   Younger children will need a little more help with poking holes and threading the cord through the holes.

Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

You may notice that some of the decorations don’t have the cord attached. We will attach cord to them all, but even though we haven’t done so on all of them, we do recommend that you attach the cord before gluing the glitter on, so that you don’t rub the glitter off while you are poking holes and threading the cord through the lid.

Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

We hope you have a great time being creative with these milk bottle lid Christmas decorations, and we would love to see some photos of yours too!  Contact us, or keep an eye out for our Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decoration Gallery.

Milk Bottle Lid Christmas Decorations, Christmas, decoration, gift, handmade, milk bottle lid, juice bottle lid, kids, craft, recycle

Free Fun Friday – Nativity Scene Colouring Picture

  December 13, 2013 - 8:00 PM | , , ,
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Nativity Scene Colouring Picture, children, colouring sheet, nativity, Christmas, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, baby, manger, stable, star, chickens, hen, rooster, free

Nativity Scene Colouring Picture, children, colouring sheet, nativity, Christmas, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, baby, manger, stable, star, chickens, hen, rooster, free

Christmas is coming… ever so quickly!

There is always so much to do leading up to Christmas, and so much to think about, but hopefully you haven’t been getting stressed with Christmas shopping, menu planning, or packing bags for a trip! In the next week, we won’t be doing any of that, but we will be busy packing boxes to move house!  Not an ideal time of year to move, but sometimes that’s they way things happen!

Have your children finished school for the year and are on holidays?  If so, you are probably keen to keep them busy while you are busy preparing for Christmas, or writing Christmas cards if you haven’t done so already!  We do have a great solution for you!  Subscribe to our Imagine. Make. Believe activity magazine… today!  It will keep the kids out of mischief for many hours, and the projects are easy enough for children to do themselves, although younger children will need some help.  There is even a play and finger puppets to keep them entertained!  Games, puzzles, recipes, craft, sewing and lots more… 70 pages of fun!  Once you subscribe we will send you a link, and all you have to do is download your family’s copy!  At $4 an issue*, it is great value, and as cheap as cup of coffee!

Our cute Christmas Nativity Scene Colouring Picture will also help the kids sit quietly for 15 minutes as they colour in.  Just click on the Nativity Scene Colouring Picture button below, print the file, and grab 15 minutes of peace in the craziness of Christmas!

Nativity Scene Colouring Picture, children, colouring sheet, nativity, Christmas, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, baby, manger, stable, star, chickens, hen, rooster, free

If you are still having trouble entertaining the children, have a browse through all of our Free Stuff, and don’t forget to come back soon as we are always adding more!

*If purchased as a yearly subscription. AU$16 for a full year subscription of four issues, or you can purchase them separately for $5 per issue.

Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas – Brown Paper Bag and Ribbon

  December 9, 2013 - 5:20 PM | , , ,
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Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas - Brown Paper Bag and Ribbon, paper bag, ribbon, easy, decoration, wrapping

We are back with another easy Christmas gift wrap idea today.  Last time we wrapped an awkward shaped gift in a brown paper bag, and this time it is no different, except the decoration!  Once again we are using a brown paper bag wrapper, and this time, we have decorated it with ribbon scraps to make it look a little bit Christmassy.  You can vary the width of the ribbon, and stitch a bow or an extra piece of ribbon in the middle like we did, to make it look even more interesting.  This Christmas gift wrap idea is as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas - Brown Paper Bag and Ribbon, paper bag, ribbon, easy, decoration, wrapping

All you need is:

  • Brown paper bag
  • At least one piece of ribbon the width of your bag
  • Matching thread
  • Sewing machine
  • Scissors (to cut thread)
  • Gift
  1. Place the gift in the paper bag and fold down the edge.
  2. Position the ribbon (and bow or extra ribbon) on the folded part of the paper bag.
  3. Sew the ribbon onto the paper bag, sewing through all layers of the bag.  You can use a decorative, zigzag or straight stitch.

If you don’t have a sewing machine you can tape the ribbon to the brown paper bag with double sided tape or craft glue, and tape or glue the bag shut.

The gift will be sealed in the paper bag and is ready to put under the Christmas tree or given to a friend or family member.

Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas - Brown Paper Bag and Ribbon, paper bag, ribbon, easy, decoration, wrapping

We have more Christmas gift wrap ideas coming soon on our website!

Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas

  December 6, 2013 - 10:00 AM | , , ,
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Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas - Imagine. Make. Believe, stocking filler, stocking, stuffer, fillers gifts, trinkets, goodies, ideas

Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas - Imagine. Make. Believe, stocking filler, stocking, stuffer, fillers gifts, trinkets, goodies, ideas

Christmas stockings!  It’s that time of year that we start thinking about Christmas stockings.  Do you put yours out on Christmas Eve, or do you hang them up for the whole Christmas season?  We are privileged to have some beautiful Christmas stockings made by the grandparents of the Imagine. Make. Believe children, so we usually hang ours up at the beginning of December, when we put up the Christmas tree and other decorations, so that we can enjoy them for a whole month.  Val Laird  and her secretly crafty husband (he’s done some amazing cross-stitches in the last decade or two), and Janelle have all contributed to these stockings in different ways, which makes them all the more special.

Christmas Stocking Felt Shapes, felt, Christmas trees, bells, stars

Christmas Stocking, felt, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, star

Christmas Stocking, felt, angel, cross-stitch, beads

Christmas Stocking, felt, dove, cross-stitch, tassle

Depending on the stocking, the cross-stitch and applique patterns were either designed by someone else (unfortunately we don’t remember the designer’s details as these were made years ago), or were patterns that inspired us to create what we have above.  We did blank out the beautifully embroidered names too, for privacy reasons.

So the next question is… what gifts do you put in your Christmas stockings?  If you are stuck for suggestions, we have one for you!  It’s our Imagine. Make. Believe children’s digital activity magazine and it is a great stocking stuffer idea.  Imagine. Make. Believe - Issue 1 - Royalty and Castles $5

A subscription for one year costs only AU$16!  That is four 70 page issues and there is no postage to pay!  When you purchase, we can either:

  1. Email you a gift subscription voucher/card, (offer valid any time) or
  2. Post you a gift subscription voucher/card, as well as a bonus Imagine. Make. Believe 2014 postcard calendar for free.  If you purchase a Christmas card with the subscription, we will post it to you for free too.  (This is a limited offer only available until the 12th December 2013 for the first 40 customers).  Please note:  in the instructions to the seller, please type in Postcard Offer so that we know you want this option, and supply us with your postal address.

Well that takes care of one idea, but that is not going to fill up the stocking! You may like to browse our online store for some more stocking stuffer ideas that make great gifts for children, or have a look at our Christmas stocking stuffer ideas list below!  We have 60 Christmas stocking gift suggestions, that include ideas for children and adults.

Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas - Imagine. Make. Believe, stocking filler, stocking, stuffer, fillers gifts, trinkets, goodies, ideas

What’s your favourite idea?  We think the mouse trap is bit funny, but it just might come in handy for someone!  Do you have any great Christmas stocking stuffer ideas?  Let us know in the comments below!

Free Play with Paper – Nativity Scene Printables

  November 29, 2013 - 10:00 PM | , , ,
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Free Play with Paper - Christmas Nativity Scene, Imagine. Make. Believe, Christmas, Mary, Joseph, baby, Jesus, animals, shepherds, Magi, wisemen, star, stable, hay, manger, free, printable, paper, standups, cutouts, children, play, paper

Free Play with Paper, free, printable, paper, standups, cutouts, children, play, paper

Do you love playing with paper?  We do!  We are always amazed at what you can do with one piece of paper.  It is such a versatile material!

Today we introduce you to our new Free Play with Paper series!  Free Play with Paper are free printables that you can print off and the children can cut out, glue together, and play with.  They include stand up people and animals, buildings, and other props, and can provide hours of free play, as well as help children make up their own stories.

From each issue of our Imagine. Make. Believe magazine, we will have a set of Free Play with Paper printables.  They will be available in a coloured version, as well as black and white, perfect to colour in!  Keep an eye out for our Royal Set, available soon.

Do you love nativity scenes? We love the Christmas story – the birth of Jesus, and all the miracles that surrounded his arrival into the world, and so we love nativity scenes too, as they remind us of this precious story.  If you don’t know the story, head over to this link for the historical account.

Free Play with Paper - Christmas Nativity Scene Printables, Imagine. Make. Believe, Christmas, Mary, Joseph, baby, Jesus, animals, shepherds, Magi, wisemen, star, stable, hay, manger, free, printable, paper, standups, cutouts, children, play, paper

JJ, our 11 year old team member, and Janelle have been hard working behind the scenes to bring you a very cute set of nativity scene printables!  

All you need is a printer connected to your computer, scissors and glue (we used a glue stick), and if you choose the black and white version, coloured pencils, felt tip pens or crayons.

With our nativity scene printables, we have tried to include all aspects of the Christmas story, with the Magi (wise-men), the star, the shepherds and the angels that appeared to them, the animals, the manger (feed trough), Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and a background scene.  That means your children can act out the whole Christmas story with all the paper pieces, but they can also use them with our other Free Play with Paper sets once they are available.

To get started, click on one of our nativity scene printable buttons below.

Free Play with Paper - Christmas Nativity Scene, Imagine. Make. Believe, Christmas, Mary, Joseph, baby, Jesus, animals, shepherds, Magi, wisemen, star, stable, hay, manger, free, printable, paper, standups, cutouts, children, play, paper                        Free Play with Paper - Christmas Nativity Scene, Imagine. Make. Believe, Christmas, Mary, Joseph, baby, Jesus, animals, shepherds, Magi, wisemen, star, stable, hay, manger, free, printable, paper, standups, cutouts, children, play, paper

We would love to hear what you think of our nativity scene printables, and it would be great if you could send us a photo if your children do anything super creative with them!

Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas – Brown Paper Bag and Buttons

  November 26, 2013 - 10:00 AM | , , ,
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Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas - Brown Paper Bag and Buttons, paper bag, buttons, fabric, easy, decoration, wrapping

For some reason, we have three children doing ‘Secret Santa’ (a secret gift swapping event) at school this year, which is unusual for us.  Instead of going out and buying some trinket, the kids decided to give away one of their Puffy Cupcake Pincushions (pattern available soon) that they made during the last school holidays.   

Puffy Cupcake Pincushions - kid's sewing, children, felt, buttons, cupcake, pincushion

Normally, we would wrap Christmas presents in Christmas paper, however there are a couple of problems with this.  The first is that we have been living out of boxes for the past nine months, and the Christmas paper is in one of the bottom boxes.  There wasn’t much energy or time this week to go and fish for the paper, and we could go and buy some instead, but we would rather use what we already have, or make do with something else that could be used instead.  The second issue is that these cupcakes are hard to wrap!  

Janelle loves coming up with creative solutions to interesting problems, so she got thinking about Christmas gift wrap ideas.  Within seconds she thought that a brown paper bag would be a perfect solution for the wrapping paper problem, because it is quick (already in the cupboard and easy to access), cheap ($2 -$3 for a packet of 100) and easy (no need to wrap an awkward shaped item – just pop it in the bag)!  There is one problem though!!  

Brown paper bags are not very pretty or Christmassy!  So the first paper bag was decorated with Christmas stickers!  The gift wrapping for a teenage girl, however, needed something a bit more age appropriate.  One glance around the room and Janelle’s eyes saw the containers full of buttons!  One thing led to another, and in no time at all, the teenage boy had a pretty Christmas package ready for the teenage girl, for the Secret Santa swap!

Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas - Brown Paper Bag and Buttons, paper bag, buttons, fabric, easy, decoration, wrapping

 All you need is:

  • Brown paper bag
  • One or two buttons
  • Small circle of fabric
  • Matching thread (knot the ends together)
  • Needle
  • Scissors (to cut thread)
  • Gift
Running Stitch Circle

Fabric Circle – Running Stitch Position

  1. Place the gift in the paper bag and fold down the edge.
  2. Gather the fabric circle with a running stitch as shown in the diagram.
  3. Position the gathered fabric circle on the paper bag (make sure the gift is inside).
  4. Place buttons on top of fabric and stitch through all layers of bag, buttons and fabric.

See our basic How To? posts for sewing on buttons, starting a thread, knotting a thread, running stitch, etc.

You will now have a sealed gift, with a pretty handmade decoration.

Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas - Brown Paper Bag and Buttons, paper bag, buttons, fabric, easy, decoration, wrapping
More Christmas gift wrap ideas on our website… coming soon!

Christmas Advent Calendar Gift Ideas

  November 15, 2013 - 10:00 AM | , , ,
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Christmas Advent Calendar Gift Ideas - Imagine. Make. Believe, advent, calendar, gifts, trinkets, goodies, ideas

Christmas Advent Calendar Gift Ideas - Imagine. Make. Believe, advent, calendar, gifts, trinkets, goodies, ideasWe love advent calendars here at Imagine. Make. Believe.  Janelle would love to have advent calendars all year round and could easily own 20 if she didn’t hold herself back!  She does love things with lots of little boxes, containers, drawers, doors or windows, and so advent calendars are a bit like heaven!  Of course, the children love them too, because they like the little gifts, trinkets or other goodies that they find hidden away.

So, have you got your Christmas advent calendar ready?  If not, go to our Eggstraordinary Advent Calendar post, where you will find our free tutorial to make an advent calendar from egg cartons and milk bottle lids, and if you don’t want to make it yourself, let the children spend the weekend creating!  We have one each that the children made, and they love filling up their advent calendars with trinkets that their friends or siblings can collect.

Imagine Make Believe Creative Simple Cheap Fun Children Kids Advent Calendar Free Tutorial Project Christmas Craft Egg Carton Milk Bottle Lids Recycle craft, advent calendar, free, project, tutorial, instructions, Christmas, easy, children, kids, holiday

Once you have your advent calendar, you will want at least 24 gifts to pop in the hiding spots. There are all sorts of options, but they usually need to be small, especially if you have a small space like our Eggstraordinary Advent Calendars.

Need some suggestions?  Here is a list of our Christmas advent calendar gift ideas, perfect for those little hidey holes!

Christmas Advent Calendar Gift Ideas - Imagine. Make. Believe, advent, calendar, gifts, trinkets, goodies, ideas

Do you have any small advent calendar gift ideas?  Let us know in the comments below!

Christmas Goodies!

  November 7, 2013 - 10:00 AM |
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Imagine Make Believe Creative Simple Cheap Fun Children Kids Advent Calendar Free Tutorial Project Christmas Craft Egg Carton Milk Bottle Lids Recycle craft, advent calendar, free, project, tutorial, instructions, Christmas, easy, children, kids, holiday

Are you starting to think about Christmas?  It’s a little hard to ignore that it is almost around the corner, when you see lots of  tinsel, candy canes, Christmas cards and wrapping paper in the shops!  Only today I was asked if I have started my Christmas shopping!  Have you?  I laughed at the idea that I might have thought about purchasing anything in readiness for Christmas! There are a few other more important things to deal with before I get to Christmas shopping!

You, on the other hand, may be so organised that you have already purchased your presents, organised your advent calendar, and planned your menu!  Is that right?

Well, if not, we can help you a little.  Here is our list of this year’s Christmas goodies:

  • Advent calendar – We show you how to make an Eggstraordinary Advent Calendar that you or the kids can do themselves!  You will need to collect some milk or juice bottle lids and a couple of egg cartons, and if you don’t have enough milk bottle lids, ask your family or friends to save you some.  It is a great weekend project to keep the kids busy, and achievable before December 1, when the advent calendars are hung!   Check out the whole post and the instructions. 

Imagine Make Believe Creative Simple Cheap Fun Children Kids Advent Calendar Free Tutorial Project Christmas Craft Egg Carton Milk Bottle Lids Recycle craft, advent calendar, free, project, tutorial, instructions, Christmas, easy, children, kids, holiday

  • Christmas Cards – We have two different designs available in our shop, as well as a range of other greeting cards.  You can buy them individually or in packs of 5 or 10.  If you need bulk, just contact us for a quote.  We also have Christmas Tags available in packs of 10.

Christmas Card, Mrs Claus, Santa Claus

  • Gift Idea – Children’s Magazine – Why not give a gift subscription to our downloadable, digital, kids activity magazine called Imagine. Make. Believe?  It is such a great value gift that gives all year round, and each issue is packed full of themed craft, games, puzzles, drama, recipes and much more.  70 pages, four times a year, will keep the kids busy in the holidays!  Grab our first issue now!

Imagine. Make. Believe - Issue 1 - Royalty and Castles

  • More Gift Ideas – We have some other gifts available in our online store too… colouring books and stitching kits for children, and some others will be added soon.

Mini Crown Cushion Kits, stitching, kids, royal, felt

  • Christmas Decorations – We have a few crafty Christmas decorations to make, coming up later in November and early December, so make sure you come back and visit soon!
  • Christmas Story Finger Puppets – JJ is in the process of designing our Christmas Nativity Scene Printables.  The whole nativity set of free printables is now available, with baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, animals, stable, a trough, and more!

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