My final Christmas gifting idea can also double up as decorations! I just decorated these mdf Christmas trees with posca pens I had left over from my autumn shows.
I’m very fond of sticking to a simple set of colours, so as well as using black and white designs I’ve also done some black, silver and gold trees. It’s about as bling as I get. Both of these would go with black wrap or metallic gold and silver papers.
As you can see I’ve used my laurel stem design (how to here), and simple star, snowflake, heart and tinsel motifs.
Another of my go-to motifs is my simple flower design. Like my other Scandi-style shapes it’s really easy to recreate as you’ll see by my how-to below. 
Simple flower how to step 1: Make a three curved marks one at the top and two at the bottom. 
Simple flower how to step 2: Add two lines between the triangular shape so the shape resembles a dancing man.
Simple flower how to step 3: Draw curves around the lines to make petals and add a dot in the middle. 
Simple flower how to step 4: Colour in the petals and make little dots around the shape.
Tag: Christmas
Christmas wrap ideas part 3: Super simple black and white
I’ve deliberately kept it simple for part three of my Christmas wrap ideas with these easy black and white designs.
I’ve opted for a lovely iridescent white paper and teamed it with simple black tags and co-ordinating ribbon. The gestural stem designs are based on my laurel stem illustration, see the step by step here. The Christmas tree and garland are really simple; I used a white Posca pen to create tiered jagged shapes for the tree, waited for the paint to dry and overlaid it with gold dots. For the garland I drew some simple thin lines with a silver Posca pen then added white and gold dots.
Christmas gift wrap ideas part 2: Scandi-style black and white
It’s day two of my week of Christmas wrap ideas. This time I’ve gone for a stylish, yet playful Scandi-style as seen in my Scandi Lodge trend ideas with illustrated mdf bauble shaped tags.
Using my Scandi-style Christmas moodboard and my pinterest pins as inspiration I painted the shapes with white acrylic paint and used black Posca pens to apply the designs.
I kept the drawings fairly simple with basic star/snowflake shapes, squiggles, hearts, dots and scallops. Because the illustrated baubles create such an impact I kept the wrap itself very simple using shiny black paper with black or white 5mm and 10mm satin ribbon. 
One of the easiest Scandi-style motifs I like to create is my simple laurel stem illustration that you can see above on the heart and the Christmas tree designs. It’s very, very easy to recreate as these step by steps show.
Step 1: Draw a simple line, it can be curved or straight, although I prefer mine to be a little jaunty.
Step 2: Make little semi-circle shapes along the line as shown.
Step 3: Join the tops of the semi-circle to the central line to create leaves.
Step 4: Colour in the leaves.
Christmas wrap ideas part 1: Totes trad red and green
Over the next four days I got some top easy gift wrap ideas for giving your Christmas pressies that extra pizzazz.
Idea number one is inspired by the totes trad red and white festive theme as outlined in this Christmas trends post. As I might of mentioned, this red, white and green colour scheme is one very much favoured by Dr B. So I always do something every year that’s a little concession to his yuletide preferences (although in fairness he’d have penguins and robins and Santas everywhere if it were up to him).
This is my concession to tradition. I have loads of gift tags and Posca pens left over from the craft shows I did this autumn so I thought I’d get busy with some quick and easy wrap revamps. I used two different nib sizes (5M and 1MR) to create different sized dots on the wrapping paper and some of the tags. I then finished it off with a trad twine bow. I also completed some of the gifts with a bespoke wreath tag. It’s dead easy to do, so much so I’ve got a little step by step for you below for you to try.
You don’t have to be a fantastic drawer to create this wreath, I’ve shown loads of people how to do it; if you can make a mark you can make this wreath. You’ll need a circular tag and Posca pens in dark and light green, gold (or silver), red and blue.
Step 1: Make a dark green circle using a rough layered zig-zags.
Step 2: Overlay the dark green with a lighter shade.
Step 3: Once your wreath is dry (the pens are paint based so you can use them as such) use the gold pen to draw lines around the ring as above, like it is wrapped around the wreath. Once you have covered the wreath with gold lines draw circles along the lines to make a string of beads.
Step 4: Add coloured baubles in-between the gold bead garland.
Step 5: Write a little festive phrase in the middle.
Moodboard: Scandi-style Christmas
My posts have been sporadic of late because I have been having the busiest time sending out Christmas orders and selling my ways in various Christmas markets. It’s been fun but boy has it been full-on.
Anyway, my festive mood, and indeed this Monday Moodboard, is in total full flow now working on a set of Scandi-style designs and illustrations for Christmas demos for Posca pens and for my Christmas wrapping. I’ll reveal more of this later in the week but in the mean time enjoy some of the patterns and imagery that has been inspiring me.
It’s time… Get set for Christmas!
It’s mid November so I feel it’s a respectable time to start getting set for Christmas. I thought I’d just do a really image-led post featuring some key festive looks that I like for home, gifting and decoration.
Retro shimmer
This look brings out the little girl in me. I would imagine the six year old me would have loved a shimmery, glittery tree in pinks, golds, turquoises, silvers and purples. When I was that age, the shinier the better and, while I try to be a grown up, this look still shouts “Christmas” to me.
Kiddie Christmas
Now it if was up to Dr B, this is what Christmas would look like at our place.
When it comes to wrapping, I go classy with kraft paper and twine or black/white iridescent wrap with contrasting ribbon and tags, Dr B goes all out with robins, trees, snowmen, santas and Christmas puds. His go-to colours are red, green and white because it is “proper”. He likes the fun of this look, the playfulness and, like my retro shimmer look, it reminds him of childhood. I like it too but I’m not sure if it would suit my gaff.
Totes trad
Love this. The sumptuous textures teamed with the plaid, plus the traditional motifs and colour ways combined with twinkly lights and little finishes such as berry and fir wreaths and centre pieces create a warm, cosy feel that immediately references this time of year.
The totes trad look feels both festive and grown up. You kinda feel Christmassy as soon as you see it and just looking at these pictures makes me want to reach for the hot chocolate and my slippers.
Light luxe
This metallic style is a kind of grown up version of the retro shimmer look.
I like the way you can be playful with this look – you can do glitter, you can adorn gifts and decorations with baubles and frosting – but the overall effect is quite chic. I love the art deco references of this and think it really comes together through the coordinating colour way of pinks, navies, silvers and gold/bronze metallics.
Frosted
You can do two versions of the frosted Christmas – the one above (trad touches, cosy finishes etc) or the one below (minimal styling, subtle references). Whatever your style the look shares the same cool colour suite teamed with pretty metallic accents and snowflake and wreath motifs.
Scandi Lodge
I know everyone has been talking about ‘hygge’ of late and I suppose this look reflects this.
This graphic style is perfect for me but I know that some find this look a little too austere and maybe too stark. However you can soften it up by being more playful with your decorative elements and use of pattern like the examples below…
Latin winter
This is my wildcard but I can’t resist showcasing this range from Paperchase. The colours are warm and vibrant while the motifs are so playful and fun. It’s a great alternative for those who aren’t keen on snowflakes.
Monday Moodboard: Pattern
This weeks’ Monday Moodboard is all about pattern. I’m currently working on some Christmas and textile patterns for homes projects. These little lot are just a sample of what I’ve been looking at.
I’ll trawled my pinterest boards for inspiration and although the designs above aren’t like my style they have given me loads of ideas for composition, colour-ways and motifs.
Have a little look at my Pinterest boards for more patterns and illustration ideas.
Four Fab Christmas Trends
Now it’s November I think it’s fair enough to talk about Christmas, isn’t it? Over the coming weeks I’ll be looking at festive ideas so that Ella’s place will be the coolest venue for yuletide food, drink, gifts and decoration inspiration – so watch this space.
As a journalist I’m very lucky to get an early insight into the trends for the upcoming festive season. It’s part of my job to visit trade shows and talk with my colleagues of what’s hot and what’s not for 2015. I’ve really enjoyed putting the festive issues of my magazines together and if you want some immediate crafty projects and ideas – head here and here.
If you’re stuck for what look to go for this Christmas (you’ve still got time to stock up with some yuletide updates for the big day) then this round-up of the year’s top trends should help.
Vintage trad
I love a bit of nostalgia at Christmas and the high street has really appealed to our love for yuletides past this year. This look reminds me of when my mum would get the decoration box out and my sister and I would busily get on creating the most stylishly decked-out tree. We were both very particular about the tree and the overall festive scheme. We were also as one on it: we didn’t want classy or cool, we didn’t want restrained, we wanted red, white and fir-tree greens, and we were all about santas, bells, robins, puddings, snowflakes and snowmen. This trend is perfect for this and I know me and my and sis would have been all over this lot when we were kids.
Luxury lodge
If I’m being honest, this trend is really for my fantasy grown-up home. I should explain… When I was a teenager I watched a lot of TV and I always thought that when I reached a ‘certain age’ I’d be living in house with white furniture, bleached and shiny surfaces, sumptuous soft furnishings in a palette of greys and alabaster, pale flowers in the hallway and soothing classical music playing practically all time. I would also wear crisp, expensive shirts. Anyway, while Ella’s place really isn’t like that (those shirts are a pain to iron), I do love the mix of textures this look combines and the lovely natural touches with the incorporation of foliage and woodland elements – these all work together to create a cool wintery feel without being too clinical or cold. It’s really lovely.
Glam metallics
If there’s one key trend for winter 2015/2016 it’s copper and gold. I’ve seen these metallics teamed with navy blue, teal, deep green and almost every shade of grey. I love this look – to me it evokes a sense of old-school glamour and adds an opulent finish to those festive arrangements. It’s also super adaptable; complementing a lot of different interior styles, you can just have small touches, with baubles and little accessories, or you can go all out with lampshades, cushions and crockery for the ultimate foxy looking display that is bang on the money.
Elegant brights
Seeing as it’s Christmas you can indulge your playful side. That’s why it’s great to go for bright colours and quirky designs – after all it is a celebration. The collection shown below illustrates that you don’t have to go for traditional festive motifs or tacky glitz to have a bit of fun with your decorations. In fact you can put together a classy look with nods to contemporary design that will still make people smile and get into the festive spirit.
