A couple of weeks ago my husband and I had our first experience of being a stallholder at a craft fair in the Algarve. It was a really fun day, and a lovely process to go through – planning what to make, getting the crafts made, and putting everything together on the day. I had done a few fairs back in the UK before I met my husband selling my wood engravings, but this was something quite different.
I made a few Christmas decorations to sell on the stall which went down really well, so I thought I’d share with you what I made and how to make some of them.
My two favourite decorations were my Christmas Owlies and these Christmas lovebirds. I wanted to share how simple and effective the lovebirds are to make. They were so easy to create and looked lovely so I’d certainly recommend having a go this year to add that extra element to your Christmas tree!
Christmas lovebirds decorations
For the lovebirds, I got hold of some air-drying clay, a rolling pin, a lace doily and a bird biscuit cutter.
I rolled out the clay to about 5mm thick – I found it easiest to place two boards this thickness either side of the clay and use these as a guide, making sure the ends of the rolling pin rested on each board to make the thickness perfectly even.
When I was happy with the thickness I placed the doily on the clay and rolled it into the clay then removed it, leaving a lovely indentation and texture in the clay.
I used the biscuit cutter to cut out the bird shapes, pushed a small hole in the top to hang the decorations by, and left them to dry.
Then all that was left to do was gently sand the rough edges and thread some string through the hole to create a loop.
I’m so pleased with how both these decorations turned out, and our tree will be looking extra super this year thanks to these birdies! I’d love to hear any other ideas for bird decorations, or other festive crafts so do let me know what you’re working on.