Christmas Decorations to Cut, Fold and Stick by Caroline Johansson and Hannah Ahmed
It’s official – it’s now December, so we can all now definately start thinking about how to decorate the tree and the house. Now usually I go for the traditional decorations my family’s always used but these….these tempt me.
Publisher: Usborne Children’s Books
ISBN: 9781409549734
Published: 1/8/2012
Basically, it’s a book filled with nothing but sheet after sheet of beautifully decorated papers that can be cut, folded and stuck into lots of different Christmas decorations using the instructions at the front of the book. You’ve got paper chains, stars, snowflakes, hanging see-through things-that-haven’t-got-a-name-but-are-very-pretty-regardless and even angels!
I’ve been playing. Look what I made!
…in a variety of colours and levels of spikyness. And I may have a few paper chains that went from this pretty page
to these rather funky chains (how many paper chains have you ever seen with their very own snow squirrels on them?)
And then these ladies rocked up!
So simple – all it is a is a flat shape you cut out, and then fold and stick at certain points in the back of her dress.
Finally we have… well, I dare you to find a proper name for them! Really pretty cut-out see-through shapes that you can either have just on their own
There’s a couple more shapes and things to make in the book that I haven’t got round to yet (such as the woven hearts) but I’ll think you agree, if they’re anything like these, they should be pretty gorgeous too! Definately worth a look if you happen to be passing a bookshop this month, I know of people who’ve been sending them to their adult daughters at Uni to decorate their Halls. Me personally, any snowflakes I don’t use this year I’ll be keeping to use as backgrounds for various arty projects, these papers are just too pretty to leave sitting on a shelf.
In fact, I can only find one thing to ponder over and that is that some of the shapes can be a mite tricky to cut out if you’re quite young. Wonky snowflakes could very well be in the picture if you happen to be under 5 or 6 or so and wielding a pair of scissors, but some help from Mum and Dad should solve it. The angels and paper chains are probably the easiest to cut and stick, and the hanging decorations may seem and look fiddly, but really aren’t. Fiona Watt (of Sticker Dolly fame) has written the instructions inside the book and Chris Arrowsmith did some really very clear illustrations to go with them and together you can’t go wrong. Go find it and see what you think!
Booka Uhu's Book Nook 
This looks fantastic!
It is! I'm trying to think of more ways to use the papers and get them on display, they're so pretty! Scandinavian almost too, some of them. I'm debating sending a pack out to some of my cousins.