Guest blog by Maped Helix brand ambassador Nikki Thomas from Stressy Mummy Blog

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One of our favourite things to do in the run up to Christmas is to get crafty and make some of our own Christmas decorations. Each year we have a different theme and spend a few afternoons listening to Christmas songs and happily crafting some new creations to go on our Christmas tree.

This year’s theme was colouring with Color’Peps from Maped and we found that not only is this a really gentle and therapeutic way to make Christmas decorations, but they are easy to make and super effective once they are finished.

You need the following to make these cute Christmas creations:

• A4 card – one piece makes one decoration
• scissors
• glue
• string
• a compass and a pencil
• a ruler
• Colouring pencils or pens (we used Color’Peps Magic and Glitter Pens and Color’Peps Animal colouring pencils

Step One – Create your circles using the compass.

We decided that we wanted our circles to be 8 cm in diameter, so we made the gap in the compass 4 cm. We then created six circles, each the same size and cut them out.

Step Two – Create Your Design.

This is where the fun really begins. Each of your six circles will join together to make your decoration, so you need to create a design on one side of each of the circles. You can do pictures, patterns, a message or all three. We had great fun creating a range of different patterns and designs on each circle. This was made easy by using the Maped Color’Peps Glitter Pens and also the Magic Pens, both of these can be used to create some amazing effects either separately or combined.

Step Three – Cut Out Your Circles.

Once you have finished your festive designs, carefully cut around the edge of the six circles.

Step Four – Start Folding

Take each of your circle and fold it across vertically so that the image is on the inside of the fold.

Step Five – Stick Them Together 

Put glue across one half of one circle and attach it to the opposite outside edge of another circle so that the folds are together.  Repeat with the remaining circles until you have two sides left to join together.

Step Six – Add Some String 

Take your chosen string and measure it to about 35cm and cut. Glue the final side of your decoration and before you stick it down, place your string in the midde, folded in half with a large loop for hanging at the top and a small amount sticking out at the bottom. 

Now all that remains is to leave it to dry and then make sure your decoration is nice and round and it is ready hang on the tree. This is such a lovely activity and we are thrilled with the end result, it looks really effective. We also loved trying out the Color’Peps Glitter and Magic pens as you can create some amazing effects with them which are perfect for creating some festive fun.