Today’s tip from Jocasta Innes’ DIY Christmas is to spray or paint a plastic doily in gold or silver and hang it on the tree with red ribbon (use the compostable red ribbon from Wild Cherry mentioned in my previous post, or recycle some if you can!). You usually get these when you buy a cake, although they are not as common as they used to be. They look charming, as she says, hung up on tree branches.

A tip Mimimyne has to add to this: have you tried using scratched CD’s as decorations? These tend to clutter up the house otherwise or go into landfill. We decorated some at the Paintbox playgroup I run in East London using glitter glue and added tissue paper ‘angel wings’ (you can use paper doilies, cut in half, for this) and a round sticky paper ‘head’ to make recycled Christmas glittery angels! We now have a flock of them flying around the playgroup, and they look very pretty. I will post some pictures next week!

With the credit crunch, we are all feeling a little cash-strapped and so I have asked Jocasta Innes, the doyenne of thrifty living (she is the author of classic cooking on the cheap bible, The Pauper’s Cookbook) to allow me to publish some DIY Christmas tips from her book of the same name as my present to Mimimyne fans! I’m her daughter, and as this book was published in 1975 I can remember a lot of these tips being researched in the family home. I am choosing excerpts and adding links and materials that are as green as possible, although my mother always reused and recycled a lot more eco friendly craft and art materials are available nowadays!

“The Tree and Tree Decorations (from DIY Christmas by Jocasta Innes)
Quickies
Gilded Walnuts
Spray walnuts gold. When dry, cut a wire loop, insert both ends into the hole at one end of the nut, twist round, then bring the loop round the nut and twist again to make a small loop to hang it on. Gilded nuts are traditional, and always look charming.

Brass Curtain Rings
If you have any large brass curtain rings, or gilt bangles, use these to frame a shiny bauble, or even a sparkling brooch or earring. Hang the centrepiece from a thread or wire loop, and finish off with a red ribbon bow.”

Mimimyne says it’s very difficult sourcing eco friendly metallic gold paints on the web. So far what I’ve found is a water-based metallic craft paint from decorating direct – it says it is non-toxic and water based paints are more eco friendly. More suggestions welcome! Compostable ribbon is available from Little Cherry at 4.99