A Book Lover's Christmas by Emily

With Christmas less than four weeks away, we think it's the perfect time to start getting in the holiday spirit (if you haven't done so already, of course). That means it's time to get your tree down from your loft,  dust off your decorations, and fill your house with festive cheer! 

To help you out, we've got two tutorials for you today that will not only help you to get in the Christmas mood, but will also give an imaginative and personal touch to your Christmas decorations and gifts, as well as giving a second life to some of your old books...

Bored of your bog standard Christmas Tree decorations? Why not make your own out of the pages of an old book? Perhaps find a second hand copy of "A Christmas Carol" or another of your favourite Christmas stories!

Cut seven strips from the pages of your chosen book. Three 20cm x 3cm strips, two 17cm x 3 cm strips and two 14cm x 3cm strips. Fold one of the 20cm x 3cm strips in half and staple the open end together.	Pile one of each size together, with the largest strip at the bottom, followed by the medium strip, and then the smallest strip on top. Once piled neatly together, with the bottom edges aligned, staple the bottom together. Repeat with the remaining three strips.
Place the folded strip with the two other pieces either side (longest strips facing inwards). Place the bottom, stapled edges of the two matching pieces halfway down the folded strip and staple in place.	Starting with the smallest strips, curve the strips downwards and staple in place.
Repeat with the medium sized strips.	And finally with the largest strips.

Now the heart is formed, add a festive ribbon to the centre folded strip. It's not ready to hang from the Christmas tree, or alternatively, thread several onto a longer length of ribbon as an alternative to paper chains or tinsel!

To add a really personal and imaginative touch to your gift, why not make your own wrapping paper out of the pages of an old book? Perfect for all the book lovers in your life.

Carefully remove the pages from your chosen book.	Using a paper slicer or scissors, neaten any rough edges.
Use small bits of masking tape to hold the pages together, placing the tape on the side you don't want showing.	Using a sewing machine, stitch the piece together neatly.
Keep sticking and stitching the pages together until you have a big enough sheet for your gift.	To make a matching tag, simply draw round a pre-cut tag onto a page of your book and then cut the shape out.
Using a shape punch (available at most craft shops), punch out a hole in the pre-cut tag so the print of the page peeps through. Thread with a piece of string.	Voilá! You're now ready to wrap your gift!

Emily is a Retail Manager and lover of all things Fashion. You can find her over on Instagram. Find more posts by Emily here...