Handmade baubles

About a month ago we decided it would be really nice to make all of the Christmas presents we were going to give this year including baubles. We have made six different types (which you can see above); some of them are a little challenging and time consuming but some are very easy. We have included instructions below for one of the easier types, but I actually I think it is one of the most effective. This is a great project for a rainy afternoon or to keep the kids occupied (you don't need to use a needle if you don't want to!).  We hope you have as much fun making them as we did!

You will need:

Coloured paper 

Double sided tape or glue

A needle

Some thread

A cardboard tube

Some ribbon for hanging the bauble

Step 1. Cut out 12 strips of paper about 12.5 cm long and 2 cm wide in various colours.

Step 2. Stack the strips of paper one on top of each other and cut the each end so that they are rounded. Push a pin through the centre of one end of the strips (see picture 2).

Step 3. Stick one end (the end without the hole) of each strip of paper so that you create a circle. Alternate colours so that you get a nice stripy effect.

Step 4. Turn the circle of paper over so the white side is facing up. Cut a section of cardboard tube (about 4 cm tall) and place this in the middle of the circle (this won't be seen when the bauble is complete but will help to stop it being squashed). Thread a needle with cotton, pull the cotton through and then tie both ends together several times to make a big knot. Take the strip of paper that is on top of your upside down circle and fold it up so that the free end is directly above the centre of the circle. Thread the first few centimetres of the needle up through the hole you created earlier at the end of the first strip of paper. You don't want to pull the needle all of the way through because you are going to use it to guide all of the strips in to place.

Put a little bit of double sided tape or glue on to the next strip of paper next to the hole you made earlier. Fold the strip up, push the hole on to the needle and stick the strip in to place. This can be a little fiddly at first but means you get a round bauble. If you would rather you can ignore the instructions about the needle and just stick the strips in place.

Step 5. Repeat this for all of the remaining strips so that you create a ball keeping the cardboard tube in the centre. The needle should still be in place and all of your strips should be stuck in place.

Step 6. Pull the needle up through the top of the bauble. Cut the cotton just below the needle and you should have two threads of cotton. You can either use these to make a loop and hang your bauble or you can tie in a loop of ribbon as we have done.

Your bauble is made and is ready for your tree! I hope the instructions make sense, it is worth perservering because the results are really very pretty! Enjoy.