Thoughts on Christmas Crafts and the Colour Red

We’re now into December, and I’m not doing Christmas crafts.

That sounds really grumpy, and anti- Christmas! I actually don’t have a problem with people doing Christmas crafts. It’s just that I have made the decision that I won’t, other than the Advent candle, which is already done, the wreath, the Christmas cake and any little things that Cosmo wants to do.

When my children were little, I did more Christmas crafts. There were things I wanted to do with them, like salt dough decorations, and things I wanted to make, like the triangle Santa cushions of a few years ago.

As time has gone on though, making things specifically for Christmas has felt more like an obligation. Even though I’m not normally short of ideas, I have struggled to come up with Christmas crafts that I wanted to do, and things that I wanted to make, that hadn’t already been done or that I (or anybody else) already had lots of.

I’ve also found that as I’ve got older, I’ve realised that I just don’t need any more stuff. Most of the decorations on my Christmas tree hold meanings and memories. There are some I made when I first had my own Christmas tree, and the few years after when having my own tree was a novelty. There are decorations that we bought or were given when the boys were tiny, things the boys made when they were small, and others collected from places we’ve visited. They are all precious, and I’m not going to throw any of them away just to make space for new ones.

There is also a side of Christmas that is synonymous with excess, and with waste. It makes me quite sad that Christmas has become a shopping holiday where people are encouraged to buy far more than they need, resulting in money related stress, and an awful lot of stuff ending up in the bin.

That being said, I do want to acknowledge the season we are in, so as well as some baking and my wreath, there are some gentle things I’ll be doing as well.

One thing is playing about a bit with the colour red. Red has obvious associations with Christmas, but with November and January, and possibly February, as well. This means that you can notice and experiment with red whenever you like, not just in December!

Noticing Red Things

Noticing red things is a nice, easy thing to do, whether you are at home or out and about. I like to do this when I am out on a muddy walk, but it could work easily well if you are at a park, walking along a suburban street, or on a bus.

You might notice red berries, a red door, a red car, red leaves or a red post box.

You could photograph them, draw them, or just notice them.

There are no rules! You can make some up if you like.

Painting With Different Shades of Red

I did this with watercolour. I mixed up 5 different shades of red. Two had yellow in to make them more orange, and two had blue to make them closer to purple.

Then I painted circles onto watercolour paper. With the second one, I put some water in patches on the paper before painting.

The purpose isn’t to get a nice painting, but to experiment, have fun, and see what you like!

If you don’t have watercolours, or if you don’t fancy using them, you can do the same thing with acrylics, felt pens or coloured pencils.

Try Shades of Red Next to Different Colours

Sometimes colours can look quite different depending on which colours they are next to. We’ve always had grey dinner plates, because it always makes the food on them look bright!

One way to do this is to pick one or two shades of red, then colour some squares with paint, pen or coloured pencil. Then colour some larger squares in different colours. Pop your red squares either on them or next to them, and see what effect it has on the colour.

Another thing you could try is painting one shade of red next to stripes of other colours.

Using Fabric and Stitch

You might like to try similar kinds of experiments using fabric and stitch. Here are some ideas:

If you have embroidery thread, you could see how many different shades of red you have.

You could pick one or two shades of red, and stitch into fabric of different colours.

Another possibility is to combine scraps of red fabric to make a little piece of patchwork.

If you try out any of these ideas, or some of your own, I’d love to see! You can either email me at [email protected], or share it on the Facebook page, or tag me on Instagram.