The Humble Bauble

Adornment: a decoration of colour or interest that is added to relieve plainness.

Getting into the festive spirit doesn't mean you need to spend bazillions of dollars on over-priced, China-made, spontaneously combustible decorations. Tree 'bling' is adorned for what.... a whole 5 weeks? Yet we go out and spend an arm and a leg to be utterly disappointed 11 month later when we open up the Christmas box and realise that Turquoise & Silver is the trend this year, NOT Magenta & Violet. Bugger.

So....why not save your credit card abuse for the husband instead and get real with your tree adornments this Christmas.

Here are 5 beautiful DIY ideas to help make the humble bauble really shine:

The Vintage Decoupage Bauble

You will need some old or inexpensive baubles, pages of an old book (preferably a Christmas tale or music sheets), a small paint brush, standard white craft glue mixed with a little water, glass glitter and printed out 'Noel' tags with string. Cut out or tear the book pages and generously brush with glue mix against bauble. Overlap paper until complete and sprinkle with glitter whilst glue is wet. Allow to dry before attaching string and tags.

The Memory Bauble

Re-live captured moments every Christmas whilst decorating the tree. Roll up circular cut photographs of loved ones and place in a glass or clear bauble to unravel. Use Black and White prints for a more nostalgic look.

The 'Back to Basics' Bauble

Use strips of old fabric, hessian or wide ribbon to create baubles with a rustic charm. Get some Styrofoam balls from a craft shop and use a hot glue gun to fasten down fabric starting at the top and wrapping all the way around. Continue overlapping until bauble is covered. Complete by fastening a loop of brown string at the top with a pearl pin.

The Newly Wed Bauble

Take a friend or relatives wedding invitation , cut it into strips at key details such as date, venue, couple's name, parent's names etc. Roll each strip around a pen to create a curl and place into a glass or clear plastic bauble. Add a ribbon and any extra embellishments of your choice and give to the special couple as a keepsake at Christmas time.

The Pearl Bauble

All you need is an old or inexpensive bauble, hot glue gun, a range of different sized pearls or crystal beads and tulle to string through the top. Start from the top of the bauble and glue the pearls one one-by-one as you work your way down. String through tulle as a ribbon and hang on the tree. Wollah!