Category Archives: design

Cinnamon and star anise napkin ring

Posted on December 15, 2014 | 4 comments

For a great rustic table setting and eco chic people. Very simple and elegant, if you are planning to dress up your table in an impressive way, this is a great inspiration. This is how to do:

You need white or beige napkins. green ribbons, cinnamon sticks, star anise and a beige thread to tie them up. It makes the house smell amazing, i was enjoying it while decorating…

Using natural elements give you a rural tablescape. You can also replace the green ribbons by rosemary or any green plant of your choice. Can’t beat that for easy and quick! After the napkin folding Christmas tree and origami Santa napkin ring, enjoy this last style am suggesting before Christmas. Choose your favorite and dress up your table accordingly. I wish you an extraordinary “reveillon” full of delicious food, warmth and laughter.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!

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Posted in design, DIY, special occasions

Tagged blog, christmas, cinamon, cinnamon sticks, DIY, dress up you table, how to do, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, napkin ring, rustic table setting, star anise, table settings, tablescape

Origami Santa napkin ring

Posted on December 11, 2014 | 3 comments

You already know how fond of origami art i am. Christmas dinner is the perfect occasion to concretize this passion and create nice ideas for the table settings. After the napkin folding christmas tree here is an idea of how to fold Santa for a napkin ring.

You might think it’s complicated but if you follow step by step the scheme i created for you, you will find it so easy.

All you need is a square paper, one side red and the other white to get this cute Santa. Depending on the thickness of your napkin, cut a rectangular paper to form the ring, attach it to the back of Santa et voila!

Always add a your personal touch to make things special and memorable. You don’t have to be an artist to impress, beauty is in small details.

I hope you all get an unforgettable Christmas, red in your love, white in your heart and gold in your pocket 😉

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!

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Posted in design, DIY, special occasions

Tagged blog, DIY, how to do, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, origami, santa napkin ring, step by step

From a toilet paper roll to a beautiful christmas gift box

Posted on December 10, 2014 | 3 comments

Exchanging presents at Christmas is one of the most exciting rituals. Sometimes you find yourself wondering how to wrap small items, money or gift vouchers in other than a simple envelope that might be lost between the huge colorful gifts! These handmade gift boxes are the perfect solution.

Turn a toilet paper roll to a beautiful christmas gift box in just 10 minutes. Yes it’s a toilet paper roll!

Flatten it with your hand and fold half moon on both ends front and back. The box will come together even without glue.

Now unleash your creativity in decorating the box. You can use anything that comes to your mind.

Start timing ; Cover it with a red paper, wrap around a golden thread, attach 2 small bells to both ends and stick a small ornament. I used a star made with salt dough (already showed how to do in a previous post). Stooooop! I bet it took less than 10 minutes.

Here are four other ways to decorate your gift box

1. beige paper, green striped washi paper, red ribbon and green button
2. doily lace paper, red polka dot paper. red ribbon, 2 red buttons
3. green polka dot paper, golden paillette thread, 3 salt dough stars, 3 green stars made of sugar
4. red polka dot paper, green ribbon and small santa hat

Let your gifts stand out this Christmas, and make your loved ones excited about the wrap more than the gift itself! I would say give a double present this year!

Always add your personal touch to anything you offer, it makes you presents more precious and full of thoughts and love. Ditch expensive wrappings and go simple and creative with materials you already have at home and impress your family and friends.

You still have time to save the toilet paper rolls, don’t throw them! Make extra gift boxes, fill them with candies and make all the children you know happy! It could be children you don’t know…. This is actually what’s all about in Christmas.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!

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Tagged blog, christmas, christmas gift box, DIY, gift box, gift boxes, homemade, how to do, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, step by step, toilet paper, toilet paper roll, wrapping

Snowman fridge – crafts for tiny hands

Posted on December 3, 2014 | 4 comments

At christmas, people find themselves shopping for fancy decorations, huge and expensive trees that they compete over (as if there is a reward at the end of the season)and they end up paying leg and arm to decorate their houses. The result is forbidding their children from touching anything or enjoying the festivities.

The only reward that matters is seeing my son enjoying a real Christmas and living it to bits! To your kids, touching, discovering and playing with the colorful decorations means more than just admiring. Therefore, i never buy any decoration that i wouldn’t let him touch. In a previous post i showed you how to make handmade ornaments , my son loves to decorate and redecorate his own tree with no restrictions, we call it “le sapin de Nady”. The best way to introduce Christmas to your toddler is letting him live it.

Today we are doing a snowman fridge! The simplest ideas are the most striking. I enjoy crafting with Nady, especially he has a go at arts and crafts, i find it as fun and quality time together. All you need is self adhesive colored papers, but if you don’t have you can use regular colored ones and clear contact papers.

5 black small circles to make the mouth
2 bigger black circles for the eyes
an orange triangle for the nose
any colors you like to make 7-10 rectangles to form the scarf and 3-4 circles for the buttons.

If your fridge is not white you can still do it the dishwasher or a white door. I love the rich simplicity!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!

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Posted in design, DIY, special occasions, way to play

Tagged art and craft for kids, blog, christmas, christmas crafts for toddlers, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, snowman, snowman fridge, way to play

Reindeer advent calendar DIY

Posted on November 27, 2014 | 4 comments

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen, the flying reindeers leading Santa Claus sleigh will surprise you with a treat everyday 🙂

I know it’s not the time to start the countdown, but if you are willing to do your Advent Calendar by yourself as we did, you will need to prepare for it. Anyways it’s in three days.

So easy and fun to do. A great way to introduce Christmas to your toddler and live the fun of the season everyday. You will need:

25 beige paper (200gsm) not too thick. you decide on the size depending how big you want to make the cone head
brown felt to do the antlers, i used approx. quarter meter. If you can’t find felt, use any thick paper to let the antlers stand.
25 red pompoms for the nose
50 wiggling eyes
red thread
25 clothspin
numbers from 1-24
UHU liquid glue, and UHU patafix to fix the clothspins on the wall

As the step by step above picture shows, create a cone very similar to the popcorn one. stick the eyes and nose, better say let your child enjoy sticking them in the right place! Cut the antlers and stick them (i used the UHU liquid glue), make two holes on both sides to insert the red thread. The last thing to do, stick the numbers on the clothspin and attach it to the thread.

Attach them on the wall in tree shape from 1 to 24. I used UHU patafix to not spoil the paint. You can hang them on a wire (thread) next to each other if your plan is not to fix them on the wall.

Let the countdown begin!

I kept the last 2 rows empty, Nady has always his new games and rules, he was enjoying hiding his small toys. Anyways we won’t be here to use them, didn’t i mention we are going home to celebrate Christmas with our family??! Yes, we are and can’t wait!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!