Fair AND FOWL

Strings of bells, hung on the tree or from door handles, are a simple way to strike a festive note.

Move on from robins, pheasants and turkeys this Christmas with a set of decorations featuring birds of paradise. Choose a printed fabric (or paper) with a figurative print such as a bird or animal design. Carefully cut around each image and stick onto recycled card. Back the decoration with a bold-coloured fabric or card, cutting a slightly bigger shape than the images themselves to add a border. Attach a thin strip of ribbon to the top of the decoration and hang in place on the tree.

Fabric bird decorations made from Paradesia cotton, £59/m, Sanderson. Fabric star decorations made from Shibori light duck egg forget-me-not linen, £59/m, Vanessa Arbuthnott. Silver metallic ribbon, £3/6m, Hobbycraft. Similar silver glitter velvet ribbon, £1.20/m, ebay

ANGELS ON HIGH

Hang these puppets on a wall or use them as a modern take on the traditional tree topper. Simply trace an image of an angel, pigeon, Pegasus puppet and Christmas tree from a book or sketch your own. For the angel, draw the body (with head), wings, arm and leg joints separately and transpose onto recycled card. Cut out and paint with a darker colour to add the details – a face, hair and feathers. Use a thick needle (or metal skewer) to pierce a hole where the body, leg, arm and wing joints are to be attached and secure together with split pins.

Wall painted in Cobalt No 50 perfect matt emulsion, £52/2.5L, Designers Guild. Puppets and decorations painted in Pure and Emperor’s Silk chalk paints, as before. Luxe gold glitter bunting, £11.25/3m, Talking Tables. Robin decoration, £2.99, The Christmas Home at Not On The High Street. Nesting dolls, from £12, Etsy. Artwork, from £100 (unframed), Lucy Warry

JINGLE BELLS

Gold jingle bells, £2.50/30; gold ribbon, from a selection, both Hobbycraft. Similar bauble, from a selection, Etsy