Harvest & Holly: Autumn and Christmas Craft Ideas from Made by Marley

Discover autumn and Christmas craft ideas with new decoupage papers, furniture stencils, stamps, Lustres and handmade Christmas craft kits, launching 24th September.

There is something about this time of year that makes me want to make things.

The nights start drawing in, the colours outside get deeper, the woolly jumpers come back out and suddenly spending an afternoon surrounded by paper, stamps, stencils and a pumpkin spiced latte becomes self care.

And this year, we have gone all in.

Our new Harvest & Holly Collection launches on 24th September, and rather than creating a collection that is purely autumn or purely Christmas, we wanted something that takes you through that wonderful shift in the seasons, right through to next year.

Think deeper colours, rich florals and patterns, darker designs, vintage influences, birds and a little magic, plenty of nostalgia and, as we creep towards Christmas, just the right amount of sparkle.

Here's a little look at what's coming.

First up: the new decoupage papers

These are only some of the cracking designs coming in this collection!

Of course there are new Made by Marley decoupage papers.

You will still recognise our love of colour and pattern, but this time we have been exploring some slightly darker themes and different pattern concepts. They have been designed to work just as beautifully on furniture as they do on smaller projects.

Use them on little boxes, trays, wall art, decorations or anything else you picked up at the charity shops and thrift stores.

There will also be two new 12-sheet decoupage paper collections.

One is dedicated to Halloween, for all your darker, spooky and wonderfully weird autumn projects.

The other is all about Santa. I can't help it, I love him. He's bringing in that fabulous nostalgic Christmas feeling that I absolutely love.

Decoupage Suitcase using one sheet from the 12 Sheet Fussy Festive Set

So whether you're looking for autumn craft ideas, Halloween projects or something to get you into the Christmas spirit, there should be plenty here to get you reaching for the scissors and glue.

Stencils, stencils and more stencils

I have become slightly obsessed with toile recently. Not necessarily traditional toile, though. I wanted to explore what happens when you take that idea and give it a more modern Made by Marley twist.

I spoke to Jayme and gave her my ideas, and she delivered the toile of my dreams.

So amongst our new stencil designs you'll find a beautiful toile-inspired design with an Indian influence, Monkey Puzzle.

Already I am so giddy about it.

I can already see this used across furniture, walls and fabrics, especially when you start playing around with unexpected colour combinations.

We've also created a geometric tile stencil called Mosaic. This one actually came about because I want to upcycle some of the tiles in our own house.

Why replace something when you can attack it with paint and pattern instead?

Remember, our stencils are amazing on walls too.

Mosaic would look fabulous used across actual tiles, but equally swanky across furniture.

Then Christmas arrives.

We have smaller festive stencil elements for Christmas crafting, along with a wonderfully decorative festive design with a Mexican influence. It still feels unmistakably Christmas, just without everything having to look traditionally Christmas.

Because where's the fun in that?

Our new Birds & Baubles Stencil on Fabric

The new stamps

The stamp department has been busy too, erm, Jayme and me.

We have a gorgeous vintage-inspired border collection, and Fancy Bits, filled with all those decorative little details that can completely change a piece of furniture or a craft project.

There is also a Christmas stamp collection, packed with festive elements that you can mix, match and use in countless ways.

Stamp your own wrapping paper. Make luggage labels and gift tags. Create Christmas cards. Add them to handmade decorations. Stamp them into clay to make hanging decorations.

Use them on paper, furniture and mixed media projects.

One stamp set can suddenly become an entire Christmas craft stash.

Then we've gone a little darker.

We've created an apothecary-meets-magic stamp collection filled with bottles, ravens, herbs and wonderfully curious elements.

If you've ever fancied creating something inspired by an old apothecary, botanical cabinet, herbology room or mysterious old curiosity shop, this one is going to be enormous fun.

And then there's the Lustres...

It is nearly sparkle season, after all.

We're adding three brand-new Lel's Lustres to the Harvest & Holly Collection: Ruby Slipper, a gorgeous deep ruby red, Patina, a beautiful shimmering turquoise green, and Pewter, a rich metallic shade that's perfect for adding a little depth and shine to autumn and Christmas projects.

And remember, Lustres don't have to be used in just one way.

You can mix them with acrylic mediums such as Liquitex, add them to waxes or mix them into compatible top-coat sealers. You can make your mixture thicker for stencilling and decorative paint effects, or combine different Lustre colours together to create completely new shimmering finishes.

There are plenty of ways to experiment with them, which is exactly what we love about them.

Harvest & Holly isn't only about our new collection

This year we're doing Christmas a little differently.

One of our Marley Video Meetings

Instead of filling our Christmas shop with lots of finished upcycled pieces, we're bringing you craft kits so YOU can do the making.

And we've been having so much fun designing them.

These are incredibly simple kits to spend a wee bit of time mindfully enjoying, making simple but amazing decorations for your home.

There will be garland kits, paper chains, Christmas angels, Christmas party crowns, a Nutcracker that I've hand-painted myself and lots of other pieces designed for afternoons spent cutting, sticking, making and decorating your home with.

Some have a colourful folk-art feel, some have a Mexican influence, some are playful, and some are pure vintage nostalgia.

The paper angels are particularly special to me.

When I was a little girl in the late 70s and early 80s, my mum used to order paper Christmas angels and we would sit together gluing and sticking them before putting them above the mantelpiece.

I still remember that feeling.

And THAT is what I want some of these kits to bring back.

Christmas doesn't always have to be about buying another finished decoration.

Sometimes the bit you remember is actually making it.

So what is Harvest & Holly really about?

It's about that wonderful period when summer disappears and we start retreating indoors again.

It's darker colours, warmth and pattern.

It's autumn crafting, Halloween, toile, vintage Christmas and sparkle.

It's paper chains, gluey fingers and making things around the table.

And hopefully, it's creating a few things that come back out of the Christmas box year after year.

Harvest & Holly launches on 24th September.

Over the release, I will be showing you lots of different ways to use everything in the collection, from furniture and wall art to decorations, Christmas tables and smaller craft projects.

So keep an eye on Made by Marley over the next few days as we reveal more of the collection and start sharing some of the projects we've been making.

I hope you can slow down with a warm drink, get your hands busy and enjoy the season you make with us.

Love,

Lel x