25 Days of Christmas Ornaments DAY 6

Brrrrr....it is a VERY cold Pacific Northwest day.  The girls' school day was canceled due to snow & we've kept busy doing other things.

 

The local Festival of Trees is taking place this weekend and in honor of that, I've made an adorable little tree.

 

So far I haven't had to purchase any special items for my ornaments (I don't imagine that will last long).  I had some leftover cardboard cones, some burlap and I always have hot glue on hand.

I trimmed a piece of burlap, approximately 1 x 12 inches

I attached it using hot glue and folded it in half as I wrapped it around the cone so you can't see the cone through the burlap.

 

I trimmed off the loose pieces, added a pin with a bead to the top of the tree (it just pokes through the pointy end).  As you can see the pin also has a loop perfect for attaching a hook.

Some teeny tiny rhinestones make it sparkle and it's ready to hanging on the tree.

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments DAY 5

I had lots of wire left over from last year's tree ornament.  If you want to know what I'm referring to, check out this link. 

 

I was pretty proud of that one, and this one is not too shabby either.

 

I started with a cork board and made a star shape marking each "turn" in the wire using thumb tacks.

 I cut roughly 12-13" of wire, just to make sure I had plenty.  Then I started in the middle of the wire bending it at the topmost point.

 

 

It's hard to describe how I hooked/bent the wire at each tack, but this picture should help.

 

I twisted and trimmed off the ends to hook it together, then I added a decorative hook using a pin (with a loop on the end), a sparkly bead and a hanger.

 

After threading the bead on the pin, I used a round nosed pliers to create a loop that I could hook on to the star.  I added the hook to the smaller loop so I could hang it on the tree.

 

I wish you could see how truly beautiful it is hanging on the tree.  It really catches the light!

 

 I didn't have enough beads on hand to decorate it the way I did last year's wire tree, but that would certainly be lovely.

 

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments DAY 4

As promised, I tackled the egg ornament.

 

I wasn't sure how to get started, even though I know I did one of these as a kid.  So I Googled it and found {THIS} helpful site.

 

It was a half day at school for my girls, so I poked the holes and they blew out the eggs.

 

I rinsed them, microwaved them (for 30 seconds on high) and here they are ready to decorate.

I used some acrylic paint and a sponge brush to apply two coats.  I liked some white from the shell peeking through, but a few more coats would have made it appear more solid.

 

I pulled out some Hambly rub-ons and applied one to the egg.

Here's the finished egg, with just a touch of bling. 

I haven't decided how I want to attach a hook to it, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  I would definitely make these again, and really make a project out of it now that I know how truly easy it is.

 

 

 



25 Days of Christmas Ornaments DAY 3

Whew, finally sitting down to do this post.

 

It's another quick one...sort of.  It does involve hot glue, believe it or not, so that always adds a tricky element.

 

I started out with a 2.5 inch piece of cork in a circle, and a 1 by 12 inch piece of patterned papers. 

 

A created an accordian circle out of the patterned paper, and there was no strict folding, I just kept it to roughly 1.4" between folds.

 

I put a dot of hot glue in the center of the cork circle and pressed the accordian circle into it.

 

Then I punched a 1" circle out of another piece of patterned paper and added a sentiment sticker to it.

 

The hook is made out of a piece of red wire and attached on the back with hot glue.

 

Here's the finished ornament.

 

Wouldn't that be a nice gift topper?

 

Tomorrow my girls and I are going to try making ornaments out of eggs (hope we don't break too many shells).

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments DAY 2

Today's was simple, but elegant I think.

 

I had it planned all day because I knew that I would be crazy busy and I didn't want to run into the same problem as yesterday waiting for the glue to dry.

 

It wouldn't be a problem except that I've challenged myself to make one every day.  I like the idea that I can use items I have on hand and that beautiful ornaments can be made quickly.  They are perfect for gift toppers or as gifts themselves.  Handmade ornaments are special and unique and can be used to commemorate a special Christmas moment.

So here's today's ornament

I purchased a package of these mini green ornaments at Michael's and used them for a couple of last year's ornaments.  I also had these glittery stickers on hand, and it's a great way to use up those last few still on the sheet.  Here's one I made for my daughter, Paige, although it also works for Pam, too!

 

I am such a fan of silk ribbon, and it looks gorgeous hanging on the tree.  The lights catch the glitter and send sparkles in every direction.

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments DAY 1

I had such fun with this last year, that I'm doing it again.

 

Although we had such a fun and busy Thanksgiving weekend, I almost forgot to do today's project and it's currently drying.

 

I will share a couple of photos to show you the process, and then I will add the final photo tomorrow after it's complete.

 

I got this idea from Martha Stewart (although I can't imagine that she was the first to come up with it).

 

Ingredients

 

1 styrofoam ball

fabric strips (1/2"-1" thick)

scissors

fabric glue

 

 

I cut out the strips (around 12" in length).  The length varies depending on the size of the ball, and I wanted to be sure each piece overlapped with itself.

 

I dabbed a little glue on each end of fabric and wrapped it around the ball, layering one piece over the next. 

 

And here's the finished product

I loved making it and my girls helped me.  Jamie (age 7) helped me with the gluing, and Paige (age 9) cut cloth strips.  I could see myself filling a tree with these.  Accept that I am partial to glittery ornaments.  Hmmm....maybe I could add a few sequins or rhinestones?

365 Cards Blog Hop and Scraplifting Challenge

Yay!  I'm super excited.  It's been sooooo long since I participated in a 365 Cards challenge and even longer since we've had a blog hop.

 

We have such a talented group of designers over there, that I felt it was time to visit all their blogs and see what they can all do with the exact same challenge.

 

We all had a little kit that I put together that consisted of the following items:

Cardstock Bazzill Basics

8x8 Patterned Paper Sheet Glitz

6x6 Patterned Paper Sheet My Mind's Eye

Floss American Crafts

Die Cuts Fancy Pants

Tape My Mind's Eye

Wood Veneer Circles Studio Calico

Here's the card I created

 

This came together very quickly for me because of course these are some of my fave manufacturers & scrappy items.

 

Be sure to leave me a comment, as well as a comment on all the other blogs.  Finish up at the 365 Cards post with a comment letting us know you've been all the way around and you'll be entered into a random drawing to win a crafty card kit like the one listed above!

 

If you want to play along, simply select the card you're most inspired by from amongst the DT and create your own card. 

 

Here's the list of the other team members participating in the hop

 

AUDREY

CARLA

JANICE

LETISHA
MICHELLE
{PAM} You Are Here!

ROSE

RUTH

VICTORIA

WENDI

YVONNE

 

Happy hopping!!