Little Gifts with a Big Impact

I wanted to make some gifts for some special folks this year and had my heart set on wreaths. I found some small wooden wreaths in the floral section of the craft store. I decided to wrap them each in ribbon, I found all different types of green ribbon for the wreath with a red bow accents at the top. It still needed more. I added a red felt flower to each to make them pop. I was excited with the final outcome and I ended up with many different variations to share.

Updated!

I love my new wreath, but something was bothering me. The black R on the black front door, had lost its impact. It needed some pizzazz! I decided to add some bling and berries. So much better!

Welcome Christmas!

I spent the weekend after Thanksgiving decorating the house for Christmas. I was so excited to put up the tree, decorate the house, and put my wreaths in each window outside. Then it hit me, I've spent all year making wreaths for each holiday and I don't have one for Christmas...let's get the ideas going. I went to the crafting mecca, Hobby Lobby, to find my supplies. I really like the look of burlap (thanks to my sister), wanted to add some red berries, and wanted to monogram it too. I pulled together all these ideas and created a monogrammed wreath with ribbon created holly leaves accented with berries, all sitting on a burlap wrapped wreath. I then hung it using a cheerful polka dotted ribbon. Now I can properly welcome my guests and I feel like my decorating is complete!

Christmas Mantle

Last year I wanted to create a Christmas Mantle that was not the norm...I decided to create some Christmas artwork and paint canvases to give my boring mantle some personality. I wanted at least one to have spiritual meaning, so we had a constant reminder of why we celebrate this time of year. I decided to paint one plain red (The coated needed for the background of these canvases took the most time. They need a lot of paint!) and hand painted the phrase, "For unto us a child is born..." For the two smaller ones I wanted to add some dimension. I decided to get some plastic candy cane sticks (harder than you think to find). I found some plastic candy canes, and after almost losing a finger, cut off the curved part. I then took a small wooden disc and painted it white to help center the sticks to create a sunburst. I found a wooden R and painted it and decided it would look good on an ornament for the third canvas. This year I decided to add some additional items to the arrangement (in addition to my stocking hangers). To give it some height, I added a wooden reindeer and a white birch tree. The tree wasn't high enough, so I put it on a candle holder to give it some flare and hight. The final touch was a Christmas Cactus, since it went with the season. Since I have a window above my fire place (weirdest place for a window and quite the decorating challenge!), it creates the perfect spot to boost plant growth. We'll see if I can get this Christmas cactus to bloom again!

Trees, Trees, Everywhere Trees...

Last year mom found a great craft project for her girls to try during one of our girls night out--Christmas Tree cones. We took poster board and created cones, then sprayed them with adhesive, and covered them with fabric. Then we decorated the trees with sequins, ribbon, and trimmings to give them pizzazz. While that sounds so easy, it was not! We spent an hour getting the poster board to cooperate and cut the bottoms square so we didn't create any leaning trees. Then we spent another hour spraying the adhesive and and getting the fabric on them, just right, without wrinkles or folds. Once we achieved our nine trees (three each), we sat back and admired our work. Mom was so proud of us. She was so excited and boasted these are selling for $50 on Etsy! I asked how much she spent all on all the fabric and supplies, and she said it was under $60...so we had to laugh. Luckily we got two more sets for the same price! I then decided a wanted a smaller set (the first set had the largest one at over two feet tall) for my kitchen table. I learned from our test and it was much easier (and cheaper, ha!) the second time around with a smaller goal. I now am enjoying my second season with my two sets of trees. I just need to figure out another room I can add them to!

Give Thanks

After the Halloween mantle came down, I must admit, I was a little sad. I had to hit Pinterest and get some ideas to transform it for Turkey Day. I always loved the phrase, Be Thankful, so that's were I started. I printed out a font that I liked on the computer and put a piece of burlap over it. I then took a sharpie and traced the letters and framed it. I also found a great printable to define Thanksgiving, along the same font and on a burlap background. I just printed it out and framed it as well. Finally, I found some pumpkins I had used in the past, and put them on candle holders. I pulled the whole thing together and really like the finished product!

Block Art

I found these blocks in the Halloween decorations last year. The front says Happy Halloween with a witch in the middle. I thought they were so cute, I wanted to keep them up a little longer...so, I turned them over and painted the black ones brown. I modge-podged some scrap book paper and found some great copper glittery letters. Give Thanks is a little shorter, so I improvised and added some leaves and a bird. Now I can keep them up a little longer, and appreciate that I recycled store-bought decor into a craft of my own.