Christmas DIY List

It’s that time of year again, my favourite time to get my craft on with hand made Christmas goodness! I’ll be heating up my glue gun, getting sparkles on my face all while playing some sweet carols in the background.

Here is a sampling of some of the projects I’m planning on making. I’ve already picked up a few supplies at Michaels as they had crazy sales last week, (this week there is a 50% off coupon on one item) and I’ll be using what I have at home to get my festive DIY on! Who’s excited?

Click on the photos to link to the tutorials.

1. Paper Wreath – Last year I used some old sheet music to create a few pinwheels for our tree. This year I’ll be using the same lovely paper to craft this wreath for our door although I think I’ll find something different for the center.

2. Scrabble Ornaments – I love using scrabble pieces to create! When I saw this idea, I knew it would be on my list of DIY.

3. Gift Tags -  My mom has this owl punch from stampin’ up that can be used to make these two adorable Christmas creatures. I think I’ll use them as gift tags for my presents this year.

4. Hershey Kiss Mouse – “Not a creature was stirring” I thought these would be cute to pass out to co-workers to spread  a little tiny holiday cheer.

5. Glittery Ornaments – These bad boys have the glitter INSIDE of them, so maybe I won’t be getting a face full of sparkles. I can’t wait to make some of these pretties for our tree!

6. Holiday Subway Art – Now this one I’m really excited about. It’s actually just a file you download and print out on a 16 x 20 piece of paper. How cool is that? I’ll just need to get a frame and, BOOM, instant holiday art!

Well that’s all for now. These projects should keep me busy for a while. I also have some handmade Christmas presents that I need to make for just about 3 weeks from now. So I need to get on it!

Happy Crafting!

DIY Mini Felt Stocking Ornament

I wanted to make a little something for my two nieces that could be
a tradition every year from their aunty. Ornaments are cute, fast
and easy to whip up! Of course I made one for my son as well. 

Supplies
* felt from craft store
*scissors
*cardboard
*glue gun
*thread and needle
*buttons
*ribbon

1. Draw a small stocking shape on a piece of cardboard and cut out.

2. Trace onto  a piece of coloured felt. Cut out two pieces for a back and front.
Also cut two long rectangles for the top part of each each stocking.

3. Choose buttons and stich only on one piece of the stocking.
Do not stitch them together. Start warming your glue gun.

4. Stitch real, but fake stitching on the front of the stocking.
Now I say real, but fake, because I didn’t actually stitch the two pieces of
felt together.

5. After the stitching is complete, start gluing. First, glue the two stocking
pieces together. Second, glue the back rectangle piece to the
back of the stocking. Add and glue a loop of ribbon between the back and front of the rectangle and glue together. Add pretty ribbon or lace to decorate the front.

Christmas Cookie Review

Sometimes a girl just doesn’t have time to get down and dirty in the kitchen. And no, I’m not talking about that. Honestly people!
I love baking, but when the weekends get busy in December and I’m going out, I still like to bring something with a homemade feel. I could easily buy a premade sweet, but if I can, I’d rather do some ‘baking’ from a prepared cookie mix.
Here are two prepared cookie mixes that I’ve reviewed for your holiday sweet tooth pleasure.

Pillsbury Gingerbread Cookies

Betty Crocker Sugar Cookies

Preparation and Effort: Super easy! Just follow the instructions on the package. My one observation is to use up the dough once it’s out of the fridge right away because once it’s handled a few times it becomes very soft very fast. And soft dough equals sticky dough. And sticky dough is HARD to get off the counter no matter how much flour you put down. Appearance: Very much like the homemade variety. Nice dark brown colour. Taste: Sweeter than I’m used to for gingerbread. I like that strong molasses taste. But it’s totally decent. Cost: $1.99 on sale Overall Rating out of 5:

Preparation and Effort: Be sure to take some butter out of the fridge so it is soft or else you will have to wait a few hours to make these cookies. It will also take some muscle to mix, I ended up using my bare hands, it was just easier. But sticky. Appearance: Do not over bake. You want the edges to be a light brown colour for perfection. Taste: Considering they are called sugar cookies, they are not crazy sweet. Which is good. But I prefer the homemade variety. Cost: $1.99 on sale Overall Rating out of 5:

DIY Sheet Music Pinwheel Ornaments

I was eager to get my craft on when I found these sweet sheet music books at Goodwill for 99cents each.

I’m not sure if these are called pinwheels, but it’s the best description I can find.

I followed a tutorial found here at Style Me Pretty.

 

Add buttons or any other kind of bling. Love!

Sheet Music Inspiration

Some inspiration for my thrifted sheet music! 

 Cute envelope tags or ornaments. Etsy Shop

 Country Living – cute gift wrap

 Simply Julie – decorative balls

 Southern Hospitality Blog – pretty wrapping

 Source unknown, decorative doily 

 Ruffled bunting

DIY Christmas Arrangements

Christmas is the perfect time to experiment with a variety of floral designs.
Using out of the box containers is a great way to add a unique look and style to create something that is not typical for Christmas.

I made this for my mother in law using a white creamer.
I paid $1.50 for it on half price Friday at the local Goodwill.

I only bought the hypericum berries and spruce and used the other
accessories from my Christmas stash. The pinecones, small bulbs
and ribbon are wired and plucked in the arrangement.
(I know, I should have taken pictures, but was in a rush).

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.*}*}*}*}*}*}*}*}*.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

This isn’t an arrangement per say, but it’s a super easy idea for
someone less adept in designing  with flowers.

Buy a fern type plant, or one of those mini Christmas trees,
ideally place it in a pretty pot. I didn’t have one, but at least the
original container is green, meh, it will do. I used the lid of a
take out container to hold the bells and small glass ornaments
and also any water that leaks.

The little fern was $4.99 and adds such a nice live touch to our place.
Easy Peasy!!

Christmas Parcels {wrap it up}

I wanted to do something different for wrapping this year. I didn’t want to buy the typical wrap from the store. I found this plain brown paper wrap on my Ikea trip and knew it would be perfect for what I had in mind.

Of course we need ribbon. Have I ever told you about my obsession with ribbon? Well, quite frankly I love it. I blame my mother who shares the same delight in pretty ribbon. There is always a present that needs wrapping!

This variety is from the dollar store, Michael’s on sale last year, and Fabricland.
The bells were also a boxing day special from last year.

Think about doing a few bands of different ribbon. Add little accessories,
like a bell or a small metal rustic star.


If you are not a good bow “tie –er”, do a simple knot, it looks just as lovely.
I used this cardboard reindeer ornament as a name tag.


This ribbon has wire edges to give it the crinkle.

This is the pile for now. Still waiting for some online orders to arrive.
I honestly enjoy the wrapping as much as the giving. Can’t wait to place them under our tree, which we are going to pick up at this event!

What’s your wrapping style?

Christmas Inspiration

Click here for instructions on how to make these adorable mitten ornament.

Every day pretty way to gift wrap that can be altered for Christmas.

A beautiful white dresser!


Ohh, white containers with Winter greens.


Colourful stockings hung in a row.