(Recycled) Christmas Crafts!

Burned out Christmas lights

Well, here we are a few days from Christmas and I *almost* got all the things on my "to do" crafting list accomplished. However, I didn't get to share them for a few reasons (I really wanted to, I'm so happy with what we've accomplished). First and foremost being married to a photographer has it's benefits... It also has it's pitfalls. Namely, December is a really popular month for people wanting pictures. So although my stuff is a priority people who pay with more than cookies and kisses take the front seat. Then, my dear husband, threw his back out and was laid up for a good many days.

Milk carton villages!

But I did take a few "during the process" snaps that I'll share and who knows, maybe I can make proper tutorials before next Christmas!

 Snowflakes from old letterhead!

The burned out Christmas lights I had from the hanging of our outdoor lights and all the rage right now is to make them pretty by dousing them with glitter. I did 8 bulbs, 5 of which I added magnets too and are now adorning our refrigerator!  The main issue I have, as pretty as they are, is the glitter shed! I looked for from Diamond Glaze but it's only available at a few stores in my area and I wasn't going to drive 1/2 an hour to find some. They look great and absolutely pop against my white fridge.

We also built a milk carton village. It is absolutely my favourite thing we did this year! We have five houses in our village and they are adorable. We added flame-less candles and they have been twinkling the night away since early December.

Snowflakes - who doesn't love them? Even though we are under snow here for typically six months of the year, it's fun and simple to make paper snowflakes. TroubleMaker is a pro with his scissors and with a simple square folded, it's a breeze for him to make unique and creative snow flakes.

So this is what we've been up to this month - what have you been doing to make Christmas fun and crafty?

Christmas Countdown - Day 2 - Bird Snacks!

Stir it up!

It snowed early here this year and our usual bumper crop of sunflowers wasn't so bumper! What does this mean? Hungry birds and an easy peasy craft for us to do! Cruising FOLK! magazine's blog, folklifestyle.com, I saw a crafty little idea for a bird seed ornament. We have a feeder in our tree (my mother in law gave it to Brennan) however the birds haven't exactly flocked to it. But with a few dozen hungry chickadees roaming around our yard, we headed off to get birdseed! He is a very helpful helper. He only splashed flower out once. We pressed them into a wax paper lined cookie sheet - finding the backside of a spoon was much less messy! Add some cookie cutter (press them REALLY hard into the mix - getting them out and flipped later was challenging and we found they didn't seem to cut through much).

STICKY!

Just a little higher! 

Brennan is very independent and must always, always have a hand in anything - especially if it is very awkward and requires some form of parental acrobatics!  The end resulted netted us a large ziploc bag full of ornaments (mostly "blobs", our shapes didn't withstand the taking out phase). We've hung four in our tree and are now awaiting some fine feathered friends!

Nothing says bird food like a bear!

Unfortunately, our neighbourhood has a load of cats that have the local bird population hesitant to land anywhere) but we remain hopeful, especially since we're only a few months into winter! 

Christmas Countdown - Day 1 - Chalkboard Sled!

For the past few years, I've struggled to do an "Advent Calendar" for TroubleMaker. By struggle, I mean I see so many ideas that I want to employ, I wait until the last second to pick an idea and then play catch up all month trying to stuff, fill, colour, cut and figure out what to do.

But no more. This year, although I had several different ideas in mind and been inspired out the wazoo by Pinterest, I decided on a treatless, presentless countdown device. He doesn't need all the extra candy and because we made a resolution to not spoil him too much (my husband and I made this pact before we got pregnant), I didn't want to get him 25 little things!

I was inspired by a cheap snowman chalkboard in the Dollar store and when I couldn't find a snowman wood cutout at the craft store, I fell in love with a large wooden sled and decided that this would work even better! Using this picture as my inspiration, I started to work.

The runners were broad brushed on with a blend of gold and brown.

I blended four colours for the base coat wash (red, poppy red, gold, black and a colour extender) applied with a dampened sponge applicator.

Once it was dry, I applied a second coat with a dry sponge. I then dry brushed black all over the edges. Next, I lightly sanded the entire surface and wiped it clean with a dry towel. I blended a white acrylic paint with a silver acrylic paint to paint the snowman. I gave him three generous coats (as the red beneath showed through). His nose was orange and his buttons had a base of orange and I painted over it with the scarf colour (a blend of red, black and gold). The hat is pure black and the cloud was acrylic chalk board paint (3 coats). The snowflakes were applied using white acrylic paint on a rubber stamp and I had painted his name on the top.

I had planned on putting an acrylic sealer all over the piece (save for the chalkboard part) but I finished the sled at 9pm last night after a very long day... This morning, I added the string - which consisted of three pieces of jute twine with three bright red jingle bells.

He was so excited to see it this morning, he didn't even ask for a cheap chocolate advent calendar at the grocery store today! I, myself, am enormously proud of how well it turned out. It's been a many, many years since I've done any folk painting (I actually gave my sister all my paints a year or so ago as I hadn't used them in at least 3 years) so I think for being pretty rusty, the Christmas Countdown Sled turned out very well!

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be sharing a number of Christmas and holiday ideas between now and December 24th so I hope you'll stop back again soon.


Sharing the season with...

Why people with memory problems (shouldn't be allowed to shop by themselves)!

As I may or may not have mentioned, one of the medications I'm on for managing the pain from the compressed discs in my neck causes "reduced mental acuity . More or less, I forget stuff easily, I know I know something but can't remember it, I get pretty muddled sometimes and I get confused pretty easily.

This could also easily be confused with "Pregnant brain" or "Mommy brain" or "old age" but let me blame the medication, it's easier for me to cope (and subsequently forget about).

Some of you, who are closer to me, know that I've recently discovered I've purchased duplicates and triplicates of some things (rice, croutons, kid's snack foods, pasta) but I truly outdid myself this time.

With Christmas approaching, I've been unearthing all my Christmas stuff... Which I dutifully cataloged when I packed it up last year. I knew exactly what I had (and where, which is even a bigger miracle). Pinterest has led me to a plethora of new (and cooler) projects to tackle this year so back in early November, I took advantage of a 30% off coupon and shopped Michael's early on a Sunday morning.

Having raffled off all the Perfect Bows I've made in a fund raiser for TroublerMaker's old preschool, I knew I needed to make new bows for my banister  So... I picked a nice plaid, wired ribbon, identical to the previous bows (as I really liked it).

So today, as I finally unpacked all the stuff I bought nearly a month ago, I discovered the ribbon. And found the ribbon I packed last year... Then I found the other new spool I bought at Costco during our annual Christmas Shop in November to Avoid the Insanity of December.

How much plaid ribbon do I have? 100 yards. Which is 300 feet (91.4 metres).

That's a lot of ribbon. Plus I bought the gold and the pine cone for bows too.

So I've figured out my new business venture... Handmade Christmas bows in plaid or pine cone... ;)

This is why people with memory problems shouldn't be allowed to shop alone! This is also why I baked my husband cookies and made him promise to love me forever.

Getting my Craft On! Fall style!

I am a crafty person. I enjoy making crafts. My problem is a lack of time. A few weeks ago, however, while TroubleMaker was spending the night at his Gran's, I got busy... It took a ton more time than it should have as I still have a wounded wing. Using wire cutters with your non-dominant hand is tiresome, painful and not very productive. I also learned I cannot make a bow single handed...

All that aside, it is the best wreath I've ever made. It turned out exactly how I'd envisioned it and I'm immensely proud of the work! I was inspired by this wreath - when I priced out sunflowers at my local craft shop, I rethought my plan and opted for a single sunflower (they were $14 each). My sunflower was actually a napkin ring that I popped off the ring.

I hung it on our front door and it is SO fall! Not wanting to stop there, since I was on a roll, I decided we also needed a centre piece for Thanksgiving... Ten minutes and an existing vase, I whipped it up. I thought I struck pure genius - I always have issues with my silk arrangements staying upright. I've been collecting (not hoarding) rolls - paper towel, toilet, ribbon. I stuck one in the middle of the vase and filled it with leftover bird seed, old popcorn and nuts! I then wrapped it with plastic wrap as my cat, as sweet as she is, cannot leave anything alone and I knew I needed to slow down the eventual spill. See the bumpy green gourds? WE GREW THOSE!!! In fact, we grew like 16 of them!


I'm going to steal a line from the Slap Chop Guy... But WAIT! There's more! Canadian Thanksgiving doesn't have much to do with turkeys (as turkeys are not indigenous to Alberta), but we traditionally eat turkey on Thanksgiving - so why not make some yummy turkey desserts! Inspired by OurBestBites.com and their wonderful homage to the noble turkey, TroubleMaker and I are proud to present our rafter of candy cookie turkeys!

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up at a few fun places - please check them out for more inspiration!

Funky Junk Interiors SNS!

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Our Chinese New Year

I like to celebrate. I like any reason to be fancy, make huge meals and enjoy the company of my family and friends. I also love culture and when those two things can combine, I am over the moon!

For the past many years, we've celebrated Chinese New Year. That said, I also have it firmly planted in my brain that it happens in February... So imagine my surprise when I found out Monday, it was Chinese New Year! The Year of the Dragon, even, and me with no plans for celebrating in mind!

Fear not, I planned and schemed and we celebrated our Chinese New Year today! Paper lanterns, dragons and lots of red (which happens to be TroubleMaker's favourite colour)! Combining my love for fun paper crafts with a (not so traditional) Chinese food dinner (Ginger beef, fried rice, sweet and sour pork and a vegetable stir-fry) will certainly bring in our New Year happily!

With a rat, boar, two rabbits and a tiger in the house, I'm certain we will celebrate with style!

Christmas Countdown Day 1: Christmas Magic

December 2007, I was 28 weeks pregnant with TroubleMaker... How do I remember that? I don't think there is a moment since we decided to have a child that I don't remember when it comes to my pregnancy, his birth and the first three and half years of his life.

What is Christmas Magic? Well, for me, the magic is my son. Christmas, as a child, was a wondrous and amazing time. I remember the anticipation, the excitement and the traditions my parents built for us kids. What I never expected was how becoming a parent would exceed every single moment of Christmas magic I remembered. Seeing his face, his joy and his excitement (and oh, is he excited) is my magic.

Today, while zipping around trying to get everything I think I should be doing done, my husband brought up NORAD's Santa Tracker - it's been running all day. This is his family tradition. As the son of an air force corporal, knowing Santa's exact position was expected growing up on the base... For me, Christmas was my Mom's pate, my Dad's meat pies and my Grandmother's buns.

I don't know all the traditions we'll build for our son, but today, it was gingerbread houses, making reindeer food and a long, lovely walk through the historic neighbourhood's looking at Christmas lights, followed by hot chocolate and his Gran reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

What ever your traditions - simple or complex, I wish you all a heartfelt Merry Christmas and I hope the magic finds you too!

Christmas Countdown Day 3: Pretty Little Packages!

Have you always wanted your presents to be ones of envy - not necessarily because of what was inside, but because of the beautiful wrapping! I always envy store displays with bounds of curl ribbon and bouncing bows but have the Yowly One around but a permanent ban on everything curly.

The hot "bow" item this year are toys affixed to the package. In theory, I think this is an okay idea, but knowing my own son's propensity for stopping at the box, I'm not sure we'd ever open the actual present if I put a toy on the outside! I like the idea of putting little Christmas touches on the packages - baubles or ornaments that can be saved and hung on the tree for the next holiday season.

First, I took a simple piece of ribbon, tied it to the present and tied on a floral stem of holiday berries. It adds some interest by breaking up the linear line of the package. It also is likely more economical than store bought ribbon or bows - if you hit a big box craft store at the moment, all the Christmas floral stems are 70% off - stock up now and use them next year as present toppers!

Sometimes you get an odd shaped package - this one was perfectly square so wrapping it was challenging because just how much paper did I need? Well, I had too much! So I used a roll of tulle I had left over from a wedding project and tied a length around the present. Not only is it "cat" friendly, but it hides the not so lovely wrapping job! Attach a pretty ornament and you've got a gift that gives again next year.

I love bows - that is no secret so I love wrapping up a present and topping it with a beautiful bow! I love looping some ribbon around a box and topping it with my perfect bow. I also like the simplicity of the gold bow on my glass boxes - just take a meter or so of ribbon and wrap it over itself, tie with another short length of ribbon and in seconds, you have a nice bow that adds a lovely touch to any package!

Sometimes, we don't have all the lovely ribbon or embellishments, so why not a pinwheel bow on a child's gift? If you had a scrapbook brad, a hole punch and stick, you could turn your bow into another great toy for the kids! Here is a great instruction for making a pinwheel bow from MelangerieNYC!

Candy canes, pine cones from a tree or a few cookies wrapped with cling wrap and a length of ribbon all make interesting and thoughtful gift toppers. Look around your house and what do you see that might liven up those presents?

Thanks for stopping by today - only two more days until Christmas Eve! Tomorrow, I'll share a couple of tried and true holiday appetizer recipes and then on Christmas eve, I'll share a little Christmas Magic for the kids!

Christmas Countdown Day 4: A little outdoor decor!

In the day of the inflatable Christmas lawn ornament, I'd like to open your mind to a bit of an alternative... These lawn ornaments were again inspired by my husband's time spent in Arizona over Christmas.

The second year in our house, we decided to make a couple of wood silhouettes for ornamentation in our front flower beds. We got several sheets of oriented strand-board from my former place of work and I got to work with our jigsaw, drill and staple gun! I laid the sheet out on our two saw horses and used a set square to draw out the design. I then cut it out with the jigsaw. In order to mount the lights, I drilled holes, spaced relatively evenly along the perimeter of the tree shape. I picked up some outdoor paint (and I actually got this green at a miss tint price because the clerk couldn't get the shade right) and painted it with three coats.  I used LED Christmas lights and put the bulb through the predrilled hole and used our staple gun to staple the cord in place. I cut out a support piece for the back and affixed it to the tree with three large hinges. We've since added grooves to the support and we thread twine through and tie them down on garden stakes... Between the wind and the neigbour's cats, we've had to restring both the tree and the snowman twice (to replace broken bulbs)!

I made the snowman in a similar fashion, but measured out the circles of his body with a pencil tied to a string. His hat is a foam sheet cut out and cemented to a piece of cardboard! After six years, his hat is a little weathered but it keeps the snow off his head!

With a simple string of incandescent bulbs along our house, our simple little bungalow comes alive with a little bit Christmas cheer!

Thanks for stopping by today - hope to see you tomorrow for Day Three!

Christmas Countdown: Day 6 - Mantle or entryway decor!

I do not have a mantle and neither do I have a formal entrance way but I do have a cedar chest that I like to dress up and although this year, I've got TroubleMaker's Countdown calendar housed there, I'm thinking today's feature might look very nice sitting at the foot of the unit... For this quick and easy craft, you'll need a few things... Ribbon, craft glass blocks, some sparkly netting and lights. Please note, if you are using lights inside the glass block, please ensure that you use LED's. I started off planning to do this for a demo with the incandescent mini lights pictured but I changed my mind as I started to work!

I started with removing the netting from the package. The studio is now covered with sparkles so be prepared for a mess... I cut it in half and stuffed it inside the glass bock.

I then made a simple bow - I took a length of ribbon (about 1 metre) and looped it round and round. I then took another piece and tied it around the centre. I fanned it out and fluffed the loops and viola! Easy, easy bow! I hot glued it to the block. I made two but I decided it was a lot of block and no colour. To add some interest and colour, I decided to put a couple of large balls in a cylinder and layered in a few jingle bells.

Thanks for stopping by today - we're on the homestretch now! Come back tomorrow for some yummy baked treats!

Christmas Countdown: Day 7 - Simple and pretty decorating!

Welcome! Today I'm excited to be sharing with you a simple, elegant decorating idea that you can put together in an afternoon and for under $20 - less if you've got a stash of Christmas and craft stuff like me. In years previous, I've decorated our main floor as well as our family area in the garden level, however, because we are building the photo studio on the main floor, I no longer had space for the second tree and with TroubleMaker's toys being relocated to his new "play area", I could no longer decorate the banister (as seen below).



I was okay with the idea of not decorating anything on the main floor but as Christmas is approaching and knowing we will be spending lots of time in the kitchen, I had a change of heart. It's now a week until Christmas day and I have no desire to venture anywhere near a store so what could I do that would be quick, simple and tasteful? Why not at a little greenery and some visual interest in what tends to be the focal point of my kitchen? Sounds great!

The pine garland I had on hand (as I stockpiled a few of them a couple years ago) but I know they are on sale at our local big box craft store for around $4. The ornaments are ones I also had on hand - some were purchased to be used as decor (50 balls for $9.99) and the others were purchased to replace some of the really old ones we have on our tree (again, 50 ornaments for $18.99) but for this craft, you could borrow a couple from your tree! The ribbon - on hand again, but seriously, after a little shopping around this year. You cannot beat Costco for ribbon... Fifty yards for $8! I just about fell over when I saw it... I also had to stop myself from buying one of every style they had! A few floral picks (or, if you'd rather and have a pine tree handy, some pine cones) and you're set!

We screwed a few eyelet screws into the cabinetry and away we went! I wanted something simple and visually appealing. The colours work well with the warm pine and cherry woods used in our cabinetry. I would love to use "fresh" cedar boughs however, we had to hack our cedars back in the fall so I didn't have the heart to butcher them anymore for a little craft like this! The ornaments are shiny without being too bright and I hung them high enough that neither my husband or I will bonk our heads on them! It also breaks up the horrible white blind that hangs over our kitchen sink (it is on the 'Must go in 2012' list).

I am thinking of adding a bit more upstairs but I promised my lovely husband I wasn't going to go "overboard"... So how about adding a little bit of Christmas to your kitchen? What kind of space do you have and could you add just a touch of festive to it? Thanks for stopping by and come back tomorrow as we get into the last six days of our countdown!

Christmas Countdown: Day 8 - The Perfect Bow!

I love ribbon. I love making bows with ribbon. To me, decorating with bows are simple and easy and oh so elegant! Below is a helpful guide so you too can decorate with bows! Add them to your tree, banister, wreaths, presents!















Materials:
Wired ribbon (I used 12’ (about 3 metres) of ribbon to make the bow illustrated)
Florists wire (24 gauge) on paddle
Scissors
Wire snips









Cutting your bow
1.Decide how big/full you want your bow

2.Snip this length, allowing ½ to 1” extra for overlap

3.Cut three of this length (illustration used 20” for this)

4.Cut two more – one inch (1”) shorter (2 @ 19”)


5.Cut one more – one inch (1”) shorter than the previous (18”)

6.Cut nosing – 4 to 7” (depends on how you wrap it)

7.Cut tails – decide on how much hang you want on one side, cut 2x (leave one long piece)



Putting it all together

1.Pick up first long loop, overlap and fold loop in half to mark centre point. Pinch centre point in with overlap (accordion the pinch).








2.Using florists wire, wrap 2x around pinch, pulling very snug to secure (DO NOT CUT WIRE)

3.Repeat step #1 with next 20” piece, place immediately below first wrapped loop and wrap 1x snuggly with wire

4.Repeat with final 20” piece and place below second wrapped loop and wrap 1x snuggly. Wrap all three loops once or twice and pull tight. DO NOT CUT WIRE









5.Pick up first medium loop (19” piece) and repeat step one. Lay this pinch atop the foundation bow layer. Wrap wire around 1x.





6.Repeat with second medium loop and wrap 2x around, pulling snugly.







7.Pick up small loop piece (18” piece) and repeat step one. Lay this pinch atop the middle layer. Wrap 2x to secure.







8.Pick up tails and fold in half. Place below all loop and secure.






9.Cut about 8” of wire from florist wire paddle and set paddle aside.






10. Take nosing and loop around middle of bow. Leave it loose and overlap at back of bow.









Using wire, loop around and secure nosing. Form a loop in the wire and secure to itself (for the hanger)









11. Fluff up the bow and viola! The perfect bow!





With a little practice, you'll be whipping up bows like a pro - and the best part, no special machine or special ribbon needed! Enjoy and happy crafting! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Day 7!


All images used with permission. All images copyright Blackstone Images

Christmas Countdown: Day 9 - Quick and Easy Gift Ideas!

'Twas a week before Christmas and all through the shops, people were running and searching for props; the perfect gift for a mom or a dad, all were searching, searching like mad!


Today, I've got a guest post! Chris Lee works as an online researcher alongside his undergrad study, and has written this festive on behalf of Vistaprint. Take it away, Chris!
So, Christmas is nearly upon us. If (like me) you haven’t started your Christmas shopping yet, hopefully this post will give you a few ideas!

The Classics:
Wine and/or chocolate. I was tempted to call this section “fallback options” because these can seem like last resort gifts, but, as with any gift, if you put in the thought and match the gift to the personality and tastes of the recipient, they will be well received and appreciated. Try to figure out what cuisine the recipient enjoys eating and use the taste guide to select an appropriate wine, for example.

Gizmos and gadgets:
Ideal for a teenage audience, but also applicable elsewhere. Most gadget sites will have a “gift finder” or similar service which will allow you to enter variables such as recipients age, desired budget, whether or not to include mature gifts, etc. This can be a great way to find gifts you may otherwise not have considered, although try not to get too distracted and end up buying a selection of fun-but-useless gadgets for yourself!

Home-made gifts:
An old favourite. There’s perhaps nothing better than receiving a hand-crafted gift from a friend or relative. Knowing that they spent time planning and making a unique gift for you is a truly delightful feeling. This is especially fun for children, as they will take great pride in the items they make. Though this category can include almost anything, a few popular suggestions are home-made chocolates, mulled wine, photo frames, storage containers, and ornaments.

Personalised gifts:
Similar to the above, except someone else makes them for you! These days the internet is brimming with sites allowing you to make personalised mugs, calendars, t-shirts, mouse mats, etc. The personal touch on these traditional gifts will be popular whatever the occasion, but Christmas is the perfect time. Seeing a precious memory captured and printed onto an everyday item will lift the spirits of the recipient every time they see the gift.

Thanks for sharing, Chris! One thing I'd like you to know is we've actually been Vistaprint Canada customers for the past three years. We do an annual calendar of TroubleMaker (the pictures are from calendar's past) and the past three, we've ordered from Vistaprint! I was so happy when I was approached to host this post because I can honestly say Vistaprint products and customer service are fantastic!




Need another idea? How about tapping in to that "home made gift" idea? Have 10 minutes, a sewing machine and some fabric? Why not whip up one of these cozy, fuzzy pillow cases! I'll have more pictures and a bit of a tutorial later in the week! Thanks for stopping by and thank you Chris and Vistaprint for sharing some great Christmas gift ideas!