Snow man Wreath

We are getting down to just a few more Christmas gifts.  Today is the snowman wreath.  I love books, I love vintage and I love anything resembling a misfit so that's why I really love these little guys! 

 I have several old vintage poetry books so I tore out some pages and cut a nice round circle.  On one circle, freehand an orange carrot nose for the snowman.

 Next, I took two rounds and zig zagged around the edges, leaving just about an inch open to add the stuffing.   Add just a small amount of stuffing to give it a little dimension, then sew up the opening with the same zig zag stitch. After all the sewing is done, glue two button eyes above the nose using a hot glue gun. I love to mismatch the buttons.

 Using a wire wreath and some burlap, weave the strips of burlap in and out of the wire form until it is covered. 

With your finished snowmen, glue them around the wreath and add a burlap bow.

These little snowman are so cute.  It was fun to see their personalities emerge when the button eyes went on.  I actually like these better as little ornaments rather than on a wreath.  If you don't have vintage books, you can use magazine or newspaper too!

Decorated Hand Towels- Christmas Gifts 7

I love bar mop towels!  I love them in the kitchen because when your dishcloths get dirty, you can bleach them and they always look as good as new.  For $2, you can get a set of two bar mop towels.  They are a great size for a hand towel.  I don't have a step by step for this gift but it's easy.  

I chose my favorite cotton fabric and decided how wide I wanted the ruffle.  For these towels, I did a double ruffle.  The top one is about 1 1/2" wide and the bottom ruffle is 3" wide.  Instead of cutting them, I simply tore them from salvage to salvage.  

Using a loose tension and a long stitch, I gathered them up on my machine then placed them on the bar mop towel towards the end and sewed them into place.  So easy!!  

They are going to look so nice hanging in the powder bath!

Bag clips- Christmas gifts 6

Christmas crafts seriously don't get any easier than this!  At first, you may think this is the lamest thing on earth to give as a gift but think again...they are so useful and would make a fun little stocking stuffer.  Seriously, bag clips are those things you just never think of to go out and buy but when you have them, you love them!

Start with a bag of clothes pins!  You get hundreds for next to nothing.

 Once again, choose your favorite scrapbook papers and cut two or each size.  You will end up with one piece longer than the other because you don't want to glue over the small wire piece.

 Modge Podge the pieces on and once they are dry, add a couple more layers of Modge Podge to the top.  Voila!!  The cutest bag clips ever!!

Chunky Frame- Christmas Gift 5

I love chunky frames.  I love a wide frame with a little opening.  Even though it's small, to me, it really emphasizes the picture more.  Here are some steps for you to create your own.

I started with a large, ready made wood frame I purchased from the craft store for $6.00  I also purchased a mini frame for a couple of dollars.  

 I painted both frames black.  After I had this altogether, I was thinking how cool a chalkboard paint would have been!  Chalkboard anything is really popular these days.

 Once everything was dry, I simply glued the smaller frame over the opening of the larger frame using wood glue.  You could also use a glue gun.

That's all there is to it!  Easy and best of all quick!  The possibilities of dressing this up are endless.  You could Modge Podge cool paper or fabric on the frame as an alternative!

Notebooks- Christmas gifts 4

I can never have enough little notebooks!  I stash them in my nightstand, my purse, in the car, on my desk, in the kitchen and I have even been known to keep one or two in the bathroom.  You know, I get my best ideas when I'm in the shower or blow drying my hair! 

I usually get my notebooks from my favorite store in the world, Barnes and Noble.  There is just nothing like walking in to that store and smelling the fresh ink!  It's the smell of creativity, that's what it is!  I love it.  Anyways, before I get side tracked, they have a fun selection but they can be pretty spendy.  Not anymore, here's a cheap way to make your own.   All you need is a computer, a printer, some cardstock and scissors or paper cutter. 

I have a collection of digital scrapbook paper that I have been acquiring.  It's all been free so that makes this project even nicer.  I chose a couple of my favorites and printed an 81/2 x11 sheet of cardstock.  I decided on the size I wanted for my book.  The finished size of these books is 4x6 so I cut the printed cardstock to 8x6.

Next, take 8 sheets of regular printer paper or any paper of your choice.  Cut it 1/4" shy of your cover measurements both in length and width. 

Fold the cover carefully and the inside papers in half.  Make a crisp fold. 

 Now, here comes the last step.  With your sewing machine, simply sew down the middle of the book, backstitching at the beginning and the end and you are done!  You can't see very well in this picture but I used a contrasting thread for a little surprise.  In this case red!

If you are handy with a photo editing program like Photoshop, you can really customize the cover by adding pictures, a favorite quote or even a cool monogram!  These are perfect stocking stuffers for kids!

Hot Pads

Hot Pads, not to be confused with hot mitts.  I love to scatter these on the table to set hot dishes on.  It's nice to create some stylish ones rather than the cheap ones you get at the big box corner store.  They are easy and beautiful.  I started with some scraps of fabric I had.  Here's a tip, if you don't have scraps, you can re-purpose kitchen towels or buy some muslin or osnaburg fabric.  You can usually pick up a yard for $2.  

 Cut your fabric and batting.  I used a special batting called Insul-bright but since you won't be using these for grabbing hot pans from the oven, you could get away with  3 or 4 layers of regular batting.  I used one layer of Insul Bright and two layers of Warm and Natural to absorb the condensation. Cut the squares 9"x 9".

 Adding a Ric Rack trim is optional.  If you are adding that, sew it on to one layer of fabric.  If not, just stack the fabric, right sides together and the layers of batting below.  Sew all together, leaving about 3" to turn it afterwards.

 Turn it right side out and press the edges.  Top stitch close to the edge to catch the open edges then sew a square in the middle just to ensure the batting is secured.  Done!

These are a great addition to any kitchen!

Coasters- Christmas gift 2

I love these coasters!  I am not a coaster kind of girl but this was so much fun to do, I think I will make a set for myself to keep in the living room.  Not only do they look cute, I wanted to keep making them. 

I found this little set at our local craft store for 6.99.  It included a little box to stack them in.  If you aren't so lucky, you can go to any home depot and buy ceramic tiles for less than a dollar.  Keep in mind that since you are covering them with paper, you don't necessarily have to buy white tiles. 

I chose some of scrapbook paper from a supply I already had.  Obviously, this is the step where you can choose colors to match your decor.

 Cut the paper so it is just shy of the dimensions of the tile.  You don't want to have the paper overlap the edges of the tile because then over time, the paper will look ragged and lift off or tear.

 Paint the tile with Modge Podge, then position the paper

 Once it dries, which is about 3 or 4 minutes, I lightly sanded the edges of the paper just to knock down that sharp paper edge.   I like the edge of the paper to 'bleed' into the edge of the tile.

After you have sanded, add a layer of Modge Podge to seal the paper and make it waterproof.  Voila!  You have just finished another really fun craft!  Oh, I will add that I actually added a couple more layers of Modge Podge just to be sure but, it does put it a little over the 10 min mark!

Have fun! and we'll see you tomorrow for another really fun tutorial!  Think of all the money you will save this holiday season!