Santa ornaments

Project 2 of 52

Have you seen all the fun things you can do with pop tabs? 

The list is growing longer and longer. 

Here is another....

 They were a bit messy but easy.

Gather your tinsel, bulbs, ribbon, pop tab, and a bit of glue.

Turn on your favorite movie and enjoy while you mindlessly stuff the tinsel into the bulb. 

I tried different "tools" to help with this but ultimately it came down to my fingers. Tucking, tucking, twisting and tucking. When the bulb was full I just cut what was still sticking out the top. 

Put the cap back in place.

Then tread the ribbon through the pop tab and glue around the belly of the bulb.

See, nice and cheery.

I made several up one night while hubby watched old Star Trec episodes on Netflix.

I used these for teachers gifts this past Christmas. They all loved them.

Tassle ornaments

Project 1 of 52
One of the best parts of Christmas is decorating the tree and sharing stories with each of the ornaments. Ours are all from childhood, family trips, or significant events. Each year the boys get a new ornament, something that signals what that year was all about. This idea was perfect to add to our collection. Plus I already had bulbs waiting to be used up.

Here is the original pin.

I ran into a couple of snags. My date tags are too big to get inside the bulb. I took it off and reattached it to the cap of the bulb on one and through the string on the other.

I was thrilled with these. So much better than having them collect dust in the closet, never to be seen and enjoyed. 

What a great way to share our memories of school with the boys. 

I had my tassel from college and my sweethearts from High School (still looking for the other 2)

Yep, I'd call that a Pinterest success!

Wrapping 101 tutorial...

 Growing up I always helped to wrap gifts.

Gifts for the family.

Gifts for friends.

Even gifts my friends planned to give.

I thought it was easy and I enjoyed doing it.

I loved all the wrapping and the bows and ribbons. 

I loved seeing them all stacked up pretty, waiting to be tucked under the tree.

 I still wrap lots of gifts. Just not as many for others to give.

My sweet hubby does a good job but he doesn't enjoy it like I do. He usually helps by going back and forth to the tree, filling out the tags or just keeping me company. I love the time that it gives us as a couple to talk and be together. The boys don't dare interupt or they may loose a gift or two. ;-p

Anyway, I thought I would share a step by step on how to wrap a gift. Boxes are easy but when you don't have a box it can get tricky. So gather your supplies:

wrapping paper

gift

tape

scissors 

bows

ribbon

name tags

Lets get started!

Here we have a lovely apron and cookbook. Shhh, can't tell which family member this is for.

 The first step is to measure the paper. The ends should overlap just a bit. Then cut the roll.

 

 I like to secure the paper to the gift. Then I can pull it taut without it moving. Side one, folded over...now fold the other side over....

 Hey, we are getting there. Now for the ends. This is where it can get a bit tricky without the box. I smooth down the edges then fold the corner down to meet the end of the gift. See......

 Now repeat...Do that to both sides. Then all you have to do is fold the flap over the end.

 When you are done with both ends you get to add your favorite ribbon.

 One of the easiest ways is to wrap the ribbon around the corners. Hold one corner with your thumb while you wrap. Go under by your thumb and come up at the opposite corner.

 Secure your ribbon. Add a bow.

Don't forget the tag!

See, you did it! A simple, lovely wrapping job. 

Now get the rest of them wrapped. Santa Claus is coming!

                                                                  Merry Christmas!!!

Window lights secret revealed....

I love Christmas! I do! I love everything about this time of year, the hustle, the bustle, the jingle bells, presents, and the LIGHTS!

My sweet hubby has learned by now that one thing that is sure to score him some brownie points is helping put up the lights. He does the outside while I do this inside.

I remember as a little girl laying at the foot of my top bunk bed and falling asleep to the flashing of the lights outside. We always put lights inside our windows too. It took at least a roll of tape per window to get those lights to stick to the frost covered windows.

Thankfully we don't have to use quite so much tape anymore. Just a few strategically placed clips and voila...you have great window lights.

My secret?
Command hooks. Yep, I love 'em!
I found these small clear clips this year. You hardly even see them.

They hook to the wire which helps if you have to adjust a bit. I used 8 on each window pane.

Just stick them to to window then clip the wire in. They are really strong. Then come off easily after the holidays. I used them last year too but I love the smaller size of these. Definently worth the couple bucks.

Plus you just get new sticky tabs and reuse the hooks next year.....hmmm I should buy stock in command hooks. I use them all the time.
(I received no compensation for this, just my $0.02 worth ;-)

Wire Trees

A Pinterest Fail!

We had good intentions.

The pin looked so EASY.

No Problem we thought.

We picked up all the supplies we needed....

BTW: Copper wire is a bit pricey....

And got started making our own set of wire wreaths.

Just wrap them around the styrofoam cone.

Ok, uhm wait, like this? Oops, let's try that again...ugh, this is harder than it looks.

The wire is kinda digging into the styrofoam....

Ok, there we go. Got it started.....there DONE.

Now to pull it off the styrofoam.

ARGH! They won't stand up nice and pretty like the picture.

Ok, so the copper ones are too bad but they are also small.

Not what we pictured.

The silver one won't stand up at all.

Now we have a pile of twisted wire.

Time to search Pinterest for something to work this into.....

Hopefully next time it WILL work and perhaps....

just maybe....

please....

be as easy as it looks.

Snowman

I have loved getting back to my crafts (and blogging BTW)

It is even better when a project turns out. Often times a craft can be simple and finished in an hour or two but makes a statement non-the-less.

So here is one of those for you.

Of course it came from Pinterest and from Craft Goodies.

Gather your supplies:

3 foam balls (I used 5", 4" and 2" I believe)

White yarn

3 black buttons

Hot glue

Scissors

Large skewers (like shishkabobs)

and your wi-fi device to refer back here on ;-)

Now listen carefully...this part is hard. ;-)

Wind the yarn around the foam ball. Just randomly works best. Like you are making a ball of yarn. BTW: you can do this just with balls of yard but I didn't have enough yarn so I stuck with the foam balls. I would have taken a lot of yarn. Probably like 2 large scans or maybe 3. We did 2 snowmen with 1 scan of yarn. I just used a small dab of glue to hold the end of the thread.

Once all three balls are covered it's time to glue them together. I used large skewers to push thru all three balls to help add security. Then hot glue each one together.

See they come together nicely.

Now the not so fun part. UGH, wire. We learned that we don't do so well with wire. Here is a portion of our last project fail, don't worry I will show that one tomorrow.

Never fear though we are not crafters to let supplies go to waste. Take a mess of wire and somehow manage to twist it into a arm....

Like this. Yeah, not too bad eh!?! Just poke it through and glue. 

Oh, and BTW, we sprayed the wire black before we glued them in.

The hat on the other had was a tricky one. Thankfully my sister-in-law stopped by. She enjoys wire crafting and jewelry making. So here you go Misty. Work your magic.

Our wire was a bit springy but we got it to work. then I added a wire hook to the back to hang it with. Just pushed it through then added some glue to secure it. Add some burlap for the scarf....We tried both tan and red. I loved the red the best. I added a bit of pop.

See how good he looks!

Give it a try. You'll have fun creating a new holiday decoration.

Melted Snowman Ornaments- 15 minute project

I don't usually have a lot of time to craft and create so I love it when I come across a project that came be finished in those 30 minute windows between mom's taxi runs. 

This little ornament is quick and easy.

Gather your supplies (chances are most of them are already sitting out).

Glue gun with extra glue.

Jute/string/thread anytime will do.

Pony beads for eyes and mouth. (you could use anything really)

Orange pipe cleaner (I tried a orange sparkle bead, worked too)

And aluminum foil. I tried parchment paper first- didn't work.

Step #1:

Tie a little knot at the end of your string. Then start glueing. Put a bit of glue around in a melted pile. I tried just one big spot as well as going around the edges. Both worked but I like how it spread out better going around the edges. You just want to make sure it over laps so the glue runs together.

Add "2 eyes made out of coal" uhemmm, I mean two eyes of beads.

"And a button nose" made of orange pipe cleaner.

No corncob pipes here but a nice beaded mouth. Oh and here is an idea of how big the nose is. About 1/2" then fold it in half. Too long and it doesn't sit in the glue very well.

Then tuck them in the freezer. Yep, right their. Oh, move the ice cream out of the way. Between the yeast and baking soda box will do nicely. That way they will set up and pull off the foil more easily.

After about an hour use have this!

Cute melted snowman ornaments.

Just beware, little elves might move them around to help decorate their own little rooms. ;-)

How to fix a styrofoam wreath tutorial

My wonderful sister gave me a great start to a wreath we had planned on making together but never got around to it. She started with the basic styrofoam wreath and tied tulle to it. There is lay, waiting for the holiday decor so I could get the snowflakes to add to it. Along came a couple of curious little boys. "Here Ty, put this on."

 "OK!"....

Yeah, not such a bright idea!! You all know what happened. Mom came home. Dad made the boys fess up. ARGH!! Life with boys sometimes makes me shake my head!!

*deep cleansing breath*

I thought I was going to have to untie everything and start over until my sweet mom told me they have styrofoam glue.

FANTASTIC!!

Actually, it's FOAMTASTIC!

Just put a couple of toothpicks in place to help hold it until the glue dries.

A little army of good guys to watch over helps the glue dry faster....it's true!

The glue is suppose to dry in about an hour but I was able to carefully slide the tulle around where it belonged without problems. The toothpicks help to hold everything in place until all is dry.

Then, layout your snowflakes. I got the blue ones from Hobby Lobby and the silver from Walmart. I have heard the dollar store have these as well. Mine were only about $3 for a big box. There are enough snowflakes left for another wreath.

Use a bit of hot glue to glue the flakes down.

When you are done with the first ring of blue snowflakes start again with the silver ones.

 Just a couple of dabs of glue will do.

 It looks fantastic....uhm white on white.....let's try again....

 Ahhh, that's better!

 Something fun for the coming winter.

Thanks sis for getting the hard part done for me!

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