Christmas Memories

"Each Christmas

finds me longing for

Christmases now past.

And I am back in

childhood - as long as

memories last."

 

~ Carice Williams ~

Do you save the ends from

refrigerated cinnamon roll cans? I'd

always thought they'd be good for some sort

of crafting, and last year used them for

stamping. Right now, I'm making them into

ornaments. For this one, I used one of the

smaller round images, a paper doily, clear

glitter, and yarn around the outside:

You can find the complete Victorian

illustration here. I also used an endpaper

texture. The only other images used were

free elements, available on Canva.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Glimpse of Happiness

 "I caught a glimpse

of happiness, and saw it

was a bird on a branch,

fixing to take wing."

~ Richard Peck ~

 

I used a bird illustration found in a book:

The English Year. Autumn and Winter,

published in 1913. I imagine it perching

briefly, preparing to fly off again.

Typewriter font messages were added to some,

and some were kept blank. I like having the

option to write in another message or a name,

if using as a gift tag. They turned out nicely

as rustic mason jar ring Christmas ornaments.

 

Hope you're all staying well and

staying warm! There was a dusting of

snow here the day after Thanksgiving,

which made it feel like

Christmas Time's a-Comin'.

A final thought...

"The moments of happiness

we enjoy take us by surprise.

It is not that we seize them,

but that they seize us."

~ Ashley Montagu ~

Thanks for stopping by!

Close in Heart... part 2

Here are a few simple

Valentine's Day ideas using my

Close in Heart round graphic.

Small canning jar gift

Use printable (see below) with 2.5" round graphics.  Print and cut out, then layer between the flat part of the lid and the outer rim piece (see photos).  To give as a gift, fill with Hershey's hugs & kisses.

Pretty glass jar

I save pretty much every glass jar for projects such as this one!  Sand the original paint off the lid with fine grit sandpaper, then spray paint gold.  Depending on the size of the lid, you may need to adjust the size of your graphic.  For my jar, I resized the original 4" graphic down to about 3".  Cut out with decorative scissors.  Use double-sided tape to secure to lid.  Nice touch to cut out a bit of sheet music and place inside jar (it curls to stay in place).  Fill with something sweet & give to someone you love!

Sticker or envelope seal

Use printable with 2" round graphics.  Print and use 1.5" paper punch to cut out.  Use glue or tape to attach to the back of a sealed envelope, or use as sticker.
  

Printable with 2.5" round graphics

Printable with 2" round graphics.

       

"The manner of giving
is worth more than the gift."

~ Pierre Corneille ~


Thanks for stopping by!

French Perfume Label ~ project & printable

I've been thinking up ideas

for Christmas projects. After

sharing one of my ideas,

Mom offered a simple glass

canister she didn't use anymore...

 First, I designed a label using

images from The Graphics Fairy.

French rose perfume label,

Victorian roses,

and French sheet music.

  

 

I printed my labels onto

cardstock & cut them out. 

Next, I used slightly watered down

white glue to make an imperfect outline

of the beautiful scrolling border,

and dusted with gold glitter.

Using the same glue (you could

use Mod podge - whatever you like)

I centered and glued the label

onto the clean canister. 

I then used clear acrylic sealer

over the label, to protect it

from water damage, etc.

 Originally the lid had

a large, rusty star and wooden

spool on top. All I had to do was take

out the screw that held them in

place and replace with a metal pull.

It looks so pretty used as a vase. Would also

be great filled and given as a gift.

Please enjoy, free for personal use ~ thanks

Linked up with:

Angie's Knick of Time Tuesday

 

Re-purposed Centerpiece

Yesterday I happened across this post at The Vintage Bag Lady blog.  The beautiful pictures inspired me to create a re-purposed centerpiece of my own. I loved the idea of placing a pillar candle at the base of a vintage metal loaf pan, so that was my starting point...

This loaf pan isn't perfect... a while back

I winced upon discovering it'd developed a

circle of rust. Used in this way, the rusty

imperfections glow in the candlelight.

This metal cup/scoop was a Christmas gift.

First, I placed the open handle over a side

of my wooden box (actually an old drawer

found in the barn). In went a candle, then

a little rosehip potpourri.

Orange pomanders: 

Use a small nail to poke a pattern in

the orange peel (try not to go too deep).

Push whole cloves through those holes

and dust with cinnamon. Rotate fresh

pomanders until they dry evenly.

I elevated white candles on a few old

metal pieces: a small cup, and the filter

from an enamelware coffeemaker. Added

a few sprigs of pine, and that was it!

"Nothing is what it was intended to be, 

in the hands of a creative person."

  

~ Steve Supple ~

Christmas Gift Tags

Santa receiving a message...

Pastel Merry Christmas

Snowy Cottage & Poinsettias

I'm able to create thanks to

sites offering free resources.

Here are the free graphics

used in my artwork:

Santa Claus graphic

Pastel 'A Merry Christmas' postcard

Snowy cottage & poinsettia postcard

Sweet Gingerbread Houses

My mom was SO sweet to make 

gingerbread houses for my kids to decorate...  

Thank you mom!!! 

 Here they are being assembled...

Here are the finished houses.

Zachary's is on the scale ~ Olivia's is on the plate.

 

You might be wondering... where are pictures of the kids?

Well... they were supposed to decorate these...  

but they ended up sticking around for about 5 minutes!

They started out SO excited to make these too...

Oh well!

Mom and I ended up sitting in the kitchen 

having fun anyway!!

This morning the kids woke up smiling and 

asking to see their gingerbread houses...

So, I guess everything worked out!!

By the way...

There aren't any nibbles from the 

gingerbread houses or licks off the candies... yet!

Hope you're having a 

~ SWEET SATURDAY ~

Thanks for stopping by!

Snowflake Button Ornaments

Funny how even our mistakes can turn in to something beautiful... 

I was making a Christmas card last evening ~ getting frustrated

because it wasn't turning out as well as I'd hoped.  

Instead of scrapping the entire mess, 

I decided to cut out what I liked most...

a little snowflake made of buttons.

I used the other side of the card to make a second.  

Now that I've got the process down, I'll gladly share it with you...

Supplies:
white or off-white card stock (I used a plain greeting card)
fine-tipped permanent black marker
metallic pearl white acrylic paint
small paintbrush
various buttons
flat-backed clear acrylic gems
craft glue
scissors
white or off-white glitter


Write... Let it Snow in cursive, in somewhat straight lines down the paper.  The best sections are where I didn't write very well... they're more interesting.

Paint... a thin layer of the pearly white over the words.

Buttons...  I used 12 small buttons and 1 med/lg button for the center.  I played around with different combinations until I found something I liked.  If you've got buttons that are the right size but too bright, you can lightly paint them with the pearly white to tone down the color.

Glue... an acrylic gem in to the center of the large button.  Glue that down on the paper, making sure to leave plenty of room for the rest of the buttons.  Glue the small buttons down in their rows, then let everything dry for a few minutes.

Cut... around the buttons in a hexagon shape.  Cut out small triangles from between the button rows to reveal your snowflake.

Glitter... Place a few dots of glue here and there, and sprinkle glitter over your beautiful creation... done!

Here's a card I made with one of the snowflakes:

"Snowflakes are kisses from heaven."

 ~ Author Unknown ~

Wintry Wreath

I originally created this wreath with Thanksgiving in mind... 

but as I went along, I opted not to use color,

so it turned out looking like a wintry wreath instead.

Here's what I used to make it:

1 paper plate

2 or 3 sheets of white paper

scallop-edged scissors

black watercolor/fine-tipped brush

white glue

white glitter
ribbon

First I cut out the center of the paper plate.

Next, I started cutting out my leaves.  

The larger leaves in the back rows measure about 4" by 2".  

The small leaves in the front are about 2" by 1".  

I used 18 large leaves (9 with words), 

and 10 small leaves (2 are hidden behind the ribbon).

I then used black watercolor to paint words 

that represent a few things I'm thankful for.

Here's an illustration to show what I did in the next steps:

 I placed the paper plate upside down on the table. 

Next I arranged the large leaves ~ the pattern I used was: 

plain leaf, with word, plain leaf...  

I then glued them down
~ using as little glue as possible ~
covering the inside edge.

I glued the small leaves down over the plain leaves,
and slightly curled the edge for some dimension.

I used glue and glitter to make designs on the leaves like this:

The final touch was finding the right ribbon to hang my creation.
This September, I was a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding.
That silvery, satiny ribbon once wrapped around the bouquet I carried. 

Isn't it beautiful?
 
I knew I'd find a good use for it!

 
Hope you enjoyed this simple wintry wreath...

I'm thankful you stopped by!



"Winter is the time for comfort... 
it is the time for home."

~ Edith Sitwell ~

Little Red House

Yesterday I stumbled upon a cute little freebie... a printable wintry house at twelve22.  I thought it was so cute that I printed one out for both of my kids (ages 4 & 6).

As luck would have it, there was also a blank version... so I printed that one out for myself.

My little boy colored his with blue and green crayons and a red ink pen.  We worked on it together while his sister was still at school.  When my daughter got home she got busy on her own.  She's in to details, and had me cut the door and gate so they could swing open and closed.

This morning I grabbed my copy.  I penciled in details first and then added watercolors.  I lightly coated it with clear acrylic spray to protect the paint.  I love the result!  I may just make a few more for around the house... what do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy PPF!!

Herbal Tea 'Watercolors'

My son ripped open a packet of Wild Berry Zinger herbal tea a few days ago... still not sure if he was trying to make tea or just trying to make a mess...  In an attempt to clean up, he dumped some of the dry mixture in the kitchen sink.  

Later, when I discovered my tie-dyed sink, I thought 

~ that is really pretty ~  then washed the colors away.

This morning as I stood at the sink doing dishes, I thought ~ why not try recreating my colorful sink on paper?  Actually, I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner.  Like... all the other times I've noticed my sink

                    or counter top stained with tea.

So I gathered some supplies for my 'experiment'... 

1.  thick paper, like cardstock

2.  2 packets of Celestial Seasonings herbal tea (Wild Berry Zinger & Country Peach Passion)

3.  a spray bottle of water

First I sprayed the paper somewhat evenly with water.  I opened the packets and sprinkled the berry tea contents on the top half of the paper ~ peach tea on the other half.  I then lightly sprayed a few more times to make sure everything was wet.

The longer it stood, the more the ingredients in the herbal tea 'bled' on the paper.  I admit I like to see a result quickly, so I turned the oven on to 'broil' on high and placed the paper on the MIDDLE rack to dry for a few minutes (with the oven door cracked open so I could see inside).

After the paper was dry, I brushed most of the dried bits off (they wouldn't all come off, and I liked the look anyway).  My finished paper is at the top.

Once I got the process down, I asked my daughter to come in a make her own creation, which she was excited about... "I get to spray the water?"  She had fun making her own patterns and spraying the water (of course).  Here's how hers turned out... 

When I look at these I see autumn leaves, but maybe you see something else.  I love how you can't really 'mess up' and the result is always something beautiful.  I don't say this often, but... I'm glad my son made that mess in the kitchen!!

Feel free to save our artwork to your computer 

and use in a digital collage or your own artwork... 

but I think the much better idea is to make your own!

Have fun!!