Upcycling DIY home decor, woodworking and Crafts
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Ask and you shall receive. Several of you have inquired as to a source for handmade Christmas gifts for men. I have brought you some of the web’s best tutorials for projects that the men in your life will cherish. Ties, toolbelts, watches and more, this roundup has gifts for guys covered with budget friendliness in mind. Enjoy!
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Need some great last minute handmade Christmas gift ideas that won’t break the bank? This week’s 50+ has you covered. You will find gifts for everyone on your list, from kids to guys to moms, and everything between. Best of all, you can create these gifts for under $10. What are you waiting for? Grab some friends and make a night of it.
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This is the first year I have made an advent calendar, and I am loving it! It was so fun to create. I busted out my stamps and other scrapbooking supplies and went to town on some wooden blocks. What is so cool about it is as you turn each block around when that date passes, a wintery scene is revealed on the other side!
25 square wooden blocks (I used 1 inch cubes, but size doesn’t matter as long as they are all the same)
Gesso
Christmas scrapbook paper
Acrylic paint in silver, red and green
Matte Gel Medium
Glossy accents or Dimensional Magic
Craft knife
Distress ink pad in Antique Linen
Ranger crackle paint Clear Rock Candy
Ranger crackle paint White Picket Fence
Number stamps
Stazon Jet Black Ink Pad
To finish, I painted the sides of the blocks green, and coated the wintery scene paper side with clear crackle paint to seal.
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Hi there! so happy to be back at Saved By Love Creations! Last time I was here I showed you how to make a mosaic flower-pot. Today I’m going to show you how to use that pot to create a festive holiday display. You can make this winter tree with some spray paint and a few items from the dollar store!
All you need is a tree branch from your back yard and some spray paint (Krylon Brilliant Silver)…or you can skip the paint and leave your branch au naturale!
*Be sure to pick a sturdy branch…brittle branches will break under the weight of the ornaments. (Gently pull down on the branches to test their durability.)
Now all you have to do is decorate! Creating a branch tree is a great way to use up those mismatched ornaments from your collection, vintage finds or other pretties you may discover in your travels that may not fit the decor of your big tree. Like these craft birds for example.
I can’t resist a craft bird, much less a pack of 2 craft birds for a buck! You can find cute clip on craft birds like these in the dollar section at Michael’s. If you have some vintage birds that aren’t looking their best check out this tutorial for re-feathering old birds. These tiny birds would get lost on a large tree but perching them on a nearly naked silver branch allows them to sparkle and shine!
I have a “Mieneke” approach when it comes to decking the halls. I wouldn’t “pay a lot for a muffler” and I certainly won’t pay a lot for ornaments. A quick trip to the dollar store does it for me!
I found these sparkling snowflakes in a pack of 6 for just a buck! Six seems to be the magic number with dollar store finds. Notice the silver blossoms, also found in a package of 6 in the bridal section at Dollar Tree.
The snowflakes were a bit too plain for my tree and most of the glitter fell off when I pulled them out of the package. Not to fear Ranger Ink is here! By using a wintery blend of alcohol inks, Elmers spray glue, and Martha Stewart glitter my snowflakes are new, improved and far from plain. Plus, I still have a bunch left over for other projects. Tie your snowflakes to your branches with Tinsel ribbon for an extra pop of holiday flare.
To fill in the gaps among the branches I created floating stars strung on monofilament. These are easy to create with paper punches and mounting squares.
To “plant” your tree simply stuff your pot with floral foam (also available at the dollar store). Create snow by filling the top of the pot with cotton batting. In a pinch you can use bubble wrap painted white.
Give your batting or bubble wrap the look of freshly fallen snow by misting it with spray glue and sprinkling it with a variety of glitter. I used a variety pack of Martha Stewart Glitter for a range of sparkle and shine.
A tree like this can be displayed all winter long even after the holidays have come and gone. The mosaic pot (made with dollar store glass gems) can be used as a planter when warmer weather arrives. This particular pot is used to grow Sunflowers in spring time .
By using smaller pots and branches you can create a festive tree to give as a gift for Teachers, neighbors, and friends. No time to wait for mosaic adhesive to dry? No problem! Try Mod Podgeing wrapping paper to your pot and tie a ribbon around it. I’ve made many of these trees for teachers, family and friends. They make lovely gifts that won’t break the bank!
I hope you all have a warm and wonderful holiday season!
Amy*
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What is more beautiful than glittery, 3D paper star garland? I strung this above my fireplace, and it is mesmerizing. This is easy to create, especially with a die cutter, but can be done by hand with a template in no time too.
Cardstock in white, glittery white and glittery silver
Tim Holtz Star Die
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This 3D Paper Star Template to cut by hand
Baker’s twine or other string
Embroidery needle
Cut out stars and fold creases to create the 3D form
There are tabs on the back of the stars in the template above and in the die cut by Tim Holtz. You can make your star double sided by gluing 2 stars back to back at the tabs. I chose not to do this since my garland would be against a wall and you would only see one side.
String the needle with your thread and sew through the top point of each star (in one side of it and out the other. Continue until your garland is the length you want and hang with excess string at each end.
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Need a unique, inexpensive way to wrap your Christmas gifts this year? I am loving Lowe’s Creative Ideas use of hardware store supplies for gift wrapped beauty. What a cool holiday repurpose. I am always wondering the aisles of tools and hardware, wondering how to creatively use the supplies in surprising ways. I never thought of gift wrap!
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This Sizzix Poinsettia petals die has gotten quite the workout from me lately. I love the paper and the aluminum can version, but there is nothing quite like a felt flower wreath, in my opinion. For this project, I did the same thing I showed you for the paper poinsettia wreath, except instead of gluing the petal layers, I stuck a pearl head pin through them to hold the flower together.
I didn’t have another styrofoam wreath form, so I traced a small plate inside a large plate onto some foam board and cut out a DIY wreath form. I wrapped it in duct tape for strength and durability.
I used wire cutters to trim the excess pin from the flower center that stuck through the back of the wreath.
I used a gold wired ribbon to create the bow, and stuck it on with hot glue.
This one is currently in a box, on it’s way to spread holiday cheer to a home in Texas! I will miss it.
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Every once in awhile, I love a project so much that I am not ready to get rid of it for the next season. That is how I felt about the Halloween bouquet I shared with you early in the fall. I decided to replace it with a Christmas tissue pom pom bouquet. The process is exactly the same as for the orange and black bouquet, except for the tissue paper colors. I used silver, red and white. Some flowers I made with petals of all three or two colors together.
For the vase, I used a milk bottle. Silver wired ribbon tops it off as a shiny bow. To see the process, visit here.
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This wreath was inspired by the Z. Gallerie silver magnolia leaf wreath that I fell in love with, but not $70 in love with. More like “make my own version for $10” love, is what it was. I had the spray paint, primer, wreath form and ribbon on hand. I just needed leaves. Hmmm. I scoured my city for some magnolia trees, to no avail. I did find some leaves in my neighborhood with the same basic shape. I gathered up a pile, dipped them in beeswax and spray painted them silver. They look stunning, but I wanted a big wreath, and was not about to dip and spray that many leaves. You will see that technique in an upcoming post. For today’s tutorial, see how I primered and sprayed dollar store leaves to create my own Z. Gallerie inspired silver magnolia leaf wreath!
16 inch Styrofoam wreath form
10 bundles (5 leaves each) of big oblong leaves from Dollar Tree
White Primer
Silver Spray Paint
Wire Ribbon
I left my leaves on the stem and splayed them out to spray them. Protect your work surface for over spray first!
Primer, let dry overnight, then spray with silver.
When that dries, cut leaves from bunch, leaving 1.5-2 inch stem to insert into wreath form.
I made 3 concentric rows of leaves around my wreath form. I stuck the leaf in perpendicular to the form, then bent it at 90°.
NO GLUE REQUIRED!
Add a bow and hang.
Here is the Z Gallerie inspiration:
I love my $10 version. What do you think? What is on your door this year?
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Last week, I showed you this paper poinsettia wreath tutorial using a Sizzix flower petal die and card stock. I decided to use the same die to create this aluminum can poinsettia wreath. The “wreath form” is a stove top piece I picked up at my local Habitat for Humanity Restore, making this an all around eco-friendly holiday decoration. Total project cost – about $1.
My Aluminum can rose video shows you how to cut the cans. Be careful – they can be sharp when cut.
