Upcycling DIY home decor, woodworking and Crafts
[pinit]
[pinit]
Thanksgiving is behind us, so let’s get our Christmas decor on! At Printable Decor, you can download the new Christmas printable set I created for my seasonal frame trio. The Love, Joy, Peace snowflake set is sized at 11×17 inches, but crops to a 11×14 matted frame well. You can have these printed at your local office supply store for around $1-2 per print. Head over for more pics, more Christmas printables and ideas for display!
[pinit]
I snatched up these plain white coffee mugs from the dollar store recently, with Christmas gift mugs in mind. These are perfect to fill with treats, greeting cards, or gift cards for display on Christmas morning. Stencil custom monograms and text with Martha Stewart’s glass paint and adhesive stencils for a personalized keepsake. Give them to neighbors or coworkers. They will never know you paid $1!
Dollar store coffee mugs
Martha Stewart glass paint
Martha Stewart adhesive stencils
Rubbing alcohol
Paint daubers or stencil brush
Clean mugs with rubbing alcohol
Plan design and place stencils
Apply Paint
Carefully remove stencil before paint dries completely
The paint is permanent after 21 days of air drying, or you can speed this up by baking per instructions on Plaid’s website.
[pinit]
[pinit]
It doesn’t get much more Christmas than poinsettias, right? My grandmother has loved this flower since she was a young girl. She gets sad when they die, so I thought a paper poinsettia wreath would be just the Christmas gift for her this year. I made this in about 2.5 hours using the Sizzix Originals poinsettia die. You could go for the Sizzix Tim Holtz Poinsettia Die if you prefer layers over individual petals (guess what I just ordered). You could also use a different die cut machine, or heaven forbid, cut the leaves out by hand from a free poinsettia petal template like this one, used to create the flower below. The look is beautiful. No die machine necessary!
I love the red and green vellum!
However you get your petals, see how to assemble and shape them, then finish the wreath with me. This will bring classic beauty to your holiday decor.
You can use any paper you want, but I prefer Kraft Core by Coordinations. This stuff is by far my favorite flower paper. You can fold, wrinkle, crease, sand and beat it down, and it comes through beautifully. I like to ink the edges of my flowers with Kraft Core by Coordinations and the blending tool.
For the center of the flower, I used yellow seed beads, super duper tiny ones. To glue them in place, I put a few dots of Mod Podge Jewel Glue. I love this because it dries clear, grabs fast, and comes in a container that has a twisty lid and doesn’t clog. This is key. If you are using another glue that clogs, like… all of the time, and you squeeze impatiently over the center of your flower, the entire glossy bottle contents may just ooze out all over your precious paper masterpiece. Ask me how I know #CanYouFindTheGlossyPoinsettia. This is another testament to Kraft Core. I literally washed – under the faucet, with soap – my paper flower, determined to save it. Once I got off as much of the glossy accident that I could, I took my heat tool to my soggy poinsetta, reshaped it, and it is good to go. Amazing.
[pinit]
[pinit]
I had the fantastic opportunity to try out Plaid’s line of Martha Stewart paint and stencils to create a holiday project. It wouldn’t be very me if I didn’t come up with an upcycle of some sort. While out junkin’ with my girls, I spied some thrift store fluted champagne glasses for $0.50 each, and I saw whimsical Christmas trees. See how Martha Stewart glass paint, stencils and supplies helped me in the transformation, and how to create your own holiday vignette.
Martha Stewart Glass Paint; Holly Berry Red, Silver, Frost
Paint Daubers
Martha Stewart Adhesive Stencils Holiday Icons II
Rubbing alcohol and lint free cloth
Hack Saw or Acetone/Yarn
Ice
Hot water
Martha Stewart Crystal Ice
Sandpaper
Safety Glasses
Clean the glasses and cut with either hacksaw, or using the acetone/yarn technique I showed you in this video.
If you go the hacksaw route, you will just score the glasses all the way around at the level you want the cut, then submerge in alternating hot and ice water until break occurs (as shown in the acetone glass cutting video)
*I found the adhesive stencils to be super easy to use and to get a clean, crisp image with the paint daubers and glass paint. If you are going to use the same stencil repeatedly, make sure to clean and dry the stencil between each use to avoid stray paint marks.
*The Crystal Ice Spray… awesome. It is temporary, so you can spray it on windows for an icy look. It is quite simple to use. Sprays on clear, then starts to crystalize. I ripped masking tape for a jagged edge, then sprayed over the masking tape stripes. After about 5 minutes, I removed the masking tape and watched the crystals form. This could be addictive.
Join me in following Plaid Crafts on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for tons of inspiration and crafty tidbits! See what my creative cohorts have done with their Martha Stewart products:
[pinit]
[pinit]
Save the planet, while marking loved ones off of your Christmas gift list with over 50 eco-friendly handmade gift ideas at Totally Green Crafts! You will find everything from jewelry to home decor made from recycled materials that will benefit the Earth, and your bank account. If you consider yourself a green craft jedi master, you will want to make sure you enter your holiday eco friendly creation in the holiday edition of the Totally Green Contest, with over $600 in prizes available for the taking!
[pinit]
One of my favorite things is to wander the aisles of the hardware store, thinking of creative ways to use the various supplies. This vinyl flashing decorative star project from Lowe’s Creative Ideas is a perfect example of that kind of thinking outside of the box. The 3D stars are simply beautiful. I have seen them made from paper before. Using vinyl flashing instead of paper means these little guys are studier, and don’t need to be sealed. You can adorn your outdoor space with them, no problem. According to the tutorial (linked above), you can make 30 of them for $26. White Christmas lights and these stars… an inviting Christmas porch!
[pinit]
One of the most meaningful gifts to give are photo creations. With the abundance of user friendly photo editors out there, you don’t have to be a Photoshop pro to create cool effects on your images these days. Make theme into a keychain, put them on a mug, or create these see mini polaroid magnets with Ambrosia Girl’s DIY. I would love to open a gift and find these little guys inside, full of the people and memories I hold dear.
[pinit]
If you are planning to have handmade Christmas ornaments adorning your tree this year, it is time to start making! I have scoured the web to bring you my favorites to help you on your way.
These BoBunny stitched paper bird, tree and snowman ornaments are on the top of my list. How adorable are they? If you have a thing for stitched paper like I do, and these are right up your alley.
How about this precious hand painted Christmas penguin ornament at Little Gray Fox? Do you just need him? He makes me what to have a penguin themed tree and make like 50 of him. The tutorial is detailed, and looks simple enough. Oh happiness!
[pinit]
[pinit]
Need some great handmade Christmas gifts that won’t break the bank? Today’s project is an adorable, virtually free Christmas ornament made from an aluminum can. I was recently gifted a cute coke can angel, and of course had to hack it. I came up with a template, which you can download and cut out to trace onto a can. The smaller winged angel takes only one can, no glue, and is easy to make! The version with the larger wings takes 2 cans, this Sizzix Angel Wings die, and super glue.
12 oz Soda Can
Large Beads for head
Seed Beads for Halo
Craft Wire 20 Gauge
Wire Cutter
Jewelry Pliers
Scissors for cutting Aluminum
Angel template
Sharpie
Craft knife
Needle Tool or Bead Reamer
Masking Tape (optional)
Tutorial:
For the larger wings, Cut out the template without the wings, fold can into cone shape then super glue larger wings onto back of angel.
To string your ornament for hanging on your tree, loop a piece of string through the halo and you are all set!
***As always, when cutting aluminum cans, be very careful. They are not as sharp as I thought they would be when I first began working with them, but obviously they are sharper than paper.
For more projects to make from recycled cans, make sure you check out our 60+ Recycled Can projects roundup! It will leave your recycling bin devoid of cans, and add to your upcycled handmade crafts for Christmas and year round gift giving.
This week’s roundup will give you plenty of holiday decor inspiration, with over 50 of the best garland, bunting, pennant, banner projects out there. I remember when I first started making this kind of decor, and how confused I was about what to call my final piece. Now I am not much more educated on the terminology, and I just use the words interchangeably! Whether you use garland or bunting or pennant or banner, you will find some great ideas here.
