12 Days of Christmas Crop- Day 8

Hi everyone!  Happy Thursday!  Today is day 8 of our 12 Days of Christmas Crop over at Webster’s inspireME site.  I hope you’ve had a chance to check out some of the fabulous projects and be inspired by the amazing gallery.  Today’s project has me completely drooling.  I need to figure out a way to get Hilde to send her project to me.  I promise to take really good care of it!

Here is a little peek of her countdown calendar.

To see Hilde’s full project and to view all the details of the crop, please go here.

As for me, I thought I would share with you some of my homemade Thanksgiving treasures.  These have all been gifts that I’ve received over the years, mostly by my sweet daughter, and they bring me much happiness.  They are simple projects that you can make at home, and would be great for kid’s crafts, too.

These first guys are a set of pom-pom turkeys that Nik made me for my birthday last year.  They don’t sit up too well, so I had to get a little creative with their display.

A little white glue, some pom-poms, feathers, and pipe cleaners go a long way in this house. Nik glued a small red pom-pom onto a medium sized brown pom-pom, added a couple of feathers in the back, some googly eyes, and a beak and wattle made from pipe cleaners.

This next trio was made by a good friend of mine when she hosted Thanksgiving dinner several years ago.  These were her place card holders.

They have pine cone bodies and pipe cleaner legs and heads.  She created simple construction paper fans for the tails which she stapled together at the bottom and then hot glued to the backs.  She then made name cards which were stuck in the top of the pine cones.  We all got to take our turkeys home as party favors.

The last turkey is another version of the pine cone turkey.  Nik made this for me several years ago at school.

Pine cones, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and fun foam.  SO cute, huh?  Now you know why we were searching for pine cones the other day.

Hope these give you some ideas for fun turkey crafts you can make at your home.  I’d love to hear about it if you try these out, or if you have other ideas to share!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

12 Days of Christmas Crop- Day 7

Hey everyone!  Thanks for stopping by!  I’m very excited because today is my day to share my project for the Webster’s Pages 12 Days of Christmas Crop.  It’s been a long time in coming.  I’ve been waiting ever so patiently, and now it’s finally here!

One of my favorite things to do this time of the year is decorate my home for the holidays.  Every year, I slowly add to my collection of pretties with a combination of store bought items and hand-made projects.  And although I completely love my purchased goodies, it’s the home-made treasures that really warm my heart.  So for my 12 Days project, I made an altered wooden snowflake wall hanging that you, too, can make to brighten your homes this holiday season.

To see the full instructions for making this project, and to view all the details on the 12 Days of Christmas Crop, please go here.

And, I will be hosting a live chat at inspireME today at 5 pm EST.  Hope to see you all there!

The 12 Days of Christmas Crop- Day 6

Evening everyone!  I hope by now you have all had a chance to check out the fabulous and fun crop going on over at Webster’s Pages’ inspireME site. 12 days of great projects and inspiration to jump start the holidays.  Today’s project makes a wonderful holiday gift idea, or a fantastic everyday project, too.  Here is a peek of design team member, Jaz’s acrylic mini album.

I absolutely adore how she did her cover.  You all NEED to check it out!  Here is the link to see the complete instruction to today’s project.

I am up tomorrow with my special project.  So excited to share it with you.  I’ll also be hosting a live chat at the inspireME site tomorrow at 5 pm EST.  I hope to see you all there!

I’ve been busy lately creating a few things for my Etsy site.  Here’s a fun altered project I’ve been working on.

I found this wooden reindeer cut out at my local craft store.  It measures approximately 11″ x 12″.  Covered it with some cheery BoBunny holiday paper.  I added reins using blue pompom trim from Webster’s Pages and then added a poinsettia die-cut from K&Co. for the “saddle”.  To give the poinsettia a bit of strength and stability, I layered it on some chipboard first.

Lastly I added a multi-layered bow at the neckline using several ribbons and tulle.  Added a K&Co. rub-on directly to the sheer ribbon.  Also added a piece of a holiday pick, a blue snowflake eyelet with gemstone center, and some baker’s twine.

This guy was so much fun to make.  I’ve really been loving the altered projects lately.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to seek some peeks of the altered project I did for the Webster’s crop.

Have a great evening everyone!  Thanks for stopping by!

12 Days of Christmas Crop- Day 5

Hi everyone!  It’s been another beautiful day here in NC today.  Sunshine and temps into the mid 70’s.  I spent the day with my good friend, shopping in quaint little downtown Wake Forest.  What cute shops there were to stroll through.  One of my favorites was an old fashioned tea house where we even saw a group of ladies in fancy hats.  How fun is that?  I sure wish we could bottle days like these.

The 12 Days of Christmas crop continues at Webster’s Pages with design team member Dena Coe’s holiday layout.  Here is a little peek.

Take a gander at that fun tinsel trim Webster’s has just come out with!  And if you want to see Dena’s full project, along with all the crop information, please go here.

And for a scrappy project from me, I have my card for the current sketch at the Sketch This blog to share.  I’m working on my holiday cards.

Dug into my stash for this older KI paper.  Paired that with some Little Yellow Bicycle 25 Days of Christmas chipboard pieces, some trim from Melissa Frances, and a rub-on greeting from Deja Views.

I rubbed the greeting directly onto the trim and threaded some smaller satin ribbon through the lace, as well.

Layered the chipboard snowflakes over a button which is over a circle of pink Heidi Swapp bling.  Added a gemstone eye to the reindeer, too.

Here is the sketch for you.  It’s the last sketch of the year, so I do hope you’ll all have a chance to play along.

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

12 Days of Christmas Crop- Day 4

Hi everyone!  The crop is still going strong over at Webster’s Pages inspireME blog site.  Day 4’s project is brought to us by design team member, Iris.  She’s got a glass frame with easel project that you all are sure to love.  Great idea for displaying that precious family photo.  Here’s a little peek.

For complete details on this project and to see all the information on the crop, please go here.

I’ve been enjoying the beautiful weekend we are having here in NC.  Looks like the rain has finally stopped from Ida and we can get back to some normal weather.  Tried to spend some time outdoors today, as we reached temperatures into the mid 70’s.  Sigh……………

Nik and I took a walk, searching for some pine cones to make some turkey place-cards with.  And wouldn’t you know it…when you want to find a good pine cone, they are impossible to find. We searched high and low and just couldn’t come up with anything suitable, so the search will continue.  At least we got some fresh air.

I finished my pumpkin  head project over the weekend, and although it’s after Halloween, I wanted to share how he finally turned out.

I found the fall picks and the bucket container on sale at my local craft store.  Filled the bottom of the container with scrunched up newspaper which I hot glued in place.  That gave me a base to set the pumpkin head on.  I glued the picks against the back inside of the bucket and then put down a circle of patterned paper to hide the newspaper.  The last step was to hot glue Mr. Pumpkin in place.

Pretty cute, huh?  Too bad he’s got to go live in a box now until next Halloween.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend!

The 12 Days of Christmas Crop- Day 3

Hi everyone!  Today’s Webster’s Pages Christmas Crop project is being hosted by guest designer, Wendy Kwok.  I have fallen in love with her family frame in a big way, and can’t wait to try out this technique myself.  After joining her in the chat this morning, visions of frame projects are swimming in my head.  I can see lots of Christmas gifts in my future with this one.  Here’s a little peek of Wendy’s project.

For complete instructions on this project and to see all the crop information, go here.   I will be showing my holiday project on Wednesday the 18th.  I hope to see all of you over at inspireME then.  I will be hosting a chat at 5 pm EST on the 18th to answer any questions you all might have.  We also will be giving away a prize!  Good enough reason to stop by!

And for a quick scrappy item from me, I have my card for the Cardalicious blog to share.  The new challenge is to create a Thank-You card using flowers and the colors red and black.

I used a combination of patterned papers from Pink Paislee, Basic Grey, and Jillibean on this card.  Made my first accordion pleated flower and topped it with a touch of trim and some red berries from a holiday pick.  The die-cut shape is from the Pink Paislee journaling card sheet that I cut out from its background.  I added two rows of Heidi Swapp bling and a simple thank you rub on from Pebbles, Inc.

Be sure to check out the Cardalicious blog for more great inspiration from the other designers.

Have a great evening, everyone!

12 Days of Christmas Crop- Day 2

Hi everyone!  Happy Friday!   Hope you all have had a chance to check out the happenings going on at the 12 Days of Christmas Crop over at inspireME!  Lucy’s shadow box project yesterday was gorgeous.  You still have time to create your own and upload it into the gallery for a chance to win a fabulous prize.  And the fun is just beginning.  We are continuing today with design team member, Anabelle’s, elegant card gift set.  Here’s a little peek.

You can check out all the crop information here.  And join us at inspireME tonight at 9 PM EST for a live chat with Anabelle who will answer all your questions about today’s project.

The rain continues here.  Haven’t seen the sun in 4 days now.  Gets a little gloomy, but…….I’ve been enjoying the time indoors by hanging out in my scrap room.  Yesterday, I played along with CPS #141.  Haven’t played with them for such a long time, it was nice to join in once again.

Patterned paper, cardstock tag and chipboard snowflake are all from Cosmo Cricket’s Jolly by Golly line.  Added some pearls and ribbons and trims from Pink Paislee, Martha Stewart, and Melissa Frances.

CPS has wonderful card sketches.  If you all haven’t checked them out yet, you should!

Have a great day everyone!

12 Days of Christmas Crop

Good morning everyone!  I am so excited to announce that today begins the fabulous 12 Days of Christmas Crop at the Webster’s Pages InspireME site.  Over the next 12 days, members of the design team and guest designers will be sharing holiday projects along with complete tutorials and prizes, too!  First up is Lucy’s shadow box project.  Here is a little peek.

To see the rest of Lucy’s gorgeous creation and all the crop information, please go here.  I will try to be back every day to post sneaks of all the projects, including mine which will air next Wednesday, the 18th.  Hope to see you all there!

And for a quick scrappy project from me, I have my card for the current challenge over at the Cardalicious blog to share.  The challenge is to use some felt, some buttons, and some hand-stitching.

 

Supplies:
Patterned paper: Basic Grey
Felt: Fancy Pants
Rub-on and button: Melissa Frances
Ribbon: May Arts and Stampin’Up
Glitter: Martha Stewart
Brads: Queen&Co.

The snowflake is a wooden piece that I found at my local craft store.  Painted the snowflake white and then covered it with glitter.  I added hand-stitched french knots to the centers of the stars and stitched a border around the edge of the card, as well.

Hope you all are seeing some sunshine in your neck of the woods!  We are starting to forget what the sun looks like here.   Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Let’s Talk Turkey

Hello everyone!  Happy Wednesday to all of you.  It has been crazy rainy here, pretty much blustering for the last 24 hours straight.  Woke up to the power being out, and we’ve continued to have surges throughout the day, with more rain yet to come.  Luckily we’ve all been able to hole up in the house, since today has been a holiday for Veteran’s Day.  Love being all warm and cozy inside when it’s pouring out.

Nik and I have been working away on a few craft projects.  We just finished making a 12 foot long pipe-cleaner chain to decorate one of my mini Christmas trees this year.  Saw one at a holiday open house I attended last weekend, and knew immediately it would be a fun project for me and her to do together.  It is so nostalgic and bright, and besides getting poked by a few wires, was an easy and quick project to make.

We also started work on our pumpkin turkey last night.  I got an extra pumpkin last weekend as part of our farm outing, and since it’s past Halloween, we decided to turn it into a Thanksgiving decoration.  I let Nik decide what she would like to use for materials and how to put it all together, and I have to say that it has turned out just as cute as can be.  She’s got some really fun ideas.

We used two sizes of fun foam circles for the eyes, and turned the pumpkin on its side so that the stem acts as its beak.  Nik made feet and a wattle out of pipe cleaners, which we then hot glued in place.

We decided to make the turkey’s tail out of real feathers.  Nik wanted to stack 3 colors of feathers on top of each other, so we broke out the white glue and got a bit of an assembly line going.  Then we needed to let the feathers dry overnight.

This morning, we hot glued the feathers in place, and now Mr. Turkey is complete. And oh, how he makes me laugh to look at him.  He reminds me of Animal from the Muppet Show.  Do you remember Animal?

And now for a bit of a scrappy share, I have another Christmas card to share, made using the adorable holiday die-cuts from K&Co along with some Cosmo Cricket and Making Memories papers.

I also used some Martha Stewart baker’s twine, some red tulle, and aqua organdy ribbon. The die cut tag under the stocking was printed on a Making Memories package, and all I needed to do was cut it out.  Stitched on a strip of Melissa Frances lace trim and added a few pearls to the stocking cuff.

And don’t forget that the Webster’s Pages 12 Days of Christmas Crop starts tomorrow at inspireME.  Check out the site for all the details.  Design Team member Lucy Edson is up first with her holiday shadow box project.  You all are going to love it!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great evening!

Rainy Tuesday

Hi everyone!  Boy have we ever done a complete about-face with our weather over the last 24 hours.  We went from golden sunshine and warmth to gray clouds and rain.  Even though it’s a bit dark, Fall is definitely back in the air. And since Fall is my favorite season, I have no complaints about that. Nor can I complain about the glorious view out my back.  Think I could sit and stare out my windows all day.

 

But instead of sitting around, the rainy day has driven me into my scrap room for a bit of fun.  First, I played along with the sketch over at 2sketches4you.

Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee and Making Memories
Cardstock: Stampin’Up!
Felt Dimensional Sticker and Die-Cut Tag: Making Memories
Rub-On: Deja Views
Pearls: Kaiser
Ribbon, Tulle, Silk Holly Leaves, Machine Stitching

Today is my day to post on the Webster’s Pages Facebook page.  I posted this set of two turtle dove ornaments I finished this morning.

These birds are fashioned after  some ornaments I made in school when I was in kindergarten.  My mother has saved those original ornaments all these years.  And since I love those first birds, I wanted to try my hand at making some more now.

Here are the directions in case you would like to make some.

Supplies:
patterned paper-  at least two different patterns. Can be double-sided, or  if not, cut two birds for every ornament.  I used paper from Webster’s Pages Home for the Holidays and Hello Beautiful lines.
pearls, small buttons, or gems for eyes
hemp, string, or baker’s twine
glitter
mini bells
lace or trim- I used trims from Webster’s Winter Trim Collection

1.  Trace bird pattern onto patterned paper.  You can use any bird template or download one from the internet.  If you would like to use the same bird I did, just leave me a comment and I will email you the pattern.

If your paper is double-sided, you can cut just one bird per ornament.  If one sided, or if you want the same pattern on both sides, you will need to cut two birds for each ornament.  This is what I did.  If you are going to cut two, remember to reverse your bird pattern before you trace it the second time.  Otherwise you will only have two fronts, and not a back.

2.  Cut out your birds and adhere your front and back sides together.  Embellish the birds with touches of glitter.  I added glitter to the polka dots on the red bird.  The green bird had no embellishment, so I added a heart and flower cut out from some paper and then added glitter around the edge of the heart.  Have fun with this.  Here’s your chance to add whatever detailing you would like to the main body of each bird.

 

3.  Machine stitch about 1/8″ in from the edge around each ornament.  If you don’t have a machine, you can always hand-stitch, or just skip this step altogether.

4.  For the wings, cut one piece of patterned paper to 2 3/4″ x 4″.  You will need one piece for each bird.  Score at 1/4″ intervals lengthwise and then accordion fold.  I used the scoring tool on my personal trimmer, but you can also use a ruler and a stylus, or even the back of a butter knife, to get your crease lines.  Punch a 1/4″ hole in the center of each bird.  I enlarged my hole just a bit more than that by taking little nips around that original hole with my hole punch.  You might have to play with this a bit to get your opening large enough to insert your pleated wings.  Once inserted, fan the paper out.

5.  Add trim to the end of each wing using craft glue.  Of if you would like to be able to remove the wings each year for ease of storage, leave the wings without trim.

6.  Tie a hemp bow around each neck.  A dot of glue at the base of the neck will hold that string in place.  Add a mini bell and tie the cord into a bow.

7.  Add pearls or other embellishment for the eyes.

8.  Punch a micro hole at the back edge of the bird, above the wings for balance, and add a string for the hanger.

Enjoy everyone!  Let me know if you give this a try.  I would love to see how your birds turn out.

Have a great day everyone!