Christmas ideas: Recycled Paper

Paper decoration on the Christmas tree.

Look how beautiful you can decorate your Christmas tree!
And in the sheets, from which this star Christmas tree is done, can be kept your New Year's wishes or favorite song, printed in the proper format.

Paper flowers

What you’ll need:
-2 Pieces of paper, different colors are ideal
-Scissors
-Lot of tape

Holiday cards and wrapping gifts

By: Heather Binnie - U color my World


By: Enfy Cashmore

Bead ball

Holiday crafts: making toys

Wedding projects: Making heart cakes

This afternoon, we have Mel’s sweet birdseed favors! Mel originally found these for sale on Etsy by a US seller, but knew they wouldn’t clear customs into Australia so she set out to make them herself!
I made these to use as wedding favours for my upcoming wedding. They’re super easy to make and super cheap!

Lighted Paper Pennant Garland

This paper garland takes a festive twist on an old favorite by creating cone shaped pennants attached to a strand of cafe lights. Strung in the trees or over outdoor tables, this is a wonderful way to light up an evening wedding. In this sample I chose to write out a couple’s names (”EVA & JACK”) but feel free to punch any wording or design that you like. Click “more” below to see the rest of the project.

Wedding bouquet

Starting with the film that Elysium crafted, making it incredibly easy to see how to build your bouquet from scratch…

The video makes this project SO, so easy but if you need to really take your time and use the pictures that Justin and Mary Marantz snapped as your guide, we’ve got those for you too! We’ve included lots of pictures so that you really understand how to build your bouquet, probably even more than necessary. But, we want to make sure that your bouquet is as pretty as they get, so without further ado…

Funny bottle

the boys & i had so much fun making these “i spy bottles” for our friends over the holiday season, & the best part? unlike the i spy bags, there is absolutely NO sewing involved.
easy-peasy i spy bottles

easy valentine and gifts wall decor

I decided to add a couple of other pieces to make a grouping. After you visit Make and Takes, check out the other on-the-cheap valentine decor tutorials below!




Decoupaged Canvas

Supplies:
*Artist's canvas
*Book pages or sheet music (or other patterned paper)
*Decoupage medium (like Mod Podge or Martha Stewart Sealing Glue)
*Crocheted doily
*Scissors

Somehow I left out a few pictures during the process, so you'll have to read a little more than usual. :)

1. Paint a thin layer of decoupage medium over canvas. I like Martha Stewart's brand because it has a brush built into the lid, but Mod Podge is still my favorite. Cover the canvas with book pages, folding the edges the way you would when wrapping a present.

2. Paint a thin layer of decoupage medium over the top of the covered canvas. Immediately press the doily onto the lower right corner of the canvas and wrap edges around. Trim off excess doily with the scissors. Spread a little Mod Podge on the back as well to hold the doily in place.



Next I cut a heart out of some of the same paper from the embroidery hoop art and stitched around the edges a few times.


For the button embellishment, I started with a chipboard button from Such Sweet Tierney (you'll find this one in the Vintage Lace set--I also used a piece of that set on a card on this post) and layered a threaded button on top.


I attached them both to the doily with Glue Dots.


That's it! You could embellish it further, but I was trying really hard to keep it simple!


Covered Wood Frame

Supplies:
*Square wood frame (I found mine at Michael's for $1)
*Acrylic paint and foam brush
*Patterned paper to cover entire frame
*Decoupage medium like Mod Podge or Martha Stewart's Sealing Glue
*Exacto Knife and cutting mat

1. Paint outer and inner edges with acrylic paint. Allow to dry a few mintues.

2. Apply a thin layer of decoupage medium to front of frame. Lay patterned paper on top and smooth out any air bubbles.


3. Turn over and place frame on cutting mat. Trim excess paper off edges and out of center of frame.


And that is it! I had to resist the urge to embellish this frame as well. Simplify!


Hang your pieces in a grouping. But don't forget to go to Make and Takes for the embroidery hoop art first!

Tutorial: Gifts to Give in Quantity

I am the Hospitality Chairperson for my kid’s elementary school PTA.
That means every Christmas, I need to come up with a nice gift for about 70 people, including all the staff and teachers.  Of course, my budget is next to nothing.  Every year my goal is to give something that is thoughtful, and let’s them all know how much we appreciate the amazing job they are doing with our kids.
Last year we gave Peppermint Popcorn, like the bag shown above.

COLORS OF CHRISTMAS - EXPLORING RED

Halloween has barely passed

Thanksgiving is still weeks away

and Christmas is already here

Its on the web

In our magazines and the catalogs in our mailboxes

And appearing on the shelves in the department stores

It comes earlier each year

Before you jump to the conclusion that I'm the least bit unhappy about this

let me clue you in.

I'm thrilled

Christmas is a designer's dream..

Christmas is Magical

and I can't wait!

A beautiful holiday requires a little pre-planning. 

I like to change mine up a little each year -
(use different ribbon or add another element to the mantle)

Color unifies your home, creating a lovely transition from room to room

Perhaps its time you look at your holiday decorations to see if they need a little face lift

(retire the tired ribbon and anything remotely resembling the 80's or 90's)

Explore the color RED

COLORS OF CHRISTMAS - EXPLORING BLUE

fresh with white

(Country Living)

blue lights glow beautiful and cool

'framed' perfectly

by Kimvallee.com

aqua

delicious with silver and white

delightful with red

Country Living

V-Day Door Decor

So remember yesterday's tablescape and I had warmed up to the heart shape. Well.....I think I've warmed up a bit more. :)

What do you think? Would you like a closer look?

Immaculate Heart

So, I had this idea back in January that I would post something heart-related every day in February, and would have a whole month of hearts here on my blog. Since today is the 10th and this is my first heart post, you can see my plan didn't quite work out! ha! Good intentions.....

But I am here today, and wanted to share with you a little project I finished not too long ago. I have long loved hearts and the symbolism behind them, and I am especially fond of Immaculate Hearts. Here are a few of the Immaculate Hearts I have that inspired this project.

Lavender Dipped Letter TUTORIAL

(Add hot glue to the list.)

cranberries...

The combination of the rigidity and flexibility of the wire is what makes this so interesting even after the stringing is done... you can make hearts, rings, initials, etc.

Crochet Pattern: Christmas Tree Ornaments

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Online flowers: Flower Pen Tutorial

I'm happy to share the Flower Pen Tutorial with you. I used the supplies I had left over from the workshop I did last week to make a handful of pens for my office. It took me all of ten minutes, seriously!

Romantic Gifts

Gifts wrap

Pom-Pom Tutorial

This is a tutorial for making pom-poms using your
fingers. This one is a small, two-finger pom-pom
(about 1" in diameter) but you can make bigger ones
by using more fingers. As far as yarn choice, thinner
and softer yarn will make a more pleasing pom-pom.