Wrap Your Christmas Cookies in a Warm Fleece Blankie!

You'd think one of these days, I'd think of a completely original idea, but for now, I rely on all the talent out there to inspire me! lol In looking around for cookie packaging ideas, I found this cute idea on the Better Homes and Gardens site. As usual, it's not a duplicate, but it's my interpretation of what they did. I chose to use fleece instead of felt and make mine more rustic and cabin-y looking. I found these super cute **mini** brown and red ornaments at Joannes and knew they would be perfect so I purchased everything else around these ornaments. I found a perfect shade of red fleece in the remnant basket at Joannes (score!) and decided on some thick brown yarn for accent. 

 

I wrapped the cookies in a stack with red cellophane and made a mental note for next time to put them in a sturdy cylinder next time to prevent it from looking lumpy. Then, I cut a piece of the fleece just big enough to overlap a little to stay closed and long enough to tie the ends.  I used strips of the fleece to tie the ends like I saw on the BH&G one, but when I tried wrapping it in the yarn, it looked odd. So, I ended up just adding the yarn to the ends and separating out the pieces to make it more fringy. 

 

The tags were done using some red and brown card stock and a corner rounder. I attached the pieces together with 3 in 1 glue and used the Tim Holz distress ink on the edges. I glued down a ribbon and stuck on a clear epoxy Merry Christmas sticker. For the circle, I used the scallop Martha Stewart punch on a piece of brown glitter card stock and attached a red gem. I put the circle on with a foam pop up. The ornament was tied on with the tag and it dangled next to it. 

Christmas Frame with mini bunting

I saw this absolutely beautiful frame on KinderStampO's blog and got totally inspired! I wanted to make something for my good friend Patt, anyway, for hosting a cookie exchange and I thought it was a perfect idea. I also have been dying to have an excuse to make a mini bunting because I've been seeing them everywhere and think they are darling. Plus, anyone who knows me, knows I have a weird obsession with all things mini. haha

Materials:
Wood frame
Dark brown acrylic paint
Pearl finish white acrylic paint
2 sheets coordinating card stock
3 in 1 glue
Spray adhesive
Tim Holz distressing ink
Ivory ribbon
Martha Stewart twine
Paper flowers
Clear glaze spray

I purchased one of those plain wooden frames from Michaels and started by painting all but the front side with dark brown acrylic paint. After that dried, I painted a thin coat of the pearlized acrylic over the dark brown just to give it some depth. I traced the frame upside down onto the paper and cut out the shape. I used spray adhesive to secure the paper on to the front of the frame and used a razor to clean up the edges. Then, I used the distressing ink to age the paper a bit, making it darker on the edges. I secured the ribbon to the 2 sides with 3 in 1 glue.

I added these pretty paper flowers in a cluster pattern along the left bottom corner. They already had adhesive on the back, so it made it easy.

For the bunting, I used the backside of the same paper that was used for the front of the frame. I took a 2 in section of paper and folded it in half. I cut the triangles by eyeballing it because I wanted more of a vintage non-perfect look to it. I had purchased these tiny letter stamps from the dollar section at Target quite a while back and they are still one of my fav finds. The stamp parts fall off a lot, but I love the typewriter look they give, so I deal with the irritation. :o) I folded them over the twine and used the 3 in 1 glue to secure. I used the same glue to adhere the twine to the back of the frame. Lastly, I cut out a piece of the coordinating paper to use in the back of the frame.


This was one of my favorite projects and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I think my friend Patt really liked it too. :o)

Thumbprint Tags

I was looking for a fun craft to do with the kids and saw some different "thumbprint crafts". I thought it was such a great idea to turn them into usable gift tags! Although, now that they are done, not sure I can part with them. ;o) I just cut some card stock into 3x4 squares (didn't have time to pull out the Cricut to get gift tag shapes), poured some acrylic paint on a paper plate and started stamping thumbs! The kids were great about staying pretty still and they always love any craft involving paint! I used my fine tip marker to draw on the details....I'm no artist! Just have fun with it! I experimented with different embellishments, some tinsel glitter, some gems...  I had as much fun doing them as the kids did!

Christmas garland....Martha style!

I had the idea of doing a garland with Styrofoam balls and in Googling it online, wouldn't you know it but Martha already had the idea! haha So, I saved myself the time of trial and error and followed her formula. (Link) I was surprised at the simplicity of it! And the results were even better than I imagined! I was able to purchase my supplies at Michaels on Thanksgiving, taking advantage of their super coupon. Then I also purchased the Martha Stewart pack of coordinating gold glitters with the 50% coupon found in her latest magazine...amazing deal! So, I think I spent about $17 total, HOWEVER, $8 of that was the huge pack of glitter that this project only used around 10%.

Supplies: Wooden skewers, 2 packs of 12 Styrofoam balls (one small, one bigger), Martha Stewart Holiday golden glitter pack (This had fine glitter, tinsel glitter & beads...I only used the fine & tinsel glitters), Elmers glue, several small bowls, florist foam, something to string the balls on (I used fringy ribbon), disposable paint brush or foam brush, tape

1. Pour the Elmers glue in a bowl
2. Put one of the balls on a wooden skewer
3. Dip the ball in the glue and use the paint brush to spread it around and remove excess
4. Pour the glitter on the ball over a bowl (use a different bowl for each color as the excess can be salvaged)
5. Once ball is completely covered, poke the skewer into the florist foam to dry (I let mine dry overnight)
6. After all balls are complete and dried, tape the end of your ribbon to the blunt end of a skewer
7. Thread the balls on to the ribbon one by one.
8. Adjust the balls on the ribbon so they are all even

Thanksgiving Tablescape

My house is too small to host Thanksgiving, and I'm not much of a cook, so I was given the job of doing centerpieces this year. Oh darn. ;o) I gathered some vases I had on hand and added a couple more from Walmart and the dollar store, then just layered in different beans, lentils, corn, etc. I love the effect of all the natural fall colors. I also added some candles to the centers. I sprinkled some fall foliage (purchased fake since I'm in Phx and it was like 80 out!) around the center of the table. Simple, but I think it made a nice impact.