This is where I sat almost all of yesterday.  I dragged a table from the front balcony [that we had gotten out for Christmas lunch] to the back, while everyone else was sleeping in, so that I could sit outside and work. And it was so amazing, that I was in and out and there when it got dark.  I am frantically working on a few things as well as enjoying the summer holidays with my family that I adore.  I have so many things planned that I feel like I am over whelmed with ideas in a really, really GREAT way.

So the other week I posted the black board looking ornaments.  Which then had me looking at the other ornaments on our tree.  That was dying slowly, apparently your meant to put water in the bottom thing they get you to buy that holds your tree up, you all know what I mean?  NOW before you laugh, we have never had a ‘real’ tree before, so this was all new to me, and clearly the people we bought from could see this, as I think I made my confused face a few times, which could almost be mistaken for my bored face I guess, so I can see where their confusion came from, in not telling me, that my tree would need water, in order to slowly die and therefore not wither all over my carpet, badly! My sister [younger than me and also has a real tree] found it hilarious that I didn’t know it would need water. I have flowers on the odd occasion in my house, never last long, but not once can I honestly say I have had a tree in my house.

So with that aside.  The ornaments I already had on the tree didn’t really match in with the new blackboard looking ornaments.  I think we have had the old ornaments since hubby and I moved in together.  Actually I tell a lie, the year after.  As the first year I went with purple and silver and ever since have been a red, gold and green sort of Christmas girl.  So the girls helped me and then got bored quickly as they do.  Look I wont lie, I tend to take over.  I can’t help it, the perfection in me comes out, I wish it would with my house work.

WHAT I USED :

Glass ornaments, skewers, hot glue gun, mini bottle brush Christmas tree, fake snow, glitter and sequins.

I found this blog post HERE… that really helped me with how to put the trees in, but let me say you have to be more than just fast, like super fast, like speedy Gonzales fast.  At the end of the day some weren’t perfectly places but when I broke one, I got over it and just let them stick where they were.  I then put in some fake snow that I bought from my local cheap shop, along with a little glitter and sequins.

I then decided to get my burlap that I love out.  I bought some foam balls and had no idea what I was going to do with them and then decided to to cut the burlap and wrap it around.

WHAT I USED :

Burlap, hot glue gun, foam ball, decorative pins and hemp twine.

I then used a crystal looking pin that I have had a bunch of for so long and almost threw them out when I cleaned my craftroom last time.  So glad that I didn’t.  And a little hemp twine that I pinned the pin through to use to then hang the ornament with.

WHO said you can only use cookie cutters for baking?  I bought a jar full of Christmas themed cookie cutters all red with intentions of baking, OH how I make myself laugh.  ME baking, haha.  Any ways they made GREAT ornaments.  And it was only $10 for about 8 or was it 10.  We used a star, ginger bread man and a tree.

And if all else fails, candy canes look amazing and you buy a box of usually 12 to 20 for under $3.  Only it seems mine kept going missing, hmmmm I wonder, I wonder…….

So there you have it.  Some quick ways to make some effective Christmas decorations without breaking the bank and best of all.  My guess is people will love them and ask you all about them, and when your a crafter, who doesn’t love talking about what they made?

Before I get down to this post I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.  Almost time to bring in the new year, scary how fast things go by, is it not?  During the year, you are always looking forward to something, a birthday, event, wedding, birth etc.  Then it finally comes and goes, then you are already looking forward to another event.  Before you know it Christmas is coming along again.  Then you sit and wonder, where did the year go?

I was planning on getting a few posts done over the past couple of days after Christmas.  Clearly this didn’t happen.  Instead I have been working on something else to come in the New Year.  It’s a little harder than I thought it would be, but hopefully will be all worth it.

Don’t forget to come back on the 31st and link up your blog post with your top 10 favourite craft creations for the year of 2012.  I have been going back over mine and it’s so much fun to see how much you grow, well I like to think I have.

So a few days before Christmas I decided to get all the Christmas decorations made.  It’s a miracle I did them then and not after Christmas.  I showed you all the other day the wreath that I made and must admit, love.  Perfectly me, almost like craft with a hint of white/cream and being the colour my door is, perfect match.  I am thinking I might try make another one, less Christmas just for all year round.

I loved looking around pinterest for Christmas ideas.  I must admit I have always looked at pinterest every now and then, but never really got the whole addiction to it, till now that is.  When I came across some of the snowglobe ideas I was in love.  So with a couple of days to go this is what “in the making” looks like..

WHAT I USED :

• Mason jar and other [jam] jar [that I picked up at our local cheap shop].
• Fake snow, picked p a bag for $2.00 at my local cheap shop.
• Clear and pink sequins.
• Melissa Frances Bottle Brush Trees, that I picked up HERE.. [international postage was only about $4.00 for two packets, which was great].
• Glittler [any will do, I used some I picked up from Spotlight].
• Hot Glue Gun [my crafty friend, that loves to burn me].
• Chipboard [could use other material]

TIPS : Now the one thing I did learn when using the mason jars, was that you can’t just hot glue the trees to the lid and pop in the snow, glitter and sequins, oh no, no, no.  WHY? Because it will cover the trees and you can barely see them at all.  You need to raise them up.  I used cut up chipboard glued together till I reached a hight I was happy with.  You wont see it at all, as the snow and glitter and all the rest will cover the chipboard or any material you use.  I only use chipboard because it was all I could think to use and material I had on hand.  When you do them like I have in the jam jar this is not necessary, although what I did do was still hot glue the trees to a bit of chipboard and then hot glue them into the jar.  Just so that I liked the placing of the trees.

I’ll be back with more Christmas DIY Projects SOON.

Hubby is officially on holidays and already I am loving it.  It means late nights, sleep ins, or so I thought, both mornings so far I have woken at about 7am [I struggle to do that on a school morning, while even going to bed at a [semi] reasonable hour], and can’t for the love of sleep, GO back to sleep.  This is DANGEROUS people, dangerous I tell you all, why?  Well I may or may not have broken our dishwasher…..  THE dishwasher!  I mean we may as well put the house on sale now, or you know get it fixed.  It still ‘could’ be ok, but I don’t hold out hope, luck has never been a strong point for hubby and I.  You see I popped some things in, put some dish washing liquid in, when I have a lot of glass, I find it cleans them better, call me CRAZY.  I walked away cleaning a few more things, came back, put a few plates in and what not and then………….a dish washing tablet!  SEE this is what happens when your brain is still asleep.  It started making a funny noise and I opened it to BUBBLE overload, thought it looked amazing, but then a light was flashing and now it’s doing nothing!  I have googled and most say to turn them off for a long period of time and let so and so drain blah blah ‘guy talk’ blah blah.  I am hoping my father in law might know a little about it when he comes over Christmas day, but geez I really hope it would be working by then.  Or we are going to be eating off paper plates, hahaha.

It’s hot out and I have done all the washing and still need to do a bit more around the house but you know, it’s not going anywhere.

I thought I would try and get some of my Christmas posts up.  I don’t have long now huh?  I have been making things and LOVING it.  But getting time to get them posted is another story!

I bought a foam wreath from spotlight a while back, I can’t remember the cost but think it was in between $8-$15.  In fact maybe I bought it back in October, or even before then.  I am just trying to think as it would be a time I went to the movies.  Oh well, regardless I had it for a while.  Looked through pinerest for ideas and nothing was really taking my fancy.  Then while cleaning my craftroom I found a package of burlap that I ordered yonks ago.  You can pick this up from anywhere between $5 to $30 depending on how much you require.

All I did was cut the burlap into strips and wrap them around, once that bit came to an end I would get another strip and start over the one that I just ended to secure it in.  No glue used till the very end, where I used my hot glue gun.

I was really pleased with the end result…………But then what?  I had a few ideas, played with a few things and nothing once again was sticking out to me as DONE, LOVE IT.  A trip to the cheap shop here for a few supplies for another project I was working on and seen the star decoration.  I paid about $2-$4 for the star I am pretty sure.

I used some berry looking things that I have had once again for a while in my Christmas pile.  Some twill ribbon and I’m all done….  and I just love the effect and for me it’s perfect.

Did you make your own wreath?  I would love if you could share it with me.