Grandparent Gift

I have been trying to figure out something for my mom for Christmas. All she says she wants is family pictures, which is a great and easy gift. But since all 4 of my siblings and their families are going to be at my parents for Christmas - the first time in over 8 years - we are having family pictures taken. So I wanted to do something different. I searched Pinterest and nothing caught my eye. So I googled "DIY grandparent gift ideas". I came across this blog that had a bunch of ideas.  But this one jumped out at me: 

I loved the idea, but knew that waiting until the last minute like I have, I wouldn't be able to order it, plus I know that I could create something similar. So here is mine:

I used Photoshop Elements 8 to create it. I have tons of digital scrapbook files, so I selected a background and started playing. I'm not very proficient with Photoshop Elements, so it did take me some time to play around and make things work. I am so excited with how it turned out. I sent it to Costco to print and put it in a 12x12 frame I picked up from JoAnn's Etc. 

I can't wait for her to open it on Christmas!

Happy Creating!

Holly

Neighbor Gifts: DIY Candles

I made 3 candles HERE for November craft group. My husband liked them enough that he wanted me to make more - 9 more to be exact.  The difference from from putting together the craft in October to making them in December is amazing. Plus the fact that I needed to make 9 of them. I didn't care to use the hot spoon variation, so I bought a heat gun (used in embossing) at Hobby Lobby-of course using a 40% off coupon. If you use a heat gun, just be sure you move it around a lot or it will cause the wax to come through the tissue paper and run down the sides.

 The candles I originally used were unscented from Hobby Lobby-because their Christmas stuff wasn't out yet. I found Winter Wonderland scented ones at Walmart. They were a tad bit more than those from HL because I wasn't able to use a 40% off coupon. But I wanted scented ones as gifts. I also found more options for the tissue paper. I added a few Hershey Kisses, changed out the sisal with tulle-because I had some on hand and I personalized the tag using my Cricut.

Craft Group: Christmas Table Topper

So the Halloween Placemats were such a hit, that I decided to try the same technique and make table toppers for various holidays. I had some left over red burlap that I cut into 2 squares (they are about 22 inch squares). Using my Cricut, I cut vinyl stencils for each of the corners. After applying the vinyl to the burlap, I used newspaper and painters tape to cover the rest of the fabric. 

Here is the final results of one I made for Valentines Day and one for Fourth of July:

(sorry I was too lazy to actually iron them before I took the pictures)

If you look close at the stars, you will see crooked edges and the white doesn't look filled in. I had tried using acrylic paints with a fabric medium mixed in. It took I don't know how many coast and it still looks a bit pink. So when I did the hearts and the blue stars, I switched to using spray paint. Worked much better, but it still took a quite a few coats (just not as many as the acrylic paint). 

So when it came time to get things ready for December's Craft Group, I thought I would try using Duck Canvas instead of the burlap. I sewed a decorative stitch on the edge, like I had done with the placemats. And this time I wanted to try using freezer paper to make the stencils. If it worked, it would be a lot less expensive then the vinyl. So using my Cricut, I cut the designs in the freezer paper. Then ironed the freezer paper - shiny side down on the fabric. Then spray painted.

And the final product was a fail!  The freezer paper didn't adhere to the canvas so well, so there was over-spray as well as edges to the designs that just didn't look good.  It won't be a give like I hoped, but I was able to  "save" it to use on my kitchen table by using a black Sharpie and outlining it.
Fail #1:

So since that failed, I checked out other options on Pinterest. I came across one that used contact paper from the dollar store. Well that was a fail as well, but nothing could "save" this one. The contact paper didn't adhere well either, plus once you got spray paint on it, the edges would curl up, which only allowed for one coat of paint. Even one heavy coat of paint didn't work.
Fail #2:

What did work?
Using the stencils created from the contact paper and we painted them with acrylic paint. It took 3-4 coats and a little bit of touch up once the contact paper was removed.

But I did fail again
 by not getting a picture of the final product.
I need to make more for gifts, so when I do, I will add a picture.

Happy Crafting!
Holly

Craft Group: Christmas Candles

In my planning for our November craft, I was thinking a head for Christmas and was trying to come up with something that was inexpensive that you could give as neighbor gifts, teacher gifts or that would work in with holiday decor.  I came across Stylizmo's Christmas Candle, and thought it would be perfect.  I hunted for the just right napkin, but ran into the fact that - unlike now - not very many places had Christmas napkins or tissue paper out at the end of October.  So I ended up using an everyday foil tissue I found at the Dollar Tree and digging into my supply of Christmas tissue paper (the Christmas colored stripe and the snowflakes).  

This is what I came up with:

I got the candles at Hobby Lobby in a 2 pack (except the one with snowflakes-it's an old candle I've had for years), I used my Cricut machine to cut out the tags and used a stamp from Stampin' Up that I already had. You could use stickers or if your penmanship is better then mine, then you could always write it. 

A couple days ago, my hubby gave me a list of more I need to make. 

I better get a meltin'.

Happy Crafting!

Holly