On the 23rd Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

I think I've finally pulled myself of my card-making rut. I've made seven cards this month alone. There were two last month, and I made a wedding card in May. I haven't been making cards for quite a while now, but Pat got her groove back (mostly because she recovered all her hundreds of digital images that were backed up in the Cloud but couldn't access until recently).

This holiday card uses designer paper, two die cuts and a few snowflake stickers on dimensional dots.  I just reached my hand into my magic bag of die cuts for the holidays (eyes closed) and pulled him out. This time I matched the papers and embellishments to the snowman die cut...

Do you draw out or plan your cards ahead of time?  Do you base them on the images, the papers, the embellishments, or does it just come together as you're playing with your crafting supplies? I have to admit when I make a card I have no plan, no diagram, no sample to work off of. Often, an image will inspire a greeting or quote (usually funny or punny). Other times, I will search for the right image for a particular quote. Unless  I'm challenged to create something with specific parameters, it's like trying to catch a fish in your hands at the local creek. Whatever I catch shows me how to cook it.

Now that the craft fairs are a thing of the past (month), I'm tapering off new crafts so that I can pack away items to sell at next year's fairs. I'm also planning on decluttering my stash, in order reclaim my basement as a family area (mostly for entertainment). Once it's clean, organized and uncluttered, I plan on hosting a brunch for neighbors and friends. Maybe make the theme a "Board Meeting", as in everybody bring their favorite Charcuterie board to share. There are plenty of Pinterest posts to inspire a few friends to try something new...

On the 22nd Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

Still finishing up my outdoor decorations in the frozen tundra we call Chicagoland. Today I wrapped a couple cardboard boxes, wrapped them in colorful plastic tablecloth sand added bows to them both. Next I took some leftover plastic bowls( from my Halloween crafting) bought from my local Dollar store, glued them together and created ornaments out of them. The ornament holder is made rom sample-sized cups I snagged from a thrift store eons ago (I use them when I paint).The hooks are over-sized jump rings.

I decorated each with a White Posca marker and adhesive bling. They sit gracefully at Santa's feet in my lamp post garden in front of the house. And if the weather doesn't warm up, they will be the last decor I put outside before Christmas!! Yikes, it's cold...Note in the photo below, the grass, though frozen, is still green. The weather went from mild to freezing that fast. I am so glad I stuck those metal candy canes into my grass last week...

On the 21st Day of Christmas Crafting...

 Good morning, crafters! Today I added some new holiday decorations to my front deck. I have a ramp that extends from one end of the front of ,my house to the other, ,and this is where I put my string of Christmas lights and my new candy cane hearts.

 I made three of these large hearts using Dollar Tree candy canes and good old-fashioned hot glue. They are hanging from the posts between those that have thicker red & white candy canes attached. I added a small accent to each cane: a  sprig of pine, a red bow and a poinsettia.

At first I was going to join several "hearts" that I put together to create a huge wreath, but I was short on canes AND room to hang it!! I had enough problems hanging my crystal 8"snowflakes off the gutter as hubby had put leaf guards on all the gutters before he passed. Nothing worked to hang my lights so 

 I bought some industrial-strength Velcro and attached the strings of lights to the window frames on the deck. They won't be coming off come snow or high winds (hopefully I can bring them down before Spring).

I'm so glad I did most of my holiday outdoor decorating last week! The temps went from a balmy 50s to a frigid 20s!! Ho, ho, ho, Chicagoland!

On the 20th Day of Christmas Crafttng...

 

I wanted to take a class at my local junior college. I've tried water colors on my own but there's so much I don't know, never taking an actual art class ever. So a couple weeks ago the college sent out a brochure for continuing ed classes starting in January, and s Sketching & water Color Painting Class was offered.  I was so set on taking the class...

until I discovered that all their non-credit, continuing ed classes are only offered at their other campus, with which I am not familiar, and would likely skip on those January class days when the the temps are sub-zero or the roads are unplowed or icy. 

So I decided to check out YouTube and Pinterest and fill my art journal with exercises in sketching, as well as inspiration tips and tricks from  other artists. This is one of my art journal pages, although it is more mixed media than plain old water colors. The main scene is water colors, but I added the snow using white acrylic paint. I think I did an okay job. In fact, I just might print this up and make holiday cards for next year. What do you think?

We are now at Day 20 of the 20 days of Christmas crafting. Have any of my crafts, artwork or upcycling inspired you this month? I hope so!! 

On the 19th Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

I have been storing a pair of metal art pieces I picked up from a garage sale a few years back. I decided this was the year I would transform it into holiday decor. I spray painted my base layer white, and it needed three coats! Then I brought out my Posca pain markers to decide on a pattern. Once I liked my pattern, I went back over the markers with acrylic paints. Each swirl is raised, so I had to refine the edges on each circle several times. I was finally satisfied after three days worth of tedious correcting with a very thin paint brush.

Once the paint was dry, I used Liquid Gloss Sealant so that I could hang the set outside. I've been upcycling metal artwork since COVID, and I really like it. I have a deck in the back, as well as in  front, and I enjoy changing out  the look of them with each season. 

On the 18th Day of Christmas Crafting...

I love making shadow boxes, especially for Christmas and Halloween. Today's project features a house-shaped shadow box made of wood. After lining the back with holiday designer paper, I riffled through my holiday stash and found characters, presents, trees and decorations enough to fill all three cubbies. I look for bags of small holiday ornaments and knick-knacks at garage sales and thrift stores throughout the year.

In the bottom cubby, there's Mrs. Claus baking Christmas cookies while elves are making toys. In the middle, Santa is trimming the tree and putting presents under it. The top compartment is where candy canes and poinsettias are stored. I finished the box off with holiday buttons and stickers after decorating the roof with paper doilies, a bell and a holiday greeting.

I used to facilitate workshops for shadow box making, but the store front closed after a couple years. Now I make them for craft fairs and take commissions for specifically-themed ones. 

On the 11th Day of Christmas Crafting...(another post lost in drafts until now)

 

Today I decorated a cardboard box shape like a book (some call it a card box). I had two left that I purchased from a yard sale at the trailer park where I park my "getaway" home. I had a total of twelve and had made both Halloween and Christmas book boxes last year and given them to neighbors. They were a hit with my friends. This year I made a new holiday box to hold a present I am giving my nephew this year. I used leftover designer papers inside and out, giving it a cheery red spine.

The front is decorated with a metal dressed in Christmas colors. I used leftover lace to give the book's cover a border, and snowflakes stickers decorate the front. 

My nephew does a lot of riving to jobs and is always complaining about the price of gas, so his book box will hold a gift card for gas.

Are you ready for Christmas? I am--presents wrapped and under the tree, meal planned for the family, decorations up and stockings hung.  I hope this year's holiday holds no last minute surprises, and everybody leaves with leftovers and happy memories...