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 17th Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

I discovered that my Christmas card supplies were getting low, so I had to create a few more this month! These cards showcase an image by Fresh Brewed Designs (closed). I printed the image twice for each card and used dimensional tape to make the candles pop. They are note card-sized, 4.5x5.5. I have sold most of my holiday cards at craft fairs in packs of four. I guess I'll be making quite a few of these in the New Year!!

How are you doing on your holiday crafting? Are you mainly a card maker, or do you play with other types of crafting? I have ADHD, and I call it my super power. I can go to a thrift store and see something on a shelf and think "I can make this into such and such" or " this would look good if I just blah, blah, blah..."

...which of course leads me to buying on impulse and sometimes storing an item for a week or three or 12...which is why I am always decluttering because I have a backlog of projects and a lack of storage...

...life is never dull at my house!!

On the 16th Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

Welcome back, crafters! Today I have a Christmas wreath for you. The wreath base is made of faux tree branches on which I adhered several stars, snowflakes and white pinecones. I added some colorful mini gifts as well as a reindeer. To fill in the center I "parked" my trailer between two snow-covered trees, with the brightest star shining above it.

I sold this at the last craft fair, as well as a few other wreaths and holiday decor items. I didn't sell out my table, but I did leave with two empty storage bins and some cash, so I'm happy!

On the 15th Day of Christmas Crafting...

 Hello, crafters! Today I offer you a hybrid canvas. It's a cross stitch canvas stretched onto a wooden frame, with a painted background and stitches using embroidery thread. I also embellished my canvas with a felt wiener dog, a sticker (bells) and small sequins for tree ornaments. The branches and the ribbons and bows on the presents showcase my stitching. I guess you can call it a mixed media project!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

I am slowly finding my way back to water colors. Here's my first attempt (after a long time) at a winter scene. If you discount the deer, I think it looks nice. Of course, if you discount the deer, you get a boring scene with no focal point. Gotta give me points for trying! I'm self-taught, no art classesexcept what I can find online for free.  LOL

To be honest, this is only a part of the original canvas. I cut it down to fit into this frame I had stashed in the basement. I was able to salvage another small part of the scene to put with my older, unframed water colors. 

On the Seventh Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

Another fantastic find at the Amazon Returns store was this white holiday sign for $1. There were three in the package! I added some 3-dimensionaldecoratiob on each. Two got sold at the craft fair, and one went to a new neighbor as a holiday house warming gift.

I know, I didn't do much here, but sometimes a little added touch makes things better. 

On the Sixth Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

Welcome back, crafters! I made another small canvas out of the small wooden boxes and an image from the Graphics Fairy. Again, I added the hats from the Doll House, care of Eena's Creations. Aren't those cats the cutest? This time I framed the canvas with gold trim and added a bow to the bottom.

My daughter's in love with this one, so it's hanging up in her bedroom as I type! 

On the Fifth Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

Earlier this month, I strolled through an Amazon returns store when the prices were lowest at $1 each item. The box this came in was closed, so I took a chance and scored a large sealed poster of the Grinch, along with one of his dog and another with his hand held out (maybe to hang something from it.

I was inspired to create this "wreath" out of one piece of an embroidery hoop and spray painted it white. After attaching the Grinch to the hoop, I added a sprig of pine tree to the top. Then I took three green glittery ornaments from my Christmas stash and wrote the words, "Stink, Stank, Stunk" with glossy 3D paint. I hung them from the hoop and now I have another new Christmas wreath (never mind, the craft fair brought a new owner to mybooth and they now have this fun wreath for their own home...

On the Fourth Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

I found a burlap-wrapped cork board in need of a lot of TLC at a thrift store last year. After taking off the frame, I made pockets and covered them with designer papers that were in my stash. I put last year's handmade cards in the pockets to show how it worked after attaching a Santa head and bow to the front. I added snowflake stickers to the frame. 

I think it's time to pull last year's cards out and start slipping this year's cards in...

On the Third Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

I played around in Photoshop to create this cute puppy holiday wall decor. The dogs are a free digital image from the Graphics Fairy. I added their holiday caps from Eena's Creations from the Doll House. To frame the scene, I added green and silver trim to the edges and topped it all with a small Christmas wreath that used to a magnet.

The canvas is a wooden box, like those sold at the Dollar Store, but i bought this along with 11 others at a thrift store for $3.50. What a deal!!

On the Second Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

This piece caught my eye at a thrift store. When I go to garage sales and thrift stores, I see what things could be after altering. Do you? This was rusted and ugly and had no backing, but I saw it in my mind with new paint and a pretty winter scene hanging behind it.

Giving new life to this old card holder was fun. The copper acrylic paint looks good and I created a backing out of foam board to fit the circle. A ribbon and bow finishes it off and I'm ready to add cards to it. Um, does anyone still snail mail holiday cards out?... 

On the First Day of Christmas Crafting...

 

Good morning crafters! Since my holiday card supply is running low, I decided to make a few cards for family and friends. Today's card features an image called  Vintage Christmas Sticker Sheet from Conjuror of Dreams for the base or background. It's a  beautiful grove of pine trees, which works perfectly with the images I colored and fussy-cut to pop into the winter scene.

I wanted some dimension on the card, so my Simply Betty images were colored with Copics, then adhered onto the card with dimensional tape. After framing the paper layers, I popped a shiny star up top and my first Christmas card of the season is finished. 

 Challenges I am Entering :

 

Thinking Ahead in the New Year

 

I was thinking...

...since my Christmas crafts aren't packed away for the year, and I plan on actively signing up for a craft fair or two, that I should continue creating crafts that I'd like to sell in the Fall. So saying, I've inventoried, packed and labeled the bulk of my holiday craft items from this year and last. I'm going to build up my inventory and have enough items to make a good profit. And if I don't sell it all, I will use it through the years. It's a win-win situation!

So my project today is still Christmas-themed. I pulled out another thrift store find, a holiday card holder in the shape of a wreath. I sanded the rusted metal until it (almost) shone, and have it a new shiny copper color. Next I used designer paper leftover from a project I made a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I adhered the paper to a stiff backing and then glued it to my card holder. A small bow and a red ribbon finishes it off. An easy upcycle that I can safely wrap and put away for next year. Besides altering thrift finds, I have a list of craft ideas that will help decrease my stash of craft supplies by making things from scratch.

My blog will see all kinds of projects, as my card stash has practically disappeared, I have a new sewing machine with which to play, and plenty of things to alter. So please visit often. You never know what will show up here! LOL

Scribbles Designs is Ready for the Holidays

Today I reached a milestone - I finished this year's Christmas card stash! This one and other cards I've made after December 1 are being hand-delivered. AS you may have guessed, the new challenge theme at Scribbles Designs is "Getting Ready for Christmas.
And what better way to get ready is to decorate the tree? My card features a lovely selection of Christmas balls, ready to hang. The Scribbles Designs' images I used are  #889 Mason Jar, and a Friday Freebie, Ornaments. I chose the Decosse's Dynamite Designs paper before I colored my images, so the paper set my monochromatic vision. Color-blocking seemed to fit the card nicely, with a few lines of adhesive jewels and some rub-on holiday greetings.

Create a Christmas project and link it to  the Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog for your chance to win some awesome digis! Good luck and happy crafting!

Fairy Magic at the 12 Months of Christmas Challenge Blog

Christmas is a magical time, so what says magic more than fairies? The optional twist for this month's challenge at the 12 Months of Christmas is Fairy Magic. The DT got to play with images from A Day for Daisies. There are the most gorgeous images at the store,including this one called "Talking to the Moon Fairy."
I tried something new today. I placed my image onto my digital paper and printed it so that it was one single layer.I still got to color the image with Copics. I popped up my "scene" with dimensional tape, using some leftover lace for a border. Then I plundered my stash of jewels and pearls to hang off  my moon. Funny thing about my patterned paper: I used Decosse's Dynamite Doodle's Blue pp from "A Touch of Frost paper kit, but my printer chose that exact moment to run out of ink. It's supposed to be ALL blue, but you know what, I kind of like that "fade into purple" look, don't you? LOL
As for the challenge at the 12 Months of Christmas blog, remember that you don't need to follow the twist to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month nor for a chance to win an $8 gift certificate to the A Day for Daisies store. 

You simply need to follow the twist if you'd like a chance to win this month's featured digital paper pack, Frolicking Fairies: Winter Edition from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles.

   All you have to win these awesome prizes is to remember to link up your card to the main blog!! So have fun and good luck!

Challenges I am Entering:

Winter Wonderland - Cute Christmas

Fab & Funky - Fantasy

ABC Christmas - H for Hang it up or I for Intricate 

(I chose the Moon hanging in the night sky)

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

Sheepski Designs Sponsors the 12 Months of Christmas blog

I don't know about you, but this last Christmas depleted my stash of Christmas cards. So once again I need to build it up starting NOW, so I don't have to rush toward the end of the year. My first holiday card of 2019 features a digi image from Sheepski Designs called Snowboardin'.

Sheepski Designs is the guest sponsor at the 12 Months of Christmas Blog,

 where the theme is Anything Goes and the optional TWIST this month is"Anything but a Rectangle". I don't normally like making a circular card, but this cute snowman inspired me to create my DT card today. After coloring him with Copics, I used dimensional tape to pop him onto my paper and framed it all with a paper doily.

My embellishments are simple. I used a border die to get the tiny snowflakes that I placed around my snowman. Then I used some Stickles to give them and the background some shimmer. Finally,  I used white flocking powder to circle around the edge of my paper circle.

At the 12 Months of Christmas Link-Up Blog, you don't need to follow the twist to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month or for a chance to win THREE images from this month's sponsor, Sheepski Designs. BUT if you DO follow the twist you'll have a chance to win this month's featured digital paper pack, Candy Cane Flavors Mini Kit. So start that stash for Christmas 2019 and don't forget to link up at the 12 Months of Christmas Blog.

Challenges I am Entering:

Crafty Gals - Snow Much Fun

Cute & Crafty Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Make it Sparkle

Card Mania - Baby It's Cold Outside

Christmas Crafts All Tear 'round - Let It Snow

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Goes

Sparkle n Sprinkle - Anything Goes w/loose glitter, embossing powder or flocking