On the 12th Day of Christmas Crafting...

 A tisket, a tasket, a gold and lace basket, to paraphrase an old nursery rhyme, I upcycled a thrift find for Christmas today, I sanded the rusted basket and cleaned it before applying gold acrylic paint. After shuffling around for the foliage and knick knacks to put in the basket (top part only), I add two rows of faux pearl and a leftover piece of lace. 

It needed a little something extra, so I pulled out this set of gold bells, and attached it with a star (or flower) for that finishing touch. I had all my craft items in my decluttered basement, so we can call it a "freebie". LOL (I love freebies, don't you?) 

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:  

24 Days of Christmas - Day 15 - Front Door Decor

 

I am just powering through my Christmas craft stash! Today I took out this metal hanger. The only things it held were dusty greens, so I refreshed the bunch and added gold and silver ornaments and red balls/beads. I decided to go with the original red slightly tarnished or aged color. Onto it, I adhered strings of pearls on the front. I also added a goldish bow and a hanging, uh, thing? It's a tiny ornament from which a tassel is attached. One lone pearl rests in the middle of my hanger and I am finished.

This was a quick make, since the frame of my project was ready to embellish. I love finding metal designs that I can alter, paint or embellish. I find loads of them at thrift stores at decent prices. This was a purchase I made last year and put away. You can find some great deals both just before and after the holidays.

31 Days of All Hallow's Eve - Day 10 - Pumpkin Fever

 

Been busy today, mostly waiting for paint to dry! LOL Today's project is another piece of deck decor, thanks to the Dollar Store. Last year I had bought a handful of Styrofoam pumpkins and packed them away. 

So I pulled them out and painted four of them. At first I was going to adhere each to the posts on my front porch, but decided to create one large decoration for Halloween. 

After painting on a coat of white gesso, I gave each pumpkin its own spooky character. I gave the first pumpkin lowlights by painting the cracks in the pumpkin a darker color, then wiping the excess paint off. The I drew on eyes and a mouth.

The pumpkin sitting on top of him I kept white and drew on a ghost face. On top of her is my black cat and sitting on the cat is the witch. She had to be on the top because she wouldn't give u wearing her hat. I made her hair out of some cording I had bought on clearance and stuffed into my craft bin. 

In fact, I bought nothing this year for my Halloween crafting! I've been on a decluttering binge for months now, only replenishing my adhesives and paints. Anyway, I hot glued my pumpkins on top of each other and placed them in a wooden planter that has seen better days. I put a few bricks in the bottom of the planter to keep it from falling over. I finished my Halloween totem pole by stuffing some greenery around the top.

Even with all that glue, my pumpkins look like they're about to tumble. No worries, though, they're professionals...

Challenges I am Entering:

Mirtillamente Challenges - Anything Halloween

Morgans Art World - Anything Goes

Four Seasons Challenges - Anything FALL Goes

Getting Ready for Christmas at Ike's World Challenge Blog

OMG I can't believe 2019 flew by so fast! Here it is, 22 days before Christmas! I may still have a ton of things to do, but one thing I have finished is making my Christmas cards for the year. I mailed some out just after Thanksgiving, and the rest are for family and friends I'll be seeing throughout the next 3 weeks. Whew!!
This month Ike's World Challenge Blog asks crafters to create something on the lines of "Getting ready for Christmas." I  like a well-decorated home for this holiday, so I created a card featuring a previous year's Christmas freebie image from Ike's Art Store, which just happens to be a lovely table decoration (it doesn't go on the dinner table since that will be over-weighted by platters of holiday fare).
Since both my image and my patterned paper are design busy, I kept embellishments at a minimum. After coloring my image with Copics, I added a little Stickles for sparkle, a few tiny jewels for same, and some faux stitching that makes a nice homey border.
How did you do on your holiday cards? Did you make your goal? Are you short a bit? I may just have an excess this year! I'll either save them for next year, or find more people to give them to. That's using some Christmas spirit, isn't it? LOL
Don't forget to link up whatever you choose to create with the main blog for your last chance to win your choice of free digis from Ike's Art (last chance in 2019, that is!). Happy Holidays to all the lovely and talented ccrafters out there!