24 Days of Christmas - Day 8 - Holiday Greetings for My Neighbors

 Here's another one of my holiday gifts for neighbors. It's called a mussie tussie, and was popular several years ago. I think it's a perfect gift for those neighbors who mean a lot to me. They know I'm a crafter and expect something homemade.

I started with a toilet paper roll (any cardboard tube will do) and wrapped it with designer paper. Then I added some frills around it - lace, button, bow, etc. From there I chose trinkets to put inside. I have a wooden nutcracker ornament, candy cane, snowflake buttons and a string of crafting pearls.

I already dropped off my first mussie tussie and now I'm ready to deliver this one. Since I have quite a few yet to craft, I think I'll show off the rest (once they're made) in one post. I have a lot more crafting ideas bubbling in my brain. time waits for no crafter!

24 Days of Christmas - Day 7 - Present Toppers

Brrr! It's getting cold out there! I can't believe it's just 17 days until Christmas! I better get my crafting butt in gear before time runs out. I have cards to deliver, gifts to make and a house to decorate. Well at least I have today's make for you...

These cute little kitties are crafted from felt. I added features on their faces and decorated their stockings with cut-out felt, a now and some lace. After twisting pipe cleaners together to make the candy canes, I stopped at three. They are are all different, just the tiniest bit. What I want to know before I craft more is...

Which one do you like best? Or should I make each one a tad different? Inquiring minds want to know...

Challenges I am Entering:

Little Red Wagon - Animals or Humans

The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

The Creative Crafters - Challenge #70
 The Four Seasons - Anything Winter Goes

Your Scrapbook Place - Anything Goes

Ally's Angels - Anything Goes 

 

24 Days of Christmas - Day 6 - Alternative Tree

'tis the season to figure out where your Christmas tree is going! If you have a small living room like I do, space is tight. Last year's tree was just the top of a pre-lit tree I inherited from my mom. It lasted through last Christmas, then met its demise due to old age and improper storage.

I also have a habit of rearranging my living room furniture often...like twice in 2023! So when my neighbor's daughter came over with a jewelry ring holder, I figured this might be a good way to think outside the box. The first thing I did was to color the hand from PURPLE to white. I used spray paint.

I painted her nails gold and pulled out my box of holiday crafting supplies. I found some felt border in the shape of holly leaves that I ran up down her arm and added my own take on holly berries (adhesive-backed red gems).The bottom needed something, so I added a cuff of lace. I just might have gone overboard with the gold bows all around the cuff, but by the time I changed my mind about them, the hot glue was dry and those ribbons ain't coming off without a fight, I gave up.

I then hung  a few assorted tiny ornaments onto each hand. They kept slipping around on her fingers, so I used a tiny dab of glue to each finger. I just couldn't get a background up and better lighting, so I used Photoshop to "spray paint" the background to match the sign I had put my Christmas Hand Tree against. 

It looks kind of funky, but I just came back from 2 weeks in the Caribbean and got a shock of cold weather and instant holiday lights, decorations and a countdown until the big day. I am crafting these goodies day by day instead of having most of them ready and scheduled like I did for Halloween. 

FYI: Never go on a trip over Thanksgiving for 2 weeks. My body had acclimated to the heat and humidity and lack of anything Christmas-y. It's like jet lag but instead of my sleep being off, my calendar for the holidays is off and I am freezing!!

Time to root around for another make for tomorrow. I'm already missing two days out of my 24 days of Christmas celebration!! Happy crafting, y'all! 

24 Days of Christmas - Day 4 - Holiday Mussie Tussie

 

Does anyone remember when Mussie Tussies were popular? I even facilitated a craft workshop for Valentine's Day back in the day. Well, I'm bringing them back this Christmas. Inspiration hit me one night as I was sitting and contemplating my polished nails in the bathroom. I saw an empty toilet paper roll sitting NOT in the trash basket and, well, here is my finished project.

First I covered my cardboard troll with designer paper (I believe it's from DCWV), one end extending from the stapled-closed bottom; I cut 1/2" slits in the paper before folding them over the top opening, and adhering it all with spray adhesive.

I added a piece of coordinating paper to the bottom, the houses and snow-covered ground adhered to the bottom to make my little scene. To give the bottom a little dimension and shine, I added a line of pearls. Up top, I ringer slightly larger pearls and added the silver bow.

I had to stuff the bottom of my Tussie with tissue paper so that my tiny gifts could be seen when hung up. If you zoom in, you can see the Christmas tree, candy canes, snowflakes, star and kitty. I used a piece of leftover lace with which to hang my ornament/wall decor/holiday gift. 

Last Christmas I decorated cardboard book boxes, filled them with handmade trinkets and gave them to my neighbors. This year they'll get my Mussie Tussies with a tag, in place of a card.

Sorry I missed yesterday's make. I had just returned from a 2-week cruise. I had crafted the forst 2 projects before I left, but didn't have time before nor after to get yesterday's made and posted...

24 Days of Christmas - Day 2 - Stitched and Painted Canvas

 

Today I have another wall decor project. This one combines stitching and paint. I received a couple framed cross stitch canvases from a storefront called Help Heal Veterans. Any veteran can come in and browse shelves of craft kits and supplies once a week. I served in the US Army a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (well, it was a long time ago LOL). I was actually the first female mechanic in the 54th M.P. Company at Fort Ord, CA. Like I said, a long time ago...

Anyway, I picked up these free framed canvases and took them home just in time for my Christmas crat series here. I started with acrylic paint, setting the background for a forest of pines around a frozen lake. Once I had colored in the sky, trees and lake, I added a some snow on the trees, but it was very abstract.

Enter the needle and embroidery thread...I sewed the stars first, lighting up the night sky. My trees definitely needed some definition, so I went in with two different shades of green to give the trees some support. The sky needed a little more lightening, so I took a toothbrush and sprinkled on some distant stars, and my project is finished.

I just recently started to use both paint and thread on the cross stitch canvas material, and I like it! Have you tried it yet? Careful, it's addicting! LOL

 

24 Days of Christmas - Day 1 - Wall Decor

 Welcome to my blog! Today starts my series of DIY, artwork and crafts celebrating the winter holidays. I thought I'd start my offerings with an easy Dollar Store DIY. I had picked up a bag of wooden easter wall decor back in the summer. There were 13 of these in a bag for $6 and I found them at a thrift store. Thank you Dollar store for donating them to one of my fave thrift stores! I had created several summer and Halloween wall decor and had two left. Here's the first...

I found holiday napkins after Christmas last year. After stripping the Easter poster off the front, I painted it white all around, front and sides. I pulled one napkin apart so that I had the thin decorated print (I used the plain white backing for lunch). I used homemade mod podge to adhere the scene to the front, applying a second coat on top of the napkin. Using thin paper and mod podge often leaves tiny crinkles that are really difficult to smooth out.

The effect was nice, almost vintage-looking. After it dried, I added a couple sparkly snowflake foam stickers. I also attached some glitter-covered die-cut letters to spell out the word JOY. And my first project of the season is complete and hanging in my living room!

I hope you come back throughout December to see what I'm creating, hoping you get inspiration. 'tis the season to DIY!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Christmas is Coming!

 The next few weeks are mighty busy, so I'm just letting you know how thankful I am to have Blogger and all my guests in my life. Happy Thanksgiving and I'll be back online starting December 1st for my 24 Days of Christmas blog series. Watch for those holiday DIYS, including altered items, decor, ornaments, and cards!! Until then, happy crafting!!