Paper Snowflakes OR Stars OR Poinsettia, Whichever

My oh so crafty friend Sheri taught Sarah and I how to make these sweet little snowflakes...or poinsettias, as that is what they look like to me. Sheri also gave me old music sheets that her sister Jodi found in her barn. All of that is important information to you I'm sure. I made five of them and hung them from our light fixture above our stairway. At that top of the fixture you'll notice I attached a wreath and wrapped burlap garland around it. I love the look of it. And after making a few I will attempt to make instructions as simple as possible. You will need: paper up to 12" wide. The smaller the paper the smaller the snowflake hot glue gun 1. Cut 12 3/4" strips and fold in half. You can make them thinner or wider.

2. Take six strips and layer them, weaving them together. In the picture below I put which way the opening of the folds should go. It does not matter which way the middle (M) strip faces. This is important (but not crucial) to a later step. I hot glued all the places in which two pieces crossed. Sheri prefers to simply hot glue the two middle strips. Repeat this step with the remaining six strips of paper.

3. Using north, south, east, west as a description you take the north, right strip and connect it to the east top strip. To do this open up one side and hot glue the end of the other strip inside it. Continue until you have formed 4 corners that look like petals. Repeat this step with the 2nd set of layered strips.

4. On both sets you should have 4 straight pieces sticking out. It is now time to glue the two sets together in the center. When you do this, make sure that one set of straight pieces forms an X and the other set forms a cross +. Glue the backs together.

5. Next you will attach the straight pieces to the center point of each petal with hot glue. When you do this, weave the straight piece through as if you were weaving.

6. You should now have an 8 pointed star, snowflake or poinsettia. Whichever you'd like to consider it to be.

Jingle Candle

I originally saw this idea at through Pinterest at this website: http://re-purposed.blogspot.com/2010/12/pottery-barn-inspired-candles.html I believe she used what I would call the Catholic candles from the Dollar Tree. I decided to use cylander vases instead and basically do the same thing. I got the vases for .49 at the thrift store. I then used just a dab of hot glue to secure the twine in place. I wrapped the twine tightly and secured the end in placed with hot glue. I then used a separate piece of twine with the two bells at each end. To get a fuller bow from the twine, I unraveled the cords of twine. My girlfriends Sheri and Sarah also made one with the end result:

I hope you followed the directions. I have to hurry to go catch a movie! Gotta run!

Jingle All the Way!

For this project I used a $1.99 shadow box I got from the Goodwill. I took the foam core backing off and covered in with burlap. I attached the burlap with spray glue. I then simply took two bells and put them on each end of twine about 24" long. I tied the twine around the backing and positioned where I thought it would look good. I assembled the frame back together. The bells barely fit between the backing and the glass. So that is important to check out with your shadow box. I then topped it off with vinyl lettering on top of the glass. Very simple.

A Wreath as a Wreath

This week I hope I have shown you other options for wreaths. Look for creative places to put them. They don't belong just on the front door. Today I will show you two creative places they can be displayed. My favorite is in our entry way, or you may say foyer. I attached the wreath to the three supports on the light fixture and simply tied ribbons of ornaments to the wreath. This was a rather ragged wreath that I got over 25 years ago, and it was used then. I hated parting with it and came up with the idea of using it on our light fixture. I love the affect it gives. People walk in and usually notice it after they have been in our house and it surprises them.

I have a corner kitchen sink and have a lot of space behind it. Using a wreath holder makes a nice display behind the sink.

Around the Clock

A simple way to add a touch of Christmas it to use wreaths in unusual ways. Around light fixtures, candles, clocks etc. I added simple (inexpensive) wreaths to each side of our station clock. To do this I bent the pine needles away from the center of the wreath and they actually fit around the clock perfectly. To secure to the wreaths I twisted the pine needles of both wreaths together. This year I am going for a more simple, farmhouse look. So I topped it with a burlap bow and done. When it warms up I am going to experiment with making mercury ornaments. IF I am successful I might add them to these wreaths.

More on Target

I moved my Target wreath to in front of a window. I love it! Check it out:

Right on Target

Today's wreath is a little un-orthodox you might say. A few years ago my dad and I were commenting on how cool the Target Pharmacy medicine bottles were. I mentioned it might make a fun looking wreath. Well, he began saving them and well, I have enough to make at least two wreaths. I am considering hanging them in front of the window to have the daylight reflect through. This is fairly simple. I used 27 pharmacy bottles. I took the labels off. However, the stickiness left behind isn't a concern, because they are all glued together. I hot glued them together and the angle of the bottle formed the circle. I applied the hot glue to the bottom inch or so of the bottle face. The tops don't touch real well due to the caps. Once it is all glued together, simply wrap a ribbon around and hang. NOTE: Since making this and it was hung in our window some of the hot glue sections did not hold. Not sure why. So I have repaired them using E6000 glue with better results. I probably should make a disclaimer. I know some medicines should not be touched by anyone but the person taking them. So, be informed of what was in the bottles before proceeding to be certain. Also, I wouldn't allow children to handle the bottles. Wash your hands when done. If you have any concerns, ask your pharmacist.