Day 9 of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Today is the easiest project of all! It is a 12 Days of Christmas paper chain. All you need is some Christmas paper, or red and green construction paper, and some ideas for activities for the family to do. Now I know that I had activities on the Advent Calendar cards, but not everyone will make an Advent calendar, and a lot of you already have one. So here's another way to spend time with the family, and you get to choose the activities! You will need 12 pieces of paper, 8"x1". Write an activity on the back of each strip of paper and then staple them together into a chain. Hang the chain somewhere where all the family can see it, and every morning, tear off a link and do the activity for the day. Or you could tear it off at night and know what you are doing the next day. Either way is good.

Let your children help you choose the activities to write on the links. You may be surprised at what they come up with! This paper chain is also part of my 6 Sundays of Christmas that I'm doing in Relief Society. They will get it this Sunday so they can start it on Tuesday.

One of my activities is to take a gift to the neighbors. Here are ten suggestions for neighbor gifts that are more fun than expensive.

1. Attach a tag to a jar of homemade salsa that says, "Add a little spice to your holidays!"

2. Attach a tag to a measuring cup filled with goodies that says, "Wishing you joy beyond measure this holiday season."

3. Fill a jar with Hershey's Hug and Kisses and add a label that says, "Here are hugs and kisses for you and your family this holiday season."

4. Tie a bag of microwave popcorn to a 2-liter bottle of Sprite and attach a tag that says, "Just Poppin' in to wish you holidays that are Merry and Sprite!

5. Put a tag that says, "Hope you have a pasta-tively wonderful Christmas!" to a bag of specialty pasta.

6. Buy a roll of cookie dough and put a label on it that says, "Here's some extra dough for Christmas!"

7. Put some Hershey's kisses in a wire whisk and wrap it in cellophane with a pretty bow on it, and attach a tag that says, "We whisk you a Merry Kiss-mas!"

8. Wrap up a block of cheese and a grater and attach a tag that says, "Thank you for being such GRATE neighbors!"

9.  Attach a tag that says,"Have a "souper" holiday season!" to a bag of soup mix.

10. Give a bag of oranges with a tag that says, "Orange you glad we're friends? I sure am! Merry Christmas".

If you Google neighbor gifts, you will get hundreds of ideas. And remember.........your neighbors are your goldmine, and you are theirs. Sy Wise said, "Very few burdens are heavy if everyone lifts." If you help lift your neighbors, they will return the favor. Until tomorrow,

Day 8 of the Twelve Days of Christmas

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.......eight paper holly! Actually a lot more than 8! This wreath is populated by probably a hundred or more paper holly leaves, but it's really simple to make. Find an old book. As you know, I like things made from old books. I used a book by T.G. Wodehouse and I think it was probably a book club edition, because the pages are not very sturdy. I didn't think about that when picking the book, but I'm telling you that you should. I will probably make this over again and use pages from a big book with heavy pages, maybe even glossy. Another consideration is the content. If you hang your wreath, say, on the front door, as people are waiting for you to answer the door they could be reading your wreath, so you probably want suitable content.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's get started. First, you need a wreath base. We have neighbors with grapevines, and some of them were growing over the fence on our side. The season is past now, and the grapes are and the vines are dry, so I cut the ones hanging on our side and wove them into a wreath. Then I made sure to fasten a loop of ribbon for a hanger before I started gluing leaves to it.

Pull some pages from your book by cutting next to the spine with an X-acto knife. Or if they will tear out nicely, you can do that, too. Make yourself a pattern for a holly leaf. Mine is about 4" long, but it could be smaller. I wouldn't go too much larger, though, because then you really have the "flop" problem. (Not enough body in the page to keep it from flopping.) You will need quite a few of these, but you can always cut more as you go.

Fold the leaves down the middle. Now you have to decide of you want you wreath to stay white, or if you want to add some color. I chose to add color, and here's how I figured out to do that. I took one of those little spray bottles you can get in the travel size section of Health and Beauty at Wal*Mart. I filled it about halfway with water and added a little green paint. Shake it up well, lay out your leaves on newspaper, and spritz them with the green paint-water. I also happened to have an old can of green glitter paint, and I used a little of that, too. I wasn't too careful as I spritzed because I didn't want them to be solid green, just lightly colored an uneven green.

Now, start gluing your leaves to your wreath base. Glue the first layer pointing out, and the next layer pointing in. Then fill up the spaces and make the wreath as full or not full as you want. Holly, when it grows, all goes the same way on the stems, so making all your leaves go in the same direction is natural looking, but you can add a few going the opposite way, too.

Finish it off with a nice bow, and I added a sprig of real pine and some pom-pom berries, although I'm not sure I like the berries. I also added a few leaves that had not been painted to give it a little depth. That's all there is to it! It is a very light-weight wreath, so it can be hung anywhere, even from an old curtain rod bracket.

Well, there it is. A nice wreath that's easy to make. Even the kids can make on of these. I think when I make another one, I will use buttons instead of pom-poms, though. And I might keep them more demure by using white ones instead of red. We'll see. Experimentation is the name of the game.

I want to leave you with a story that a good friend sent me.

A woman was Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of walking down row after row of toys and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the store elevator with her two children in hand.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year; the pressure of getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, tasting all the holiday food and treats, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally, the elevator doors opened, revealing a crowd in the elevator. She pushed her way in and dragged her children and all her bags of stuff in with her. As the doors closed, she couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot." From the back of the elevator car, a quiet, calm voice responded, "Don't worry. We've already crucified him."

The rest of the trip down was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop.

This year, don't forget who started this whole "Christmas thing" and keep Him in your every thought and deed, purchase and word. If we all did this, just imagine the difference it would make in the world.  Until tomorrow,

Day 7 of the Twelve Days of Christmas

We're on Day 7! and today's project is a cute button wreath. They are really easy to make, with just a few supplies and a few tips to make it easier for you. And kids love to make these, too. So, let's start with a big container of buttons and some thin, malleable wire. I use those little spools of colored wire that you can get in the jewelry/craft department.

Pour the buttons into a bowl or tray so they are easier to sort through. Cut a piece of wire about 16" long and pick out 20-25 buttons that you like for your wreath. Lay them out in the order you want to string them and all need to be facing up. Start by taking one button and putting the wire from the back to the front in one hole and back down from front to back in the other hole. Slide the button down to the other end of the wire, leaving about 4" of wire at the end. The next button will be the opposite. Put the wire from front to back and then back to front. Slide it over under the edge of the first button. The next one will be the same as the first........back to front and front to back, and slide it over under the edge of the 2nd button. Continue this way until all the buttons are wired except the last one.

You need to end up on a button that is on the top layer. For the last button, you will use both ends of the wire, taking the end of one wire and putting it down one hole of the last button, and taking the other end of the wire and putting it down the other hole. Then twist them together tightly, and use what's left to make a loop to hang the wreath. Glue a little bow to the top and you're done! You can see in the photo above that I put an extra little red button in strategic places on this one to represent berries. In the first photo, you can see that we used some ceramic Christmas light buttons for decoration. It's fun to use buttons that are unexpected. And it's a cute way to showcase some of your cool buttons, too.

Have fun and make a ton. They are great package toppers, too. Remember......"You got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." Yogi Bear.  Keep your eyes on the road and meet me back here tomorrow,

Day 6 of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Day 6 is a merry day! I love, love, love today's project!!! And they are so simple to make. I call them my Joy Blocks, which is not very original, I know, but it fits and it's easy to remember.

You start with 4 2x4's in these sizes: 3", 4", 5", and 6". Sand them until they are smooth and paint them as shown. The 3" and 4" blocks are white, the 5" is red and the 6" is green. Put on at least two coats, letting them dry in between coats. Spray them with acrylic spray and then antique them with some wood stain if you want. Let them dry until the stain is absolutely dry, or it will stain your paper, too. Cut some scraps of Christmas paper to go on the edges, and decoupage it on. I used green paper on the red block and red paper on the green block. I didn't do the edges of the white blocks. I did the front of the 4" block, and then tied a ribbon around the 3" block so it looks like a package.  Let it dry thoroughly and then sand the edges a little or a lot, depending on how you want it to look. I only sanded mine until the edges of the paper were smooth. I didn't want the primitive look on these, so I didn't sand down to the wood, but you could, if that's the look you want. Then I spattered the red and green blocks with white paint, and the white 3" block with red and green paint.

The plastic candy cane I used for the J was too long, so I cut it off and then used the barbecue lighter to melt it a little bit and round the edges. I tied a silver bow at the top to form the cross bar.

The O wreath is another of the photo rings like I used on day 3. I covered it with gold ribbon and put a pine sprig and some berries on it. On the 3" block, paint the words, "to the world". You can use fancy script, or vinyl letters, or whatever you like, then tie a wide ribbon around it to make it into a package.

The Y is a button snowman with his arms raised to form the Y. Only I didn't use just buttons. I used one button and two glass bubbles. I put white felt on the back of the glass bubbles, and then I used fabric paint to paint little buttons, a coal mouth, eyes and a carrot nose. I went outside and found a couple of little sticks that I trimmed to the size I needed, cut some felt into a hat and scarf, and glued them to the snowman. I glued a little pom-pom to the hat.

I think I'll have to make a few more sets of these to give as gifts. I think they turned out really cute. Make yourself a batch and have some fun!

We're half way through the twelve days! I hope you will join me tomorrow for the next project. It's a fast and easy one that your kids will like, too. Until then, remember....when you think all is lost, the future remains. See ya tomorrow!

                                

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesday at  http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Rook No. 17 A Little Birdie Told Me...No. 48 at  http://www.rookno17.com/2011/11/3-charming-holiday-crafts-little-birdie.html
Motivate Me Monday #100 at Keeping It Simple
Christmas Cheer Link Party at Hi Sugarplum
Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative

Day 5 of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Happy \Day 5! A while back I had a Friday Friends! post which featured a cute little cupcake stand from 9 to 5. I loved it so much that I wanted one of my own, but I wanted to be able to change it for the seasons or the reasons for using it. So I came up with this idea.

Go to the dollar store and look at all the glasses, goblets and plates and pick out what you like. Bring them home and wash them really well. I found some glass baubles for floral displays in clear and two colors of blue, and filled the goblet, but you could use just about anything. I think small colored Christmas balls would look really good. Take some white floral clay and roll it into a skinny snake and put it around the rim of the goblet. Floral clay is used to hold floral frogs and styrofoam in vases and bowls of water, so it is water proof and really sticky. Don't make your snake too big, because when you press the plate onto the goblet, which you will do now, it will spread, and you don't want it to get too wide and ugly.

(My clay looks lumpy because I forgot to take a picture before I put the plate on and I had to pull it back off). Now, press your plate onto your goblet or glass, being careful to center it the best you can. Press pretty hard so that the clay will adhere well and evenly.

It looks pretty nice, and the clay doesn't look out of place or anything. Now all you have to do is fill it up! Then, for the next holiday or event, you can take it apart and fill the goblet with something new and put the plate back on. You can wash it without it coming apart, but don't put it in the dishwasher. It won't hold up to that.

A large doily or several small ones make it look very nice.  I think it will be fun to see what I can come up with to put in the goblet, and you could make it with more than one tier, too! Use glass candle holders for the supports. You could also turn a small bowl upside down to use as your base, then put a plate, a candle holder and another plate. Be creative! I'll bet you can come up with lots of cute ideas.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and it seems to get the creative juices flowing for me. I hope it does for you, too. It also gets me thinking about family and friends that I haven't seen for a while and the new friends I've made this year. As Henry David Thoreau said, "The language of friendship is not words, but meanings," and I mean it when I say,  I count you all as my friends, and hope you count me as one, too. Until tomorrow,

Day 4 of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Day Four is another recycled craft. I call it the Jingle Chime and it's made from a recycled 2 or 2 1/2 litre soda bottle. Mine is a 2 1/2 litre because that's what I can get at the dollar store. If you get a green bottle, you already have a head start on Christmas colors. Cut the bottle in half and you're going to use the bottom half. Set the bottle bottom on what I call its feet. There are five of them with an arch in between them. Stand a ruler up next to it and make a mark at 3" up at every "foot" of the bottle and at 4" up at every arch. Draw scallops using those marks. Cut the scallops with scissors. (I used my kitchen shears.)

Now you either need to punch holes or drill them, one in each foot and one in the center. I used my Silent Setter for the holes in the feet, but the one in the center is harder, because it doesn't sit flat on the table, so I had to drill that one.

Sorry the pic is so blurry. I circled the holes so you could see them. There's one more
at the top that's out of the photo. I forgot to circle the middle one, but you can see it pretty plainly.

Now you need your supplies. Hot glue gun and glue sticks, jute, twine, or cord, bells, ribbon and decorations. I also used a round coaster for the clapper.

Start by making your hanger. Cut five pieces of just 10" long. String the jute through the holes, making knots on the inside that are big enough that they won't pull through the holes Put all the pieces together, make a loop and tie them in an overhand knot. Trim your ends even with the knot. Now is the easiest time to put the jute through the middle hole, too, so you're going to make the clapper next. Cover both sides of the coaster with Christmas cards, wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, whatever you like. I used two antique Christmas cards. Punch a hole in the top and bottom edges of the coaster. (I used my Crop-a-Dial because it punches easily through thick stuff.) Cut a piece of jute about 16-18" long and put it through the hole in the top of the coaster. Put both ends up through the hole in the middle of the bottle and tie them in a large knot. Now you can decorate it.

I decorated the top with greenery and a poinsettia, Then I decided it needed something on the inside to make it look more finished, so I glued some pine cones and a little greenery up in there, and I think it looks much better. Now it's time to string the bells. Use a paper punch to punch a hole in each scallop. Measure from the holes to the bottom of the clapper and double that measurement. Cut six pieces of jute this length. String a bell onto a piece of jute, put the jute through a hole, and tie the two ends together. Do this for all five holes. Your sixth bell and piece of jute get tied to the bottom of the clapper. Tie ribbon bows at the knots to make them look cute and add a little color. You now have an easy and cute Jingle Chime, and you will be able to hear jingle bells any time. I hung mine on the front porch so the wind will catch the clapper. It looks nice there.

The finished product hanging on my porch.

Close-up of the other side of the clapper.

 That's it for Day 4. Make some of these with your kids. They might need a little help, but they will love making them. You can use regular jingle bells, and I suppose you could use 1 litre bottles, too. These would make cute teacher gifts and you wouldn't have to spend an arm and a leg! I don't know about you, but things are really tight for us this year, so I am having to be very cost-conscious. Oprah said, "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." I am truly grateful for what I DO have. See you tomorrow,

Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas

Today I have an ornament for your tree, or even better, for grandma's tree. These photo ornaments are a recycled craft. They are made with the plastic rings that come out of the end of rolls of photographic paper used in 1-hour photo machines. I get mine at Wal*Mart, but you can probably get them at any photo processing place. Just go in and ask them to save them for you. Please remember to go get them, though, or they won't do it again.

You will need between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 yards of ribbon, depending on the width of the ribbon. Narrower ribbon takes more and wider ribbon takes less. Using hot glue and a hot glue gun, glue one end of the ribbon to the plastic ring. Then start wrapping the ribbon around the ring, overlapping each wrap a little. Continue wrapping until you have covered the whole ring, then trim the ribbon and glue it down.

Cut another piece of ribbon about 5" long and glue it to the back as a hanging loop. Now decorate the ring. I have lots of photos of ideas for you. Some of them are the original ornaments I made in 2001, and some are this year's batch, which have no pictures in them yet. All that's left is cut and glue your photos on the back and cover them with cardstock or felt, or something to finish the back. On some of mine you will see snowflakes, stars, ribbon, holly......lots of different things to add to the detail of the ornament.



This is this year's batrch. I just have to print the photos now, and I can finish them. I've always had a problem knowing how to store them to keep them from getting banged up, but I think I just figured it out! I will cover the chocolate milk canister with some pretty Christmas paper and cut circles of plain white cardstock to go in-between the ornaments. I definitely need another one, though, don't I?

Well, that's day number two. I hope you will go right out to your 1-hour photo and ask for those photo rings! This is also something the kids could do, with your help on the glue gun. Have fun, and  keep the home fires burning. See you tomorrow,

Friday Friends!

You get a double whammy today! Friday Friends! and Day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas. Goody, goody. Our first Friday Friend this week is Crystal over at Little Bit Funky. I was looking for hand print art for kids and found these adorable ornaments. My interest was piqued at the description of hand print snowmen. I wondered how the heck you could make a snowman from a hand print, and boy, was I impressed. They are so cute, and there are so many great ideas on her blog. Lots of links to other great ideas, too. Go take a look at  http://www.littlebitfunky.com/2010/12/make-these-now-handprint-snowman.html .

Next up are Jeanine and Amy from Serving Pink Lemonade. They have a fantastic site and some awesome kid's craft ideas. I'm always on the lookout for good ideas for kids, and they are worth looking at. They also do some really nice adult stuff, too, and that's what caught my eye this week. A Christmas printable for free! Go to

http://servingpinklemonade.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-word-art.html and print one for yourself, and maybe a few for gifts!

Last but not least for today is Robin Gallagher at Robin's Quilts, Etc. She has her fingers in a lot of pies, including quilting retreats and selvaging. Yep, I said selvaging. Anyway, what I chose for you today is her Snippets and Thread Catcher tutorial. This little catcher is so pretty, almost too cute to use for a trash can! And it folds up to take with you anywhere. So go over and take a look at how easy it is to make.  http://robingallagher.blogspot.com/2011/11/snippets-and-threads.html 

And if you are curious about selvaging, go to the selvage blog and check it out. Be sure to look at the side bar, too.

Well that's it for today on Friday Friends, but don't forget to check out the 12 Days of Christmas, too. I have been insane trying to keep up with everything, but as Thomas Edison said, "If we did all the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves", and I haven't reached that point yet. Until next time,