Yesterday, I was really in a crafting mood. Here are just some of the projects I worked on yesterday! I'll do full reports on several of the bigger projects, but here's a sneak peek!
Jeweled Ornament-
This is easy to do, however, the glitter does not dry very fast, and in order to handle it easily, it could be broken up into 2 days worth of projects, which is excessive for the simplicity of the ornament. When left wet at an up & down angle, though, the drips kept going. If they were sideways, the gems started to smear off to the side. Not sure if we'll do this craft with the kids or not!
Every year, I make the kids new winter hats. They are fun, and easy to make, and the kids love them. This is my first one this year, which I made for my youngest using light blue fleece, and blue, purple, and white patterened fleece quilt blocks. These were from a quilt package I picked up years ago, and never got very far with. I've been using the blocks for scarves, pillows, and now, hats. I cut the seams all the way around, which turned out cute, I think!
My friend Karen really liked the wreaths I've made, so she requested one. I was hoping to find purple for her, but Dollar Tree was out of purple, and Walmart didn't carry any. I did find purple late last night at Meijers, but at double the cost! 24 ornaments for $10! Not happening, too expensive! She settled on the ice blue & silver, wintery combo.
I picked up these light bulbs at Goodwill- a 4 pack for $.59. I got 2 packs of red, and 1 pack of green. These ornaments were super easy, and I'm glad I went with the larger light bulbs, as the eyes used were the smallest ones I had, and fit just right.
I posted this project yesterday, but since it's one I did during the day, I thought I would add it to my accomplishments for the day!
Last night, I did this shrug made from a t-shirt. This was my second try at it. My first try was a disaster. I will say this- do NOT use one of those form fitting, super stretchy shirts, because they do not come out good. This was a baggy v-neck shirt, and I love how it came out!
I followed the tutorial here.
Last week, I found a brand new, plain red felt tree skirt for $2.99 at Goodwill, and picked it up. I considered doing some applique work on it. My next stop after Goodwill, though, was Dollar Tree, where I found 2-count packs of large felt Christmas Trees in green & red. They also had large ornaments, which I liked, but came in red & white. I'd have to use 6 packs of those instead of 3 packs of the trees. All I did was count out the spaces (24 scallops, 6 objects- 1 object every 4 scallops), and hot glue them into place. I have a nice, unique tree skirt, and I only spent $6 total!
And, that is what kept my busy yesterday!
Today, I stopped into Dollar Tree (I believe I should buy stock, as much as I am in there lately!), and spent some time just looking around and trying to think up new things to do. I haven't been posting as often lately, because most of the things I am working on are things I have already posted about.
While in the craft aisle, I found some hurricane type vases, nice and petite, and started immediatly thinking that if I could find a candle holder that would sit on top, I could fill it with something. I grabbed one, and headed towards the candle section.
I did not find a clear one, like I was hoping, but I did find some brightly colored ones with wide lips, and it was the perfect size! It sat right in the mouth of the vase perfectly! They have red, yellow, green, and blue. After thinking for a few minutes, I grabbed the green. They were pre-filled with candles.
I briefly considered adding decorative stones or marbles to the bottom, but worried that if it got knocked around, it would break easier with something heavy in it. As I was wandering, the curling ribbon bows caught my eye, but they are pricey when I can buy $1 worth of ribbon, and have enough curls for 8 of those bows. There was a pack with metallic silver, gold, red, blue, and green curling ribbon for $1, so I settled on that.
Dollar Store Christmas Candle
You'll Need:
1 Hurricane Vase
1 Candle that will sit easily in the mouth of the vase
1 filler- Curling ribbon, bells, marbles, fabric ribbons, beads, etc
Glue Gun
Decorative ribbon
Clean all the tags off the vase & candle holder. I resorted to goo gone to get them clean.- Curl several lengths of ribbon, in assorted colors. Obviously if you chose something else, you can skip this. ;)
- Fill the vase with the object you chose. With the curling ribbon, I filled the vase to the very top, because it still squished down. I also added a few jingle bells, but they were too small to see.
- Use hot glue to attach the candle to the vase. If you would like, you can skip this step, so that you can change out the items in the vase depending on the season or holiday.
- I noticed that the glue was visible, so I used a length of skinny gold metallic ribbon to wind around the mouth of the vase. I added a bow to it, and voila!
Total Costs:
Vase- $1 (or more, if you shop elsewhere)
Candle Holder- $1 (though, I think Walmart used to carry empty, clear candle holders for $.50 that would have fit as well)
Candle (if the holder came empty)- $.25
Filler- $1, give or take, depending on your choice. I have a LOT of ribbon left over, so if you make several of these, the price would go down. I could easily make 2-3 more on the ribbon I have left.
And, that is what kept my busy yesterday!
