Feeling a bit Festive...

Hi There!

With Thanksgiving behind us, I thought it would be okay to share a few projects I've been working on this past week or so to help get things in the festive holiday spirit. I haven't pulled out any decorations or anything. I've just been inspired by some crafts I've seen on various blogs and in the craft stores.

Remember that pumpkin I cut in half and stuck in an open frame? Well, I discovered that ProvoCraft put out a seasonal cartridge called Winter Lace and it is just snowflakes! I lurve it and had to have it (on sale)! I took the idea and cut out two of the flakes. I glittered them, folded one and stuck them together. Although the cartridge has some cuts with a slit in them to make 3-D snowflakes, I chose not to do this for my project. I found this bare wood frame at the Dollar Tree. I might be painting it, or I might now as I kind of like the look of it plain bare.

And I knew I wanted to do a word in frames for the winter, so I did! Originally I was just going to use the same frames, but I found these at the Dollar Tree and really liked the idea of using silver instead of the gold. Kind of fits a winter them better, don't you think?

The papers on these two projects is from Martha Stewart. The letters are paper from DCWV and I used the Storybook cartridge again for the letters. What can I say? I love those letters! The paper, although it doesn't come across in the photo, is shimmery!

When I was roaming Joann's the other day, I came across an ornament that was basically pom-poms glued all over a ball. I really liked the look and how easy peasy. I've been trying to think of a ball design for the holiday (that I've had on my coffee table for the past several months) and thought this idea would work. I didn't like the pom-poms they had left at Joann's so I stopped at Hobby Lobby and found these sparkly ones on sale. I broke open the packages and just had fun hot gluing the pom poms. The look is a bit different than the one I saw in the store, but I like that it's eclectic (a fun way to say weird, right). And yes, I'll be changing the ribbon, I was just eager to share. It actually looks better in person than this photo shows.

On the blogs (and in the craft stores) I've been seeing ribbon covered cones and wanted to try my hand at it. I picked up the cones from the Dollar Tree and the ribbon from Hobby Lobby and Michaels. I found some thread spools and finials there, too. I painted the spool a Barn Red and so far have left the finial bare. I'm not sure just what color would be best actually. Here's a link to one of the projects that inspired me for the first tree. I was actually going to make the ruffle like she did, but found this wire ribbon at Michaels. Only, at first I didn't realize it was wired. I just liked the print. I was going to gather one edge on the sewing machine, but this was easier I think. I just crimped one edge and hot glued it to the styrofoam. I was working on this on Thanksgiving morning, actually. I'm thinking of adding the hemp and a bell to it. This is the partially finished project as those wood pieces aren't glued on yet.

This next tree was a bit of an exercise in patience, but I am thrilled with how it turned out. I started this one first earlier in the week. The ribbon was on sale at Hobby Lobby for a dollar a spool. I really like the gingham look, so those were a no brainer, but I wanted a third "color" and hit the jackpot, I think when I found the twill ribbon for the same price. I used just about a complete roll each of the gingham colors and a full roll, plus a little bit of a second roll of the twill. Each roll has 5 yards on it.

The patience came in from having to cut the bits of ribbon into two inch pieces, folding them and pinning them onto the cone. I thought about hot gluing, but figured I'd end up with too many glue strands. FYI, if you need straight pins, head to Wal Mart as a box of them is only $1.67 as opposed to over $3 at the craft stores! I needed a little patience for Jessica who really wanted to help pin the ribbon. I was happy to have her help, but the tv was on in the living room where I was working and, well, sometimes she'd stop to watch it. I'd have to get her attention to keep pinning. She was so proud to help me and said it was a lot of fun. So some extra love went into this project.

And finally, after seeing this post, I was inspired to create yet another tree:

How fun! It's just white glue and glitter, but what a sparkly look! I might need to find a fancier stand for this one. Hee, hee.

And that's what I've been doing lately. I have another idea I'm working on based on something I saw at Joann's. If I get it completed, I'll share.

My dad arrives this afternoon for his visit. He'll be here until Friday morning, so I probably won't have much crafty time this week. Just to let you know what's going on if I'm not posting much this next week.

Hope you have a great Sunday!