DIY: Pumpkins From PaperBack Books!

"A Thrifty Mom" has an AMAZING tutorial that we cannot wait to get our own hands crafting on.  Fun, easy, good for kids, cheap (if not free)...what is not to love?  Go to her site for the full tutorial, but here is a sneak peek of her fantastical craftiness.

We can just see these on a work desk to show our love of the holiday without getting HR called on us for any rule breaking of policies!  ; )

It's Autumn!! Let's Craft to Celebrate!

Sorry I have been MIA for a few months.  We moved across the country and it's been a tad hectic!  On that note - today's post is a nod to the coming of AUTUMN!  I absolutely love this time of year.  The warmth of colors and the depth of beauty in the changing of the leaves and the way the cool breeze starts to calm the hot summer nights...breathtaking!

This craft idea comes from the amazing creators of Midwest Living and it's all about making decorations for the autumn holiday.  They have 32 awesome ideas that are easy and cheap to do!

This is our favorite of the bunch - ghostly gourds!  How adorable are these guys???  Great for the little ones, too!

Grab some fun looking gourds from the grocery store, some white and black paint, and perhaps some twine for hanging these bad boys (or set them on your mantel - no twine required)!

You have the idea - so go and do!  Send me pics of your ghostly adventures!  I plan to do this tutorial on my YouTube channel, so if you want to watch head on over that way here in the next week or so and the video should be up and running.

DIY: Ribbon Christmas Trees

Whipper Berry has kept it simple, but stunning!  We love her tutorial on making these great ribbon trees!  We can totally see these being a year round home decor project.

Instead of folding the ribbon in half (picture on left), I looped it around (picture on right).

             

First I spray painted my Paper Mache cones black. Then I cut black and white stitched grosgrain ribbon into pieces ranging from 2.5 –4 inches. I started with the longer pieces at the bottom. After looping the ribbon, I secured each piece with hot glue, and finished row by row, shortening the ribbon lengths as I got higher.

On one tree I alternated colors every row, and on the other I alternated each piece.

I finished the top with a bit more ribbon wrapped around the tip.

Now I have two beautiful trees that go perfectly with my new décor!

DIY: Ornament Party!

So, now that we have done several DIY Ornament Tutorials, you can have an Ornament Party!  We can't wait to get together with friends and sit at the table and make ornaments!  Ring in the holidays with your own craft party.

Here is a the link to all of these fantastic DIY Ornaments below - and be sure to check out all of our DIY ornaments from earlier this month!  We will definitely be doing more, but this should be more than enough inspiration to get you moving in the holiday direction.

DIY: Crocheted Christmas Baubles

Getting back on track with sharing ornament DIYs for the fast approaching holiday season - here is a great crochet ornament tutorial from Meet Me at Mike's blog!  These are just adorable and we think they'll be the perfect ornament for our tree since they will be cat shatter proof!

DIY: Miniature Lantern Ornaments

The Crafty Crow's blog has a ton of great ornament DIYs - especially ones that are kid friendly to make for the holidays!  You will definitely want to start saving those left over toilet paper rolls so that you can craft these up!

These little lanterns are about 2" tall and are made 
from a toilet paper tube. You can make two lanterns from
each tube. They are adorable individually and hung as
a group for a garland. You can also forgo the hanger
and pop one over a light on your tree to
see it really glow!*

Supplies:
toilet paper tube
pencil
scissors
acrylic paint
paint brush
glue
wire for hanging (optional)

Directions:


#1 cut the tp tube open vertically

#2 cut the tube in half horizontally

#3 cut 2" off so you are left with... #4

#5 paint the inside yellow if you want the lantern
to look like it's glowing from the inside and use
the color of your choice for the outside; let dry

#6 fold in half horizontally, then make small,
evenly spaced cuts beginning on the fold to
¼" from the open edge

#7 glue the lantern closed; squash down a
bit to shape

For the handle I used #20 floral wire, shaped the
rounded part around the barrel of a marker, then flipped
up each end to hook through the slots of the lantern.

*Use caution, tree lights can get very hot!

DIY: Balloon and String Ornaments

Staying with our ornament theme - here is a great DIY ornament from just string and balloons!  Holidash has more great DIYs so check them out!

Credit: Alison Czarnecki

My favorite homemade ornaments are made with balloons and string; they evoke a bit of yesteryear charm and they certainly won't break the bank.

Credit: Allison Czarnecki

Supplies

white string
Elmer's glue
glitter
pack of small deflated balloons
ribbon (to hang finished ornament)
wax paper and safety pin

Take your basic package of balloons (you don't want weird shapes here, unless you want weird shaped ornaments)and blow them up to around the size of your palm. Set these off to the side and don't let any small children or animals have them; they're not just hazardous, they make obnoxious toys.

Now measure around the width and the length of the balloons with your string to see what lengths you need to cut to fully cover the balloon. I recommend cutting a little longer than you think you'll need. Once you have a whole slew of string cut, you're ready to mix your glue.

Credit: Allison Czarnecki

Mix together two parts water to one part glue in a bowl until completely combined. Use warm water or your glue will harden when you mix. Now add in your glitter. The glitter will get really diluted with the glue and barely show up, so if you want a lot, now's the time to get crazy with your glitter.

Once your glue and glitter are all mixed up it's time to start dipping! Get excited.

Credit: Allison Czarnecki

Soak one string at a time in the glue mixture. Let the string get completely soaked with glue before removing.

Lay the string carefully across the balloon, making sure it meets the other end of the string on the opposite side. Pinch the two ends of the string together, set the balloon down on your waxed paper, and repeat with string #2.

Credit: Allison Czarnecki

Repeat this until your balloon is completely covered in glued strings. Make sure your pattern doesn't all go one way or another or it will all slide off when the strings dry. I might have done the hard investigative work for you on that one. AHEM.

Once your balloon is all glued up to your satisfaction, set it the waxed paper and let it dry for 24 hours. Do this to as many balloons as you want for ornaments. Go really crazy here, these are cheap.

When your balloons are dry, it's time to pop your balloons. You're going to pull these out of the balloon (very, very carefully) so no one knows they were even there. It'll be our little secret.

Tie on a ribbon to hang the ornament, and you're done. So cute and easy.

DIY: Upcycled Felted Sweater Ornaments

We may explode from the excitement brought on by this tutorial from Alphamom's blog.  It's Christmas themed, it's upcycling, and it's easy!  The trifecta.

It’s all about doing more with less this holiday season. So deck the halls with these miniature wreath ornaments made from cast-off wool sweaters. Felted sweaters are a thrifty and eco-friendly way to use recycled materials. Your old moth-eaten or thrifted sweaters can be made into plush toys, mittens, patchwork blankets, skirts, purses, scarves, laptop covers or anything else that you can imagine. The possibilities are endless. To felt a sweater, you must wash it in hot water and run it through the dryer. Keep in mind that your sweaters must be 100% wool in order to felt properly.


I used tapestry needles for this project because they are easy for young kids to handle and have a blunt tip. You could make these ornaments as large as you want, but if you get any bigger than 5″ in diameter you might need to use wire to keep the circular shape.
Supplies:
· Felted sweaters
· Tapestry needle
· Heavy-duty coated cotton thread
· Twine or ribbon
Instructions:
Once felted, you’ll need to cut your sweaters into 1″ squares. Older kids can do this, but I find that my young kids are frustrated when trying to cut any type of fabric. After I cut the sweaters, I put the squares in a bowl for the kids and let them choose their colors. You’ll need about 50 squares for each ornament. This may seem like a lot but once you get going, it moves along quickly.

Then cut a length of thread at least 30″ long. Thread the needle and tie the ends of the thread into a knot, forming a loop. You’ll want to make a couple of knots so that it won’t slip through the loose fibers of the sweater. Older children can practice their knot tying skills. I have found that a loop is easier for children to sew with as the needle won’t come un-threaded.
The kids can string the felt pieces by simply poking the needle through the center of each square. Once the thread is close to full (with a few inches on either end), you’ll want to make sure that it will form a nice loop. You can see that my kids ran out of patience on a couple of these. Then you can pull your knot down a bit to make room to tie the two ends together a couple of times. An adult or older child will need to do this as the thread needs to be pulled tightly. Then add some twine or ribbon for hanging and you’re done.



When crafting with younger kids, it’s essential to have all of your supplies prepared and ready to go. My four-year-old stayed focused on this project for about 15 minutes, which was long enough to make one full ornament. My older daughter (almost six) made four of them! I think these little ornaments would make great teacher or neighbor gifts. Remember that these are made of wool, so be sure to store them in an airtight container to keep the moths away.

DIY: Yarn and Candy Cane Ornaments

Hostess with the Mostest is our featured DIY Ornament tutorial for today!  We love how fun these candy cane and yarn ornaments look.  They seem super easy also, which is a bonus.

Ready for some super easy holiday DIY? These cute Yarn & Candy Cane Ornaments are a breeze to whip up!
This was a happy accident that occurred when I was trying to figure out how to make regular yarn ball flowers look more “holiday-ish” for a Christmas table centerpiece. I’m still planning to make some sort of “bouquet” from these, but am also loving how they look on the their own – either as hanging ornaments or just as “sitting” decor for the table or tree!


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YARN & CANDY CANE ORNAMENTS
You’ll Need:
- 2″ styrofoam balls
- yarn in your favorite colors
- mini candy canes
- hot glue gun
Directions:
1. Insert 5 mini candy canes in a circle around the ball. Try to space them out somewhat evenly, but it doesn’t need to be perfect!
2. One at a time, remove each candy cane from it’s styrofoam hole, add a little hot glue to the hole, then stick the candy cane back in… this will ensure that the candy canes stay put.
3. Start wrapping yarn randomly around the ball, weaving in between the candy canes until the entire ball is covered. Trim the yarn and secure the end with a small dab of hot glue.
That’s it! Add a ribbon loop if you want to use these as hanging ornaments. You can also try this idea with regular sized candy canes and 4″ styrofoam balls to create GIANT ornaments!
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