OMG I Knitted!

I’ve always admire knitters, it is amazing the things they make, not to mention the patience and dedication they put into their work. I didn’t grow up around any knitters and know as an adult I really don’t have the patience or time to learn, or so I thought! I kept seen on Pinterest on “How to Knit a Scarf in 30 minutes even if you are an Amateur”, it seemed interesting but I was skeptical, would this be one of those “Good Ideas, Bad Ideas?” …I dismissed it for a while but desperate times called for desperate measures! You see I have this tendency (or need) to learn a new skill when ever life gets overwhelming, its my way of pulling away and letting my mind breath. With constant house showings during Jaden’s nap time and not knowing what comes next, I took the challenge to learn how to knit. You might be wondering when would I find the time to learn?! Well, that’s the miracle behind a toddlers 1 to 2 hours nap!

Like everything else, there are tons of tutorials out there, but everybody learns and teaches differently and sometimes finding the right tutorial can be a buzz kill on it’s own. I’ll share with you what I found.

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Arm Knitting

The majority of the tutorials out there claim that you can get this done in 30 minutes to one hour, the truth is: if you’ve done it before -yes-, but if you are a newbie: no way! It took me a couple of “naps” just to figure out the technique let alone start the project, but once I figured it out it became extremely easy since it’s a repetitive process. It’s actually fun and pretty cool I must say! At one point I even considered making scarfs for everybody for Christmas! …I quickly woke up from that day dream though!

Out of all the DIY tutorials, this Video Tutorial was actually the most helpful, specially when she switches perspective and you can see it as if you were the one doing it.

They all recommend that when arm knitting you should use bulky yarn (that’s why it looks so full and nice), living in South Florida I really have no use for a thick woolly scarf, so I decided to try it with a more thinner “fresher looking” yarn. I honestly know nothing when it comes to yarn, I just bought based on touch/feel and price.

I’ll admit it looks different from the bulky infinity scarfs but it is something I can wear in Florida and I can proudly say I knitted it in about three hours! (Thanks to a good nap and The Wiggles!)

byLisandra

If you are interested there are other things you can do with arm knitting; like blankets and shawls, check out this Site for more Free Patterns!

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Finger Knitting

The one thing that attracted me to this technique was the fact that almost all tutorials show kids of all ages doing it. It seems it is a common craft for children, though I’ll admit I’ve never heard of it before. I literally learned how to do this in about 30 minutes, I was so happy with my quick progress and speed that it wasn’t until I was half way through knitting my rope that I started to wonder: “what am I suppose to do with this?!”

I stopped and went straight to Pinterest looking for clues as to what to do with my rope. I couldn’t find many projects related to this, I considered making it into a bowl (we will be doing this on a later post) but I was afraid it wouldn’t survived the whole moving process once we sell the house (yeap, still working on that!). I really didn’t want to make another scarf but I couldn’t think of anything else. I used this other Tutorial to make the rope into a scarf (it’s pretty much the same process as with arm knitting) minus the pompoms!

Here is my finished product! I love how delicate it looks, it’s extremely soft and surprisingly not hot like most knitted scarfs, it’s perfect for Florida weather!

You can also make a vintage looking necklace out of the rope, I’ll be doing this next time!

The yarn you choose has a lot to do with how delicate or ordinary your final product looks. Once more I went for thin, soft, delicate yarn but this time with a hint of shine to it. My advise is, go with a yarn that appeals to your sense of touch and style. The yarns suggested by most tutorials are what you should use, it doesn’t mean that you’ll get it wrong if you choose something else, it just means it will look different and who knows if better!

But then again, this is my first time knitting! Still not sure about knitting?! How about yarn crafting! Here are some cool DIY Ideas!

Yarn Doll

Yarn Bowl

Yarn Lantern

See you next week!

Burlap Canvas DIY!

Burlap seems to be everywhere now a days: Christmas trees, wreaths, pillows, curtains, flowers, baskets…you name it! It’s funny because not so long ago, it was a last resort itchy fabric used for Indian and scare crow costumes! Burlap and linen canvases are attention magnets on their own, their natural color and texture requires very little done to add elegance to any home or office decor. The problem is that -as all things “new”- they are a little over priced, provided that you keep in mind that you are buying burlap not silk!

Online you will find advertisements for burlap canvas ranging from $0.79 to even $1.09 on Clearance. Great right?! But don’t be fooled, the all say “Available in Store Only”, and there is no such thing in the store; is more like $5.99 for a single 5×7 burlap canvas vs $4.99 for a pack of two white stretch canvas of the same size. It gets worse when it comes to linen canvases: $8.99 for a single canvas of the same size! Remember, we are talking about one single, non professional grade canvas. I’m not cheap, I just value my money and I’ll pay the set price for a professional grade canvas for my paintings, but some craft projects don’t need a $25 canvas if you get what I mean! So, what can we do?!

We can wait for those wonderful 50% off a regular price item + 20% off your entire purchase coupons we love so much, or we can make our own! Here’s how:

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MATERIALS:

• Laminated burlap roll

Laminated burlap has a thin plastic coating on the back that makes it a little more stiff. It’s perfect for printing purposes and is more durable. If you cant find it, no worries, buy a yard of regular burlap and some Freezer Paper, follow this simple tutorial and you will have laminated burlap of any size for any use!

• Wood frame

You can either build a frame using a 1×2″ board, or simply buy an unfinished wood frame at your local craft store. Your frame should be a simple “wood” (basswood or pine) frame. Plastic, metal or pressed wood frames will not work for this purpose and it would be a waste to use a decorative frame since you will be covering it.

Cost: $1.00

• Staple gun

Make sure your staples are not longer than the width of your wood, you wouldn’t want them showing up on the opposite side of your frame! A regular office stapler is not strong enough for this project.

• Glue

I used wood glue, but if you’d like you can use any strong glue. Remember you are working with a thick fabric that doesn’t absorb the glue as easy, regular craft glue might not be strong enough to hold it down.

• White Cardstock

Covering the back of your new canvas is optional. If your edges are perfectly trimmed you can leave it as is.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. First cut a piece of burlap big enough to cover your frame. Leave enough room to fold the burlap over the back of the frame, you can trim excess later. 
2. Remove the cardboard piece from your frame, you don’t want a strangers face showing through your work! You could leave it off, but you’ll notice that you can see through the canvas, if that is not a problem continue to step 3. Use a piece of white cardboard instead, that way your canvas will look better front and back. 
3. Now is time to staple the burlap. Make sure it is as straight as possible, you can see a cricket burlap canvas long before you can see the artwork on it! Staple on side first, stretch it as much as possible and staple the opposite side. You have to make sure your canvas is stretch before stapling. 
4. Once you are done with that side fold the corners nicely and stretch and staple the other side. Do one side at a time; stretch then staple.
5. Trim any excess. It’s ok if you have areas that are not 100% perfect, you can always cover them up. 
6. When covering the back of your canvas you have two choices: partial or full coverage. I went for the partial coverage with the purpose of making it easier to hang. I just cut 4 even strips of white cardstock and glued them. Half of my strip cover the burlap and the other half the frame, that way it not only looks good but it secures the burlap ends. 
7. In order for the cardstock to dry flat (not buckled) I put the canvas in a home-made book binding press and left it for about an hour (that’s how long the wood glue needs to bind). Then I removed it and left it to completely dry over night. You can use anything from heavy books to a couple of wine bottles to keep it pressed, the heavier the better. 

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That’s it! A home-made burlap canvas that cost only $2.46 and I still have enough burlap left to make 2-3 more canvases depending on the size!

You can use this technique to create all sort of fabric or linen canvases, so next time you see a piece of fabric with an awesome print, make a frame and hang it! This is my canvas put to use:

Have fun! See you next week!

Ten Minutes Camera Fixes!

I recently came to a rude awakening when my Samsung Galaxy pictures, where simply put: not enough. I do own a DLSR camera but with my little one always on the move, it became easy just to carry my phone on my back pocket. Now I realize the effect of my “lazy/comfortableness” and I’m back to using my DLSR. The problem was that I needed something more “mommy friendly” to carry my camera when alone with my bundle of energy! My awesome camera backpack is just a little too much when carrying a diaper backpack also! There are tons of choices for camera bags at all sorts of prices, but I needed one for our trip to the local fair on Sunday morning and it was Saturday afternoon; a little late to go shopping. I resorted to finding something at home that I could re-use as a camera bag. The must have list was: it had to be super sturdy, small, easy to open, carry and handle, plus it had to be waterproof. Too much to ask for huh?! Not really! As it turns out I found the perfect fit on a lunch box I had purchased in Walmart about 5 years ago!

Of course it needed some touch ups, but it took me ten minutes to fix it up and it cost me absolutely nothing! The hard liner is like a very hard toss proof Tupperware you can remove from the bag itself. I found a black t-shirt on a bag of clothes we where taking to Goodwill and used it to cover the liner. I used E6000 glue (but any permanent fast dry glue will do) to make sure the fabric would stay in place.

Once it was dry I re-used a long strap I had from an old bag and I was done! It has plenty of space for my DLSR plus two lenses, the black lining makes it look like an actual camera bag, plus I have an extra front pocket to carry my keys and cellphone! It was a quick fix that came in very handy; easy to carry and I didn’t have to spend any money.

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Camera Strap

by AspenWillowProps Etsy

Now I didn’t get a chance to do this before our trip to the Fair because I didn’t have any leather at home, but after a photo-shoot on Tuesday morning I decided I’d had enough with my camera’s uncomfortable strap. If I’m carrying this puppy around like I should, I’m going to be comfortable! I saw this awesome Scarf Camera Strap in Etsy that I instantly fell in love with, but when I went to buy it, it turns out it was sold out. I’m not one for flowery designs so I was a little disappointed, then I realized I could probably do it with one of my own scarfs! All I needed was a piece of leather or suede for the ends and some hooks, off I went to JoAnn Fabric Store. To tell you the truth I personally don’t like leather, so I was open to a soft strong suede fabric which I didn’t find, but the great thing about being in the right store is that if you look hard enough you’ll find what you are looking for, even if you don’t know what it is! I found some Suede Cowhide Elbow Patches that were perfect: soft, strong and big enough for my needs! They were a little pricey at $9.99 for a pack of two, but after using a 50% off coupon, $4.99 was just the right price! When it comes to hooks you can take your pick, metal or plastic they average about $3.50 a piece.

Now, camera straps usually come with an adjustable part at the end, I chose to omit that. Why? Well, the strap is for my personal use and I know what length is comfortable for me. If you happen to want to do this, you can add the adjustable part by removing it from your old strap, or you can just make it “One size fits all” like mine. You’ll need a sewing machine with a strong needle and thread, sew slowly if you are afraid your needle might break.

This makes for a great gift for any photography lovers out there; man or female. Chances are your photographer has a set length they like to use for their cameras, use a tape measure when they are not looking and make a “One Size” for them or for your self! Better yet, make them a knitted one, just make sure it’s a soft breathable fabric or thread.  For less than $10, I am happy and comfortable with my new strap!

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Lens Cover

A while back, I had purchased a 18-55mm lens on Amazon for a really great price, but unfortunately it came without a lens cover. No biggy, I could probably figure something out… but I forgot about it completely until Saturday night and I was using the camera Sunday morning! The joys of procrastination! I looked all over the house and since my other lens cover didn’t fit this one, I search for something that I could use to protect my lens while walking around. Thank God for Play-Doh! The Play-Doh plastic cover fit perfectly, I used the soft part of a Velcro strap to wrap around the camera and glued a small square piece of the rough Velcro part on the Play-Doh cover, wallah! Not the most professional thing to use, but definitely a last minute life saver!

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Here are some pictures  of our trip to the Fair!

See you next week!

A Personal Touch to a Boring Office Desk

When it comes to workspaces, you can always put them in one of three categories:

1. plain/boring with absolutely no personal touch what so ever
2. over the top with way to much of everything or
3. the ones that make you go “Wow…I wish my desk looked like that” with just the right amount of stuff

I recently visited my husbands new office and I realized that he was on the first category, so I decided to help him out. He really doesn’t have much usable wall space since his wall are covered with eraser boards (I guess financial people need a lot of space for numbers!) so I had to stick to something simple. I like the idea of pinning photographs on a frame with clothes pins, but I though I make it a bit more useful. I don’t usually buy picture frames at the dollar store, but for the nature of this project, it was the way to go. I choose the biggest frame they had (“Certificate” frame), and got rid of the glass. I had some 12″x12″ cork tiles left over from a previous project and some decorative clothes pins I had gotten on clearance for $0.50, so I had everything I needed! I used some white twine and created three “clothes lines”,  then I glued them to the back of the cork tile and proceeded to seal the back of the frame with some black construction paper. Just like they do to seal paintings, prints and portraits.

Check out the link for Framing Instructions.

That’s it! It works perfectly to hang pictures and drawings, and if he runs out of clothes pins he can always use the cork board! It literary took me less than 10 minutes to complete this tiny project! This frame is pretty simple because he likes simple things, but if you are doing this as a gift or for yourself, decorate the frame with anything that brings a smile to your face! It’s all about personal touches!

In my search for inspiration I came across these simple yet totally personable ideas that you can use for your self or as a gifts. Check them out!

With such a big variety of decorative buttons available at the craft store, this can be as chick or as manly as you want it to be!

Perfect touch for a professional look!

Totally chick!

You can actually use mini bow ties instead of bows for a manly look! P.S. don’t stress your self trying to make miniature bows, they are extremely cheap at your craft store.

Never forget a personalized Clipboard!

What is a desk without your own coffee mug?! Here are two techniques you can use to personalize an ordinary mug:

I’m saving this one for my new desk! Why limit your self to a small mouse pad?! Go big and personal!

A Set of Personalized Folders!

Or something as simple as a care free plant!

Take your pick and share your own ideas! April 22nd is National Administrative Day so you got plenty of time to start working on a gift!

Canister Up’Do!

As the Holiday Season comes to an end, I have to say that I’m glad its over.  We didn’t sell the house before the end of the New Year like we had hope for, but it turned out to be pretty busy and hectic all the same. Now we are up to our ears with packing, clearing, fixing and staging, hoping to get this selling down pack in no less than 2 months, since our new home will done by mid February. Needless to say, time for any other projects is very scarce, but I’ve delayed the packing of some of my supplies just so that I can share with you a few small projects between here and there. Our big projects -like building a dining bench and a shared office area (among others)– will come later!

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Our current canisters have become sort of an eyesore for me, we’ve had them for what seems like forever and though they work, there’s only four of them and we need six.

I love Yankee Candles and I had collected six empty jars with the intentions of using them to store and organize crafts supplies (like you see in almost all craft room pictures), but as it turns out I didn’t like how it looked, if you ask me, it still looks messy. These jars are great because they seal perfectly, can hold heat and are dishwasher safe, plus with very little effort you can match them to your kitchen or house décor!

First you need to remove any wax residue. Your candle is finished once the candle wick turns off by itself. Place the jar with the remainder of the wax in the freezer and let it sit for a day (some people say a couple of hours, I leave it and come back the next day), the wax will pop out completely and leave your glass jar ready for use. I’ve found that it works quicker when you place the jar in the freezer while it’s still hot and the wax is still in liquid form,  the heat and the cold react together almost instantly and it makes it pop out faster. Don’t worry, the glass will not crack! If your wax has already harden, just place the jar upside down on the freezer.

Next, it’s time to get rid off the labels and the messy glue residue they leave behind. If you have tried this before, I’m sure you’ve realized that this can be frustrating, they must not really want you to recycle glass containers because they make sure those labels are really hard to come out! I mean, have you ever tried to re-use a wine bottle?! It’s like the use cement on those labels!… The good news is that I found a method that actually works in getting rid of that unwanted glue residue no matter how messy it is! You can find the original post on my Pinterest Techniques Board; you pretty much mix equal parts Baking Soda and Vegetable Oil to create a paste, place it o top of your glue residue and let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Then scrub away with hot waters! I’ve tried other methods and this one has works the best for me.

Once your bottle is clean, just wipe it with alcohol to remove any oil residue (always do this before painting any glass surfaces).

You can either use a store bought stencil or create your own. The best way to ensure sharp edges when creating your own stencil is to use contact paper. Just remember to flip (mirror) your image and remove any air bubbles before painting or the paint will leak through. I used my die cut machine and cut out some vines, then I drew the words and cut them out using an X Acto Knife.

Now you are ready to paint! When choosing glass paint you might be tempted to head straight for the Martha Stewart Glass Paints section, they have so many awesome colors it’s hard to resist, but you’ll be surprise to know that you can find equally good quality paint for half the price. Maybe with a more limited assortment of colors but sometimes you just need the basics.  Depending on the brand, some are labeled as “Multi Surface”, read the back of the label, you are good to go if it says it’s good for glass surfaces and that it air cures in 21 days or could also be baked.

It is important to remember that when using a stencil, less paint works best. I know it is tempting to just add a thick layer to get it over with, but take my word when I say it usually makes a mess out of a simple project! You end up with messy edges you will need to clean up later, so avoid loads of paint. If you need to layer to get a more solid paint color, add a thin layer and let it dry, then reapply. Usually when painting glass one layer will do. If you choose to buy Martha Stewarts Glass Paints, double check to make sure whether you are buying the opaque or translucent kind.

Now dab away with a sponge!

Here is the final product! I used the same design in two different colors since I couldn’t really use white for “Flour” or “Sugar”! If you are wondering why two “Sugar” jars? The turquoise one is for brown sugar!

One last thing, any time you paint glass you need to cured it. It won’t look permanent right away but once it’s cured, it will be. You usually have two choices: bake it in the oven or air cure it. Since I’m moving within the next month or two, I’m in no rush to bake it, I’m letting it air cure. I will post some pictures of them in our new kitchen once we move!

See you next week and…

Projects Completed!

No matter how much you plan and prepare yourself for the Holidays, it never fails to creep up on you! I mean, can you believe Christmas is just 5 days away?! Wow… it just seems like the year started yesterday! .

It’s only been 11 days since my last posting, but it’s been so hectic that it feels like I’ve neglected you for longer than that! I beat myself up when I can’t post twice a week like I had planned to, but I wanted to share with you what I’ve been up to. Between painting frames as gifts and a big Christmas order with just 8 days to complete and deliver, I will tell you I’m happy to be able to lay back and have some Coquito* while looking at the big pile of already wrapped gifts! Here are some of my Christmas Projects/Gifts!

Hand Painted Nail & Thread Art on solid wood. This one is for our bedroom in our new house but it will be available in my shop by January!

This was an order for 130 Tags/Greeting Cards to be done and deliver in 8 days! That’s including individualized mailing address labels for each 130!

Hand Painted Irish Blessing on Canvas. Perfect gift for anyone with an Irish background!

Another Hand Painted Nail & Thread Art on solid wood. I had so much fun using this technique I had to make a gift out of it!

A sweet little gift for the new baby! Hand Painted on Canvas.

There’s a gift for every personality! Hand Painted on a canvas.

I promise to have my shop ready by next year, right now is a work in progress! Enjoy all your Christmas parties and preparations! See you next week!

*In case you were wondering, “Coquito” is a national Puertorrican Holiday drink made with coconut and rum among other things, it’s 10 times better than eggnog!

Gift Wrapping Made Simple!

One of the many things I love about Christmas is the abundance of gift wrapping, yeah there are other occasions during the year were you wrap gifts, but during Christmas, you get to wrap “tons” of gifts! I’m sure that I probably stunned a couple of people with that statement because not everybody enjoys this, but the truth is that when you give a gift, presentation is key. It just means you cared enough to take a couple of minutes and tried your best, nobody expects you to deliver professional results, but nobody likes careless wrapping either! For me wrapping a gift is therapeutic! I just enjoy finding new ways of folding paper or making a bow, if it was up to me I would set up a “Neighborhood Gift Wrapping Center”! I’ve added a new Pinterest Board under the name of “Gifts” to help you out with simple, original ideas to wrapping gifts not just for Christmas but through out the year. Long and forgotten are the days that nice gift wrapping was only done at Macys!

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Repurpose an old sweater or anything knitted! Beautiful, elegant & simple!

“Gift wrapping is not the problem is the bows!” No worries, a roll of yarn will do wonders!

“Gift wrapping paper is so last decade!” Then packing paper it is; it only cost $1!

No time to shop for everybody? If baking is your thing, check out this Printable Template  to wrap cookies!

“Gifts Cards for everybody!” Sure, why not, but… do you have to put it in a card? Now that is definitely “last decade”! Try something fun!

Now who doesn’t like cash?! Switch the chocolates for dollar bills and insist they open the box! The look on their face is totally Facebook worthy!

Now what is a party without a good bottle of wine?! Here’s another use for that sweater you got last year, plus check out more ideas on my Pinterest Gifts Board.

Need a gift box? Do you have some cereal in the house?!

Want to give bow making one more try?! The link to this tutorial is no longer available but the pictures are actually pretty straight forward.

 

A Metal Journey!

You must be wondering why I choose the word “Journey”, the truth is that when I first started this project I didn’t really know what I was getting into. I will confess that a couple of times I felt like I had bitten more than I could chew, but I stuck to it and I LOVE it! Originally I thought it would take me 1 week to finish the project; one week turned into 1 month, but I didn’t touch it for a whole week while my son was sick and I only worked on it during “breaks” so it’s really hard to pin point an exact time frame. I will share with you my process but there might be a few tricks I missed since this is my first “mosaic” experience! So let’s get to it!

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I had bought this vase 6 years ago, it worked then (we had 2 small puppies that loved to run around and we needed something that wouldn’t break), but we outgrew it and hid it in a corner. I thought of giving it away but then I realized that a was only going to end up buying a new one for the new house. I looked for ideas and though I like mosaics, I don’t like the “busy look” most of them have. I like clean looks with pizazz, hence the reason why I’m going for a Coastal look for the new house. I figured; “I can do a mosaic! but I’ll do it my way! less tiles, more grout, it’s be perfect!”, and by looking at a couple of DIY picture tutorials (yes, I did not read the instructions!), I decided I was ready and equipped to handle the task like a pro! …Silly me, I didn’t know what I was getting into!

Keeping to the theme of reusing what I already have, I skiped the mosaic tiles from the craft store and used CD’s cut into pieces. Least expensive, more time consuming. I did learn a lot from working on CD’s: not all CD’s are created equal, cheap is really cheap (they crack and they peal: not good), and they are remarkably tough. I separated them into colors and decided on a design, luckily enough the vase was filled with those dollar store beads that are flat on one side, so I incorporated them into the design.

I printed some sea gulls from my computer and traced them onto the vase, then I started placing my pieces. I used E6000 glue only because I was working on metal and other glues don’t grip as well. It stinks, it’s strong, it’s consider a carcinogen (if inhailed or digested) but it works fast and great! Do use it outside, it really does stink.

I didn’t use any specific drawing to design the top and bottom of the vase, I just went with the flow! Since the bead are tinted clear glass, I had to paint the areas where the beads would be glued with acrylic white paint in order to hide the dark brown metal.

Then after all the pieces where in place it was time to grout! The craft store does sell grout, I’m unsure whether is less “tough” than the hardware one. I simply got the one from Home Depot (in Pure White) because it had more for less. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking but I thought that grouting would be a breeze! well, it turn out to be the most time consuming part since grout needs time to cling to metal! I couldn’t take pictures of this process since my hands where all “grouty”! But it was something new, challenging but fun. Usually you use a flat spatula to work with grout, but that was not feasible in my case because of the shape of my vase. It was a lot easier to apply the grout with my hands, and it sort of worked like clay once it was moist. In order to let it set/dry, I laid the vase down and did one side, waited a day for it to fully dry, and then did the other side. This process is really not hard at all if you are doing a full mosaic, it was challenging for me because I was basically covering the inter vase in grout not tiles!

Once it was all dried up, I was totally overwhelmed! Grout can be messy, and all I could see was the clean up work ahead of me. I kept thinking to myself: “I hope this comes out or this was a waste of time”! This is when I realized I might had over estimated the project (you think!).

After some good old grout cleaning, I finally saw the light! The beads and the “tiles” showed the design beautifully and it was coming together! It took me nearly 3 hours to clean it up, my hands were exhausted but I was razing against time determined to finish before Jaden woke up from his nap!

After another full day of drying, it was up to the finishing touches: some twine for the handles and bottom of the vase. I was totally amazed how the twine gave it more life!

This baby looks great! Yes it is “rough”, it has a lot of texture, but that is exactly what I was going for. I can’t wait to display it with curly willow branches in my new home!

With only $15 dollars of materials this $29.99 six year old vase from Wal-Mart now looks like a work of art! What you think?!

DIY Ornaments for the None Crafty!

Hi everybody! After missing one blogging week, I’m happy to be back again! My little one got sick and the rest is history, long tiresome, craft-less week! But I have some cool things in store, including a new approach to remaking a metal vase! (more on that on Friday!) But today, I’ll share with you some neat quick tricks to making (and having) really nice expensive looking ornaments without spending $4 to $14 for each of them. Best of all, you don’t have to buy any extra supplies and it’s a great project for all my friends who call themselves “none crafty”!

Ever go to the store and browse through the aisles with individually sold Christmas ornaments, and think to your self: “I would have to spend a fortune just to buy enough of these for my tree”? You end up buying the ones that come in bundles and think to your self: “I’ll stick with the cheap ones”. No need to settle! those are exactly the ones we are going to be working on, and by the time we are done they will look like we hit the lotto and bought from the fancy aisle rather than the cheap one!

First off, here is what you’ll need: affordable flat ornaments, craft scissors and any glue that dries clear (but not school glue). I found these ornaments at Wal-Mart, they bring them every year, and always add up new shapes and designs. They are very affordable at just $2.98 for a pack of 12; meaning we will get 6 fancy ornaments for just $2.98. Who doesn’t like a bargain?!

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Pretty Stars

You will need 2 stars per ornament. The process is fairly simple, just cut an opening on the bottom of one and another opening on the top of the other. It’s the same concept we used when making paper stars as kids, only these look a lot better and are more sturdier.

Make sure the opening is big enough to interlace both stars, you want them tight not loose.

Once you have done that, just add some glue where the opening touches the other star. I wouldn’t advice adding glue before you interlace them just because you want to keep glue residue to a minimum. You just want to add enough glue to secure to ornaments together.

There you go! a fancy star ornament in less than 5 minutes!

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Christmas Tree

You will need 2 trees per ornament to make 6 fancy ones.

Using a slightly different technique we will achieve the same result. There are some ornaments that can’t be cut like the previous one because they are held together by a common “thread”, and they will break in two. In that case, you will cut them in half from the start.

Use hot glue, it dries almost immediately and it adds sturdiness to the ornament. Glue the two half’s onto the other ornament in order to achieve the same result as with the Pretty Stars.

If you’d like, you can even add more “half’s” to your tree to make it even prettier. In this case you will need to use 4 trees (1 whole and 3 cut in half) to achieve this look:

They actually sell ornaments like this one for $4 a piece with a crystal tear drop in the bottom!

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Delicate Village

Christmas Villages always give your home a beautiful touch, but if you haven’t been collecting them for years… let’s just say you will spend a few bucks. This is a simple solution to a lasting simple village that can actually match with your tree décor! I chose the white village look (it will look beautiful by the window on a blanket of snow), but they come in all colors; aqua, violet, black, red, brown, etc.!

For this little project you’ll need a piece of cardboard or foam board, use what you have at home; I used foam board because I had some left over from a previous project. Cut a piece as long as your ornament and two smaller pieces to give it support on the sides. Make sure the bottom piece is wide enough to fit a tea light candle.

Glue the base and then attach the “Church” ornament to the front and back. Your end result is an elegant village of six for $2.98!

For a more elaborate village, use 4 ornaments instead of 2. Trim the edges off of two of them.

Cut a cardboard piece big enough for all four ornaments.

Glue the trimmed pieces first and then finish by gluing the front and back piece. You can use tea light candles or battery lights. Using four pieces per ornament will give you a village of 3 for $2.98!

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Hope you find this useful! You can use these techniques and make your own unique ornaments! Don’t miss the next post for  a great project! Have a great week!

DIY Gifts for All!

Usually by this time of the year I have done almost all of my Christmas shopping; for the exception of my husband who never knows what he wants for Christmas or birthdays! For the last two years since I became a stay at home mom, I decided to buy gifts for  only the kids and for the adults: DIY gifts. It does take some planning and prepping ahead, but it saves money and shopping headaches; I love the Holidays but I’m not too fond of the crazy shoppers! This year with the process of selling our house and building a new one, I’ll admit I’m behind on all my Christmas projects, but November is just a few days away and we can still get it done! Today I’m sharing with you a few ideas I found, they make great gifts for almost anybody, unfortunately I wouldn’t get too excited, you might still have to buy that Frozen doll or the latest version of Call of Duty!

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The Teacher

You can not forget the teacher! Teaching is (or should be) a profession of love, you do it because you love it, not because of the vacation time and most definitely not because of the money!  I remember receiving gifts from my students during Christmas, and it didn’t matter whether it was a stationary set or a Starbucks gift card, they made me feel appreciated and it lighted my Holiday Season even more. You don’t have to go all fancy, it really isn’t about the money, it’s about the detail. Here are some ideas only a teacher would love:

Personalized Clipboard! Tutorial

No Instructions, but all you need is: cardstock, crayons and a frame! Available on Etsy.

The traditional apple! Add some cinnamon sticks and a Christmas Tag to complete the Holiday look! Tutorial

Felt Apple Coasters will go great with that Pallet once the apple is gone! Tutorial

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The Picky Recipient

Clothes and jewelry are out of the question, and so is everything else you can think of. The solution? the house! Now lets keep something clear here, house gifts have to be tasteful and it has to be something that matches with their décor, even if it’s not your personal taste. Just because it’s for the “house” it doesn’t mean we put less thought into it, all the opposite, make sure it’s well done. These are simple ideas that if done properly will put a smile on the most pickiest recipient!

A rustic touch. The biggest thing with this DIY is to make sure your glue isn’t as messy as it is in this picture. Tutorial

A delicate touch. Use linen towels to create this beautiful and simple gift. Tutorial

Classic elegance. Use simple tea light votive and glue rhinestone ribbon around the edges. For the glass “plate” use a picture frame glass and glue the matching ribbon around the edges. No tutorial.

Anyone

No need to give yourself a headache, usually the gifts people like the most are the simplest ones. Personalized gifts tend to be a huge success as long as you don’t go overboard. As much as you want your teen to think of how much his family loves him, a family picture bookmark might not be his idea of “cool”, a picture of him playing his favorite sport in the other hand will be a hit!

Personalized bookmark. Tutorial

With your choice of buttons and ribbon, this can be either kid or adult friendly! Tutorial

Beautiful gift for anyone with a desk for less than you think! Tutorial

Monogram key chains!  You can always cover up $1 key chains! Tutorial

Picture key chains. Use wood tags or metal key chains, keep cost to minimum. Tutorial

Family Friendly

Thinking of a gift for the family rather than individual gifts? Games are always a nice touch regardless of the age.

Great idea for a travel loving bunch! Tutorial

Classy! Have any trees outback that need trimming?! Tutorial

Patio fun for all! Make the pieces a little smaller and use less wood. Tutorial

Kid Friendly

Here are some ideas for the mom and the kids on the go! Play with them and store them all in one place! The perfect gift for both mom and child!

Got Lego’s on “your” Santa’s List?! Add the to go factor to your gift! Tutorial

Great ideas for cars, dinosaurs and dolls! My advice, find an old briefcase and repurpose! Tutorial

For the artist! No instructions, but all it needs it’s a DVD case and your creativity. Decorate with cardstock paper or fabric, and create a pocket for the crayons or pencils.

And for the toddler some felt puzzle fun! They sell this in Etsy, but with a little creativity, felt and Velcro; I’m sure your toddler will stay busy for a while!

 That’s it! Cool inexpensive DIY gifts for everybody in your Christmas list!