Gingerbread House Party

Armed with cans of frosting and happy, smiling faces…

We arrived at Church for our very first Gingerbread House Party.

The kids had a blast and really got into working on their houses.

Everyone had a good time.

What a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Gingerbread House Party Collage

As you can probably tell Warren really got into his house. ⇑  (Yum)

Holiday Joy

I love using the word “JOY” in my holiday decorating.
It’s one of my favorite words.  Who doesn’t need a little more “JOY” in their life.
The Joy Frame is a Quick and Easy Holiday Home Décor Project.

 

Supplies Needed:                                           (*affiliate link)

Directions:

  1. Remove the backing and glass from an old frame and spray paint it black.  My frame holds an 8 1/2 x 11 picture.
  2. Cut the scrapbook paper to size and add to frame.
  3. Paint the chipboard letters red.
  4. Stencil Snowflake design onto the red letters with cream paint.
  5. Apply a light coat of red paint over the snowflakes.
  6. Antique the letters with Vintage Photo ink and ink applicator.
  7. Glue inside of frame.
  8. Embellish frame with some greenery and a red and cream gingham bow.
Craft Confession:
My original plan was to have cream snowflakes on red letters.  After I got through with the stenciling, I thought the snowflakes looked too bright so I decided to re-paint the letters.   As soon as I put on the first thin layer of paint, I loved the tone on tone result.  Happy Accident!
This project was created for and sponsored by Clear Scraps.

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Updated… A New Look for an Old Snowman

Updated Sock Snowman

Last year at my Holiday Workshop we made cute little snowmen out of socks.

They were a big hit.

But… one thing, I noticed when I pulled mine out again this year,

was that they looked a little misshapen.  More like a kidney bean than a snowman.

That was because I used rice for the entire body.  (the rice settled)

My updated snowmen still uses rice in the bottom, it now has fiberfill in the top

so that it doesn’t loose its shape.

I also decided my Snowman was cold, so I re-purposed an old sock for his sweater.

For more Making More Sock Snowmen Ideas you can find them here.

Here’s What You’ll Need:                    (*affiliate Links)

Here’s how I made my Snowman:

  1. Tea dye a new white sock, crew length or bigger.  Or if you have boys you could use one of their dingy ones.  (It’s better not to use a sock with the grey toe and heel.)
  2. Cut the top of the sock off, right around the heel.  (save that for the hat.)
  3. Turn the sock inside out and attach a rubber-band tightly around the top of the sock.  Because rubber bands wear out with time, I added a good squirt of Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive* (*affiliate link) in and around the rubber band.  (I left the rubber band on)
  4. Turn the sock right side out and fill sock about 1/2 way with rice.
  5. Fill the remaining portion of the sock with Fairfield Poly-Fil Premium Polyester Fiber*
  6. Use an additional rubber-band to close the sock.  Again, I re-enforced the rubber band with glue.
  7. Tie a piece of twine around sock to create the head.
  8. I used mini black square brads for his eyes, the tip of a bamboo skewer colored orange for his nose and a simple sewn black thread for his mouth.
  9. I used some paper craft sprays to add color to the toe of the sock.  I tied the tip with a piece of red and white twine and finished with a bow.  Roll the edge to create a cuff.  I glued my hat to the top of my snowman with Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive*(*affiliate link)
  10. Dress with Snowman with part of an old sock.  Add a couple of buttons for added detail.  A  fringed piece of fabric works great for the scarf.

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Handmade Holiday: Sew Simple Snowflake Pillow

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays (besides eating Christmas cookies)

is to make things to decorate my home.  My snowflake pillow is a simple sewing project

that makes a warm and cozy winter accent.

You can leave this pillow out long after the holidays are over.

For my Snowflake Pillow I used:                     (*affiliate link)

Directions:

  1. Cut a 4″ x 12″ wavy piece from the cream felt.
  2. Add a small amount of Fabri Tac Glue on the back of the cream felt to keep it in place before sewing.  Place that piece 1/2″ up from the bottom of the grey 13″ piece of felt.
  3. Glue Snowflakes in place.  Hand sew the red buttons in the center.
  4. Machine sew around outer edges of the large cream piece.
  5. Machine sew between each of the snowflake arms.
  6. Turn felt pieces right sides together and sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance.
  7. Leave a 3″ opening at the bottom to add fiberfill.
  8. Turn pillow back around and stuff with fiberfill.
  9. Hand sew the pillow closed.

FYI…You can find die cut snowflakes in my Etsy Shop.

Thanks to the generous folks at Fairfield World for supplying the Poly-Fil.

*Disclaimer:  This post uses ads and affiliate links.  If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog.  Thanks for your support!

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Celebrate Christmas with Graphic 45 (edited)

Graphic 45 Twas the Night before Christmas Group

(Celebrate Christmas with Graphic 45 was a card class that I gave in November of 2014.)

In this class, I showed how to make use of the varied patterns and bits & pieces to create layered pieces with charm and style.

The Vintage Christmas collection from Graphic 45 is based off the classic tale “Twas the Night Before Christmas.  This collection is packed with all the fun and traditional images of this festive season. Reds, greens, gold and cream – this collection will remind you of all the special moments in this special time.


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Graphic 45 Santa Stockings  Graphic 45 Santa & Toys

Graphic 45 Handle with Care TagGraphic 45 Twas the Night Before Christmas

Graphic 45 Merry Christmas Santa

Sue’s Holiday Workshop

Holiday Workshop Collage 2014

Once again, I’m excited to be hosting my annual event “Sue’s Holiday Workshop”.

We will be crafting up a storm making cards, tags, a mini album, ornaments, holiday votive and more.

The price is only $40.00 which includes lunch and prizes for all.
For more information or to register email me at: suesholidayworkshop@yahoo.com

I look forward to seeing you there!

Save the Date

Save the Date 2014

I’ve clung onto Summer as long as I could. Now it’s time to start working on this years Holiday Workshop. As much as I love Summer, I really LOVE crafting for Fall and Christmas.
(Did you notice I said Christmas and not Winter? As soon as December is over I’m ready for Spring.)

Thank You to everyone who took the time to answer my questions regarding the date of the Workshop. The majority choose Saturday, November 15th. The date is set and confirmed and I’m excited to jump right in.   More Details coming soon.

 

A productive day

I enjoyed my snow day yesterday.  (Didn’t leave the house.)

I worked on these layouts off and on all day.

Funny how something so simple can take so long.

all boy layout with new watermark

The first layout is of my sweet grandson Nick.  (fall of 2012)

The second layout is of Nick and his new little brother Warren.

My daughter-in-law was taking Christmas Eve pictures and we got this crazy idea to take

“Elf on the Shelf” pictures with the little guy.

Of course, Big Brother Nick wanted to get in on the action.

Glad to get these pictures on a page.

elf on the shelf with new watermark

The papers and stickers are from Jillibean Soup.