Tag: DIY christmas

Mod Podge DIY Christmas Ornament

Written by Jenna on November 19, 2015. Posted in Craft, DIY. 4 Comments on Mod Podge DIY Christmas Ornament

This post is brought to you by Plaid and Blueprint Social. The creation + words shared are 100% my own!

Another Christmas season is upon us…

As the seasonal boxes start to make their way up from the basement, I always like to integrate our festive favorites with new finds + homemade creations.

Last week while the kids had a half day of school, we got our craft-on and made these adorable Christmas Tree Ornaments with Mod Podge…

Mod Podge by Plaid has a slew of products for decoupaging, but they just launched a new pearl formula that has an pearlescent sheen and it’s so pretty for creating a ‘mother of pearl’ effect. When creating my handmade paper trees, the pearl Mod Podge gave the prettiest top coat overlay along with adding some some gold + glitter using FolkArt Multi-Surface paint.

MATERIALS

> Mod Podge (pearl)
> FolkArt paints
> Cereal box (or thin cardboard)
> Scrap paper – holiday theme
> Scissors
> Needle + Thread

HANDMADE ORNAMENT

This project was real easy + enjoyable to make. It took about a half hour and I was able to get the kids involved too.

Using the inside of a cereal bar box, I started off this project by free-hand sketching a christmas tree about 3″ tall.

I cut it out and used it as a template for the other trees.

Once all the trees were cut,I I used the template and traced the tree outline of the holiday themes scrapbook paper.

Then it was time to have fun with the Mod Podge…

I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the cardboard layer and layed the cut scrapbook paper in place.

Then I applied another thin layer of Mod Podge over the pretty paper.

Once all the trees were dry, it was time to assemble them. To do that, they would need to fit in to each other.

Using scissors, I cut a slit half way down the center of 2 trees – one top down, the other trunk up…

Assembly time… fit them together to make a three-dimensional tree.

This is when I jazzed them up using the FolkArt paints. I added a little gold + glitter…

To hang, I used a needle to thread a thin string through the top of the tree.

The simplest + prettiest handmade ornament for the tree…

RECAP

or to pin for later…

Check out more products + DIY creations by Plaid on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram!

I wish you a wonderful season of decorating + Happy Holidays!

Easiest + Fastest + Cheapest Tree Skirt EVER

Written by Jenna on November 18, 2013. Posted in Christmas, DIY. 6 Comments on Easiest + Fastest + Cheapest Tree Skirt EVER

Monday Morning Confession: I already started decorating for Christmas. It might seem early for some, but I have a few surprises up my sleeve that I wanted to prep early for this year. While many of my daily favorites get tucked away for the next 6 weeks, the holiday decor is once again making it’s debut for another year. As some ‘old’ traditional elements remain, there are many new projects and vignettes that I’ll be sharing over the coming weeks. One in particular is my new tree skirt. Definitely the easiest + fastest + cheapest tree skirt you ever did see…

For the last few years I’ve wanted a new tree skirt. I had grand plans of making something beautiful and chic, but honestly it just never happened. And anyway, is something pretty + most likely expensive, even worth it? I’ve found over the years that the tree skirt ends up getting thrown around either from the kids or the cats, and then once the presents are added, you don’t even see it. Well this is in my house anyway. maybe it’s different in your casa…

So after living with no tree skirt for a few days once the tree was up, I thought let me test out this pretty black and white striped fabric. I threw it under the tree and loved it’s whimsical, non-perfect, simple look. Plus it cost me nothing. So here we go… The black and white striped fabric I had on-hand was 1 yard, but I would recommend using 1.5 yards or even 2 yards for a fuller look. I placed the fabric in front of the tree.

Then took the two top corners and wrapped them around the bottom of the tree so they meet in the back.

Lastly, I tucked the bottom corners and all the loose edges underneath.

Literally, this took all of 30 seconds and it was done.

By the end of the day, the tree skirt is all dishuffled anyway, so within seconds it looks good again. There really is no right or wrong to this tree skirt, which makes it perfect for me!

And the best part is, it cost nothing and the fabric can be used for something else after the Holidays. Next year, I may want a totally different pattern and I won’t be married to something store-bought or a creation that took hours. I hope you enjoyed my 30 second tree skirt creation. Sometimes the easiest things are the best!

Be sure to check back next Monday when I’ll be partnering with a few Blogging friends who will all be sharing super simple holiday projects for our Christmas in a Minute series. Cheers to a festive season. xo

Christmas Card Holder – A Lowes Creative Idea #LowesCreator

Written by Jenna on November 25, 2012. Posted in Christmas, DIY, Holiday. 13 Comments on Christmas Card Holder – A Lowes Creative Idea #LowesCreator

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and stuffed your tummies full of turkey and mashed potatoes (with butter of course) – my personal favorite. We traveled and enjoyed the Holiday very much, but the only bummer about not hosting was the lack of leftovers. Anyway, let’s get on to something fun…

I’m super excited for today because I have so much to share with you! I’ve been busy preparing for the Christmas season (yes, already – I know for some it’s early), but wanted to let Thanksgiving pass before bombarding you with all my Christmas inspiration. Now that the Holiday season countdown has begun, brace yourself for a fun few weeks ahead with DIY creations and decorating ideas and tips!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the first Christmas cards started trickling in over the weekend and since my December Lowe’s Challenge was to create something for the upcoming Holiday season, a new Christmas Card Holder seemed so apropos.

This card holder is one of my favorite projects I’ve ever made. I got the idea when creating the family pallet photo holder a few weeks ago. At the time, I mentioned how I felt the photo holder was so versatile and didn’t have to just hold family photos, but also christmas cards during the holidays, as well as invitations, announcements, etc anytime of year. Thus my Christmas Card Holder was created…

I started off my hitting the lumber and paint aisles of my local Lowe’s and picked up a few must-have items:

6′ long X 12″ wide wood board
clothes pins (30 – 35)
spray paint (I chose Valspar Glossy Cut Ruby)
stencil (purchased at AC Moore / a silhouette would work too)
white paint & stain (for the distressing)
paint for the letter (I chose metallic gold)

I began by…

1. Distressing the Wood

I was going for a worn look and wanted the wood to look old and distressed, so I banged-it-up a bit and layered it with a combo of paint and stain.

I began by using nails, chain, and a hammer to bang up the surface to make it “used and abused”. This is a great way to get out some of that pent-up aggression – hehe.

Once I achieved the desired “wear”, I added one coat of white paint. I used a semi-gloss finish paint that I had laying around, but any kind will do. Once dry, I sanded the wood thoroughly so some areas of the raw wood showed through and the surface was smooth. I added a light coat of stain focusing more on the edges and ends. I applied it in small sections and quickly wiped it away so only a thin layered remained. Then I added another coat of white paint and sanded the surface once more. This layering process resulted in just the right amount of wear.

Old to New in 30 minutes!

2. Stencil

I found a pretty stencil at AC Moore which I got for about $3+ (using a 50% off coupon). The letters are 3″ high and the words CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS fit just right on the 6′ board.

3. Paint

Once I outlined the stenciled letters with a pencil, I filled them in with a nice metallic gold craft paint. At first, I was going to use red or green for the letters, but I am so glad I chose gold – I’m loving the hue, especially with the other goldtones in my other holiday decor.

4. Adding the Clothespins

While the letters were drying, I spray painted the clothes pins with Valspar Glossy Cut Ruby. Once they were ready, I attached them to the wood board with hot glue. The spacing between each clothespin is about 5-6″ and there are 16 on each side.

And it’s done…

I’ll admit, the Christmas cards are from last year – I haven’t received that many yet. I always keep my cards and then use them the next year as tags for presents, so that’s what these will be used for in a few short weeks.

My new card holder is such a unique and fun addition to our Christmas decor. I have it situated right next to the Christmas tree so we can enjoy the treasures that are sent from family and friends – true Christmas Blessings!

If you’re looking for more ideas on how to display Christmas Cards, check out the roundup I did last year, by clicking on the link: 15 Creative Ways to Display Christmas Cards.

And I created another card holder last year if you want to see that as well. I love this one too, but with all the cards we receive, it ended up not being large enough. This new one though, has lots of room! Click to see: Holiday Card Holder.

I’m still working on putting the finishing touches on the rest of the house, and hope to share a Christmas Tour next week. In the meantime, I’ll be showing you a few more DIY projects, as well as some easy and fun decorating ideas.

Have you decorated for the Holidays yet? How to you display your Christmas cards?

Disclosure: I am part of the Loweâ€™s Creative Team and was provided with a Loweâ€™s gift card to purchase items for my project. I was also compensated for my time to use the products. No one told me what to create, what to buy, how to use the product, or what to write. All opinions are 100% mine!

I link my projects to some of these parties: Skip to My Lou, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch, Todayâ€™s Creative Blog, Stories of A to Z, All Things Heart & Home, House of Hepworths, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, Thrifty Decor Chick, Tip Junkie