BFF Open House

 

Yikes! Happy Friday Eve again, already! American Thanksgiving is exactly two weeks from this writing and I'm not sure how that crept up so fast! I'm actually skipping decorating like I usually do because we have an early December trip and I'm learning to accept I can't do everything, which is actually HUGE for me because, like many of you, I'm one of "those". Progress!

This week I shared some things I'm working on for a new tree I'm adding (see?!) and then Mr. Chocolate had the idea to move our Halloween tree I'd added some Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments to, to another room and keep it up for Christmas, so of course my Crafter/Virgo brain said "Oh, that's not enough Nightmare FOR Christmas" so now I'm making a few more things to add. See? I can't help myself. 

Winter Wonderland Icy Gingerbread Ornaments:

Winter Wonderland Paper Mache Stars

But let's take a look at some Fall/Thanksgiving inspired ideas there's still time to do or pin for next year! 

Steph Creates shared this beautiful Autumn Candle Holder, which would accent any room. 

The Apple Street Cottage shared this Festive Silverware Holder, perfect for Thanksgiving! 

Sonata Home Designs shared beautiful, seasonal Fall Tray Decor ideas. 

And finally, Hunny I'm Home DIY shared these festive and fun Thanksgiving Pudding Pies. No doubt they'll be "gobbled" up. I'm punny like that. 

Thanks to all who linked up and can't wait to see what you've been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Holiday Crafting: Winter Wonderland Stars

 

I mentioned in this post that I'm doing a Winter Wonderland tree for which I'm making ornaments. These stars were my last (😢sniff) purchase from JoAnn (😢sniff) in their last week. 

Supplies:

• Paper Mache Stars
• White Acrylic Paint (I used Waverly No Prep Paint)
• Embellishments (Creatology Gems)
• Glue (I used Elmers Clear)

I started by painting my stars using a sponge spouncer.

I had these mini snowflake ornaments in my stash, which worked perfectly for my idea. I glued one to each of the stars. 

Now comes the fun part! Grab your glue and your embellishments and let your imagination be your guide! 

I also had these large faceted gems in my stash from RIP JoAnn. Can you tell I'm bitter?! I glued one down in the center of each snowflake ornament. Then I started playing with my Creatology Gems. I started by embellishing the snowflakes then worked my way out and around. 

Getting closer to putting up my tree! 

Holiday Crafting: Winter Wonderland Icy Ornaments

 

When you're in Five Below and you see a tree for $4, and you already have four trees you decorate...of course you buy it! I haven't put it up yet, but the other trees all have dedicated ornaments, and I happened to have a surplus of ornaments from a spontaneous online purchase I didn't read carefully, and ended up with 100 when I misread it as 10. Yeah, I don't know how either. Blaming smudged glasses.

But this tree made me want to do an icy Winter Wonderland theme, so I did!

Supplies:

• Clear Acrylic Ornaments (I think these were from a TEMU moment)
• Seasonal Mini Gingerbread (Michaels)
• Rhinestones and Gems (Rhinestones may have also been from a TEMU moment; Gems, Creatology, Michaels)
• Strong Glue (I used Aleene's Tacky Clear Gel)

These are the things I used. I had these mini-gingerbread pieces from last year, but they have similar this year (they may be the same ones) at Michaels. 

You can find acrylic ornaments like this wherever craft supplies are sold, or online.

These ornaments come with protective covers on both sides to prevent scratching, etc. Peel them off. 

The process is up to you and your imagination. I started by gluing a mini to the center of the acrylic ornament. Then, using Creatology Gems and rhinestones, started placing them around the mini. Doesn't get much simpler than that! 

I had some of these mini snowflakes in my stash, so I used them too! As shown, I added some rhinestones to the minis too. 

Found some of these marquis-shaped gems in my stash. Used them too! 

Or, you can cover the whole surface of your acrylic ornament. This was a happy accident because I goofed on placement and "things took a turn". But we rally and turn a fail to fabulous, right? 

These are four more I made, for a total of eight, which, no, won't be all that go on my tree. Have another set that I did using papier-mache and may have been inspired by Insta to do yet another set. I'll fill in the tree with some glittered white and silver ornaments I picked up at Dollar Tree...stay tuned! 

Sharing At:

Our Hopeful Home

BFF Open House

 

Happy November, Creative Peeps, or as I call it, "Christmas and Hanukkah Prep Month". Especially because Hanukkah comes early in December this year, starting on December 4th. I know many of us are busy in our workshops like busy elves. Self included. We'll start December with another visit to The House of Mouse, which is not only the "happiest place on earth" but the most magical wonderland. 

To prepare, I blinged a pair of my ears from a previous visit! 

Bedazzled Disney Ears 

Before we go full on, it's still the season of thanks and Fall, so let's take a look at some wonderful features from last week's party that fit that theme! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's holiday creations in the coming weeks. My workshop is open! 

Amy's Creative Pursuits shared how to go Beyond The Pumpkin with Fall decorating. If you're not leaping straight into Christmas decor, she's got you covered. 

Petticoat Junktion shared how to transform Reclaimed Wood into Festive Pumpkins! 

Fresh Vintage by Lisa S. shared how to use Turmeric to make Fall Sunprint Cards. Who knew?! What fun to make a set as a gift. 

Finally, Fall into Winter soup season and Walking on Sunshine has a wonderful way to Packge and Share Soup Mix as a gift.

Thanks to everyone who linked up and you know what I'm going to say...can't wait to see what you've been up to this week! 

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

'Tis The Season for Holiday Crafting: Bedazzled Disney Ears

 

First, I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloweeekend. Ours was quiet and rainy, but we enjoyed ourselves watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which will be what I call my house in a couple of weeks. In recent years, I've broken with my long-held tradition of not putting any Christmas stuff up before Thanksgiving, but when you're a person who loves making and collecting things, time is NOT on your side if you wait, so...

It also speeds up when you have another Disney trip in early December, which we do! I'm sometimes late to try things, but I recently started playing with bedazzling things (OK, I've rediscovered it because I had a Bedazzler in HS...originally introduced as the Ronco Rhinestone and Stud Setter). Yeah, telling my age. Mr. Chocolate and the dog don't stand still very long around me lately. 

I was scrolling Insta and saw a post where someone did their Disney ears and, that was that! Yes, I wear the Minnie ears because when you're at Disneyland, why not?! 

Supplies:

• Disney Ears 
• Rhinestones and/or Rhinestone Kit
• B-7000 or Other Strong Glue 
• Rhinestone Picker

NOTE:

If you buy a kit (I've bought two on Amazon and one at Five Below), they generally come with the glue, picker, and tray you will need. You can also stock up on these separately. 

I got these ears on a previous Disney trip and love them. Mr. Chocolate was freaking out that I was going to "do things to them". But you know us Creatives...more is better! 

Trial and error. You want enough glue that your rhinestones are secure but not too much so it bleeds outside the area you're bedazzling. I like putting dots of glue vs the fill a space method. 

As I mentioned, most of the kits come with everything you need but I did order a separate set of trays so I can use multiple colors. Lightly shaking / tapping them w/the rhinestones in them settles them (mostly) flat side down. Then it's easy to pick them up and place them on your surface using the rhinestone picker tool that comes in the kit, or wax crayons you can also buy separately. 

The fun begins with your imagination and style! Some people bedazzle the whole surface which looks amazing. May do that sometime. For these, I went with accents. And what's Minnie without lashes?! I choose a coordinating iridescent red for the cheeks, a dark brown for the eyes, a golden brown for the nose, and clear for the lashes. You can also play with mixing different sizes in the same space. 

I went with clear for the "icing," and now I'm thinking I may go ahead and finish the outlines of the heads with white. That's the thing. The more you bling, THE MORE YOU BLING, so I understand how some people come to cover the entire surface! 

For example, I didn't think I was going to bedazzle Minnie's bow...until I did! 

And guess what? I found something at Dollar Tree that's going to be PERFECT with these. Coming soon. 

Happy November, or as I'm calling it "Christmas Prep Month".