Let it Snow Banner

Today I'd like to share with you a quick craft you could make last minute before the holidays - a winter banner! It can say anything, really, but I chose "Let It Snow".

You will need:
-Canvas triangle banners (I got mine at Consumer Crafts)
-Styrofoam snowflakes (I got mine on clearance a few years ago at Michaels)
-Bakers twine
-Letter stencil
-Gold paint
-Paint brush, hot glue, hot glue gun, and scissors

I just figured out what I wanted my banner to say which was a mildly easy decision because I only had 9 of the little banner flags. I just tried a couple holiday phrases until I found one that worked. I stenciled the letters onto the triangles and after they dried, I hot glued them onto the baker's twine, putting a snowflake in between the words. Here is a close up.

It turned out super cute and I leave it draped on my closet door in my living room during the holidays.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! I will be back in January to share a few other crafts I made this past year!

Solid Glitter Coasters

You may be surprised to learn that I actually made these coasters two years ago back when I made my vinyl snowflake coasters and my vinyl polka dot coasters. I had gotten them all ready to give them to my family and I put them in a bag to take them to our family Christmas party and when I got to my parents' house to check on them, they were smudged. I was FURIOUS! I had spent days making them and they had been drying at least a week, if not two, but the Mod Podge had not cured. So, before you even attempt these, make sure you have a few weeks to let the Mod Podge completely dry (even if you think it's dry, it might not be dry).

You will need:
-white ceramic tiles (I got a half box of 40 at Home Depot and they were about $.16 each)
-Cork board
-Glitter
-Mod Podge
-Paint brush, scissors
-Patience

I started off with a plain, white ceramic coaster.

I cut four squares of cork and hot glued them to the back of the coaster.

 

I coated the coasters in Mod Podge, covered them with glitter, and let it dry. Once they dried, I covered them with Mod Podge again and added more glitter to ensure a thick coat. I think I added 4-5 coats of Mod Podge over the next week or so, just to be safe and ensure they were sealed and the glitter wouldn't come off. Then I gave them about a week or two to dry. As I said above, that wasn't enough, apparently.

When I pulled them out of the bag, they had dents in them and once I was over my frustration at the project, I touched up the glitter, recoated them with Mod Podge and let them sit in my china cabinet for a few weeks where they wouldn't be touched.

I gave them to my parents who handed them out to my friends and family last Christmas. I didn't get to see anyone's reactions because I was in South Africa. I went on a trip through my university a few days after Christmas through early January. We got to explore Cape Town and see how the aftermath of Apartheid still lingered in the city. We did service projects with a few grassroots organizations. And I got to see zebras, ostriches, monkeys, and penguins (yes, penguins). Here are just a few of the many pictures I took during our two week trip.

Red and White Christmas Wreath

As you may have noticed, I love all things sparkly. This next wreath I made has just enough spark for someone who isn't as obsessed with sparkles as I am but likes a little jazziness.

I started off with a straw wreath that I wrapped in white yarn. And of course that white yarn has a little glitter in it too!

I then took some white sparkling leaves I'd bought and positioned them all around the wreath and attached them with a hot glue gun. Even though the leaves covered most of the wreath, I wrapped it in white yarn so I wouldn't have to worry about straw showing through on the sides.

Here is the wreath completely covered in leaves! Sparkly!

I then added some red 'berries'. I'm not sure what else to call them.

Then I nestled a little birdie in the wreath - we'll call it, for the sake of Christmas, our turtledove. He, of course, sparkles too! I also added some little silver and red poinsettia pins I'd found and hung it with a red ribbon.

Here is a close up!

Stay tuned all this week for even more DIY wreath tutorials! I've got a couple left and I want to post them before Christmas!

See this post for where I'm sharing my wreath this weekend!

Silver Leaf Christmas Wreath

Today's wreath was pretty simple. It started off by taking a straw wreath and gluing anything silver on it. I used all my leftovers from the other wreaths I had as well as some silver things I had bought because they were pretty but hadn't used yet.

Then I look white glitter leaves (pictured above in the lower left corner) and glued them on the inside and outside of the wreath to cover the straw that was showing through. That's it!

Here's a close-up.

Simple as that.

10 days until Christmas!! Have you finished your shopping yet? I just got all mine done this week!