Friday, November 28, 2014

Rustic & Chic Jute Twine Flowers on Glass Ornaments


Looking for a rustic but chic look for Christmas décor?  Have I got a simple idea for you!  How about making some easy jute twine flowers, adding a rhinestone to the center and attaching them to flat disc glass ornaments.

Here's how its' done:

1.  Cut thirteen, 4 inch strips of jute twine.

2.   Hot glue ends of twine together and cut out a 1 inch burlap or felt circle.


 3.  Hot glue loops in the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions onto the circle.


4.  Glue additional loops in between for a total of eight loops.


5.  Glue remaining five loops on top as shown.


6.  Glue rhinestone in center and then .  .  .


7. Glue flower onto center of glass disc ornament.   How pretty!

  .  .  .  and add one to the back if you like.
 It's so easy to make different designs using jute twine.
 
 I cut varied lengths of twine, glued onto burlap disc and then braided strings of twine and glued that around the stone.
 Cute!


 These are really super sweet homespun ornaments suitable for any holiday décor!
 
 Take a little time to enjoy
and
Happy Holiday Crafting!








Saturday, November 22, 2014

Loopy Jute Twine Garland With Bells




I must first apologize to anyone who crochets or knits for this craft project I'm about to share with you.  I admire anyone who possesses that skill.  My late mother-in-law tried to teach me years ago but I just couldn't pick it up.

I was in a fabric store recently and there was a video showing how to finger crochet or knit.  I often get the two techniques confused.  Anyway, while looking at the video, a light bulb went on in a weird sort of way for me to try to make a garland out of twine using a slipknot. I know, a slipknot!

After getting home, I pulled out my very large roll of jute twine and started making slipknots.  I first tied a knot on one end and then basically tied a knot to form a loop and continued tying knots with loops. This sounds a bit cray cray, but a cute little pattern of loops was forming and I liked how it was looking.

Sorry, some of the pictures are blurry, but it's hard taking photos with one hand and trying to keep it steady.  Here's what I did:

First make a loop .  .  .


and with your right fingers push the twine through the loop and out creating a knot with a loop. Or what some might call a slipknot .  .  .


and tighten.



Once you've made the first slipknot(with loop) continue making another slipknot with a loop using your fingers.




Keep tying knots and forming loops  .  .  . see the resulting pattern of loops?


How cute!


 I could go on and on and on making these .  .  . 


The spacing between the loops can be tighten by adjusting the loop.  Slipknots can easily be pulled out so once I was satisfied with the look, I added a drop of fabric glue to the knots and let dry.


And then I thought to tie (using threads from burlap scraps) red bells to the garland to make it festive!


Look how rustic and pretty it looks!

What do you think?

Loopy, loops - jingle bells, jingle, jingle!

I call this very rustic and hand made!
 This would be perfect to use with country, rustic, or woodland decor for the holidays!


And it goes great with my Jute and Pinecone Flower Tree.






Take a little time to enjoy
and
Happy Holiday Crafting!

















Linking To:  homestoriesatoz

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Decoupage Christmas Napkins on Mason Jar With Snow



I know there are more than 1001 ways to decorate a mason jar or bottle and you may be among those that are a bit overwhelmed with seeing lots of crafty mason jars (me included).   I believe mason jars have moved from being "trendy" to a status of being  "classic"  in the crafting world.  So yes, I'm here to say, mason jars are here to stay.  (Was that a rhyme?)  Anyway, I have tried to leave them alone .  .  .  except the time I made decorative tops here.  I cannot resist any longer!   So here I am showing you how I decorated a mason jar and wine bottle for the holidays and or winter.  The snow is actually what did it for me!

Materials used:
  • Mason Jar/Wine bottle
  • White chalk paint
  • Christmas/holiday napkins
  • Mod podge
  • Paint brush
  • Plastic wrap
  • Snow-Tex (DecorArt)
  • White glitter
  • Decorative trim
I decided to go back and forth between the mason jar and wine bottle at the same time since the first thing I needed to do was paint both of them using white chalk paint.  It was so much easier since I could use the same wet paint brush on both and then let them dry.



 
After the paint dried, the printed napkins were separated from their white backings and mod podge was brushed on the bottles.


The napkins were placed on top of the decoupage and smooth out and around using plastic wrap (see tutorial).  .  .


 
and allowed to dry.


 
Next,  Snow-Tex was applied using a plastic knife to the tops and bottoms.

 
Snow-Tex is amazing! 
It creates a realistic dimensional snow-like effect and dries permanently hard.
 
 
For a snow-glistening effect, white glitter was sprinkled over the Snow-Tex while wet.


 
The imprint from the mason jar adds dimension to the image.

 
Decorative stems were added to complete the look.




 
A view of the back.


 
These would be great to give as gifts or add to your holiday décor!
 
 

Take a little time to enjoy
and
Happy Holiday Crafting!