Holiday Sign - February's Handmade Christmas Blog Hop

Ok, I know it's early to be thinking about this but you've got to take action NOW!  Are you one who had big plans in the past for making handcrafted Christmas gifts only to realize your time has run out and you just can't complete all those wonderful gifts you had intended to make?  I'm here to help!

Follow along with twelve creative bloggers who have joined together for a 12 Month Christmas Blog Hop where one of us will be making a great gift for you to re-create each month!  Imagine, make one handcrafted gift a month for 2016 and by christmastime you'll be all set.  Isn't that terrific!

This past January, Millie of 2Crochet Hooks kicked off the Handmade Christmas Blog Hop with a cool No-Sew Fleece Blanket! And Pili @My Sweet Things  created an awesome Merry Christmas Sign using scrap wood table legs.  I'll be the one to make a gift for March, so please stay tuned.  In the meantime, did you notice my handcrafted gift holiday sign for February's blog hop. I'm so sorry that I didn't have an old table to dismantle, but I did have an unfinished blank sign, a roll of musical notes paper and some mod podge to put together a holiday gift inspired by Pili's sign!

Mine was quite easy to make and did I mention before I had everything I needed already?

Simply apply a layer of mod podge to the unfinished wood - I like to keep things simple and did not paint the wood - but if you're so incline, have at it! So, after coating the wood, gently lay the musical note paper down and smooth out and allow to dry.

Since the width of the sign is much larger than standard printer paper, I opted to print out the letters JOY, cut them out and glue on top using mod podge.

And would you believe I even had a roll of musical notes ribbon to make a cute bow to complete the look!

SCORE!  Two gifts down!

Be sure to check back in March with me, Gail @PurpleHues and Me for March's Handmade Christmas Blog Hop!

An InLinkz Link-up


Have fun!

Coiled Wire Heart for Valentines

Last week a blogger buddy, Tuula @Thrifty Rebel Vintage, who does a series on her "Finds of the Week," featured a coiled heart she found at a thrift store.

I made a comment that I had just gotten into coiling and thought I could make one - just a smaller version.  Needless to say, she didn't see my comment - sometimes her new domain doesn't recognize me for whatever reason although we thought it had been corrected. It wasn't until I asked for her permission to post her picture and discovered my comment wasn't there.

 Anyway,  I was in Dollar Tree a few days later and found red wire! I knew immediately what I would do with it - make a coiled heart!  It was so easy to do  and it only took about 15 minutes.

To begin, I coiled the wire  (it doesn't say what the gauge of the wire is but I guess it to be 16 or 18) around a skewer stick.  I didn't think I had enough wire to make a bigger coil that would require using a larger stick like a dowel rod.

Gaps in the coiling wire can be tighten by pressing the coils together.

Once finish coiling the length of wire needed, remove coiled wire from stick.

Usually, the ends are cut off evenly but I left them on to secure together when making the heart shape. Next, cut a piece of straight wire several inches longer than the coiled wire.

Then use a plastic cup or something else round to help shape the wire into curves of the heart.

Grab each end of the coiled wire with pliers and stretched the entire length - evenly separating the coils and inserting the straight wire into the extended coil, forming a heart shape.

Bring the two end wires together, wrapping one around the other.

Finish the longer end by cutting off excess and using a round nose plier to make a loop at the top to close the wire. 

To make a matching jump ring, coil wire four or five times around a skewer or slightly larger stick and cut off excess ends, removing coiled wire from the stick .  .  .

Use wire cutters to trim ends of coils and cut out each coil at the same spot releasing the jump rings.

Open the gap of the jump ring by moving each end sideways to open. Close gap of jump ring in the same manner once attached to the top loop of heart. 

Surprise your sweetie for Valentines with this extra touch .  .  .

Thanks for the inspiration, Tuula!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

Gold Nuggets Decorative Accents

Do you buy "just in case" items?  I do all the time when it comes to crafting.  My latest was picking up some decorative accent white pebbles and a couple of vases from the Dollar Tree .  .  .  just in case I  come up with a different idea on what to do with them - other than the usual filler in a container project.  Well, I'm here to tell you, it didn't take me long to get inspired and create something.  Using small rocks or pebbles, glass vases, silicone adhesive and spray paint, I made a couple of gold nuggets decorative accent pieces - great to hold candles, LED lights and even flowers.

*additional materials needed include rubbing alcohol, cling wrap, painter's tape, and plastic grocery bags. 

After cleaning the glass with soap and water and drying, wipe down with rubbing alcohol to remove any remaining oily residue.

Then, in a well ventilated area, spread silicone adhesive on a portion of the clean glass vase.  With the glass placed on a covered work surface, sprinkle the small rocks over the silicone (it's a fast grab and E6000 is not) Continue adding the pebbles until the glued area is covered.

Fold a piece of plastic wrap and lay it over the pebbles, applying pressure down and squeezing the pebbles close together at the sides.  Allow the silicone to set for a couple of hours.

Add additional silicone to the glass next to the set pebbles and spread over another portion as before, sprinkling more pebbles, using cling wrap to flatten and squeezing the small rocks together until the vase is completely covered with pebbles. Allow to dry 12-24 hours following directions.

To prepare the  vase for painting, I stuffed plastic grocery bags in the cavity  and taped the edges with painter's tape before spraying  with  Rustoleum Metallic spray paint.

Don't they look like "gold nuggets"?

You can place a LED battery powered light inside the larger vase to emit a lovely glow .  .

or just place battery powered candles on top .  .  .

for an awesome decorative look!

I was inspired to make these from candleholders I saw online at Horchow:

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Crafting!

My New Look!

Hey everyone!
     Have you noticed my new look?  It's amazing isn't it? I finally have a blog that looks great and easy to navigate and between you and me - it's about time!
     All thanks to Linda, the Blog Fairy! She sure had to use a lot of magical fairy dust to get my blog together! Just kidding!
     Besides giving me a complete customized design, Linda suggested that I get my own blog domain and that's exactly what I did!!  Yay!!!
     Please check Linda out if you're interested in a new blog design or just a few touch ups. She also has a lovely blog, Life and Linda  that's quite entertaining and a wonderful read!
     Linda is so innovative as a designer, adding your personal touches along with her technical knowledge of creating the best for you - and of course, always going the extra mile to make sure you're completely satisfied!

Thank you so much, Linda! I'm truly enjoying my new look!