Christmas in July Braided Trim and Bow Ornament

It's Christmas in July and time to start creating those pretty ornaments you've had in mind for so long! How cool would it be to wrap a styrofoam ball with decorative braided trim and top it off with a beautiful Bowdabra bow for a lovely Christmas ornament! It's so easy to make and yet very dramatic in design!

Materials:

• 5/8" Sheer Satin Trim Ribbon
• Scissors 
• Styrofoam Ball 3"
• Gimp Braided Trim
• Fabri-Tac Fabric Glue
• Mini Bowdabra, Wand, Bow Wire

Instructions:

Begin by cutting a six inch length of ribbon from the roll, folding in half and tying ends into a knot.

Find the center of the styrofoam ball and add a dab of glue there. Use the end of the scissors to press the ribbon knot down into the styrofoam ball .  .  . 

for the hanger.

Next, apply a generous amount of glue around the base of the hanger and begin placing the trim down following the bottom of the hanger, making sure the edge in the design is as close to the hanger as possible.

Continue applying glue around the ball and then adding the trim, making sure the trim is as close to the edge of the previous row.

Continue wrapping the trim around the ball after applying glue .  .  .

being very careful with placement of the trim as the area gets smaller and smaller. You'll have to tighten it up a bit!

To finish, squish together the end of the trim in a circle while gluing it down, and then cutting off the excess.

                            

To complete the ornament, let's add a beautiful Bowdabra loopy bow to the top!

Here's How:

Using a Mini Bowdabra, insert a 18" piece of bow wire folded in half into the Mini Bowdabra, tucking ends under. Then, crease the end of the ribbon and place into the Mini Bowdabra. Fold the ribbon at the 2" mark and press into the Mini Bowdabra. This is your first loop.

Next, fold the other side at the same 2" loop width. 

Continue folding loops one side at a time down through the center of the Mini Bowdabra, creating 15 loops on each side for a total of 30 loops. Cut off excess ribbon. 

                            

Scrunch down the loops with the Mini Bowdabra Wand.  

While the bow is still in the Mini Bowdabra, thread the two loose ends of the bow wire through the loop at the other end pulling tightly, tie in a knot and gently pull bow out.

Then take the bow wires around to the back tying in a couple of tight knots. 

  Tie the bow onto the hanger with the bow wire adjusting the wire through the center of the bow.  Make a loop with the two wires for hanging, tying the ends together into a knot and cutting off excess wire. And finally, fluff the bow, arranging the loops and stand back and admire your beautiful creation!

                                   

   

How cool is this!

Perfect to make for Christmas in July and the Christmas holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by

and take a little time to enjoy,

Happy Crafting!

Purple and White Checkered Ornaments

Christmas in July is one of my favorite times of the year - it's when I get to

create adorable Christmas ornaments free of any stress and hassles! You know I love purple, so most of the ornaments I create have some type of purple color
going on, lol! For this project, I pulled out my checkerboard stencil, wood rounds, silicone molds, and purple and white paints to create a simple but beautiful ornament to hang on my tree. And the best part - you can make some too using any paint color you like to go with your holiday decor, just like I have!

Tattoo Clear Ornaments DIY

 

It's Christmas in July and time to get an early start on making Christmas crafts! Have I got a fun way to decorate clear glass ornaments using temporary tattoos! And the best part, you won't believe how easy it is to make your very own tattoos in any design and color. All you need is a inkjet or laser printer and plain tattoo paper - and of course, clear glass ornaments! Does that sound cool to you? It does to me!

Decorative Cord Wrapped Holiday Tree

 

It's that time again for our 'Do It Over' Designer's Blog Hop that happens the 4th Saturday of every other month! 'Do It Over' Designers is a group of talented bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/DIY, hosted by Anne @The Apple Street Cottage. 

It's all about taking something old and/or unused and 'doing it over' into something new. Anything from fabric, old dishes, and decor to dressers and hutches. Items found in closets, cabinets, barns, garages, yard sales, thrift stores, you name it! 

This month it's about Christmas in July! For my 'do over' project, I had to look high and low around my home for something to make! I found an old solar light panel that broke off from an outdoor light, some long sticks used for roasting marshmallows, dowel rods from the dollar store and from my stash, macrame cord that's several years old!

Can you guess what I'm going to make?  It's a decorative cord wrapped holiday tree! I saw similar trees on Youtube and wanted to create my own version using items from around my home. I love this type of holiday tree! It's a lovely idea to use even when it's not Christmas! It compliments so many different decorative styles - jncluding boho, vintage, shabby chic and even the farmhouse look! 

Let's begin by laying out the dowel rods in a triangular shape on top of parchment paper (to prevent sticking) that's on top of a cutting mat with measuring grid,  Then take the pointed end of a roasting stick and place in the middle of the dowels rods. Use the measuring grid to keep the rods evenly spaced.

Then measure out the bottom rod to meet the ends of the slanted rods and cut to fit on top. Secure rods with hot glue and let dry.         

To make fringe along the bottom rod, create a larks head knot around the wood rod by folding 10 inch pieces of cord in half, creating a loop on one end. Then drape the loop over the rod pulling the ends of the cord through the loop around the rod tight. 

Continue making lark's head knots along the entire length of rod to create a lovely fringed look.

Next, cut approximately 45ft of cording to wrap the tree. Fold in half to find the middle and glue the middle of the cord onto the back of the bottom center rod - stretching the cord out over the end slanted rods.

Then glue the cord to the bottom of the slanted rods.

Turn the tree over and begin wrapping the left cord over and around the center rod and back to the left side.

Then take the right cord over to the center rod and around, back to the right rod.

Continue alternating left, right cords, adding a bit of hot glue to help keep cords from slacking

Continue alternating cords and adding a bit of glue to the side rods to maintain the shape .  .  .

until you can no longer wrap the cord over and around.

Finish tip by wrapping cords around rods, cutting off excess and gluing in place.

Next, drill hole in solar panel to fit rod for a stand.

Add glue around base of tree rod and insert in solar panel.

For a decorative effect, wrap cord around base of tree rod and stand .  .  .

covering the actual solar panel and ending the cord by cutting cord at a slant and gluing in place.

And finally, unwrap the fringe cords, brushing the fibers out .  .  .

and trimming the ends.

What fun and whimsical is this!

Even when it's not Christmas!

Be sure to check out all the 'Do It Over Designers' listed below to see their lovely "do overs" too! 

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Little Vintage Cottage

Modern on Monticello

Purple Hues & Me

Southern Sunflowers

Unique Creations by Anita

My Hubbard Home

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Create A Holiday String Box

 I have always loved seeing  handmade string wrapped balls and string wrapped cone shaped trees for the holidays.  They are quite popular and easy to make for Christmas decorations! You can find lots and lots of tutorials on making them! But I'm having difficulty finding an easy to make tutorial for string wrapped boxes. You see the boxes everywhere - indoors and out - for the holidays - and can't you imagine how many different ways they can be decorated, too  - perfect in any holiday decor! 

Welcome to our monthly Blog Hop Challenge hosted by Beverly @ Across the Blvd. The theme for this month is Christmas in July! And I'm sharing an easy to make tutorial on how to Create A Holiday String Box.

A trendy and classy Christmas Decoration!

You can easily make your own with an empty Tissue Box, Plastic Wrap, Crochet Thread, and Aileen's Tacky Glue. So let's get started!

Take an empty tissue box .  .  .

and drape it in plastic wrap .  .  .

securing the plastic completely around the box.

Next, the easiest way I've found to wet the thread and at the same time remove excess glue while wrapping the box - with no mess or string tangling - is to take a thin, but strong upholstery needle and thread it with the end of a ball of crochet thread. Then take a small bottle of Aileen's Tacky glue (from Dollar Tree) and .  .   

punch the lower portion of the bottle with the threaded needle .  .  .

pulling the needle and thread through the bottle. Then remove the thread from the needle and .  .  .

secure the end thread to the box. Begin wrapping the tissue box with the thread while holding the glue bottle as you wrap - first vertically and .  .  .

then horizontally .  .  .

alternating how you wrap .  .  .

until .  .  .

you're satisfied with the look.

If you want, you can add additional tacky glue over the thread by dabbing more on with a sponge. Secure the end of the string with a string that's wrapped on the box and cut off the excess. You can store the glue bottle with the hole in a ziplock bag for future projects. Just add more glue, as needed. Let the wrapped box dry for several hours or overnight on a surface that won't stick or simply hang up with a bit of excess thread until dry.

Once the string box is thoroughly dry, cut a flap on the narrow side to remove the cardboard box. 

Use scissors to carefully cut the box into pieces to .  .  .

pull out and remove.

Turn box upside down to place flap on bottom.

Decorate with ribbon .  .  .

bow and trim!

You can insert remote control twinkle lights for a cool, festive and .  .  .

colorful look!

Click on the links below to see how the co-hosts met this month’s challenge!

Beverly @ Across the Blvd - DIY Christmas Sign 

Gail @ Purple Hues and Me - Create A Holiday String Box

T'onna @ Sew Crafty Crochet - Christmas Tree Scarf

Carol @ Comfort Spring - DIY Cone Christmas Tree