Cascading Presents From Santa's Bag

Last year I made a floating pitcher with cascading flowers that sits on my kitchen counter next to the sink.  So the other day while washing dishes and looking at the pitcher, I had a crafting moment of creating the illusion of presents spilling out of Santa's bag, cascading down to the base of a Christmas tree.  How cool would that be!

Here's how I put one together:

I remembered seeing little wrapped presents at the Dollar Tree and I already had a small Christmas Tree, so next I had to make a simple no-sew Santa bag and then, put it all together.

First, gather: 

Wrapped packaged presents (Dollar Tree)

Small tree

Wood base

Styrofoam ball (small)

Fleece

Cording

Ruler

Fabri-Tac fabric glue

Styrofoam ball - 6"(half)
Poly-fil

Floral wire stem - 14"(thick)

Tree embellishments

Let's begin by making a no-sew Santa's bag. 

• Cut a piece of fleece 12"x7"

•  Fold the ends over 1/2" and iron the folds for grooves for the drawstrings.

•  Open crease and place a ruler 1/8" away from edge to keep the glue inline.  Then apply fabric glue along the fabric edge.

•  Cut two 12" cords and place one on open fold and close, sealing the fabric together.  Run fingers along edge securing the fabric together. Repeat steps on opposite end.

• To seal bag sides, place ruler 1/8" from edge and run a bead of fabric glue along the long edge half way.  Do the same on the opposite side and fold the bag close, sealing the side edges with your fingers.  Once dry, knot the drawstring ends.

• Turn bag inside out.

• Next, place a small amount of poly-fil in corners of bag to fill out.
• Then cut the larger foam ball in half and insert into bag at an angle. 
• Bend the floral stem into a slight L shape and place into foam and secure with glue and let dry.

• Cut the small foam ball in half and glue in place on wood base. Add a bit of glue onto base of tree and insert into foam ball.  Let dry. 

• Place a mound of hot glue on wood base and insert a slightly bent end of the floral stem. Let glue set up.  Once dry, add more hot glue to top of floral stem, sealing in place.  Hold floral stem until glue sets up and dries. 

• Begin gluing presents into opening of Santa's Bag and around stem .  .  . 

cascading down and around the base of the tree. I tried making a few small wraps but they were too time consuming and didn't look that great, either.

• Add a few ornaments and or lights to the tree and you're all set!

And ready for the kitchen or elsewhere!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Holiday Crafting!

10 Best Christmas Ornament Crafts of 2016 eBook

Oh my goodness! My Ribbon Angel Ornament tutorial is in this awesome FaveCraft's eBook!  How amazing is this!

Back in November, site visitors were invited to vote for their favorite ornament - just by visiting a project, visitors would cast their votes.  The ornaments with the most page views won, and those top ten ornaments  (mine included) can be found in this wonderful eBook!  And the best part, it's FREE!

A big "Thank You" to everyone who stopped by my angel ornament and to FaveCraft for this amazing opportunity!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Holiday Crafting!

 

DIY The Cutest Owl Ornament

I love making owls as seen here, here, here, and here.  But this one is, by far, the cutest one I've ever made!  And the inspiration came from one I saw in an upscale Christmas shop where no pictures were allowed.  So as soon as I left the store, I immediately got out my pen and paper and sketched a picture and included all the details I could remember - but, I did have to go back to write more stuff down since my memory isn't that great! Lol!  Here is the following tutorial to make this cutie!

Begin by gathering these materials: 

Owl ornament template

Fleece

Felt

Scissors

Embroidery thread/needle

Rhinestone mesh ribbon wrap

Animal eyes

Fabric-tac fabric glue

Poly-fil

• You can right click mouse on save picture as, or copy to Word (to adjust size) and print out Owl Ornament Template. 

• Next, cut out the owl body (2) in fleece and the other pieces in felt. I believe the original owl was done in felted wool but fleece looks just as good to me. *And I ended up cutting out four wings and four feet and gluing two together for each one to make them sturdier.

• Begin sewing the body together with needle and embroidery thread using a whip stitch, as pictured.  Poke the needle through both layers of fleece at a slight angle so that the needle comes out roughly 1/4" from the first stitch.  As you sew, the thread needs to be pulled tightly enough to keep the two pieces of fleece snugly together and to make the edge stand out.

 I started the first stitch where the foot would be placed to hide any stitching irregularities.   As I stitched around the body, I glued the wing in place (for added strength and stability) before stitching it.

See how I stitched through the wing:

• For the ornament hanging loop, cut 8 inches of fleece selvage edge, overlapping the ends and gluing in place. 

• Continued whip stitching around the body, leaving a small opening to stuff  with poly-fil, and finally, close opening by whip stitching the rest of the body.

•  Glue the animal eyes (without stems) to center of the felt circles and let dry.

• Cut off strips of rhinestone mesh and glue on in rows, using Fabri-tac glue. The width of the mesh was long enough to circle the eyes. Cut off any excess mesh and felt.

• Add a bit of rhinestone mesh to the feet for a decorative look!

•  For the beak, (forgot to take photos) add a small amount of fabric glue around three edges and seal the two beaks together.  Please leave one end open to stuff with a small amount of poly-fil.  Seal with more glue once filled.  You might need a clip to keep closed while drying. Glue in place between eyes.

Cute, Cute, Cute!

Look at those eyes!  Adorable!

The owl with the tree lights on .  .  .

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Holiday Crafting!

Crystal Ice Fillers HolidayTree - DIY

If you're into all things sparkly, Christmas is just the time to go all out! So why not glam it up this holiday season with a diy cone tree bedazzled with crystal ice fillers! Crystal ice fillers you say?  You've probably seen them in vases especially decorated for weddings.  But why limit yourself to vases or weddings.

Here's a quick tutorial on creating a glitzy, sparkly, crystal tree to add to your amazing glamorous holiday decor: 

Materials needed:

Paper mache cone (Hobby Lobby)

White acrylic craft paint/brush

Crystal ice fillers ( Amazon )

Dap clear 100% Silicone
Craft stick

•   Begin by painting the paper mache cone white and let dry.

•   Lay the cone tree on its' side and spread a generous amount of silicone a few inches along the bottom. You can use a craft stick to help spread the silicone. Press individual pieces of crystal fillers into the silicone.

•   Continue spreading silicone around the bottom and adding fillers. Work at your own pace. The shape of the fillers somehow allows the crystals to "interlock" with one another by moving them around for the best fit.

•  Press crystals together with hands to help secure and eliminate any loose fillers. Continue adding silicone and crystals to the cone as you go around and up. At first, it was easier to apply the silicone and crystals while the cone was on its' side. I could easily see everything and I thought the crystal would adhere better.

• The cone becomes heavier as you apply more crystals so I move it to the upright position about halfway through and continued filling in until reaching the top.

• The silicone does have a quick grab but needs 24 hrs to dry.  Would you believe only a few (3) crystals fell off and were easy to put back on.

This tree just gleams with enchanting beauty!

Light bounces off beautifully and reflects off of all colorful surfaces including Christmas lights. 

And best of all, the tree sparkles and shines no matter what angle!

Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Holiday Crafting!

Glitter Ribbon Snowflake Ornament DIY

Ribbon is so abundant, inexpensive and a great accessory in decorating.  You can make just about anything for the holidays using ribbon.  Like a snowflake ornament for your Christmas tree!

With just a few strips of ribbon, some folds and round filler embellishments, secured with hot glue, you're on your way to creating this adorable ribbon snowflake ornament.  And since you see mostly decorative ribbon edges, how about adding some glitter for an eye-popping adorable showpiece!
Here's how:

Cut five - 2" pieces of ribbon.

Make a loop for each strip and seal ends together with a bit of glue.

Glue two loops together for two pairs + one loop.

Glue the one loop between the two loops.

And then glue the three glued loops between the two glued loops for what I'll call a snowflake loop arm!

Repeat the steps, making five more for a total of six loopy snowflake arms.

Next, cut six - 12" pieces of ribbon.

Fold each piece in half, gluing together. 

Fold the glued piece in half again, creasing the fold, making sure the ribbon is straight.  Add a bit of glue, a half inch from fold and seal.

Place a decorative filler ball in center, gluing one side of ball and close. Add a bit of glue to other side of ball and seal.

Add a bit of glue 1/2" from edge of ribbon and seal, as pictured.

Repeat for the five remaining strips for six, straight snowflake arms.

To assemble the snowflake:  Cut out a quarter size circle from cardstock or felt and glue on a loopy snowflake arm.

Next, add a straight snowflake arm and continue alternating around in a clockwise pattern .  .  .

until the snowflake if formed.  Glue on a ribbon hanger in back.

Looking at the finished snowflake, you really don't see the beauty of the glittered ribbon - just the edges, so I painted mod podge all over the edges and sprinkled on glitter to enhance the snowflake and let dry.  It's so much better!

Here's a video for the tutorial.
Take a little time to enjoy

and

Happy Holiday Crafting!