Seven Weeks of Christmas Crafts Recap

I thought I would do a recap of my crafts in case anyone missed any, and also so I could Pin my own blog post for safe keeping
Week 1: Stockings: Cost $6/each

Week 2: Tree Skirt: Cost $25

Week 3: Advent Calendar: Cost $25 (not including box contents)

Week 4: Felt trees: Cost $5/tree - styrofoam is expensive!

Week 5: Wreath: Cost $6

Week 6: Creative Wrapping : Cost $.10-$.90/package

Week 7: Addy's Ornament : Cost $1.15

I had blast doing these crafts even though at times I wanted to hit my head against the wall.  I hope to continue crafting throughout the year and have made it a goal to complete one project a month minimum!  I absolutely LOVE looking around my home right now and seeing all these handmade treasures!!

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Seven Weeks of Christmas Crafts - Week 7: Addy's Ornament

We have arrived to the end of my 7 Weeks of Christmas Crafts - Can you believe it??  My final craft on this one was a 2nd try as well.  My first intent was to do this lovely ornament:

Source: asortafairytaleblog.com via Cassie on Pinterest

I tried several times but it just didn't work.  First of all it is nearly impossible to get a 9 month old to open her hand perfectly to get a print like the one above.  Secondly the glitter would not emboss to the ornament.  Not sure why, but no matter how I tried the glitter just rubbed off, and I did not want Addy's first Christmas ornament to be nothing by next year.

So then came my second Pinsperation:

Source: craftsnob.com via Cassie on Pinterest

I wanted to do one with her handprint, so I bought some of the baking clay at Joanne's (it was on sale for $1 a package) and made two ornaments. 

I got the idea from a friend to make Addy (and any other children) an ornament every year so that when when they move out they have ornaments to take with them.  I just decided I wanted to do this so I used what stamps I had and made the "believe" ornament.  I want the ornaments for Addy to keep to not being super "daughter-ish" so that way they will look classic on her tree - besides I want to keep her childhood ornaments. 

I just rolled out the dough, cut with a cup and a straw (for the hole) and pressed Addy's hand and some stamp letters or stamps into the clay and baked according to the package instructions.

I also used a pearl coat of accrylic after it dried on the raised areas so the imprints would stand out more.

I am very pleased with how they turned out. They are by no means perfect but I didn't really want them to be :)

7 Weeks of Christmas Crafts Week 6: Creative Wrapping

I despise wrapping gifts.  My husband has taken on the role in years past and I recruited him for help with my "craft" of wrapping as well!  I decided I would wrap the present with brown craft paper and then creatively add homemade bows and embellishments.  Here is what I came up with... with help from pinterest photos.

A Paper "bow"

Felt Pom Poms

Felt Roses

A different sty felt rose with embroidery thread

Stamps for labels

So Jon wrapped and I prettied.  It was pretty fun and I must say they look much more beautiful under the tree than the random splattering of obnoxious wrapping paper we usually use!!

7 Weeks of Christmas Crafts: Week 5 - Wreath

Ding Dong the Wreath is Dead... Dead as in finished.  Let me take you on a journey of this special little wreath. 

My inspiration photo for my 1st wreath:

Source: howdoesshe.com via Cassie on Pinterest

I hand crafted the pom poms with the following tutorial.  They weren't very hard to make but only one of mine ended up looking cool and curly-q-ish like the inspiration photo.  My other two were more straight, but still fun.  I also used the same size template, but mine looked way smaller and scrappier than the example.

I got a frame a goodwill, and Jon spray painted it for me.  Very little money spent thank heavens because this is what it look liked.  You have my permission to laugh out loud.

I could not even post my first blog on this project with this as my final product.  So. Ashamed.

So over the past few weeks I looked at idea after idea and found so many but I did not want to spend much more money than I had already put into it.   Here were some of my inspiration photos that brought me to my finished product.

Source: etsy.com via Sunshine on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Hannah on Pinterest

Here is my final product:

A MILLION times better than my first shot.  Some components may look familiar.

Pom Poms - from attempt 1 of wreath (tutorial link above)
Frame - from attempt 1 of wreath
Letter - from our wall
Fabric backdrop - Left over from my tree skirt.
Burlap bow - Made from leftovers from our stockings

Grand total: $6 (frame and goodwill t-shirt for pom poms)

Overall I am happy with it.  I'm not IN LOVE with it like my advent calendar or tree skirt but it works and I didn't want to start all over after my first attmept.  Next year I want to make this beautiful wreath:

Source: etsy.com via Cassie on Pinterest

7 Weeks of Christmas Crafts- Week 4: Felt trees

Are we there yet?? I keep finding myself saying that phrase about the end of this crafting madness.  Ok, so I'm being a bit dramatic, but honestly I think I bit off more than I can chew.  Going from a person who crafts maybe once a year to once a week was kind of a leap, and I didn't factor any time in for messups!  Crafting is nearly impossible when you are a perfectionist.  My ornament isn't turning out the way I wanted, my wreath is a disaster... phew.

Pinterest Inspiration:

Source: epherielldesigns.com via Cassie on Pinterest

I now know EXACTLY why this photo does not show the top of the trees!  The tops just look a tad funny.

Overall I really like them.  They aren't in a place where someone could stare at the details and as a whole in the room they look great.

Next to my super awesome Advent Calendar! :)

The tutorial for the felt trees is located here!

7 Weeks of Christmas Crafts Week 3: Advent Calendar

I could not be more thrilled about how this week's project turned out!  Not only do I have a fully functional Advent Calendar, I have an awesome piece of art to hang on my wall during the Christmas season. 

Here is my inspiration photo from pinterest:

Source: allthingsbeautiful-charity.blogspot.com via Cassie on Pinterest

I loved the creativity of this calendar.  I planned to replicate it completely but hit a snag when I found out those paper mache boxes were $1 each.  That's $25 just for the boxes.  That's too much for my frugal mind especially not knowing how it would turn out.  I made my entire thing for $25 total (not including what I will put inside).  Here is my finished product!

By the way I ordered a new DSLR camera this week and it should be here Tuesday so my blog photo quality should be going up a notch.  And I got a fabulous deal on Amazon (which is still going btw).

Here's my process step by step:

-I started by making 2.25inch square boxes by using my Aunt's cricut.  I cut 25 of those puppies in no time using extra cardstock already on hand.

-Once the boxes were cut, I had to fold and glue them.  This was a bit tedious and I was noticing not all boxes were perfect.  This is when I decided to put the 3x3 inche overlay square on the tops to hide the imperfections.

- I glued the 3x3 inch overlays to the top of the boxes. 

- I used the Cricut to cut all the numbers and glued those to the tops.

- I attached magnets to the back of each box that came with their own adhesive.

- I layed out all my boxes to figure out what size frame I needed.  I was shooting for an interior measurement of 18x18 inches but ended up finding a 20x20 inch one at Goodwill for $5!!  This frame is heavy duty and distressed and awesome!!

- My husband cut a piece of sheet metal to fit the back of the frame and he attached it with some  nails. 

- I then eyeballed the spacing and stuck the boxes on and we hung it with the hanger that was already attached to the frame!  AWESOME!

Here you see the boxes behind the fun covered fronts!

And here it sits in it's awesome corner! 

I still need to fill the boxes.  I want to do a mixture of candy, scripture, and activities to do as a family in the boxes. 

7 Weeks of Christmas Crafts: Week 2 - Tree Skirt

For all you detail oriented people you have probably noticed that I'm already out of order on my Christmas Craft Line up!  I was supposed to complete my wreath this week, and I did... sort of.  It is still needing something and until I can figure it out I will do projects out of order. 

I completed my Christmas Tree Skirt this week!!  Now before you get too excited I will have to tell you that my plan A tree skirt did not happen. 
Plan A inspiration:

Source: amybutlerdesign.com via Cassie on Pinterest

Gorgeous simple tree skirt.  The link to the entire pattern is HERE.

I went to Joanne's and after picking out everything I realized that it was going to be almost $70 to make this tree skirt.  I could almost buy the most beautiful pottery barn skirt for that much money.  Being the frugal person I am I decided to go with plan B.

Plan B Inspiration:

Source: hgtv.com via Cassie on Pinterest

A No-Sew Tree skirt.  Saves money and no sewing (the pattern of plan A intimidated me).

The Tutorial for the skirt is HERE.

It took me about 4 hours total time and cost about $25!  I decided that the linen fabric was a bit too fancy looking so I picked out a patterned cotton fabric.  I was a bit nervous not knowing how the fabric would lay or look, but I absolutely LOVE it.  I only got 3 hot glue blisters in the process!!

Here is my final product:

And a close up:

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!!  What did you craft this week?

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Seven Weeks of Christmas Crafts: Week 1 - Stockings

I did it!  I actually made Christmas Stockings.  I have always wanted to do it because I never seem to like any stockings in stores unless they are over $30 a piece. 

It wasn't nearly as time consuming as I thought it would be.  That being said, they are FAR from perfect.  My biggest "error" was that they are not uniform in size or shape because I'm just not very good at handling my sewing machine.  I guess that's what happens when you use it once every three years. 

Here was my pinterest inspiration:

Source: cottageinstincts.blogspot.com via Cassie on Pinterest

Now this is a little to "fancy" for my usual whimsy Christmas Decor so I had to add my own funk to it.  The burlap is what sucked me in though.  I love the rustic feel of it, plus I felt it could hide my imperfections a little better.

I used an old stocking as a pattern.  Now the stockings turned out about 4 inches longer than the pattern stocking because I did not read the tutorial all the way before cutting and sewing.  If I would have done so I would have realized that the cuff goes above the stocking piece and not overlapping it.  So now we have long stockings or "irrigation boots" as Jon called them :)

Here they are!  We picked out the colors because they match a lot of what we already use in our decor.  Once I got the stockings done I had to figure out how to embellish them and how I wanted to incorporate the initials (the store ran out of A's so Addy's will have to wait). 

Photo will not rotate and I don't know why.  Anyways here is a sideways view of the embellishments.  I literally strolled through the store for inspriation and this is what I came up with.  The pom poms really finished it off for me!  The initials are just wooden letter that I painted white and then went over with a "pearl" coat. 

The hardest part for me was sewing on the stocking hooks.  It was tricking sewing on the inside layer without going through the outer layer, but I survived... and I had to hand stitch the entire cuff.  I'm glad I didn't know that ahead of time or I might have chickened out. 

I actually enjoyed the project and now that I have my crafting station set up downstairs I think the upcoming projects will go a lot smoother. 

I'm very nervous about that tree skirt though... especially with my sewing disabilities. 

What was your craft this week??

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Seven Weeks of Christmas Crafts!

Pinterest has become oh so inspiring to me!  I go in spurts of loving some sort of hobby. Whether it is sewing, baking, cake decorating, blogging, I just like to try new things to see if I can do them and as an addition to the daily routine that can sometimes feel like the movie Groundhog Day. 

There are so many fun ideas I've been pinning that I have decided that for the seven weeks until Christmas I will tackle one Christmas Craft a week.  This is going to be fun.  It will probably also be funny, because I am not a professional crafter.  Crafting is work for me!  It is fun, but it is not easy.  I have a variety of difficulties on my craft selection so we will see how it goes! 

Here is my crafting lineup:
Week 1 (this week): Stockings
Week 2: Wreath
Week 3: Addy's First Christmas Ornament
Week 4: Advent Calendar/System
Week 5: Tree Skirt (this is my most ambitious task)
Week 6: Creative Gift Wraping
Week 7: Felt Decorative Trees

I will be posting my progress on these projects!  Anyone want to join me??