Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

{last mintue christmas decorations} 3D paper star wreath tutorial

I had a bunch of this pretty Christmas paper left over from last year (it's Making Memories' Mistletoe line), so I decided to use it up before I didn't love it anymore. I've been meaning to make a star wreath for ages, and after seeing a friend's 3D stars lining the wall on her staircase (super cute idea, by the way), I decided to try them out. Easy and darling! Here's how to make a 3-D paper star wreath for yourself.


3-D Paper Star Wreath Tutorial

Supplies:
*Patterned papers
*Scoring tool (scoring board, bone folder, or stylus)
*Hot glue gun
*Wreath form (I cut my own out of chipboard, but you could use a wooden one from the craft store)
*Buttons, brads, and ribbon

1. Cut stars approximately 3" to 4" wide using a template or die cutting machine. I would've used my Silhouette, but it's on the fritz, so I used my trusty Slice machine. You could also trace a template. I used 12 stars, but you may use more or less depending on the size of your wreath.

2. Score a line from the top of each point straight down to the inside point. Do this for each of the five points.


3. Fold on each line. First, fold each line with wrong-sides of the paper together.


4. Then fold the short lines between points in the opposite direction to give your star dimension.


Repeat this for all stars. Aren't they cute?


5. Optional: embellish stars centers with buttons, brads, or rhinestones. I hot glued mine on.


6. I didn't want my white wreath form to show, so I covered it with green stars, cut just 1/2" smaller. This is also optional, especially if your wreath form is narrower or you have more stars. You can always overlap your big stars.


7. Apply glue to the inside points on the back and hot glue to wreath form.



8. Create a ribbon hanger with a piece of ribbon, and if you're froofy like me, you can add a big, fluffy bow or two. Glue to the back of wreath.



Hang and enjoy!



These 3D stars are also great as ornaments. Just glue a ribbon hanger to the back! You could also glue another star to the back to make it a little sturdier and more 3-D.



I also use them as gift tags. Or gift tags that are also ornaments!






easy christmas card hanger tutorial

Is it feeling like Christmas at your house yet? We had a major wind/rain storm in the Seattle area last night, and when I walked out the door this morning, I was greeted with the smell of Christmas trees! Never mind that it's because the storm blew evergreen branches all over the neighborhood. It smells like Christmas! Yea!

Today we're celebrating the fun of Christmas cards over at Make and Takes with our Holiday Card Garland Tutorial. It's a cute and simple way to display all the cute holiday cards you receive in the mail this time of year.


If you haven't sent your cards out yet, don't fret--there's still time! Go on over to Tiny Prints and order some, quickly! Right now they're giving $10 off order of $75 or more with code AFF75, or $10 off $49 for new customers with code AFFNEW!






holiday pretzel kisses {last mintute christmas treats}

These little treats are simple to make a huge hit at Christmas! I made up a batch for neighbor gifts this weekend.

Holiday Pretzel Kiss Candies Recipe

Ingredients:
*Small, waffle-shaped pretzels
*Hershey's Kisses (plain old chocolate are good, but my favorite are the Candy Cane Kisses--any variety of Kisses or Hugs will work)
*Red & green M&M's
*Cookie sheet and parchment paper


1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or wax paper). Spread out pretzels.


2. Put a Hershey's Kiss or Hug in the center of each pretzel.


3. Heat oven to 170°. Place baking sheet in oven for 6 minutes. Kisses will just begin to melt and look shiny, but will not lose their shape.


4. Gently top each Kiss with an M&M, with the "m" side down. It should immediately push the Kiss' point down, but if you have to press it into the Kiss, you may need to heat them a little longer.



Place in the freezer until the Kiss is hard again (i put my whole cookie sheet in my big freezer, but you could wait for them to cool and put them on a smaller plate if you don't have that much room in your freezer). Package them in a cello bag, add a bow and a tag, and you're good to go!





christmas gift tag exchange {easy christmas gift idea}

Last week I joined my cute friends from Lasting Memories for a tag exchange party. We each made 12 tags and traded them while enjoying lots of good food (my contribution coming to this blog soon!) and good conversation. Tags also make a great gift, because everyone can use them at Christmastime!

Here are my tags for the swap. I just punched a circle out of sheet music scrapbook paper, punched a star out of plain card stock, covered the star with glitter glue, and dunked it in my german glass glitter. Then I popped the star up with a pop dot and added a little tinsel and a jingle bell. Festive, eh?



Here are all the tags I received at the swap. Amazing, right?


These are a few of my favorites. My friend Annette went all out with these gorgeous tags featuring an accordion fold circle (see the tutorial here).


This tag was made of thin wood, washi tape, sequins, and a hilarious mustache button by my talented friend London who makes killer chipboard buttons (check out her shop right now!).


This glitter tag by my friend Kim looks so fancy, but it is so easy to make! Martha Stewart makes a great glue stamp pad that allows you to stamp your image with a stamp and then sprinkle glitter on it. That's it--it's that easy!


My vintage-loving-friend Marilyn (the recipient of this cute vintage button jar) make this beautiful tag with stamps and buttons in her favorite colors--red and aqua.


My friend Kayleen and I got together a couple of weeks ago and had a tag-making day. We each made 5 of 5 different tags (okay, she made 6 and I made 5--I'm slow). Then we put 1 of each in a cello bag and tied it with a little ribbon and a tag for a fun gift for a brunch we put on last week. It was almost a gift for ourselves because we got to spend quality papercrafting time together AND we each ended up with a set of the tags for ourselves!