Sweater Turned Stocking! Great Repurpose Idea!

It's day 4 of the week long marathon of Christmas Crafty Creations! I hope you have enjoyed the last three tutorials, and I hope they have inspired you to get crafting!!! Today, I am going to show you step-by-step instructions on how to make Sweater Christmas Stockings! This was one of the EASIEST tutorials I have done!

All you need for this project is :

* A sweater

* Sewing Machine

* Scissors

* Pins

* Matching Ribbon

* Needle and Thread

* A Stocking Pattern

The internet is filled with different stocking patterns! Find the shape you like best and print out the size you want. I just used a big piece of paper and hand drew my pattern.

Turn your sweater inside-out and line up the bottom hem. Insert a few pins down the front of the sweater, piercing through both the front and back layer.

Lay your stocking pattern on top of the sweater. Line up the top of the stocking pattern with the bottom hem of the sweater. Pin the pattern onto the sweater in a few places.

Cut out around your pattern. Once you have cut out your stocking shape, you can remove pattern and place some extra pins into both layers of the sweater.

With your sewing machine, sew a 1/2 inch seam around the stocking, leaving the top of the stocking open.

Turn your stocking right side out and poke out the curves.

Cut about 4 inches of coordinating ribbon.

Fold the ribbon in half, and hand stitch the loop in the inside corner of your stocking. Make sure that your loop is on the corner opposite of the stocking toe.

NOW FILL WITH TOYS AND TREATS!!!!

I also made my hubby a matching stocking : )

All I need now is a fireplace to hang them on....I don't think I can make one of those :D

(I don't know! I think Jes could--maybe a little glue and paper mache? This girl is a miracle worker with crafts!! : D ~Page)

Check in tomorrow for yet another CHEAP, EASY, and FUN Crafty Creation!

*Jes*

Garland Trees--Love these!

One very popular Christmas decoration that I have been seeing a lot of this year is cone shaped, fake Christmas trees. Some are covered in glitter or beads, but most that I have saw are made with garland. I was SHOCKED to see the price range for these things! To make the tree in this tutorial, I only spent $1.50 in supplies! They are so easy to make, and you can really put your own flare and style into them!

Here is what I used for my tree:

* A paper mache cone from Michael's craft store. They are in the Christmas craft section and only cost $1 when on sale : )

( You can also make whatever size cone you want with a piece of card stock or poster board. I will show you how at the end of this tutorial)

* Garland. I used some vintage silver garland that I have had for years.

* Some type of 'ornaments'. Instead of buying mini round glass ornaments, I used a Christmas craft stem that I had left over from the Yarn Wreath Tutorial. It only costs $.50!!

* Hot Glue

And here are the steps:

First, hot glued one end of your garland to the tip of the cone.

Begin tightly wrapping the garland around the cone. Keep the spacing close so you cannot see the cone underneath. Hot glue the garland in place ever so often.

Keep wrapping until you reach the bottom. Hot glue in place, and cut off any extra garland.

For the 'ornaments', I used the Christmas craft stem I previously used here. Most craft stores have a huge selection of dirt cheap Christmas stems this time of year. I just love how the balls sparkle! I started cutting off the balls from the stem.

Then, I put a bit of hot glue on the balls and placed them randomly onto the tree. Hold them in place for a few seconds until the glue sets.

That's all there is to it! It took me about 5 mins to make my tree. I think I am going to make a few more in different sizes to display on top of my bookcase!

If you want to make your own cones for your trees here is how you do it :

This picture isn't to scale but it serves as a good reference.

I would suggest using card stock or poster board to make the cones. Regular paper will be too flimsy for this project.

First, decide how tall you want your tree. If you want your tree to be 12 inches tall, then make both sides of the triangle 12 inches long. (The sides of the triangles are depicted by the black lines in the picture)

The angle of your triangle determines the fatness of your tree. If you use a 90º angle your tree will be squatty. I suggest using about a 70º - 60º angle.

After you decide what height and angle you will be using go ahead and draw out your triangle sides using a ruler and a protractor.

To draw the curved bottom (depicted by the blue line in the picture) use a compass tool. After you have everything drawn, cut the shape out and use strong tape to keep the seams of the triangle together.

Enjoy! And look for more crafts coming your way soon!!

*Jes*

Setting the Mood for the Holidays!

If you have been keeping up with all of the Crafty Creations, you know that I love to repurpose stuff! And not just fabric either! You can repurpose just about anything! Thrift stores and antique shops are filled with items that can go from old and dusty to chic and modern with the help of a little paint!

This post isn't much of a how-to, but more of a "Look at the possibilities!" type of post : )

A few days ago, I was wondering the isles of my local Goodwill and saw something that I had to get!

I am not sure what this thing is actually called, but my Granny always put her perfume and nail polishes on top of one similar to this. I thought this one would make a beautiful Christmas candle plate! All it needed was a new paint job...

First, I took it apart. Luckily the bottom and mirror slid off easily!

Whenever you paint something always clean it first. Dust will make your paint job look less than perfect : ) Also, make sure you are in a well ventilated area and put newspapers down to protect the surface you are painting on.

I prefer spray paint for most of the projects I do. One great plus side of using spray paint is that the clean up is super easy! The down side is that there aren't that many color options. When spray painting something, it's better to spray a few thin coats, letting the paint dry between coats, than to do a heavy coat. This way you avoid drips!

I chose a beautiful red color in keeping with the Christmas theme!

What's the point of a candle plate without candles!?! One popular trend this year is glittered candles. I was going to just buy some at Target until I realized 3 were going to cost me $17!!! Yeah Right! So, I headed over to the Dollar Tree and got these three candles for a buck a piece.

To make glitter candles you also need spray adhesive and glitter, both of which I already had at home. I prefer super fine glitter over the chunky glitter, but to each their own : )

Yeah, Yeah, I know...spray adhesive IS flammable! Well, at least the fumes are. Before spraying your candles down with adhesive first cover the tops. That way the flame isn't near the adhesive. I had these circle stickers that covered the tops of my candles perfectly.

I checked around and made sure that this was safe to do, and it is. Martha Stewart herself said it was!

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/glittered-home-decor#slide_4

Spray your candles with a light coat of spray adhesive and then sprinkle your glitter all over.

Remove the protective tops and let your candles dry overnight.

I love how candle light bounces and reflects off of mirrors! Really sets the mood ;)

Goes perfect with the snow--yeah? : D

Now that's what I call an UPGRADE!

Make sure to check in tomorrow for the 3rd Christmas Crafty Creation!

Have Fun, Be Thrifty, and Use Your Imagination!!!!

*Jes*

Christmas Rag Wreath

December is FINALLY here! Which means....25 MORE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! To celebrate I am going to post a Crafty Creation everyday for the next 7 days!!! I have come up with some really cute Christmas crafts to share with you so make sure you keep checking in everyday!

To get this week started right, I made a FABULOUS rag wreath to hang on my door! A Rag Wreath is a great way to use up those scrap fabric pieces you have been hanging onto.

Here is a list of materials you'll need for this craft:

* Fabric! You can use your scrap fabric pieces as long as it's big enough to cut a 3 x 3 square out of it. The fabric stores have their Christmas fabric for dirt cheap right now! I bought 1/4 of a yard of 6 patterns of fabric. So all together you'll need about 1 1/2 yards.

* A Straw Wreath! You can find these at most craft stores. I bought a 14 inch wreath for $1.75 when it was 50% off!

* Scissors or Pinking Shears

* Glue

* Phillip's Head Screwdriver

First cut you fabric into 3 inch by 3 inch squares. I used pinking shears to cut my fabric because I think the zig-zag edge is more visually interesting than a straight edge.

I used my quilting rulers to measure my squares. A 1/4 yard of fabric produced about 45 squares so after cutting all 6 of my fabric choices I had about 270 squares.

Get a plastic container of some sort and put some glue in it. I used regular Elmer's Glue, but Tacky Glue will also work.

Wrap a square of fabric around the pointed end of your screwdriver. Make sure that the 'pretty' side of the fabric is on the inside.

Now dip the tip of the fabric into the glue and push the screwdriver firmly into the straw wreath. Poke your fabric about 1/2 way into the wreath.

When you pull the screwdriver out of the wreath, the fabric should remain in the wreath. As the glue dries, it will anchor the fabric permanently into the wreath.

Keep repeating this process placing the fabric squares about 1/2 inch or so apart.

You will want to cover the sides well, so that you cannot see the wreath--but leave the back empty so that your wreath will lay flat when hung up.

Your wreath should look something like this after you are done:

You can leave your wreath as is, or put a beautiful bow on it! There are so many ways you can make bows, but here is how I made mine:

For my bow I needed 2 1/4 inch wide red satin ribbon, scissors, needle and matching thread, and a cute sparkly button for the middle.

Out of my ribbon I cut 2 - 18 inch long pieces and 1 - 15 inch long piece. Grab a piece of ribbon and overlap the ends a little placing 'seam' in the middle of the back. Stitch everything in place. Here is what it should look like :

Back

Front

Do this with all three pieces of ribbon.

Lay the 2 biggest pieces on top of one another forming an X and stitch together down the middle.

Now lay the smaller piece in the middle of the X and stitch in place.

Lay a piece of strong thread underneath the bow in the middle.

Tie a tight double knot around the center of the bow. This should gather the center of the bow.

Now hot glue your button or gem in the middle of the bow and hot glue the bow onto your wreath!

All together I spent under $10 on this project! I love to decorate around the holidays, but money is soooo tight around Christmas. You don't have to spend a fortune buying decorations from stores when you can make BETTER, UNIQUE decorations at home!

Check in tomorrow, and I'll show you another cheap and beautiful way to decorate your home for the holidays!

*Jes*