Wood Shape Ornaments..so many ways to decorate them!

 Wood cutouts in holiday themed shapes can be found at your local craft stores at very reasonable prices....like maybe $.99 each when they're full price.    I went to a mall today and looked at the beautiful holiday tree displays the department stores had with ornaments in varying themes.  There seemed to be many ornaments they were selling that were made to look handmade but obviously mass produced.    

You can make your own themed holiday ornaments to fill your tree for hundreds of dollars less than what a department store would cost.   These are some I've made for my handmade tree using wood cutouts and various supplies to decorate them.  The gingerbread man is covered in felt and edged in tinsel pipe cleaners.  You can also see glitter in various forms, including glitter mod podge on the stocking (who knew?), fine glitter on the star and coarse large glitter on the tree.  I've also pulled out some buttons and ribbon to embellish them.  

I actually saw a gold glittery word ornament at a department store today for $12.  This one cost me about $1.20!   I bought the unfinished wood cutout at JoAnn's and then painted it with gold glitter paint and tied a piece of twine to it to hang.  

What other supplies have you used to embellish wood cutouts? 

Ribbon Spool Ornament

 Do you use a lot of ribbon?  I do!  I end up trying to save the cardboard ribbon spools because I always think I'll use them to organize other ribbon.   I recently went to a new ribbon organizing system where I take the ribbon off the spool and put it in small plastic bags and then put it in larger clear tubs by color.  Colorizing it has really helped. 

The empty ribbon spools make a great base for a scrappy ornament.   This one I painted with red acrylic craft paint, let it dry then applied some glue around the edges and glittered with iridescent glitter.  I cut  two circles slightly smaller than the spool, embellished the front one with a mini clothespin, ribbon, rhinestones, and a stamped greeting.  The back I left plain and hot glued the circles to the front and back.  It was very easy and not very time consuming except for the painting.  It took around 3-4 coats. 

   

 I'm making ornaments this week so I'll have more for you soon......

Holiday Ornament Contest at BHG

Lately I've been visiting the Better Homes and Gardens website for holiday decoration ideas.  I noticed they do a lot of photo contests so I submitted a few pictures of the ornaments I made last year.  I was excited to get an email today that my red winged blackbird was chosen as a finalist this week.   Will you vote for my bird so she'll be entered to win the grand prize to be featured in BHG Magazine?  
All of you talented bloggers should check out these photo contests!  Better Homes and Gardens could find some true gems if they started tapping into blogland..especially all the ladies who come to our link parties.   We could start our own magazine!!

Have a Great Day!

Collage Ornaments using vintage postcards and buttons

This was a new store (Target) bought glitter leaf. I added a vintage image I cut from an old postcard, ribbon, sequins, and a chipboard letter (I am getting good use out of these)

This one I started out with a small art canvas (it's been sitting there forever in my craft room). You could use a piece of wood. I wrapped it in this Moda dictionary fabric, glued on the vintage image, added some glitter, trim and a bow.

I love this old button.

Here are a few more using old buttons.

And my box from earlier!

Erin

Glittery and Monogrammed Gifts

These I made using a few simple supplies: sticky back glitter scrapbook paper, plain tags, chipboard glittery letters, and ribbon. I bought everything at Michael's except the ribbon at WalMart.





I also used craft glue and glued a letter to a store bought snowflake ornament. (Target 2 for $1)



This star I bought is a paper mache plain ornament at Michael's. I glittered it myself using Martha Stewart glitter glue and glitter. (I bought a Christmas pack at Michael's...great deal with a 40% off coupon!)

I also bought a paper mache box and decorated it using acrylic paint, a vintage postcard that I cut to fit the top, and glitter.

I have a few more I may or may not add later!

Have a great day! Erin

Christmas Tree Tour 2009

I put together a post with all my trees from this year. I love Christmas trees, as you can probably see! I just found this white tree in my basement storage and pulled it out this morning. I was inspired by this fresh color combination I have been seeing in a lot of magazines. I hope you enjoy my trees!

Candy Cane Vase Tree


Macaroni Tree



These are all my handmade/created ornaments for this year.



Go Green, Go White!






These trees stay out all year.





Family Heirloom tree.


Merry Christmas! Check back for my nativity scene post next week.



I linked this post at:
Hooked On Houses Holiday House Party

Glittered Gift Tags and other things made from scrap materials

I had some leftover burlap from the $.86 piece I purchased to make my candy cane vase. I didn't want to throw it away so I decided to make a few gift tags. I cut two pieces of burlap a little bigger than the paper tags . I glued one tag inside the burlap for stability. I also glued one of the back.

I used a stamp set I had with owls and birds and just stamped the design I wanted onto the burlap. I purchased a glitter glue pen from Martha Stewart Crafts and went over the area I stamped with the glue pen. Sprinkle some glitter on and you have a glitter design! If you want to use some embroidery thread to stitch around the edge, that's fine, too! Poke a hole through the burlap with a screw driver or pointed object and thread a ribbon through.


I also made another glittery monogrammed button star ornament. These buttons are available in our etsy shop.

The glue writing pen is the key to getting the glitter in the right spot.

Here is a cupcake embellishment or ornament. I cut out an embroidery design I made on my machine and glued pink felt to the back. I'm just learning how to do applique!

I linked this post to The Shabby Chic Cottage! Thanks again!

A Blingy Cupcake Ribbon Tassel

I've been seeing a lot of tassels around so I thought I would try to make one myself. It was easier than I thought..and a lot less expensive than buying one.

The materials you need for this project are: ribbon, glue ( I used tacky glue), acrylic craft paint, glitter (optional), and the wood base piece. The wood pieces are sold at Michael's in their unfinished wood aisle. I bought a package of 6 for about $3 without coupon or sale. I made a matching monogram star ornament to go with the gift.

I painted and glittered the wood piece to my liking, let it dry, and then started gluing the ribbon pieces around the inside. I layered the ribbons and just continued adding ribbons until it looked full enough. I threaded a piece of thin ribbon through the top pre-drilled hole and then took a fabric scrap and glued it inside the wood piece in the center of all the ribbons. (hard to explain!)

This is my little "faux" tree so far..I am making a few ornaments a day so it should be full by Thanksgiving!

A Sign of Hope and some more monogram ornaments

I loved the monogram wreath idea but I was thinking that a greeting or word would also be nice to add to a wreath. I made this sign using a wood plaque I bought at Hobby Lobby for $.75. The wooden word, "Hope" I purchased at JoAnn's for $1. I basically added my own paint, glitter, and ribbon and it didn't take long to create a unique item. I sprayed the sign with a clear matte acrylic sealer and it should be fine to hang on my wreath on my covered porch for the Holiday season.
It could also be hung on a wall.



This is an easy idea. I found these chipboard stars 5 for $1 at Michael's. I just painted one white and when the final coat was wet dusted it with fine glitter. After it dried, I wrote the letter, "E" with tacky glue and then sprinkled a larger silver glitter onto the letter. So easy..reminds me of making ornaments as a kid. The star already had a hole punched so it's perfect for a ribbon to hang.

Here is another wood letter I painted with gold metallic spray paint and then added dots of glue to sprinkle with glitter.

Easiest one yet, a painted letter hung with a ribbon.