It was a crafty weekend around here, and here’s one of the sweet projects I finished up yesterday: a paper winter tree created with cardstock and cupcake liners. It reminds me of a combination between those bottle brush trees and all the coffee filter crafts we’ve seen this past year. 

These are so inexpensive to create, and you can make them any height you want, tall ones from poster board and smaller ones with cardstock.

Supply list : white paper cupcake liners (I used 50 jumbo liners from Safeway for $1.50), white 12 x 12” cardstock or poster board, clear packaging tape (not shown), hot glue gun, and mini ornaments (I used a $1 gold grape flourish and pulled it apart).

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I’m not sure it’s readily apparent around here but I have big thing for faux bois. Truth be told I didn’t really know the fancy term for wood lookalike decorative objects until a couple years ago when faux bois starting showing up here and there and all around the design-osphere. I had to recall my long ago lessons from high school French to decipher faux bois meant ‘false wood’.  

I’m pretty much obsessed with any decorative object that looks like bark, especially if it’s white, so I thought to myself why not make some faux bois vases for the holidays. For this project, I worked with two products I’ve combined in the past: glass and silicone.  Remember these dessert stands?  I still have them. I learned with that project that silicone and glass bond really tightly together.  For Like Ever.  In Hollywood terms, like Paul and Joanne and unlike Kim and Chris.      

I used the same combination of products to create these fun ceramic look vases, but this time I used the silicone to create the bark like look. They turned out pretty cool.

To recreate a similar version, you’ll need four things:  a glass cylinder vase, DAP household silicone sealant, frosted spray paint; and white spray paint or primer.  

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Last summer, I kept seeing cute paper straws popping up in tablescapes and at summer parties, and I couldn’t help but think they’d be so fun to craft with during the holidays, especially in the traditional Christmas colors of red and white. To me, they look just like peppermint sticks!

I haven’t decorated at Christmas with very much red in years past (call me a rebel) but red and I are no longer estranged. This holiday season you’ll be seeing plenty of crimson at my house so let’s start with this fun and easy craft project: paper straw snowflakes!   

If you want to make some of your own, here’s what you’ll need.  For a large 10 inch snowflake: 5 pipe cleaners; 8 paper straws; 24 beads; center embellishment; ribbon or string.  (For smaller snowflakes, cut 4 paper straws in half for a total of 8 stems).  The baker’s twine and paper straws were ordered online (see sources below) and all other supplies are from Michaels.

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here thanks to Mr. Bublé. After I bought his CD the other day (love it!), we’ve been listening to the sounds of Christmas, which put me in the mood to make things feel like Christmas. Yes it’s early, but I make no apologies. I’d like to blame Michael but really it’s my eagerness to get the decorating done early.  Just a little bit every day and I’ll have time to enjoy December!

I had an idea the other day for a craft project that I wasn’t sure would work, but in the end turned out so cute I had to share.  It’s an ornament tree made from dowel rods and marabou feather boas.  How fun is this?

To recreate your own, here’s what you’ll need. One wood bun foot; one ¾” x 36” dowel rod and six ¼” x 36” dowel rods from a home improvement store; white paint (or primer); saw to trim ¾” dowel rod; sharp clippers for ¼” dowel rods; power screwdriver with ¼” drill bit; hot glue gun; 12-15 feet of marabou feather boas from a craft store.  Optional supplies: craft glue, glitter, and tree topper. 

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I saw a great project on Pinterest a few weeks ago and I’ve had in on my mind ever since – it was these fabulous dot painted plates and bowls by Ashley Ann at Under the Sycamore.

The idea of dot painted porcelain dishes sat with me for weeks until I decided to play off the same idea and make some accent plates of my own. These versions have a delicate falling leaf design, as an autumn themed appetizer plate or for our Thanksgiving place settings. 

Get all the details on how to dot paint porcelain over at Ashley Ann’s, she has a detailed step by step. Basically, it’s the process of using paint pens designed for porcelain or ceramics to create your design, then baking your finished design in the oven. You can find inexpensive plain white dishes in a lot of places from Walmart to Target to IKEA.

I’m experimenting as Thanksgiving gets closer with some leaf designs formed with a gold paint pen for ceramics.  I used craft foam leaves as a template to form my pattern.

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