Allyson & Alex: Crafty

Showing posts with label Crafty. Show all posts

January 18, 2011

One more Christmas decoration

I know it's late. This post anyways.... The actual decoration was up before I left for California, but I barely had time to snap a few pictures let alone post them.

Instead of making a countdown to Christmas (we weren't here, what fun would that be?) I made him an i'm-sorry-i'm-leaving-you-here-with-boring-school-while-I-go-play-in-California,-but-hey-here's-something-fun countdown for those last 2 weeks till break. Each day had a surprise, either a treat to take to school or a note sending him to a fridge to unwrap a pack of bacon (yes that's a according to him) or ready made cookie dough.

I made them with red and white felt (mentioned in this post) to cut out small and large mittens. Everything else used for decorating was scraps. The only thing purchased for this project...clothespins for like $2 at Target.

I used the same method for the stars and reindeer as I did for the penguin art in that post I just mentioned. I did mittens and their decorations in a more vague winter theme (as I did with my other Christmas decor) so I could keep them up longer. They did stay up most of January, and if I wasn't so anxious to start Valentines decorating they would still be up.

I think Alex enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed making (and looking at) them!!!

November 26, 2010

It's beginning to look alot like...

Christmas

Yep. You guessed it. I am all decorated and ready for Christmas...

Truth is...Decorations and music started making their appearances the week after Halloween. I took these down...

and started putting these up the same day...

In fact...you might recognize a lot of things from this halloween post. Another in fact...here are some of the before and afters...

Remember this tree? Remember how I said I was going to keep it year round?

I wasn't joking.

Remember these hot-glue spider webs..?

Ha. No I didn't keep them up...

But I used the same technique (plus some white glitter) to make these icicles for the winter

These are the frames I keep covering with scrapbook paper. And for this season, I added in some paper grocery bag behind the scrapbook paper.

And those are my Christmas trees. Also handmade and free.
Here's how...
or just scroll down to the next post...

My Nativities
When we were engaged, Alex had the idea of collecting Nativities from places we travel. I love it. My grandparents did the same thing and ended up with a unique and beautiful collection.

Mexico

Russia.
Ok ok WE didn't actually go, but my brother served his mission there and brought these back for us.

Peru
Ok ok only Alex went. That still counts.
Hawaii
We couldn't find a Nativity ANYWHERE so we snagged a Santa. Could the hut be manger-ish?
And tree globe from Lori :)

This one we got when we were married. Beautiful.
And that is what the back lighting looks like on the rest of the Nativities when the camera flash doesn't mess it up.

Yeah? You like the lighting? Here's how it happened...

Christmas lights scotch-taped to the back of the shelves and people propped on boxes and cans of food.

Halloween version:

Winter version:

The coasters were replaced by cream felt and a penguin. I found the idea and template in an old Better Homes Christmas magazine
(quick tutorial...printed image on printer paper, sprayed with spray adhesive, stuck it to fabric remnants, THEN cut it out. Keeps fabric stiff and in place)

Quick-made winter pillow cover
Also, thanks Grandma Lori for the early Christmas present..squeak-free rocker :)

Remember this ~~spooky~~ snazzy duck?

Well..
Merry Christmas and a quacky New Year

Remember my thrifty spendage on Halloween decor?
I did it again!

Price breakdown...
$14 fabric
(various red/black/white plaids, white and red felt that I will ~~hopefully~~ use (in addition to the other plaid remnants) for an advent calendar.
$4 bag of pinecones
which I will also use for my Card Club this month, and used to make turkeys for Thanksgiving table
Equals $18
Everything else that I used I already had in my craft closet.

Happy Holiday decorating...

Oh christmas trees...

I've seen some tutorials for the newsprint (or sheetmusic) trees that call for the Styrofoam cones as a base. Psshh. Don't waste your money. I just roll up plain cardstock then unscientifically cut the bottom until it sits flat.

For the Twine One...
Pretty self-explanatory. Oh but here's a tip (pun not intended)... I cut a hole in the tip of the tree, thread the end of the twine through it, tape it to the inside, and proceed to glue and wrap

For the curly trees..
I made one cone out of black cardstock, but the other was tan so I covered it with newspaper before adding the curly strips so holes in the "branches" wouldn't be as obvious.

To make the curly branches I cut strips of newspaper columns lenthwise. The width of the strips would depend on the size of the tree. Mine were small enough so I could cut one column in half and get two separate strips. Does this make sense?

Then I cut slits for the "branches" about halfway into the strip.
I also cut smaller slits into the top (the part that was going to be glued to the cone) just so it would lay flat as I glued it in place. It's the same idea as clipping or notching a seam when sewing curves.

To curl them, I just rolled the new branches with my fingers, starting at the edges and rolling them in.

For the Twine/Newpaper tree...

Easy.
Make a cone.
Cover it in newspaper (for me it was easiest if the newspaper was cut into triangles).
Wrap it in twine as described above, but leaving space between rows of twine.

If you want to make these and none of this makes sense, email me and I'll try to explain it better.

November 2, 2010

Week of Costumes: Bloopers

We had some requests to dress Dean up in a different costume every day for the week of Halloween. So every day, we dressed, pictured, then posted on facebook. The costumes were all done with stuff we either made or already had, and most of them were Alex's ideas.

For those who didn't see them, here they are...

And for those of you that did see them, scroll down and check out the ones that didn't make the book.

Monday: Golfer Dean