Mini Canvas Ornament

Wordless Wednesday

~ Peace Out ~

Teacher Gift Basket

This is what I decided to do for the

school teachers this year -

Here's a little background info on these

particular gift baskets:

 I wanted to give each teacher something

homemade, and I love giving lots of little things

in a bin or a basket.  I enjoy putting them

together and painting something fun on the

container, and I imagine it's fun for

the teachers to pull things out one by one.

Like a clown car, so to speak.

I  bought food-safe jars at Hobby Lobby

to hold the spiced tea mix I made.

(Recipe to follow)

Then, I purchased a cute mug for each

basket; I found mugs at TJ Maxx, but I know

the dollar stores carry them, also.

I bought a tin of shortbread cookies for

each basket, and a bag of Ghirardelli chocolates

to split among my baskets.

Because I made EIGHT baskets this year,

I purchased two four-packs of shortbread

cookie tins from the warehouse store.

I found my red and green bins at Target in the

dollar aisle ... $2.50 per bucket.  Wow!

I thought that was a great deal.

Here's how to make the personalized bin.

First, I wrote the alphabet in capital letters on

a sheet of notebook paper.

Then, I enlarged them 200% and used

tracing paper to make a pattern for

each teacher's name.

I cut each pattern apart so the letters would

curve around the bin.

Use transfer paper and a stylus to apply

the name to each bin.

Use a flat brush dipped in black acrylic paint

to go over each letter.

Once the names were dry, I used a liner brush

and thinned white paint to outline the letters.

I had planned to leave the bins painted

with just a name, so that the teachers could

use these all year.

But my Christmas spirit got the better of me!

I had to add a sprig of holly to the

top of each bin.

First, I used a fat stencil brush to pounce

green paint onto the bin in the general

shape of the holly sprigs,

to give the design a little opacity.

Next, I outlined the holly leaves

and painted them in with green paint.

I used a grayer shade of green to outline

one side of each holly leaf.

Next, I used a bright green paint to

outline the opposite side of each leaf,

and the center of each leaf.

Use the handle of a paintbrush to add

a cluster of bright red holly berries.

The berries show up a  little better on

the green bins ...

I added some Extreme Glitter hologram

to each holly leaf; then I used

a stylus to add white dip dots to each

berry, and gold dip dots to the edges of

the leaves.

I filled my jars with Spiced Tea mix,

and used Marvy Uchida punches to make

little double-layer tags for each one.

I wrote the instructions

for a cup of tea on the tags:

Now, to fill the baskets.

Please note, filling baskets is NOT 

my specialty.  Nor is tying bows.

Which is why I didn't tie ANY bows on

this project; but I couldn't avoid

actually filling the baskets.

So I did.

I filled em.

But it ain't pretty.

Stuff in the tissue paper.

Then add mix, mug, cookies,

a few Ghirardelli squares,

and an ornament or two.

(The snowflake ornament came from

Target - a pkg of 4 for $1)

A better person than me

(I'm speaking about Crafty Girlfriend here)

could have made these bins look

like *WOW* !!!

But, it was just me, so they

look like ... wow.

Merry Christmas!

Peace and Gift Baskets

SPICE TEA MIX

3 C Orange Breakfast Drink Mix

2 C Granulated Sugar

1/3 C Instant Tea (I used Decaf)

1 t Ground Cinnamon

1 t Ground Cloves

Combine all ingredients.

Store in an airtight container.

Stir 1 1/2T into 1 C hot water.

Snowman * Pail

 * Snowman Pail *

This little ornament is quick and easy

to make, with just a few supplies.

Here's what you'll need:

Really!  Just a 2" wooden pail,

and three or four jumbo craft sticks,

and some paintbrushes and acrylic paints:

light blue, white, black, orange

and a hot glue gun with glue sticks.

Those are the basics.

To add some extra detail, you'll want to use

these supplies, as well:

a scruffy toothbrush and an extra

jumbo craft stick for spattering,

a snowflake stencil for pail details, and

pink powder blush and a cotton swab

to blush the cheeks.

Base coat the pail with light blue paint.

Use the scruffy toothbrush and a craft stick

to spatter the pail with white paint.

Paint each jumbo craft stick white.

Cut the craft sticks in half,

make them varying heights such as:

2.5", 2.75", 3", and 3.25"

Blush cheeks with pink powder blush.

Eyes and mouths are dip dots of black paint.

Use a liner brush and a small amount

of orange paint to add a carrot nose to each

of your craft stick snowmen.

Notice I decided to paint a black hat onto

on of the snowmen ... just to shake things up.

Here's a pic showing how I've added

earmuffs and a stocking cap to two of the 

snowmen.  Sometimes, I just can't make up my mind!

Here's how to make the earmuffs:
I found these little holly berry embellishments
in the Christmas craft section of Hobby Lobby.

The stem is a bendable wire, so it was
super quick and easy to bend
it into an earmuff shape and attach it
to a snowman's head.

Stencil some snowflakes onto the pail,

hang with a bit of ribbon,

and ... enjoy!

*** Peace and Snowflakes ***

THREE - Snowman Snowflake

Here is the third in a series of five

Quick and Easy Bazaar-Worthy craft tutorials.

(you thought I wasn't going to post today, huh?)

haHA!!!

Some days, I even surprise myself.

Moving On ...

 

Snowman Snowflake

I debated making this a magnet instead

of an ornament;

and I've made enough of them that I

could do both.  My kids are always bringing

home artwork from school that

they like to see posted on the fridge - and what

better way than to post them with

a super fun snowman snowflake magnet!

The Basics:

wood snowflake cutout,

1" wood button plug,

acrylic paint: white, black, sparkle glaze

sanding block for smoothing surfaces

pink powder blush and cotton swab or sponge dauber,

stylus for dotting eyes and coal mouth

Plaid Slick fabric paint: orange

Crop-o-Dile, hand drill, drill press, or hubby

(to drill the hole if you're making an ornament)

6" length of wire or ribbon for hanging

(you won't need a hole if you're making a magnet)

glue gun and glue sticks

appropriate sized paintbrushes:

sponge roller or 1" wash brush for snowflakes,

1/2" flat brush for snowman heads

Getting Started: 

Once again, my motto is:

Always Paint in Multiples!!!

(if you're even the slightest bit curious

as to why this is my motto, please read the

previous post, where I explain)

Base coat your snowflakes and your button plugs

with two coats of white acrylic paint.

I'm showing a 1/2" flat brush in the photo,

but you could use a sponge roller if you're making

several snowflakes - it'll go much faster.

Don't forget to paint the backs and sides

of your ornaments!  They will look

more "finished" if you do this, and if you're

personalizing these, you'll have a nice smooth surface

for your paint pen or marker.

Which brings me to ... sand the fronts and backs

of the snowflakes to smooth the wood grain that has

been raised by the acrylic paint.

Sand the edges of the snowflakes more heavily.

Brush a coat (or two) of Sparkle Glaze onto

each painted snowflake.  The more coats you apply,

the more shimmery and glittery your snowflake will be.

(I don't add Sparkle Glaze to the backs).

Blush the cheeks with pink powder blush

and a clean cotton swab or sponge dauber.

Use a circular motion to "scrub" each cheek til it

looks flushed and blushed!!

I use a stylus dipped into a small puddle of

black paint to dot the eyes.

Re-dip your stylus before each dot to ensure

same-sized eyes.  Likewise, dotting

twice before reloading with paint will give you one

eye slightly smaller than the other.

Whichever suits you.

For the noses, practice first on a piece of paper

until you're please with your carrot results.

In general, you'll start at the base

(or the largest part of the carrot) and move to

the right, gradually applying less pressure so that you

end with a small "tip"

Try using a tight back-and-forth scribble motion

until you like the way your carrot looks.

Keep in mind, all carrots look different and

very few are just The Perfect Size and Shape,

so you need to be "okay" if they're not perfect.

Trust me, a big orange triangle on a round white face

is most definitely going to look like a carrot.

Dip dot the mouths in the same manner as the eyes.

I start in the middle of the left cheek,

reload my stylus for the first three dots so they

are the same size, then I don't reload before I dot

the last two dots ... therefore

they look smaller as if they're going away from

your point of vision.

Does that even make any sense??

This isn't my sharpest time of the day.

Use the glue gun to apply the snowman face

to the center of the snowflake:

here's a pic of me glue gunning a snowman face

to a completely different project,

but you get the idea:

Press.

Hold.

Stuck.

Instant Gratification.

I love my glue gun.

Punch a hole with your Crop-o-Dile,

or drill a hole with your hand drill, your drill press,

or your hubby's drill press,

and thread a ribbon through and knot the ends.

I added a red bow just because I had

some red bows that hadn't been dedicated to

any specific projects yet.

OR ... you could use your

glue gun to attach a button magnet to the

back of your snowflake for instant

fridge decor.

I'm off to spend the next three hours on the road,

make an appearance at the school fund-raiser

tonight (which hubby will attend without me)

and hopefully I'll find the time to

read my camera manual,

because I am not liking the pics I'm taking.

I'm sure it's the operator -

that chic should really read the manual.

*Peace and Fridge Magnets*