"Santa" wrapping {note for next year}

Yes, I know that Christmas is over. I CAN'T WAIT to get it all down and cleaned up! {that's the project for tomorrow}. I wanted to share an idea for "Santa" wrapping. Santa always wraps our presents, and he likes to use all the same paper! {The Santa Paper}. My son is 11 and is "pretty sure" that Santa is not real. {can you believe it?}. I always like to just label the gifts and usually just put a little initial on the bottom of the gift...but this year, I decided I would use my sticker letters to label each persons gifts. I love how it turned out...and there was no question what belonged to who!




Ever since I started digital scraping, I have to come up with ideas of how to use my ENTIRE room of Scrapbook Supplies.

And the Stockings were Hung . . .

For those with out a fireplace mantel to put your stockings on, we have the perfect solution.  A wooden sign with the cute saying . . . "the stockings were hung . . . "  This was another project from our craft group last year.  We did them in a variety of ways.

Like this one with stars above the nails. . .

Or you could add names . . .

Or this one with stars on the ends and a 3 foot board . . .

 We had a lot of fun painting, sticking vinyl on our boards, sanding and banging those nails in.  Hope they don't mind I posted some pictures of them hard at work.  The boards were the same size as our Family Home Evening boards that we have made in the past and so they could hang them in the same place during December.

Creche Ornament Tutorial

Creche Ornament Tutorial

This is a very simple ornament to make.  It does require a glue gun and some paint brushes in addition to the items listed in THIS POST

I hope I took pictures of all the steps.

First paint half of the larger clothes pins one color (like blue or green) and the other half a second color (like red) Then paint all the small ones white.  Cover the entire clothes pin with the paint.

White small clothes pins

Blue Large clothes pins

Then paint the stars yellow.

Next paint just the front part of the clothes pin on the two larger ones with a peachy skin color. (You do not need to paint the sides since they will be covered in fabric.)

Next paint the entire top (head) of the white small clothes pins.

With black paint and the end of something small - paint brush or pin - make eyes.  Just two dots per head.  Then add a touch of blush on the cheeks with a Q-tip or something like that.

 Then add fabric to the Mary and Joseph, to cover their heads.  (Sorry this picture is too small.)  Just a thin 1/4 to 1/2 inch strip that is about 2 to 3 inches long.  Do each head a separate color.  I did red for Mary and tan for Joseph - because that is what I had on hand.  I could be anything you have on hand that looks a little rustic.

Next glue Mary and Joseph together with hot glue, making sure Mary is just a little lower then Joseph.

Secure the star with hot glue

Then glue baby Jesus on top of the star.

 Secure a piece of twine on the back with hot glue, making sure you put your tag on first (Not shown in this picture.)

 Then enjoy your hard work and deliver to friends with your Christmas cards or how ever you want to do it.

Edited to add: Here is a link to the tags.  Unto Us Tags
 



More Neighbor or Friend gifts

Some of these were made last year before we had our blog, but I had taken pictures because I was thinking about having a blog at the time (our one year is coming up soon - mmm, maybe we need to do something about our one year mark.  I will have to think about that. )

But anyway here are a couple ideas with lists for what you need to make them.  I will see if I can get that tutorial up for the Creche ornaments soon.

Enjoy!!

Believe Bells Ornament

(Not original to me - I copied Liberty from last year)

Items needed:

Bells (bought after Christmas for 75 or 80% off)

12 to 13 inches of Ribbon (50% off at Micheals)

Twine (purchased for an earlier project)

Tag (made in photoshop - says "The bell still rings for those who truly Believe.  The Andersons 2010")

Edited to add a link to the tag (without my name and year on it.)  It is a jpg file, I guess if you have Photoshop you could add your own name or you can just print it on cardstock and write your own name.  Here is the link.  Enjoy!!

Nativity/Creche Ornaments:
(Tutorial to come)
Large wood clothes pins and small clothes pins (found in the wood section at JoAnn's, Micheals or Hobby Lobby)
Wooden Stars (Same place)
Small pieces of checkered cloth (for head coverings)
Twine for hanger
Tag that says "For Unto us a child is Born"

 2x4 Wood Peace, Love and Joy Blocks

2x4 cut at 4, 5 and 6 inches

Paint to match

Scrapbook paper

Vinyl cut on Cricut (Liberty can tell you which cartridge, if she remembers)

Beauty for less....

A few dollar store ornaments, a vase from under the kitchen sink and some picks from Hobby Lobby {at 50% off}. A beautiful "mantle" aka top of the entertainment center.

Neighbor Gifts

Here are two ideas {and printables so you can make your own} Merry Christmas from CraftsreDesigned. We love being able to share our craft ideas with you.

Give Soap {I got mine at Bath and Body on sale}



Tag says, "Wishing you a holiday season full of peace, joy and SOAP"

HERE is the printable for you, it's an 8 1/2 x 11 page, print on cardstock, cut out and tie to soap.  If that link doesn't work try HERE.

OR

Give Wrapping Paper {I got mine at Joann's at 60% off}



Tag says "We hope you are getting "wrapped up" in the spirit of the season."

The Printable is HERE.  Or if that link does not work try HERE.

Merry Christmas.

Just add wood....

Amy and I got together on the weekend after Thanksgiving and made a few snowmen and trees. They turned out super cute and were very easy to make. We followed the directions HERE and HERE with just a few variations.



Our tree blocks are 3 1/2", 4 1/2", 5 1/2" and 6 1/2". the stem in just a scrap. and the star is from a template. Super easy.



The snowman blocks are 2-3", 4" and 5". The hat is a scrap that is 4" and a small piece on top that is 2 1/2" x 2". We just used some scrap board, pine or poplar would work. We used fabric to tie around his neck and scrapbook paper on the hat. I also added a heart button to the hat and you could add them for buttons down the front.

Happy Crafting!!!

Christmas is Here...

I cut the material out for this in October....then it sat around until last week when I decided I was going to finish it....it's just too bad it shrunk a little funny. I might try to fix that a little. {just not right now!}



if you remember my tree skirt and stockings, you will remember that they all match! Love it!

Vinyl makes everything better.....

I had a friend ask me to help with some vinyl...so because I was making her's, I decided to make me a few things. {made with Printing Press cartridge on the Cricut}

Amy cut me the wood for the Believe sign....and I got the metal sign at Hobby Lobby {at 50% off} it already had the white outline on the sign. LOVE how they turned out.

Jingle All the Way......

I was asked to teach a class at the library...we are making Jingle Bell Wreaths. They are super easy and turned out super cute. I will give you a few instructions {but they are really self explanatory!}

Cut a piece of bailing wire {really thick wire} about 34" long. Make a hook at one end.



Buy 2 packages of 1" bells - {I got mine at Hobby Lobby}. You need about 50 bells.

Thread all the bells onto the wire. You will want to shake them a little to get them as close as possible. When you get to the end, make another hook and hook the two end pieces together. This is the hardest part, make sure you get it as tight as possible.



Make a pretty bow. Add to wreath and you are finished. You can also add a loop to hang the wreath from or hang it from a doorknob.