Christmas in November #20--Candy Cane Name Card Holder

I am always looking for great and innovative table settings or tablescapes and as you know, I love me some candy. This is an easy place card holder that is simple, fun an doubles as a hostess/host gift for each guest.

Materials Needed
Traditional Candy Canes (3 per card holder)
Ribbon (I used wire edged ribbon)
Card Stock
Die Cut Letters (or sticker letters)
Glue Stick
Cellophane Tape

Assembly
Invert two candy canes (rounded tops to the bottom) and tape together at a 60 degree angle.

Invert the third candy cane and tape it to the other two at a 90 degree angle so that all three candy canes will balance on their own. Tape in the same place so that all tape overlaps.

Take a length of ribbon (I used 24" of 1 inch ribbon for the smaller version above; I used 36 " of 1.25 inch ribbon for the larger version below)

Tie a knot and a bow around the three candy canes in order to cover the cellophane tape.

Cut a small piece of card stock (I cut a rectangle and folded it in half along the long edge).

Adhere the letters (either die cut or stickers) to the card.

Place the name card between the tops of the joined candy canes. Usually two canes will naturally join together in front or back of the card and the third candy cane will appear on the opposite side of the card. In the example above, you see one candy cane in front and two in back. Below, you see the opposite version.

Notes
For the top example, I used Bob's candy canes in a box of 18. They are a very standard shape and although thinner are still easy to work with. As the holiday season continues make sure that the individual canes are not broken in the box.

For the second example, I used artisinal candy canes from Cracker Barrel. The packaging makes them a little more finicky to work with but they are a great visual on the table. Work slower and more deliberately when working with these candy canes because the labels tend to slow things down.

Envelope #324

November 20, 2014

Christmas in November #19--Candy Candle Holder

This is another easy and quick idea. Take your glass pieces and turn them into candle holders. Fill them with candies in the colors of the seasons--in this scheme: red, white and green.

Supplies Needed
Glass containers (I used a bell jar and a candy dish)
Pillar Candles to fit your container
Holiday colored candy (I used large gumballs and jelly beans)

Assembly
Place the candle in the holder. Use some double stick tape if the bottom is uneven.

Place the candies around the candle until stabilized.

Cover the candle with candy until satisfied.

Bell Jar, Gumballs and
Cherry Pillar Candle

 Notes

Once you use these candies, I would not plan on eating them. The candle wax and scent of the candles will probably transfer to the candies and make them inedible.

Normally, I would remove the plastic sheath around the candle before placing them into the containers. The plastic sheath shown here was for illustrative purposes only.

I don't know if I would actually light these candles. I don't know if the candy is flammable or not. I would do a supervised test to see if the candies or the sugar within them would turn them flammable. Keep this in mind when choosing your candies to use.

Candy Dish, Jelly Beans and
Pine Pillar Candle

Envelope #323

November 19, 2014

Envelope #322

November 18, 2014

Christmas in November #18--Napkin Ornament

This ornament is a little fussy but very easy. I like the way they look and I will probably do a series of these. I am going to try these using Holiday tissue paper and Mod Podge.

Materials Needed
Paper Mache Ornaments (I bought mine from Michaels)
Holiday themed paper naplins
Scissors (optional)
Glue Stick (or other adhesive)
Brush for gluing (if not using a glue stick) (optional)
Acrylic paint or Gesso (optional)
Brush for paint (optional)
Sealant (optional)

Assembly
Depending on your napkin or the look you want, you can paint your craft ornament.

Craft Ornament

Separate your napkin layers. You only want to use the top layer of your napkin.

Decorative Napkins

To separate the layers, Spread open your napkin. Wet one corner (I just place the edge against my tongue). Slightly tear the wet edge to gain access to each of the layers. Separate the layers.

Cut/tear strips of the napkin. I cut strips a little wider than each facet of the ornament.

Apply glue to the ornament. The napkin is very fragile so it is best to apply glue to the ornament rather than the napkin. 

Apply the napkin to the glued area and flatten. I worked on each facet before working in an adjoining area. Because the tissue is so thin it is easy to overlay layers without problem.

Cover the entire ornament and let dry. Once dry you can spray a sealant if you like. I left mine unfinished. I might go back and put a coat of matte acrylic sealant. I like the matte finish of these unsealed ornaments.

Iron Craft 2014 Challenge #23--Long John Shorts (Project 46)

Before

For this challenge, we were asked to be inspired by "coziness." With the onset of winter like weather here in the United States, we were tasked to make something that resembles "cozy." I was going to make something else but got behind due to a variety of other commitments.

One of the problems that I have with the winter weather is that I really LIKE it. I usually will be walking around in t-shirts when I can. I also sleep with the windows open because I am always too hot with the steam pipes and radiators blasting full strength in my apartment.

Another problem that I have is that many of the winter clothes are just too warm for me. I usually don't wear long johns because they make me sweat because they are so warm. To combat this problem, I decided to shorten a pair of long johns that I have.

So, I decided to break out my sewing machine and dusted it off. After practicing on scraps to get the tension right, I decided to attempt to shorten these long johns so they would of a similar length to my board shorts (here and here).

One of the parts that I was most anxious about was that I didn't want to have a hem. I decided to cut off the ribbed cuff from the bottom of the long johns and reattach it to the bottom of the shorts. Because this was such as stretchy fabric and since I didn't have a serger, I was a little skeptical. In the end, I just slowed down and practiced my patience.

Once the ribbed cuff was cut off, I realized that I need to tailor the outside inseam to taper it the knee where I would reattach the cuff.

After

Overall, I am very pleased with the way these turned out. I might have to start using my sewing machine more often. I do know that I need to take the machine to shop and to get a professional cleaning.

Envelope #321

November 17, 2014

Happy Opening Side Show on Broadway

Christmas in November #17--Paper Scrap Ornament

This is an ornament that is a variation of the washi tape project that I shared here. I realized after the fact that everyone isn't as enamored with washi tape as I am (well, you SHOULD be). I decided to create an alternate ornament using paper scraps. This is a great way to use those smaller pieces of paper that you are hoarding (and you KNOW who you are). You can use this as an ornament or a gift tag.

Materials Needed
Scrapbook Paper scraps
Card Stock
Glue Stick (or any adhesive of your choice)
Scissors
Ruler/Gridded Rule/Paper Cutter
Ornament Template (I used a Christmas Tree from Yahoo! Images)
Hole Punch (optional)
Ribbon/Twine (optional)

Assembly
Trace your template image on card stock and cut.

Cut strips of paper wider than the widest part of your ornament base. The height of your strips can be anything you wish. They can be all one height or varying heights. I chose to use 1/4" and 1/2" heights in order to add variation.

Glue the strips to your ornament base in any way you choose. I chose all horizontal orientations. In future ornaments, I will do vertical strips, diagonal strips and then a combination of all three.

Once the ornament base is covered, trim off the excess with scissors or a scalpel/Exacto knife.

To han, punch a hole in the top portion of your covered ornament base and thread with ribbon or twine.

Image found here

Christmas in November #16--Candy Covered Wreath

I shared this idea when I was celebrating the 31 days of Halloween last year. I will hang this wreath outside my office door. It will allow people to stop by and grab a piece of candy. Because of the pins, this is not a great project to have around small children due to the choking hazard of the pins. The idea is that you unpin a piece of candy, leave the pin in the wreath, and then go on your merry way. This works well with any individually wrapped candies.

Materials Needed
Styrofoam Extruded Wreath (not the flat type of wreath). I used a 14" wreath
Ribbon (I used wire edged ribbon). I used about 5 yards of ribbon.
Color Ball Pins
Individually wrapped candies. I used approximately 100 candies.

Assembly
Pin one edge of the ribbon to the back side of the wreath.

Wrap the ribbon around the wreath going over and through the inner circle. You can try and evenly space the wraps if you wish. The most important aspect of this is to ensure that none of the Styrofoam shows. The front will be covered in candies so you actually won't see too much of the ribbon.

Continue wrapping until the whole form is covered. If you run out of ribbon, Finish your end on the back of the wreath. Start the new length of the ribbon on the back and continue until your form is covered.

Pin your candies to the inside circle of the wreath and continue that circle until your candies meet.

Start another row candies until the front of the wreath is covered.

When finished, take a length of ribbon to make a loop. Pin the edges of the ribbon to the back of the form.

Notes
For best coverage, pin the top of one candy to the bottom of the previous candy. This reduces the number of pins that you will have to use.

While wrapping the wreath with ribbon, to prevent the loops from getting loose and moving, I pinned the ribbon on the back side about every five to seven loops.

I found it easier to unravel a length of ribbon from the spool (especially if you buy your ribbon in bulk). Wrap the ribbon in your hand in a loose loop and then wrap your wreath form. This is much easier than working with the bulkiness of the spool and having to pass the spool through the center of the wreath. This will especially be important if you work on a smaller scale.

I plan on doing a different variation of this wreath using a flat chip board wreath.

Envelope #320

November 16, 2014

Envelope #319

November 15, 2014

Christmas in November #15--Arrangement

This is one of those projects that proves that decorating for the holidays can easily be done without a whole lot of effort.

Materials needed

Vase

Vase filler (I used glass beads in clear, frosted and silver colors)

Seasonal flowers

Colored votive holder (I used a red votive holder)

Battery operated tea light

Assembly

Place the vase fillers in the vase

Trim flowers to size and insert in to the vase.

Add water

Turn on the battery operated tea light and place it behind the arrangement.

Take the votive holder and turn over (open side down) and place over the tea light.

Back lit arrangement

Three colors of vase fillers

Notes

It really is as easy as it looks.

Envelope #318

November 14, 2014

Christmas in November #14--Confetti Cone

This was a craft that I saw in several locations. The biggest problem was that no one explained how they got their final product. So for me, it was a lot of hit and miss. There are definitely things that I would do differently but overall, I am happy with the final result.

Materials Needed
Paper Mache cone (I used a 13" cone that I had to order online).
Scrapbook paper in a holiday pattern
Adhesive (I used my Xyron Creative Station and ran the entire sheet through before punching circles)
Circle punch (I used a 2" circle and a 1" circle)
Foam Dots (optional)
Decorative Stickers (optional)
Acrylic paint and paint brush (optional)

Assembly
You can paint the cone with acrylic paint if you are worried about the craft colored cone showing through. I did not paint my cone.

You can either punch the circles out of the scrapbook paper and then apply adhesive to each circle OR you can run your scrapbook paper through an adhesive machine (I used my Xyron) and then punch the circles. Trust me--the latter option is the way to go.

Punch all of your circles for the background color.

Apply the adhesive or peel the backing off of the circles if you used the Xyron and adhere them to the cone. There is no rhythm or reason to place them on the cone. I tried overlapping, not overlapping, symmetrical, rows, random, etc. I tried every which way. Regardless, you will have the craft cone background showing through.

Adhere a second layer of background circles to cover any areas where the craft cone is showing through. So, in essence, make A LOT of circles. You will need many more than you realize.

Once the background is sufficiently covered, decide how you want to decorate your "tree."  I punched out smaller circles out of a contrasting color and then mounted them with foam dots to provide dimension. There are some beautiful holiday stickers (both 2D and 3D) that are available that you can use as well.

Notes
This is not a project for the OCD impaired. I thought that I was going to drive myself crazy trying to line up circles, and spacing circles, and overlapping circles, etc. So, save yourself some heartache and just slap those circles on the cones in any way you want. You will have to add a second layer of background circles regardless of how careful you are with the first layer.

Also, make lots of extra circles. I was surprised at the number of circles that I used.

Envelope #317

November 13, 2014

Christmas in November #13--Washi Tape Noel

This is a variation of a project found in the book, Washi Tape Christmas: Easy Holiday Craft Ideas with Washi Tape by Kami Bigler. I bought the book in a Kindle Version so I did not have immediate access to the templates (although they do provide you access to them via a website).

Instead, I simply cut out my own letters. I plan using this as part of a garland. They could easily be used for cupcake toppers. I also plan to do a hinged version to use as gift tags.

Materials Needed
Card Stock
Washi Tape
Scissors (optional)

Assembly
Cut out the letters for the appropriate sentiment (Joy, Noel, Merry, etc).

Plan out your strips of washi tape.

Place strips of washi tape across the letters (you can do vertical, horizontal or diagonal stripes). Be sure to extend the tape before and after the letter you are covering.

Once fully covered, trim the excess tape from the letters.

Notes
I found that starting the first strip of tape below (or above) the letter helps to keep the letter flat. Also, it is easier to guarantee that you don't have a very narrow strip of tape to finish the letter.

Washi tape tears easily if you don't want small children to use scissors. It also easily cuts with safety scissors if you do have small children.

This is a very easy project and can be done with kids.

Envelope #316

November 12, 2014

Christmas in November #12--3D Snowflake

I have always wanted to do this project but never had the time. I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to try. I used this video to learn how to make these 3D Snowflakes (clicking on the link will take you to a YouTube Video). There is also a great online tutorial here.

I am not quite happy with the way that it turned out but I will fine tune the dimensions and will report back.

Materials Needed
Scrapbook paper (I used one sided paper so that the white backing would show).
Stapler
Cellophane Tape or Glue Dots
Scissors
Ruler (optional)
String, Ribbon or Thread

Assembly
I used 4 inch squares for my project. This still makes a large decoration. Smaller squares would be problematic. Larger squares would definitely be easier to assemble but results in a huge final product.

Cut and assemble as indicated in the video or tutorial.

Notes:
I used holiday theme scrapbook paper which turned into a great final product.

The hardest part of this project is curling the first two innermost layers of the snowflake. I used double sided tape and glue dots. Although cellophane tape would probably be best, I didn't want the tape to show (although it would probably disappear).

Be sure to almost overlap the points when curling each layer. If you don't, your individual arms won't meet in the final assembly. You are supposed to join each touching arm of the snowflake but mine didn't line up so I just left them alone. My snowflake will eventually lose its shape once it hangs for any length of time.

I found it easier to curl the two innermost arms around a pencil to help shape them.

Envelope #315

November 11, 2014