Handmade Christmas Cards

Every year I make a dozen or so handmade Christmas cards to sell as add-ons at my holiday fairs. This year, I made a few extras so that I could send them to family and friends. I have to admit that I don't make too many paper crafts and I bought  a lot of pre-made scrap booking supplies for these particular cards. Here are some of my favorites:

It has taken me about a week to get all these cards ready to go but they will finally be going out in the mail tomorrow. As for today, Bunch and I are hanging at home and enjoying the last free weekend day that we will have before the holiday partying starts next weekend - watching Christmas movies and enjoying our tree. 

Not that things will slow down after the holidays since then the Countdown-to-Baby starts!

Holiday Decoupage Plates

To follow-up on my decoupage plate tutorial, I wanted to share some holiday plates that I've recently made. 

Classic Poinsettia

Gingerbread Men

Christmas Kitties

 

Glittery Snowflakes

  

Christmas Dogs w/ lace trim

(the glitter Modge Podge I used for this one didn't photograph well)

Which holiday plate is your favorite?

From the Archives - Decoupage Fabric Plates

Every so often, I like to post popular tutorials from my archives - here is a full tutorial on how to make decoupage plates, using clear glass plates and cotton fabric. Don't let the Yankees fabric fool you, I am a proud Boston Red Sox fan!
 
I'll be posting some holiday plates this weekend that I have recently made, to give you some ideas for gifts. These are great for cookie swaps, neighbor or teacher presents also. 

Here's what you will need to complete this project: 

• Round or square glass plates
• Cotton fabric, in any design
• Modge Podge, regular or with glitter
• Scissors
• Table covering
• Paint cans to hold the plates while they dry
• Matte or gloss clear spray paint

Start by finding some inexpensive glass plates, either at the consignment store or home goods store. Wash them and dry them completely. Next, cut the fabric about 1-2 inches wider than the plate you are using.

Put your first plate face down on a paint can and the piece of fabric face down on the table covering. Cover the back of the fabric with Modge Podge, flip it over carefully and cover the front generously as well. Then, lift the fabric off the table and place the design face down so that the design of the fabric is facing out (see picture). Use additional Modge Podge if necessary.

Use your hands to work out any air bubbles in the fabric, from the center out. Depending on the thickness and texture of the fabric, this may take some time. Move the plate to another paint can to dry thoroughly. Modge Podge goes on white and dries clear so you will be able to tell when it is ready for the next step.

Repeat for as many plates as you have. I made 3 New York Yankees plates, a gray & pink bird plate, which are both in my Etsy Store and a black striped plate, which didn't turn out the way I wanted and was scraped before the final step. Here is a production picture of them drying.

Once dry, carefully trim the excess off with a razor blade so that the edge is flush with the plate. (step not shown) 

In a well ventilated area, place the plates face down again on the paint cans. Using your clear spray paint, spray the backs of the plates completely. 

Finally, clean off any excess glue or fingerprints on the front with glass cleaner and paper towels. 

When you are all finished, your plates should look like this:

 
Happy Crafting - feel free to send me a link or picture if you try this project!

Lack of Posting - I Can Explain!

Hello all - I guess it's not a big secret that my posting has been a little lax lately. As I round the 6 week Countdown-to-Baby, I'm getting slower all around. Not only am I getting winded when I walk up the stairs too quickly (sad but true) but my craft projects have slowed to a halt. The craft fair that I attended a couple of weeks ago went well, although I was surprised that my newest creation, the Ice Skate Centerpiece did not sell, despite a lot of compliments. Oh well, it will look great in our front window this holiday season!

The most creative thing I've done this week is to start some hand-made Christmas cards (I typically do half homemade and half out of the box) and try to come up with some fun and easy little craft projects that I can add onto the gifts I've already bought. Yes, I'm that person - my shopping has been done for weeks.

One of the projects I would like to attempt this week, since I should have some extra time, is a Reindeer Car Costume, like this one: 

I haven't found many tutorials online so I would like to try and make this with items I already have in the house and post the process for others to try as well.

All I can say is that it's a good thing this baby is due after the first of the year or I would definitely be making him wear this to match the car: 

Thanks for your patience while I get back to crafting, in the midst of packing my hospital bag, washing a million baby clothes and linens in Dreft and training my replacement for maternity leave.

How are all your holiday projects coming along? Can you believe it's only 25 days until Christmas?

Weekend Craft Fair Info

Holiday Craft Fair Announcement

Who: Babycakes Crafts and 50+ craft vendors

When: Saturday, November 19th, 2011

Where: Wilcox High School, 298 Oregan Road, Meriden, CT

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Raffles, bake sale, handmade gifts and more...

Ice Skate Winter Centerpiece

Before I introduce my latest creation, I'd like to thank you all for bearing with me while my posting efforts have been a little lax. Weather was crazy here in the Northeast last week - for the second time this year and I've been getting increasingly tired as my belly gets bigger!

I'm happy to be back in action and show you a centerpiece that I've been working on. I'll be honest here and admit that I started this project last year but couldn't get inspired to finish it until recently. I went to Goodwill looking for the ice skates and shockingly, was able to find a size 4 girl's set of ice skates in white. I still took the time to spray paint them white to make sure they looked perfect. After that, I positioned them in a basket, surrounded by greens...and that was where I stopped last year. 

I recently rummaged through my Christmas accents and decided that I was going to decorate the corners and make a sort-of arrangement in the skates to make a centerpiece that will look beautiful throughout the entire Winter season. 

I started by using my trusty hot glue gun to secure poinsettia leaves, pine cones and ornaments in alternating corners.

Next, I used some faux glitter flowers, holiday accent pieces as well as some wood, swirly picks to fill out the openings of the skates. Again, using hot glue to make sure everything stayed in place. 

Because there was soooo much glitter on the flowers, I managed to get quite a bit of it on the skates. Rather than try to tediously remove the glitter, I decided to embrace it. I mixed some loose red glitter with clear, silvery sparkle paint and painted a thin coat all over the skates. 

To finish off the piece, I glued single gold bells in the greens and attached a small painted slate to the front that said "Let It Snow", which I think tied the whole thing together. 

Considering this project could have ended up in the "craft fail" pile, I was very pleased with the way it turned out. If you would like to try this project on your own, definitely check out your local Goodwill or Freecycle.org for the skates, to keep your costs down. Also, find plenty of Christmas pics and accent pieces at Michaels, either at the end of the season or with their regular 40% off coupons in the Sunday paper. 

I just wrapped this piece in cellophane with ribbon to sell at the craft fair I'll be doing on November 19th. I'm excited because it is usually a great show and it's the only one I'll be showcasing in before this little peanut arrives!!