Month: December 2010

So after I saw Rachelle’s amazing tutorial about the Christmas ball wreath I thought I had better whip some out too! What a fun little craft this is! I made a trip to my favorite place in the world. Target! Hit up the dollar isle, and spent 25 bucks. Came home and an hour later we had two beautiful wreaths in our house!

I saw the bright colors right away and thought, even though these wont go at all in my house I need to make one. I love fun colors like that for Christmas, but I’m too traditional to not go all red and gold. So I made both. The bright one is outside and the red one (with the extra pattern ones I plucked off the bottom of my tree) goes in the kitchen on the pantry door. Neither have ribbons yet because I am making my weekly trip to Michael’s tomorrow, so I’ll add that later.

I couldn’t believe how easy they were to make. This bright one only took 20 minutes! I just kept shuffling them on not really making a pattern. I had thought the back stayed flat but you can choose which side looks better because both are full and can be displayed. My only issue I had was with my awesome memory. I went to grab my glue gun and realized I left it in Calgary on my last trip. But I only lost 2 balls total from popping off from the pressure when you tighten it. So even if you dont have a glue gun you can still make this awesome wreath!

This one is my favorite. I even got a wreath hook to match it. Again thank you target for being the best. I love the pattern ones mixed in. I think it gives it a bit more flair. Plus now it matches the rest of the house! Here’s another shot to show you how much it sits off the wall because of how full it is.

So if you have 25$ and 20 minutes. Throw a couple of these together. Keep one and give the other as a gift! Who wouldn’t love these! Has anyone else out there made one yet or planning on it? I would love to see some more! Seriously go make one!

Hello All!

Alissa has asked me to be a guest blogger for today, and I have gladly/excitedly accepted! My name is Rachelle, and I have been married for nearly 3 years, a mother for 2 years, and a crafter since the day I received my first pair of scissors. Although my crafts have come a long way since the 80’s, my heart has always been a creative one.

I’ve been friends with Alissa for a handful of years now, and I’m happy to say that we both share that same creative heart. She is quite the inspiration to me as well actually! My hope today is that I might inspire some of you as well. So get out your glue, your ribbon, and let’s pull those creative heart-strings!

One evening, while searching for some way to satisfy my creative thirst, I came across this tutorial on how to make an ornament wreath. It is extremely simple, but looks absolutely extravagant when all is said and done. The tutorial doesn’t state what kind of ornaments to buy, but if you want to put your wreath outside eventually, I highly suggest using plastic shatter-proof balls… otherwise the glass ones are too brittle in the cold. However, if you plan on keeping your wreath indoors, then go for the glass ones (they always seem to come in a better variety of colours and sizes). Part of the fun in this craft is picking out the different colours, shapes, and types of ornaments. Some are glossy, matte, frosted, sparkly… you name it! I did one recently in black, silver, and lime, and it looked very chic. So have fun with this one… I still do!

Here we go!

Take a regular metal hanger and bend it into a circle like so. Next break out your glue gun and about 80 Christmas balls. (ps its a fun after the holiday craft to make because all Christmas decorations go on sale after the big day!) Remove the cap from the ornament and dab it with some hot glue and reattach. This will help secure it after its all put together.

Next untwist your hanger from the top, but leave the hook shape alone. You now begin to slide the ornaments onto the hanger varying the color and sizes as desired. You can use smaller ones to fill the gaps but the preference is all yours!

And voila your done! A beautiful handmade Christmas wreath! Now all that’s left is to hang it. You can re twist the top together and add a little wire to the hook and hang it from there. As well as taking it a step further and adding a charming big satin bow to hide it all! Simple, fun and gorgeous!

I invite and challenge you all to make this your own and post some links to your beautiful design. Because it can be done so many ways I love to see what others create! Good luck and have fun!

The first tutorial of lissables! How exciting. I made this box last year and its still one of my favorites. Its easy and looks beautiful and can be made over and over again and be unique each and every time!

You will need 4 pieces of paper, the first three making your layered box flaps.

The first a 12×12 piece that you will score 4 inches in from all 4 sides, and cut out the corners giving you 4×4 squares.

The second being 11×11 and scoring 3 3/4 inches in from all 4 sides and cut out the corners.

The third being 10×10 and scoring 3 1/2 inches in from all 4 sides and cutting out the corners.

Decorate them in which ever fashion you want! I prefer the vintage beat up look. Im addicted to inking all and every edge possible. Remember to keep it simple as you will want to add photos too and dont want it to get too busy.

After its to your standards glue the layers together from the middle square.

Your last paper is your lid. It is an 8×8 piece. Scoring the edges at 1 7/8 inches but this time only cut one side of the of the square on the edge. Giving you a flap which you can glue and create the inside of your lid. Embellish to match the rest of your box.

Put it all together and you can have an exploding box effect when the lid is lifted. I love watching people who do not scrap or craft opening it, because it really is a fun idea.

I like using it to wrap little presents. I still in my mind think aw what if someone used it to propose and a ring was tied with a ribbon in the middle square surrounded by pictures of them. How sweet. (Guys if your reading this I would so make that for someone just to have pictures of it!) So really like I said the possibilities are endless with it. Enjoy and have fun!