A Little Christmas Crafting

The girls and I have been having a lot of fun making gifts and decorations for Christmas this year!

Here's a craft that Abby made. She took Mod Podge and painted it all over a candle, then she rolled it in Epson Salt. The salt gives it a sparkly "snow" appearance then she topped it off with a bow. I think it turned out great!

Mackenzie has been crocheting away making doll clothes, scarves, and blankets. Her mad skills amaze me...

And I made this Christmas banner to replace the Thanksgiving one I made last month. I'm so proud of myself for completing this project BEFORE Christmas arrived. Woo hoo! ;-)

Here's a little tutorial in case you'd like to try it out.

Supplies needed:

Scrapbook paper
Mod Podge
Cardboard
Scissors
Ribbon
Ornaments
Clothes Pins

1. Decide what you want your banner to say. I chose "Peace on Earth" but other options might include...

* Joy to the World
* O Holy Night
* Let It Snow
* Silent Night

Typically a short phrase or Christmas song title works best.

2. I printed out my phrase on shimmery, gold scrapbook paper - 2 letters p/page then I carefully cut them out.

3. I cut my cardboard pieces & scrapbook papers to be about 11" x 6". Then I Mod Podged a thin layer of glue around the edge of the cardboard then pressed it onto the back of the scrapbook paper, making sure it was flat and smooth.

4. After it was dry, I Mod Podged the letters onto the scrapbook paper boards.

5. Next, I traced around clothes pins on scrapbook paper, cut those out, then Mod Podged the paper onto the clothes pins - just dressed them up a bit ;-)

5. The I took a length of jute, maybe about 7 feet long, and tied a small loop at one end. I decided I wanted to hang the banner across the windows in my living room so I put Command hooks in place then put the beginning loop on the left hook. I stretched out the jute to the other side, made a loop, then hung that to the other Command hook. Working from the middle out, I hung the letters on the jute with the clips. It took a bit to figure out the spacing but I managed ;-)  I also tied ornaments where the spaces fell in my phrase. After standing back and looking at it, I thought it needed a little more decoration, so I added ribbon knots on the end loops and on the clothes pins.

  

This was a fun and easy craft to make. Now I may have to keep making banners for each holiday! My poor husband says, "Stop the madness already!"