Christmas Light Alteration

I'm so excited to get the Christmas lights up on the house!  I love these LED lights, with the pretty purple and blue.  But, I wasn't crazy about the yellow color.  I wanted my lights to have a cooler feel over all.  This is the beauty of being creative; you are not stuck with what you have!  You may have all the money you want to buy things for decorating.  But if you're not creative, you're missing out on half the fun, and all the many possibilities. Just like I showed with my globes or with the sweater, you can change what you have!  Here's what I did, to make my Christmas lights exactly how I wanted them.

Please note, I haven't tried this before, and am not yet sure how this will hold up the elements, also note, these are LED lights which don't get hot to the touch.  Also, the covers on the bulbs I used were colored plastic, not painted  glass.  Have fun experimenting, but here is what worked for me.

Here is the light I started off with: 

My supplies: acetone (fingernail polish remover) cotton balls and a Sharpie.

I began by coloring on a sloppy layer of green.

While the sharpie was still wet, I smudged the color into the cracks with a cotton ball with some acetone on it.  I later came back, and used a turquoise sharpie to put on another thin layer, until I got the exact look I wanted. Now I just did this 49 more times, until all the yellow lights became this nice lime green color.

And here is the final result:

Here is a "before and after" to show the over all shades of the lights:

"After" they all now have a cooler feel

"Before" with the yellow in the mix

I hope you all are as excited about Christmas as I am, happy decorating!

DIY Boot Socks

I picked up this sweater today at a thrift store for 50 cents.  It's toddler size, and had a snag on the front, so I wanted to re-purpose it.  I've been wanting to try out making some boot socks, and let me tell you, this was one of the quickest and easiest projects I have ever done.

Snip snip snip

Sew sew sew

Turn them inside out, and fold them over.  Now time to wear, it was THAT simple!

What to do with those little left over scraps?  

I've been wanting to try out making sweater ornaments, here's how I did it:

First I peeled off the thread of a thrift store ornament, pack of 5 for 50 cents.  Next, I put them into the sleeves (remember, this was a toddler sized sweater).  Then, I used a hot glue gun to seal up the ends.

And here is the end result, cozy winter sweater ornaments.  I love how they look like over-sized pom-pom's.

Now what to do with THESE scraps???

Monogram Christmas Ornaments

Christmas is in the air at my house.  I love monograms, and these make the perfect addition to our Christmas tree.  

Clark and Katie, this same time last year

 Besides these ornaments being so cute, it was a nice way to include Clark in our Christmas this year.  This would have been his second Christmas, and I'm starting to find out, the holidays make me miss him in a different way.  Also, Katie is starting to learn how to write everyone's names, so I thought she would especially enjoy this as well.  She's my partner in crime when it comes to Christmas decorating.

So here I go, this is how I made these fun ornaments:

I printed out the letters onto card stock.  Traced circles around them and cut them out.

I got the wooden flowers at the dollar store.  I was really looking for circle ones, but this is all they had.  I didn't want them to look like flowers, so I hot glued two of them together to make a scalloped edge.  I'm actually glad they didn't have circles, because the scallop turned out so cute.  The circles I cut out were as big as possible, to help hide the flower shape, and just show the scalloped border.

Now time for the Mod Podge.  I put a layer over the entire top.  Don't mess with it too much, or the ink will smear a bit.  Let that layer dry (I was impatient, and popped them into the oven for a few minuets at a low temp).

I used a plastic cup (cut down to the right size), to trace my circles,
and to mask the letter while I was pouring on the glitter.

Here comes the glitter!  I did the glitter in two applications.  One on the top, and after that dried, I did the sides.  Then I drilled a hole in the top, added a ribbon and bead, and they're ready for the tree.  Beautiful!

I made all 7 of these for $2, the glitter, beads and card stock all came from yard sales. Don't forget to add craft supplies to the list of things you're looking for at yard sales.  I didn't know what I'd be using this glitter for, but it was just perfect for this project.

O Christmas Tree!

 Behold the Christmas Tree!

I love going over board with the ornaments.  The way I see it, I wouldn't mind if the entire tree was made out of ornaments, so it's impossible to put too many on.  Ornaments are a GREAT thing to stock up on during yard sale season.  You can find so many, for pennies on the dollar.  I even got my Christmas tree from a yard sale. I wish I had kept track, but I bet I got everything seen here for under $60, and that's including the tree!   I also have some fun ideas for DIY ornaments I'm excited to try out... so stay posted.

In a perfect world, I would have a freshly cut Christmas tree every year.  My tree is pre-lit, I like to add on a couple more strands of lights to give it even more sparkle. 

And there is no rule saying you can only have one Christmas tree.  In my living room alone, I have four.  Here is Christmas tree number 2:

 And here are trees 3 and 4 (on the piano):

Even the doll house is in the Christmas spirit!

 And last, but not least, let's see what crazy antics this guy was up to today:

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Crackle Finish Bookcase

I turned this plain bookcase, into a work of art!  I love how the crackle finish looks on the back of the bookcase. 

Here's the plain ol' "before" picture

Close up showing the finish

Look at that yummy crackle!

Elf on the Shelf

Often when I get an idea, I want it NOW.  Last year, I wanted to start the "Elf on a shelf" tradition with my kids.  I didn't want to order one and wait for it to get here, so I decided to see if I could make my own, and here's what I came up with.  

I made him sew his own hat.

 I used polymer clay for the head shape, and wire for the inside of the body.  I used red felt for the body, but would recommend using some more durable fabric (it takes a lot of abuse from all of us playing with it). I painted the face with acrylic paint, trying to capture that mischievous little look on his face.

Stay tuned to see all the fun we have with this little guy this year!

Silver Leaf Birds

Yesterday I stopped by my local thrift store, and picked up these birds for 75 cents each.  I'm not sure what kind of birds these are (help?), but they looked Christmasy to me.  But, the thing that makes them look less than perfect to me, is the painted on face.  I liked the idea of them being all white, but for Christmas, I wanted something with a little more sparkle.  I was going to cover them in glitter, but then I remembered this silver leaf kit I've been dying to try out.

 I gathered my supplies, and simply followed the directions on the kit.  You brush on a liquid adhesive, wait for it to be tacky to the touch, and then press on the silver leaf sheets.

The end result came out looking so classy.  I'm so excited for Christmas, now I can't wait to put up the tree!  I LOVE fall, but there's just something extra special about Christmas.

I LOVE decorating for Christmas!