My So Called Crafty Life

Tag Archives: Christmas

DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

IMG 2632 599x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

IMG 2634 599x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

IMG 2627 601x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been mia the last couple of days. I have been under the weather. But I am back and excited to share this project with you all today! I am going to show you how to make these fun little magnets out of vintage earrings and brooches. These could not be easier to make, and they whip up so fast!

Here’s What You Need:

*Jewelry pieces like earrings, pendants, and brooches

*Heavy duty wire cutters

*E6000

*Round craft magnets (you can find these at any craft store)

Instructions:

IMG 1167 736x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

IMG 1168 570x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

IMG 1169 704x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

These are so easy! The first thing you do is cut off the finding part of your piece. For example if you have an earring, you will need to cut off the ear wire or clip for clip ons. Get as close to the base where it is glued or soldered on and carefully cut away with your pliers. For brooches that have been soldered it can take a few cuts but they will come off. Once you get the finding off you can grind down any sharp spots with a dremmel if you have any that bother you. You can also pick at them with your pliers and that can get most of the metal off that is in the way. So to finish these off, you need to glue the magnet on. So, lay your jewelry piece face down on a flat surface. Now take your magnet and place a large dab of glue onto the back side of the magnet. Carefully squish the glue and magnet onto the back of your jewelry piece. Let dry. Once the glue is cured you are ready to use your magnets.

IMG 2633 598x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

IMG 2635 599x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

IMG 2637 601x600 DIY Upcycled Vintage Jewelry Magnets

I absolutely love these magnets! They just couldn’t be any easier to make! You can whip up a batch in under fifteen minutes. The best thing is that they look so nice and special, like something you would find at a boutique. You can find vintage jewelry parts by the bag full at your local flea market or at antique stores and thrift stores. Of course brooches can be really pricey, but you can often pick up broken pieces or mismatched pieces for next to nothing. This would be a fabulous project to use for gifts for birthdays or Christmas as well. So go ahead and dress up your space with some of these fun little magnets! You’ll love them!

Happy Crafting!

DIY Christmas Card Book

 DIY Christmas Card Book

 DIY Christmas Card Book

IMG 9659 800x573 DIY Christmas Card Book

IMG 9659 800x573 DIY Christmas Card Book

IMG 9662 735x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

IMG 9663 601x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

So today I have one last holiday project to share with you all. I am going to show you how to make a cute “book” from your holiday cards. I originally had seen the idea of making a book from holiday cards from Michelle Allen Here. I think that this is such a great way to not only keep your cards neat and organized, but you can put them out on your coffee table every holiday and enjoy them every year! I wanted to give mine a more vintage feel, so I added a cover from a vintage children’s Christmas book.

photo 1 507x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

photo 2 448x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

photo 4 800x598 DIY Christmas Card Book

photo 11 271x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

photo 21 641x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

photo 31 448x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

photo 41 800x438 DIY Christmas Card Book

These books are so easy! All you need is your cards, a vintage book, good craft scissors, and a good hole puncher, as well as binder rings. The first thing you need to do is cut the spine off of your book. Neaten up any rough edges on the front and back cover. Decide where you want your holes to be and mark them with a pencil. Punch holes in the front cover. Then, use the holes in the cover as a template to mark the greeting cards and punch holes where marked in the cards. To finish load the back cover onto your binder rings, then load the cards, and the front cover then close the clips. And now you have a fun book to show off your holiday cards for the year.

IMG 9660 598x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

IMG 9661 599x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

IMG 9664 599x600 DIY Christmas Card Book

IMG 9667 800x533 DIY Christmas Card Book

I love my book! I love to receive cards but once they get put up they rarely get seen again. I love that by making books of them, you can look through all of your lovely cards  every year, it’s just fantastic! A big thanks to Michelle for the inspiration! I hope you all have enjoyed all the holiday fun here on my blog over the last couple of months! I am so thankful for all of your love and support! You guys are awesome! I look forward to 2013 and a whole new year of creating, decorating, and meeting new friends and artists!

Hugs,

Ashlee

Christmas Tour

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! I had wanted to share some of our holiday decor with you all last week, but time got away from me. So, here is a little peek at some of my favorite Christmas decorations from my home:

IMG 5610 Christmas Tour

IMG 5611 Christmas Tour

IMG 5613 Christmas Tour

IMG 5614 Christmas Tour

IMG 5615 Christmas Tour

IMG 5617 Christmas Tour

IMG 5621 Christmas Tour

IMG 5627 Christmas Tour

I also added a few pics from my mom’s home. I practically live there too, so she ends up with a lot of my decorations.  She also has some fabulous pieces of her own, and a lovely tree!

IMG 5635 Christmas Tour

IMG 5637 Christmas Tour

IMG 5638 Christmas Tour

IMG 5643 Christmas Tour

IMG 5644 Christmas Tour

IMG 5646 Christmas Tour

IMG 5647 Christmas Tour

I LOVE decorating! Don’t you! I will be in and out taking a break for the rest of the week. I’ll be starting back to my regular posting at the first of the year. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your holidays! May they be Merry & Bright!

Merry Christmas

20121225 103117 Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you all are having a great Christmas, enjoying good food, and being with the ones you love most! From my family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Vintage Embellished Wrapping

IMG 9616 494x600 Vintage Embellished Wrapping

IMG 9617 599x600 Vintage Embellished Wrapping

IMG 9620 800x577 Vintage Embellished Wrapping

IMG 9621 416x600 Vintage Embellished Wrapping

IMG 9622 800x533 Vintage Embellished Wrapping

IMG 9623 599x600 Vintage Embellished Wrapping

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the day! I just finished the last of my wrapping yesterday. I love wrapping with craft paper! Of course I just had to incorporate some vintage element into the wrapping as well. Adding a little vintage touch to your gifts is so easy! You can use vintage ornaments like the vintage Christmas balls, wooden mini ornaments, or little santas. You can find these wonderful little embellishments at your local flea market, antique mall, or on the internet on Etsy or Ebay. The other thing I added this year was bits of vintage wrapping paper. It is hard to find large sheets or vintage wrapping paper, but scraps in different sizes are a lot easier to come by and still pack a lot of punch when used as an accent. It’s also fun to use vintage playing cards as gift tags. I think they are adorable, and I am proud to gift them to my loved ones every year! It warms my heart when I see the little ornament embellishments from presents past hanging on my families trees. I take a lot of care into wrapping for my family because they are special, and it’s just another way to let them know I love them! I hope my wrapping has inspired some of you to try a few vintage accents on your last-minute wrapping, or maybe for next year!  Happy Christmas!

DIY Recycled Sweater Wrapping

IMG 9577 600x600 DIY Recycled Sweater Wrapping

IMG 9578 599x600 DIY Recycled Sweater Wrapping

IMG 9579 600x600 DIY Recycled Sweater Wrapping

IMG 9580 599x600 DIY Recycled Sweater Wrapping

Hi Everybody! I have a fun gift wrapping idea to share with you all today that you can make with old sweaters. I see sweaters all the time at the thrift store that have sweet patterns, like this fun fair isle sweater from the gap. All you need are the sleeves, a sweing machine, some ribbon, and a jar. First lay your sleeve on your jar and decide where you want to cut it, remember to leave a 1/2 inch for stitching the bottom up. Turn the cut sleeve inside out and stitch the bottom up. Turn right side out, slide your bottle into the pouch and tie the top with a tag and a ribbon. This is so easy to make and it’s really cute and different from the typical holiday wrapping! And you get to recycle, doesn’t get much better than that! Be sure to tune in Monday for more holiday wrapping! Have a wonderful weekend!

DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 8630 598x600 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 8621 599x600 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 8623 525x600 DIY Gift Card Bear

Christmas is only a week away, and I am getting so excited! This week I will be sharing a few wrapping tutorials with you. Wrapping gifts is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays! Today I have a special wrapping treat for you, a gift card bear. I love giving gifts, and I know that a lot of people love nothing more than a gift card. And even though I love gift cards myself, when giving them I always feel that they are rather obvious when stuck in one of those little envelopes, so I decided this year to make a little bear with a pocket on it’s belly large enough to hold a gift card. I think it makes the gift giving and receiving experience even better! A gift in itself with a surprize inside!

Here’s What You Need:

*Fleece or Minky Fabric(1/4 yard)

*Fabric for the belly and ear accents(scraps)

*Embroidery Floss

*Felt

*Doll Eyes and nose

*Stuffing

*Pattern (below)

bear pattern part1 795x1024 DIY Gift Card Bear

bear pattern part 2 788x1024 DIY Gift Card Bear Instructions:

IMG 5238 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 5239 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 5236 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 5235 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 5233 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 5234 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 5242 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 5243 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 5244 DIY Gift Card Bear

First cut out all of your pieces. Now take the front of the bear and lay the felt face piece in the middle of the head area then stitch around the face. Now mark where you want the eyes and the nose. Cut small slits in the face where marked and insert the eyes and nose into the front. Then push the plastic washers onto the back of the plastic features to tighten down the nose and eyes. Draw in a mouth and use a back stitch with your embroidery floss by hand to sew the mouth.  Now, with your machine set to a small zigzag stitch, stitch down the ear accent pieces to the front ear pieces. Then, put the ear front and ear back pieces together with right sides facing and stitch around the outside leaving the bottom open for turning. Turn out the ears, pin right sides down and inwards toward the face on the front body piece and staystitch down 1/8 inch from the edge of the head. Now, take the pouch pieces right sides together and stitch the top seam. Open up turn so that wrong sides are together and press pouch, then top stitch along the top of the pouch piece. Sandwich the pouch piece between the front and back body pieces. Pin the bear all the way around, and stitch around the bear with a 1/4″ seam allowance leaving a few inches for turning at one side. Clip corners and turn right side out. Stuff your bear with fiber fill and use a ladder stitch to close up the opening. And that’s it, pretty easy right!  Now you have an adorable gift card holder!

IMG 8622 485x600 DIY Gift Card Bear

IMG 8629 600x600 DIY Gift Card Bear

I love this little bear gift card holder! She is really sweet and festive! This is a great way to add a little extra to your gift card gifts this year for kids or stuffed animal lovers. You can customize them however you like with different colors, textures, and patterns. They are very soft and cuddly, sure to bring a smile to the face! This bear took me about a half hour to an hour to make, and the materials I had on hand. If I had to buy the supplies I think it would still cost less than $10 to make. I hope some of you will try this one out! It’s so easy and so fun to make! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more fun wrapping ideas and tutorials!

Happy Crafting!

Merry & Bright

IMG 8961c copy 601x600 Merry & Bright

IMG 8929b 441x600 Merry & Bright

IMG 8950c 400x600 Merry & Bright

IMG 8956b 599x600 Merry & Bright

IMG 8975 492x600 Merry & Bright

IMG 8990 799x600 Merry & Bright

IMG 8986 400x600 Merry & Bright

Every year Daryl and I send out Christmas cards to all of our family and friends. This year Beauregard is getting his first taste of family stardom and will be gracing the front of our holiday card as his kitty bros have in the past, much to their relief i’m sure. He was a great sport, and makes a fantastic model! I could only choose one for the card, but there were so many cute ones of him and his sister Sadie, I couldn’t help but share them with you all. I’ll share the cards with you all when I get them in the mail. Happy Friday everyone!

 

12 Days of Handmade Gifts- Vintage Button Rings and Cufflinks

IMG 9088 599x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  Vintage Button Rings and Cufflinks

IMG 9089 599x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  Vintage Button Rings and Cufflinks

IMG 9090 600x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  Vintage Button Rings and Cufflinks

Hi Everybody! Welcome to day eleven of my 12 Days of Handmade Gifts. Today I have a couple fun diy’s for you that are inexpensive and easy, to make great stocking stuffers. I am going to show you how to make rings and cufflinks out of vintage buttons.  Fun right!

Here’s what you need:

*Ring Blanks(Find some Here)

*Cufflink Blanks (Find some Here)

*Vintage Buttons

*Embroidery Floss

*E-6000

Instructions:

The first thing you want to do is thread your buttons. Either with a needle or with your fingers thread the floss through the button a few times and clip the excess threads short in the back of the button. Now place a big dab of glue on your button back and glue onto your cufflink and ring blanks. I placed the cufflinks and rings to dry straight on my thread spools. Let them dry overnight and they are good to go.

IMG 9093 600x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  Vintage Button Rings and Cufflinks

IMG 9099 602x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  Vintage Button Rings and Cufflinks

IMG 9100 602x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  Vintage Button Rings and Cufflinks

These little gifts could totally stand on their own, but they also do make an impressive and inexpensive addition to your holiday stockings! I have several of the rings and I wear them all the time! They are a lot of fun, and with adjustable ring blanks you can always be sure they will fit who you are gifting them to. All the men I know love the cufflinks. I hope some of you will try out these fun and easy little projects! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for my final gift diy of my 12 Days of Handmade Gifts! Until then….

Happy Crafting!

12 Days of Handmade Gifts- DIY Pet Toys

IMG 9081 copy 600x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 9072 copy 600x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

Hello there! Welcome to day ten of my 12 Days of Handmade Gifts. Today I am going to show you how to make fantastic gifts for your favorite furry friends. There is a dog toy made from a felted sweater, and kitty toys filled with fragrant catnip. Your pets are sure to love them!

We’ll start with the cat toys:

IMG 9072 copy 600x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 9077 copy 600x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

1 385x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

2 464x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 9045 copy 800x467 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

What You Need:

*Fabric scraps

*Feather boa

*Catnip

IMG 5411 687x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5412 538x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5414 669x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5415 550x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5416 472x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5418 800x585 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

First cut your scraps to a size you like. I made mine around 3×4″. Next, with right sides together sew up one long side, long the top, and then back down the other side leaving the bottom open. Turn the piece right side out. Fold in the top into the inside about a half an inch. Fill the little sack with catnip until about an inch from the top. Now cut a length of your boa off and insert one end into the bottom of your catnip filled sack. Then sew the end closed about an eighth inch from the edge. And you are finished. Easy right, and your cat will flip for these. As you can see, our cat Titus couldn’t wait for Christmas for his.

Now for the doggie toy:

IMG 9067 copy 599x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 9078 copy 286x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 9022b 600x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 9021b 400x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 9020 copy 596x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

What You Need:

*Old 100% Wool Sweater

*Craft Felt

*squeaker

*Pattern(please excuse the quality, my scanner is broken, so I had to take a pic of the pattern, I’ll update it when I get my new printer next week)

IMG 5427 778x1024 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5419 448x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5420 448x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5421 464x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

IMG 5422 448x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

The first thing you want to do is felt your sweater by washing it in hot water. It will shrink a lot and become thick and lose a lot of stretch. Now cut the body of the kitty monster out of the main sweater. Cut strips of the sleeves for arms and legs, and the eyes and nose from your craft felt. Stitch the eyes to the front body piece. You can stitch on the pupils of the eyes or use a permanent pen to mark them. Now stitch the nose down. Beginning at the nose with a small zigzag stitch and stitch a mouth. Now sandwich the squeaker, and the arms and legs in between the top and bottom body pieces and pin all around. Now stitch all the way around your kitty’s shape. Clip the excess threads and you are finished.

IMG 9068 copy 599x600 12 Days of Handmade Gifts  DIY Pet Toys

These toys are fun to make and a great and special alternative to store bought toys. They are a lot more economical too. I love how easy and fast these work up! I made a bunch in about an hour. And my pets love them! Beauregard couldn’t wait for his toy either. I’m a sucker for my fuzzy babies! I hope some of you try these out for your best pals. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for another fun holiday diy gift idea! until then…

Happy Crafting!

Post Navigation