To Amaze You: April 2013

Hiii, I don't know why but these days I've been thinking about Christmas. Every year I think that I'm going to do all my decorations, that it will be incredible and that i'm going to inovate but every single year it comes the time and I do nothing different because I don't have time or because I don't have ideas. So, this year is the year! And I'm already thinking about it! If you are like me and you are just starting to think about Christmas or if you think I'm crazy when I'm in April thinking about Christmas, this post is for you because I will give you some amazing ideas for Christmas decorations.

Acorn Cap Ornament

I love fall crafts :) I love Christmas crafts even more. You can make so many beautiful things with nature and a little glitz. Hence, this acorn cap ornament.

For me... this project = $0.00. The acorn caps were found on the ground, paint, glue, glitter, ribbon and the foam ball, were all on hand. All easily accessible at your local dollar store too. But... in the spirit of this ornament, try using what you have on hand. For those well stocked crafters, I bet if you dig through your supplies, you could do it at no cost too!

Supplies
foam ball
hot glue / glue gun
dried acorn caps, various sizes
craft paint
white glue / Mod Podge
glitter
ribbon / twine
paint brush

I didn't have a perfectly round foam ball. I had egg shaped ones left over from making some felt pinecones. So using a sharp knife, I shaped it into a ball. If you don't have a foam ball, you can use anything that is fairly light, hot glue will stick to it and you can put a hole through it. Pierce a hole through the centre of the ball, then painted it brown to help camouflage it if there were any gaps between the acorn caps.

Taking the acorn caps and some hot glue, start attaching them to the ball, avoiding where the hole goes through it.

Keep going until it is completely covered. I used various sized acorn caps. That way if I ended up with a tiny space, I glued in a tiny cap. Tiny cap = no gap :) So, get a variety.

Using a small paintbrush, apply some Mod Podge to the insides of the acorn caps, then sprinkle with glitter, working in smaller sections so the Podge doesn't dry before it"s glittered. This part goes pretty quick. I thought the bronze colour would be super pretty with the brown of the acorn caps.... but if you want to be more playful, imagine a vibrant rich blue, Christmas red or a lovely shade of plum!

Once it's all glittered, feed some coordinating ribbon, scrappy strip of fabric, or piece of twine through the hole in the ball. I put one end of ribbon over the back end of my paint brush, then pushed it up through the hole. Secure the ends with a knot, bow... whatever you choose.

I'm still looking for more acorn caps so I can make a set of these for my Christmas tree! They would also be very thoughtful gift toppers. Just attach a pretty tag and your set!

Found it in : http://www.salttree.net/2012/10/acorn-cap-ornament.html

Woodland Wreath With A Purpose

I've missed making wreaths ... I do love a pretty yarn wrapped wreath and well... anything that gives me an excuse to work with felt is just an added bonus in my world. This little creation has an earthy, wise owl looking over a meadow of woodland foliage. I am extremely tempted to hang it on my own front door, or any where in my home for that matter!

But alas, it is not for me. As there is a purpose to this creation. I am determined to get my Etsy Shop back up and running by the end of this month. It has been far to long. I'm telling you all about my goal to keep me accountable and on track. It also means I need inventory! Hence, the creation. Yes, it will go up for sale!

So wish me luck and non-procrastination! You can bet I'll post links and make an announcement when my 'SaltTree' Etsy shop reopens.

Cheers all!

Found it in : http://www.salttree.net/2012/02/woodland-wreath-with-purpose.html

Paper Cone Christmas Trees

"Hi Everyone, I’m Sarah from Alderberry Hill. I have been enjoying all the Christmas Cavalcade posts so far and I am beyond thrilled to be a part of this series. A very {BIG} thanks to Amber for having me here at Salt Tree today!

Today I am sharing a tutorial on how to make your own paper cones and then turn them into beautiful Christmas Trees!

You can use construction paper for this but I had a big roll of thick kraft paper at home so that’s what I used. I didn’t use a specific size I just eyeballed a square of paper and then rolled it into a cone and secured with scotch tape. You can see that I have overlapping at the bottom so I simply used my craft scissors and cut it off to make the bottom flush.

You can use a wide breadth of materials for covering your paper cones, the possibilities are really endless. I chose white feathers, poinsettia leaves and paper holly leaves.

You can use various glue mediums to attach your materials as well. For the feathers I used double sided tape. I placed the feathers on starting on the bottoms, in layers, laying a strip of double sided tape for every layer of feathers. You could also use Mod Podge to glue the feathers on as well.

I used hot glue for the poinsettia leaves and again started at the bottom working my way up to the top.

These beautiful holly leaves I cut out with my Silhouette machine. And I used the same method here, start at the bottom and work your way up using hot glue on each leaf.

So pretty!

I really love the texture of the holly leaves, using multiple shades of green really makes a difference!

The poinsettia leaves have a velvet texture, really looks like something you would purchase at the store!

And here they are, all three. They have made a wonderful addition to my Christmas decor and the colors work so well together!"

Hello Everyone, hope you enjoyed it cause I found it amazing. I really think I have to innovate in my Christmas decorations. By the way, found this idea in http://www.salttree.net/2012/11/paper-cone-christmas-trees-guest-post.html#more . Have Fun!