Button Christmas Ornament

So I had a ton of buttons left over from the button tree I created awhile back, so I decided to do a button Christmas ornament! It is by far the busiest ornament on my Christmas tree, but I LOVE IT for that exact reason. Anyways, here it is hung on the Christmas tree, I had to hang it up super high so Tidus the Christmas decoration destroyer didn't get it.

To make this busy ornament you will need:

1. Styrofoam Ball - I bought mine on ebay for $5 with shipping, and got a pack of 10 6cm styrofoam balls.
2. Buttons - I got these buttons a long time ago and they came in a tub from Michaels, but you can use any  buttons you want.
3. Pearl headed pins - Every place has them I got these ones from Dollarama.
4. Ribbon

First thing I did was put the ribbon, to hang the ornament, on the ball with a pin. I then went back after and put a button between the pin and the ribbon so you don't see the ribbon.

 

 I then placed buttons on the styrofoam ball securing them each with two pins. Some of the buttons I stacked on top of each other as you can see in the pics above, other I didn't stack. Keep going until you have covered the entire ball. It is pretty forgiving so keep going until you like the look and don't worry about placing buttons over other buttons.

 

VOILA! A Button Christmas Ornament! 

I love making Christmas Ornaments and I have two more on the go right now. Stay tuned! 

Thank-you for reading.

-Kristen

http://craftsandnails.blogspot.com 

White Christmas Tulle Wreath

Many posts ago I showed you a tulle Christmas and Halloween wreath I made for my office door at work. In that same post I said I would eventually do a tutorial on how to make your very own Christmas tulle wreath, so here you go....YAY! The finished product is right below and then the tutorial starts afterwards.

Finished Christmas Tulle Wreath

 The supplies you will need to complete the wreath are:

1. A wreath - I purchased mine at Michaels for $8.99. The size of wreath is based on preference (hee hee), the one I purchased is 14".
2. Felt to make the flowers - 2 green, 2 red, and 2 white. The green felt was only $0.49 each, but the red and white were $1.69 each because they are the stiff felt with sparkles. 
3. Tulle - you can do any colour you want, I chose white. The tulle was $14.99, and was 50yd long and 8.5 inches high. I got it in the wedding decoration section at Michaels.
4. Little bows - I got them at Michaels for $5.00, but i'm pretty sure you can get them at the Dollarama too.
5. A decoration to hang on the wreath - I used a tree topper and just took off the bottom wire part.
6. Little Christmas coloured balls - not shown in the above pic. I got them on a Christmas pick and it cost me $1.00. You will see them as the tutorial progresses.
7. Glue gun and glue
8. Scissors
9. embroidery thread or fishing line

Step 1: Cut your Tulle
I cut the tulle into 21 inch strips and left the width the same as it came in the spool. I used all 50 yd for the wreath.

 

Step 2: Use a slip knot to attach the tulle to wreath
As you can see from the pictures above you take a piece of tulle fold it in half, then you wrap the tulle around the wreath, put the end of the tulle through the loop, and pull tight. Keep doing this over and over and over again until you have covered the wreath. Once you have completed all the slip knots, you can then tighten them one by one to make sure that they stay put.

Step 3: Make the Flowers

This is a tutorial in itself, so I'm going to do a step by step in a step by step.
 

 

First take a circular object and trace it on the felt, the larger the circle the larger the flower at the end. For the large flowers on the wreath I used a salad plate, for the little flowers I used a large cup. Once your have traced the circle cut it out. 

  

Then you want to cut the circle into a spiral starting from the outside and working your way inward. After you have finished that, cut little half moons all the way around the outside of the spiral. Don't worry about making it perfect, it will look more realistic if it isn't. 

 

Grab your glue gun and start rolling the felt into itself (like you are rolling up a little carpet), keep putting a line of hot glue and then roll. Continue doing this until you reach the middle portion of the spiral, you will have a little circle which you will glue to the bottom of rose. 

 

This is what it will look like when it is completed.

 

This portion is optional, but if you want to add some little leaves just cut them out of green felt and hot glue them to the back of your rose.

 There you go you have your very own handmade rose for your wreath. I made 3 large roses (red, green, and white) and 4 little roses (2 white and 2 red) for the wreath.

Step 4: Place and Glue the flowers
I then placed the flowers the way I wanted them on the bottom of the wreath and hot glued them to the tulle. Afterwards, I glued the little Christmas coloured balls around the flowers.

Step 5: Finish Decorating
I then used the little pipe cleaners holding the mini bows together to twist them onto the tulle. Lastly, I added the hanging snowflake with red embroidery thread.

Even though this wreath isn't for me, I kind of want to keep it! Don't you hate when that happens?! At least I know it is going to a good home.

Thank-you for reading!

-Kristen
http://craftsandnails.blogspot.com

Birds on a Wire on Canvas with String Art

Hi Everyone! Happy Sunday :P. This weekend went by so fast because it was jammed pack of being with family, putting up Christmas lights, and babysitting. I did sneak in some time to do a new craft project that I am very excited to share with you!!!!! This is my variation of Birds on a Wire, with a splash of string art for texture. Below is the finished product and below it is the tutorial on how to make it.

Completed Birds on a Wire - Canvas

Supplies you will need:

1. A Canvas - the one I used is 15 inches tall, 30 inches wide, and 1.5 inches thick, I got it from Michaels and it was on sale half off for $15.00.
2. Acrylic Paint - variety of colours
3. Brushes, sponges, etc.
4. Nails  - the ones I used were 3/4" and they are from Wal-mart.
5. Embroidery Thread - I just used plain ol' black embroidery thread. On this project I used almost four 10 yd bundles.
6. A piece of wood to fit the back of the canvas
7. Long Screw or Nails - you will see why in a bit.

 

 First I painted the canvas a light blue using a foam brush. It took 3 coats to cover it completely.

I then mixed a blue-green and used a brush to paint around the outside of the canvas. As you can see the colour isn't a huge difference, but this will be base of the shadowed area.

I took a orange paint and used my fingers to place it randomly around the edges of the canvas. I then used water and a brush to blend the orange into the blue-green.

 

Afterwards I took a dark yellow and did the same as I did with the orange. I then let all the colours dry before I proceeded to the next step. 

I then mixed a light purple and brushed it onto the very outside of the canvas, I then soften the edges of the light purple with a wet foam brush.

 

While the purple was still wet, I added the same yellow I used before around the edge of the canvas. The whole point of all these colours is to create depth around the canvas.

 

Before blending the yellow I placed a small amount of orange around the yellow, this was the same orange I used before. I then used a wet brush to blend the colours together.

Lastly, I blobbed a dark purple around the very edges and blended them into the other colours.

 Here are some pictures of the painting when it was completed and dry.

 To get the nails to stay in the canvas I had to give them something to dig their teeth into, so I placed a piece of wood on the back of the canvas. Unfortunately, the piece of wood wasn't big enough, so I had to get Ricky to cut it and he stapled it to the area where I would be nailing. I then used long screws and placed them in the middle to ensure that the wood stayed sturdy.

 

I then went on the internet and printed off some birds; they were from an advertisement for a vinyl wall decal. I then cut the birds out and cut out some straight lines and taped it to the canvas.

  

I then nailed all along the outside of the cut outs. If you want more information about this part, please see my first String Art tutorial here http://craftsandnails.blogspot.ca/2012/11/string-art-tutorial.html.

Then I removed the cut-out from the canvas. 

 

Once the cut outs are removed it will look something like this.

I tied my thread to one of the end nails.

  

Then I started weaving my thread along the nails.

 

    

VOILA! All done! This was a great project and I am so excited about how it looks above my TV. I was getting so tired of the big blank space. P.S. Guess what I was watching when I was crafting away? ;)

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and that you give the project a try!

Thank-you for reading!

- Kristen

 http://craftsandnails.blogspot.com