Head on over to the Bad Girls blog today to check out some more holiday crafting inspiration that in have in store for you! A fabulous vintagey waterless snowglobe project...
Full instructions for this project can be found here.
Also, I have entered my American Crafts paper flower wreath into the Michael's "Handmade Holiday" contest. The grand prize is a trip to NYC, and tickets to the Martha Stewart Show. So, if you could please, take a moment to head on over to the contest gallery and vote for my wreath. I would REALLY appreciate it. :0) Just click on the snowmen under the photo of the wreath to cast your vote. It won't look like it's actually registering your vote... nothing will happen when you click on the snowmen. But, rest assured, it IS actually working. Again, thank you so much for taking the time... and a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has already voted!
In the process of writing up a tutorial for my paper flowers technique, I was trying to think of unique was to incorporate them into a project. And, like a lightning bolt, it hit me... these would make an AWESOME Christmas wreath. Then, when I discovered that the American Crafts "Flair!" was the p.e.r.f.e.c.t. size to cover the brads in the center of the flowers... it was like the crafting gods had their divine intervention!
What you will need...
For the wreath base:
*One 18" styrofoam wreath
*16 yards of ribbon to wrap the wreath base with (all my ribbons are the American Crafts holiday line sold at Michael's in individual 3 yard rolls... you'll need 6 rolls)
*One roll of extra-wide wired ribbon for the bow at the top of the wreath
*Picture hanging wire
*Hot glue gun
For the flowers:
*One sheet each of 6 different styles of patterned paper (all papers and other products here are from the new American Crafts holiday line)
*24 large brads
*24 rubberbands (I use the colored rubberbands you can buy for children's hair at the grocery store... don't worry about the colors b/c you won't see them)
*Glue dots
*3 packages of American Crafts holiday Flair! (coincidentally, there are 3 different set of Flair! with 8 designs per package. That equals 24 pieces of Flair!... which is exactly how many flowers you will need. See, I told you... divine intervention of the crafting gods!)
Start out by wrapping the wreath with ribbon, securing along the way with hot glue. Ideally, it would be great if you could get 6 rolls of the same ribbon. However, if your Michael's is as small as mine, you will only be able to get 2 of the same design. It's not that big of a deal. You won't really see it anyway when the wreath is done... unless you're looking at it from the side. And who really looks at it like that if it's on your front door? Not me. Anyhow, wrap the wreath...
Set the wreath aside, and start working on your flowers per the previously mentioned tutorial. Each sheet of patterned paper will provide you with (4) 5" squares to make flowers from. Once you have the basic flowers assembled, glitter the edges of them with glitter glue. Usually, I'm the biggest Stickles advocate, but in this case... I used the cheap stuff from Michael's. Trust me... you'll need that big bottle, and it gets a thicker line of glitter that is preferable for this project...
Then, add your Flair! to the middle of the flowers, and you'll be done with them. Now, all you have to do is adhere them to the wreath base using hot glue. I overlapped them so that none of the ribbon below was visible. This will leave you with a gap at the top, but that's okay because we're going to cover it up with that pretty bow! Just tie a simple bow from a 2' length of extra-wide wired ribbon, and trim the ends. Secure the bow to the wreath with more hot glue, and run a length of picture wire through the back of it to provide a hanger for your wreath. Voila! Now, you've got a beautiful wreath that will greet your guests at the front door year after year.
**THANK YOU so much to all of the ladies over at 2Peas that voted for my wreath... #1 by votes in LESS THAN 45 minutes! That's just freaking amazing. And, layout of the day to boot! Thank you!!! xoxoxo, Holly**
Yes we do! Some of you might be wondering what I have been scrapping as of late. The answer? Not much. I have taken a little scrapbooking hiatus for the last week or so to work on some spirit goodies for Hazel's competitive cheerleading squad. Now that we are part of the Cheer Extreme family of gyms, Hazel and her team have really started to blossom on their skill level. Here she is modeling her new uniform...
I must admit... I'm a total sucker for the new team colors. Teal is my favorite, and I loved having a chance to create with it! I've been making cowbells for the team moms to bring to competitions with us. Us cheer moms... the noisier, the better!
And, then I started on a project that harkened back to my days in high school football-crazed Texas. For those of you that have never lived there, went to high school there, or had a child that went to high school there, let me introduce you to the mum...
Now, let me just tell you... this is a VERY scaled-down version of the "everything's bigger in Texas" mums that the high school girls sport during the annual homecoming football game/dance. In fact, this is more of what you would consider a "garter," and would be worn by... get this... THE GUYS. Yes, guys wear these frilly, sparkly things as a garter around their upper arms. Manly, is it not?
The girls? Well, let me tell you... I stand at about 5'5", and my homecoming mums in high school nearly reached my ankles. Don't believe me? Check these ladiesout! No, I don't know the crafty lady whose blog I pulled this from. She just had the best photos (actually ON a person) that I found when I Googled photos of homecoming mums.
Mind you, I graduated from high school over 13 years ago... but, these things seem to have only GROWN in size since then. At least we used to be able to pin them to our shirts. Sure, it might have taken 5 safety pins... but, we weren't wearing them around our necks like they do now. I get it, though... the bigger, the more sparkly the mum... the cooler you thought you were. Well, at least until you looked back 13 years later. LOL! They even make ones that light up and play music... I kid you not.
So, back to my little mum. This guy only measures 12", and is a great way to show support of your cheerleader. There were moms that wore them back in high school to support their football-playing sons, cheerleader daughters, etc. So, I thought I'd bring a little of that good old Texas tradition right here to North Carolina. We'll see how this catches on... or not. It sure was FUN to make, though. And, you all know how much I LOVE anything that sparkles! Lights up and plays music? Not so much. We'll save that for those Texas gals.
If you're a Cheer Extreme mom, find yourself reading this, and are interested in your very own mum to support your little cheerleader... please feel free to contact me.
Speaking of cheerleading... it's about time for practice. We have our first competition this weekend, and need to get ready. I'll leave you with a photo (and a video) from their recent Showcase performance...
