Christmas 2020

How Easy Can Christmas Be!

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While Christmas has not really hit the McGuire household yet, and it will not until after Thanksgiving, it is going to be on the blog for a while. I have lots of projects planned. I am working around my three boys doing schooling from home right now, but I will make it work.

These first set of projects are ones that even if you do not have a Cricut or the time to stencil things, it is perfect for you. Only one requires painting but the other two are done by just buying the main pieces and then embellishing them.

Let’s Get Started

Project #1

Supplies

For this first project you will need a square sign. I found mine at Target in the Bullseye Playground along with the already cut out vinyl words. Another thing you might want to embellish the sign is some flowers which I got at Hobby Lobby. They have great Christmas sales right now so you will not pay full price for them. I did use some contact paper as transfer tape, twine, and some hot glue too.

To start this project I cut the string off of the wooded square. I wanted the planks to go horizonal, not vertical. Then I put wood filler in the holes so I had a solid piece. From there I weeded out the white vinyl (pull the white off of the paper decal leaving just the words behind on the paper. Also do this with the insides of the letters.) Then take the contact paper and place it over the words. Once the words are on the contact paper you can placed them on the square where you want them. Make sure you put them down where you want because the letters might not come back up. Press all the letters down well so they do not lift back up.

Next glue the flowers or holly around where you want it on the sign. I put mine at the bottom, but do what you like.

Finally put some twine on the back with hot glue. This will be your new hanger.

How beautiful is this sign, It took no time at all. I was done with it in about 10 minutes. It did cost around $6.00 because the sign itself was $3.00 and the flowers were from Hobby Lobby but I did not even come close to using them all.

Project #2

Supplies

This next project was done with a sled I got at Target Bullseye Playground and flowers from Dollar Tree. None of the decals from Target fit on the sled except the mistletoe one and I did not want to copy the picture on the packaging. So I used my Cricut to cut out the beautiful tree decal.

I know I said that these were done without a cutting machine but I wanted to give you the options on what you could use if you do not have a cutting machine. Vinyl stickers of all kinds are on Etsy. You can buy them at several craft stores too. I try to make all my projects as authentic as possible which is why I did not put a Target one on this sled.

I got out my Cricut to start this project. You can use stickers, write or draw, or use stencils on the sled. I used the same method as above with the contact paper to get the vinyl tree onto my sled.

After that I used hot glue and glued the poinsettias and some leaves on the top of the sled.

I love this so much. It turned out so much better than I expected. This would be great on a Dollar Tree sled too. I am loving the Nordic style trees this year. It is very festive and traditional Christmas decor.

Project #3

Supplies

Lots of supplies for this project. This one also takes some time to put together. You will need some type of large sign. I used a tag shaped sign from Dollar Tree. The Vinyl decal is from the Target Bullseye Playground. You will also need some paint, paint brushes, twine, sand paper and hot glue. I finished it up with some ribbon and already made bow.

Since my tag was not a blank canvas I had to paint it. I painted it white with Waverly Chalk Paint. Then dry brushed it with Waverly Antique Wax. If the wax was to dark I used sand paper and sanded it down some to lighten the was up. This is all about what look you prefer. I also sanded the edges down to make it more distressed.

To put the decal on, I used the same method with the contact paper as I did before. I did do it word by word though except the “check it twice” I put all three words on the contact paper at the same time and applied them to the tag.

After the words were on, I felt like the sign needed something to divide the words up a bit. So I took some black chalk paint and free handed two rectangles. One between each word. Then I painted a thin boarder around the black rectangles with red chalk paint.

Now I send pictures to a few trusted people to see if they like what I create and if they think it is missing anything. Well I had a friend suggest that I add a piece of chalk somehow. I was going to hang it from string at the top of the sign but I did not want it to stay in front of all the words so I then decided to put the chalk on the side of the sign. This was done with ribbon.

I took the ribbon and looped it around the chalk. Then took hot glue and glued it to the back of the sign. This makes it to where the chalk can come out and be put back on the sign.

Finally I added a store bought bow from Walmart and put some twine at the top to be able to hang the sign.

Here it is!! This is a complete transformation from the Dollar Tree tag I started off as. It would be fun to hang this on a kid’s room door to maybe keep them in line until Christmas comes. (I might be the only sassy one to do that) Your kids might have a lot of fun with this one.

Thank you much for joining me for these beautiful Christmas crafts. They were a lot of fun to create. I have lots more Christmas decor to show you. Some of it is very simple and some is very cheap.

Have a great weekend and stay healthy! Also Like, Comment, Share, and Subscribe!

Melissa McGuire

Supplies

Project #1

Wooden Square- Target Bullseye Playground

Wood Filler- Lowe’s

Flowers- Hobby Lobby

Vinyl Decal- Target Bullseye Playground

Contact Paper- Dollar Tree

Twine- Hobby Lobby

Surbonder Hot Glue Gun and Hot glue Sticks- Hobby Lobby

Project #2

Sled- Target Bullseye Playground

Cricut Explorer Air 2- Michael’s Craft Supply

Orical 651 Silver Vinyl- Michael’s Craft Supply

Flowers- Dollar Tree

Contact paper- Dollar Tree

Surebonder Hot Glue Gun and Hot Glue Sticks- Hobby Lobby

Project #3

Wooden Tag- Dollar Tree

Waverly Chalk Paint in White- Walmart

Waverly Antique Wax- Walmart

Waverly Chalk Paint in Ink- Walmart

Red Chalk Paint- Walmart

Chalk- Walmart

Ribbon- Michael’s Craft Store

Twine- Hobby Lobby

Already Made Bow- Walmart

Surebonder Hot Glue Gun and Hot Glue Sticks- Hobby Lobby

Double Trouble Part 1

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Welcome to day 4 of the 5 days of Halloween! We are almost through the week. I know for us it has been a long one.

Lets look at how we can double our decor without doubling the amount of things we have to store. I am all about saving space and getting as much out of my decor as possible. One of the best ways to do that is by having your decor preform double duty. This means that one side of you decor is one holiday and the other side is another.

This is great for people who have very little storage space in their homes or just do not want to put a lot of money into holiday decorations.

Let’s Get Started!

Project #1

Supplies

For this first project you will need some table top pumpkins. I got mine at Target. You will also need some embellishments to put on your pumpkins. I found the wooden turkey and pumpkin a few years ago at Michael’s Craft Store. You could use stickers or printables to put on the project or any other embellishments you have on hand.

Some other Supplies I used were scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby. It is the best for your money. The goal is to get different patterns of different holiday paper. I used the wood grain paper for one side of the pumpkin and then Halloween for the other side. I also used Mod Podge, a paint brush, hot glue gun, sand paper and twine.

The first thing I did was cut my scrapbook paper down to a more manageable size. You can trace the pumpkin onto the paper and cut it out before you glue it down but I prefer to leave the paper bigger and sand off the edges later. I put a thin layer of Mod Podge down on the pumpkin and placed the paper down on top of the pumpkin making sure to smooth out the bubbles.

Once that was dry, I took my sand paper and sanded in a downward motion around the edges of the pumpkin. This will tear off the paper from the edge and give a clean and finished look. Then I did the same steps to add the paper to the other side of the pumpkins.

After that I glued on the pumpkin on one side and turkey on the other side. As for the other pumpkin, I wanted words on it. So I used my Cricut and 651 vinyl to add the words. In place of this you can use stickers, or free printables and glue them on.

Once I had the words and wood pieces on, I thought the pumpkins needed something more. My brain could not think of anything fun and creative to be honest. I knew I had to put something on them that could be seen from both sides sense these pumpkins were pulling double duty. It seems twine is always the answer. I put some hot glue at the base of the stem of the pumpkin and started wrapping the twine around the stem of the pumpkin. I did this all the way up until the stem was covered. This is something that added some texture to the pumpkin and also would look great no matter what side of the pumpkin was visible.

Here is a look at how they turned out. One side is done up for Halloween and the other side is done up for Thanksgiving. You only have two pumpkins to store away after the holidays and they are pulling double duty while they are out!

Project #2

Supplies

It might look like there is a lot to this next project but really it is the same steps as the last one. I used wooden mason jars I had on hand from last year from Dollar Tree. This goes to show you that you can use any kind of wooden base that you want. From there you need embellishments if you want them. I also used some silver paint, hot glue, scrapbook paper for different holidays, flowers, sand paper, Mod Podge.

The first thing I did with these wooden mason jars is to gently pull off the twine from the top and sand off the glitter. Sometimes with Dollar Tree stuff you can peal the paper off of the product to get the glitter off , but most of the time it is not that easy. Another way to get the glitter off that I just learned about is to spray Goo Gone on it and let it sit for a minute or two and scrape it off with a scraper. Then wipe it down with a damp paper towel or baby wipe. It works well without of the sanding mess.

Next I cut the scrapbook paper down to size. Then I painted a thin layer of Mod Podge on the the mason jars and places the scrapbook paper down top making sure to smooth out the bubbles. I let it dry then sanded the edges in a downward motion to get the extra paper off.

At this point, I did not like the top of the mason jars. It was covered in the paper and did not look like a lid. So I took some metallic silver acrylic paint and did three coats of paint on the top part of the jar so it would look like a silver lid.

Now it’s time for embellishments. For the fall jars I used pumpkins and wooden wards from Target. If I did not like the color, I used what ever paints I had on hand to paint them. Paint pens work well for this. I did the same with the with the Christmas jar. Hobby Lobby had these cute Christmas wooded pieces. I colored the little Santa and then added some cardstock and Merry Christmas with my Cricut and vinyl. Glue things on as you see fit. For these projects you are only limited by your creativity.

I added the twine back to the top of the mason jars and put twine bows on top of the twine. The other embellishment I added was the tops of flowers that I got from Dollar Tree.

Here are the finished jars. Each side of these jars are for a different holiday. Like I said before these cut down on storage and gives lots of options for any holiday or season. The paper and embellishments for this are endless. This can even been done for everyday decor.

I do hope this finds you all in good health. Please stay safe.

Thank you for joining me. Please Like, Share, Comment, and Subscribe!!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Melissa McGuire

Supplies

Project #1

Wooden Pumpkins- Target

Scrapbook paper that are Different Patterns- Hobby Lobby

Mod Podge- Anywhere

Wooden Pieces- Michael’s Craft Store

Twine- Hobby Lobby

Cricut- Michael’s Craft Store

651 Vinyl- Michael’s Craft Store

Surebonder Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks- Hobby Lobby

Project #2

Mason Jars- Dollar Tree

Flowers- Dollar Tree

Wooden Pieces- Target

Silver Metallic Acrylic Paint- Walmart

Mod Podge- Anywhere

Scrapbook paper that are Different Patterns- Hobby Lobby

Twine- Hobby Lobby

Cricut- Michael’s Craft Store

651 Vinyl- Michael’s Craft Store

Surebonder Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks- Hobby Lobby