Holiday Book

Growing up my family had the tradition of reading a story and then singing a song every night in December. I wanted to do that too so I made our own holiday book. We start ours on the 13th of December and do it for 12 days. The girls love it. I thought I would show you a couple of the pages. I used a dollar store board book and ripped the pictures off and then painted its edges and covered it with scrapbook paper.

Each of the pages has one story and several songs on tags that can be pulled out of pockets.

I put a lot of family stories in it about Christmas's from the grandparents which the girls love. It has been a great way for them to learn a little about their ancestors and have some holiday fun.

Wreath on Canvas Tutorial

Have you seen that fabulous fabric wreath over at V and Co. The first thing I thought when I saw it was I want one. The second thing I thought was I can make it with paper.

Here is what you'll need: Glue, paper cutter, scrapbook paper, rub-ons, canvas, card stock.

First things first, I used a bowl to cut out a circle and then I just cut out its center. No need to be exact here because it is going to get covered. You can just draw a circle onto your canvas but I tried this and it didn't turn out as round.

Next cut your strips of paper 2 1/2 inches by 1/2 inch.

Fold your paper in half to find its center.

Now fold each side down at the center crease.

Do the same with the other side so you have this.

Glue down paper on your "wreath form."

Glue your wreath onto the canvas and get your rub-ons placed down.
I have also done this as a gift using a monogram so I thought I would show you what it looks like.
I used another rub on and made a tag.
Proudly display your work of art.

I also made one with three mini wreaths, I will show you the finished project next week and give you the dimensions for the paper strips I used.

Linking to here:

Baby Quilt

I have been busy making quilts for the last few weeks. This one is for my baby. I have wanted to make a bunting quilt ever since I saw this cute bunting pillow

here

I quilted this one myself on a regular sewing machine and I am pretty pleased with the result. I used wonder under and didn't turn my edges under but did a zigzag stitch around them instead.

Curled Rose Book Wreath Tutorial

Have you seen those gorgeous curled wood chip wreaths. I want one, but I don't want to spend the money. The alternative was to make one. I don't have curled wood chips on hand but I did have a book that was just waiting for a makeover. Want to make one too? Instructions are below.Materials list: wreath form, chapter book, different size circle templates, glue, distressing ink.

I used three different sizes of circles as you can see from above some of my templates were pretty primitive: a desert dish, a canning jar, and my circle punch. I mainly used the larger sized circles and used the other two as fillers. So cut out your circles, about 40 large ones and 20 each of the medium and small sized ones. Then use a little distressing ink to smudge them up a bit and give them some dimension.

Cut your circles into a spiral.

Starting from the inside roll it up. Use a little dab of glue to secure the end piece.
Cover your wreath form with extra pieces of book pages.

Attach your roses with hot glue. I did two rows of the large size and then filled it in with the small and medium ones.

Hang up and enjoy. I did have a red bow tied around this and it looked okay but I liked it better with the star garland behind it.

Pretty Treat Packaging Part 2

My friend Beth makes fantastic treats. Recently she has been making candy apples and they are gorgeous but she wanted some fun packaging to put them in and asked me if I could help. (These boxes are also the perfect size for CUPCAKES, CARMEL POPCORN, or at Christmas time some yummy CHEX MIX and other tasty treats.)
Don't these look fabulous, this picture is from her blogspot.
Okay my apple isn't all decked out but I needed one to use for measuring and I think it still looks pretty all packaged up. Follow the same steps for making the box that are found here. only your square should be 6 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches. Score at 4 3/4 inches (1 1/2 inches in on each side).

Measure how tall you apple is with the stick in. Mine was between 7-8 inches tall so I cut my pattern paper 9 inches tall 3 1/4 inches wide. I scored the bottom of each strip of paper in 1 1/2 inch. Glue your patterned paper to the box. I punched a hole in mine so you could see a little bit of apple peeking out.

Place your apple in the box and attach the top of the two sides together. You can glue it or use brads or eyelets to secure it. For this one I used a little piece of scrap paper folded it in half, used a hole punch to punch through all layers and then secured it with some thick string.
Decorate and voila beautiful packages.

A few different ideas one with eyelets:

And if your treat isn't as tall you can use one strip of 12 inch paper and fold it in half like this one perfect for a deluxe birthday cupcake.

By the way if you are in the Boise area you can order some Sweets by Beth, her cheesecakes are AMAZING!!!! just let me know and I will send you her contact information.

Package It Pretty Tutorial Part 1

Isn't it nice to have a pretty package for your treats you give away. There are three different size treat packages that I like to keep on hand. The first are these cute little boxes. Four truffles fit perfectly in the box. Two cookies also snuggle right down in there.

so here's the how to:

you will need: solid card stock, paper cutter, glue, pattern paper, ribbon and other embellishments, scissors, and clothesline clips (not necessary but pretty handy)

For a treat box that is 3 inches by 2 inches start with a piece of solid cardstock measuring 7 inches square. Score all four sides of your square at 5 inches.

There will be four mini scored squares in each corner. You are going to make four cuts, one on each of the inside score lines of the mini square.

Trim the corners of your paper.

Fold in the corners and secure with glue.

I secure these with clothes pins for a few seconds while they dry.
Using a twelve inch long by 3 inch wide strip of patterned paper score at the following: 2, 4, 7, 9 inches.
Place your box in the middle.
There are different ways that you can secure the outer paper. You can use glue, ribbon, tape, brads or eyelets. Embellish and enjoy...