Welcome Christmas

Howdy.  I hope this post finds you well, and still have some holiday spirit left after countless hours standing in line, searching for a parking space, and logging in your required hours at work.  {smile}

I, like so many of you out there, I have different groups of friends, and they all want to get together for the holidays.  So, the crafting for family and friends doesn't really stop until, well, never.  It does slow down the few days between Christmas and News Year.  

For this particular group of friends, we always do a white elephant gift exchange.  There are only 2 requirements, $10 limit, and must be something craft-y.  Check, and check.  I grabbed a package of white coffee filters, and the ring from a mason jar.  

I am entering my creation into a 'new-to-me' challenge:  Crafty Calendar Challenge: It's Christmas.  You are free to create anything, JUST make sure, your creation matches their theme.  Check.

And here is what I came-up with:

Ta-Da!  I made a Holiday Ornament.  I cut each coffee filter into quarters, and then a rough circle.  I dyed the cut coffee filters with tea.  Dried them in the dryer; its fast and super easy.
I added the silver star and thin satin ribbon 'hanger' before adding the coffee filter folds.
Then, I created rough folders with each 'circle', and hot glued them to the ring of a mason jar lid.  I lined them up, and got them pretty close, so there wouldn't be any gaps.
I took tiny cream colored paper flowers, and painted them with a shimmer pearl paint.  Then I added glitter while the paint was wet, so the glitter would adhere.  I added an odd number of blossoms, to keep the wreath 'interesting'.
The final addition, is the 'Merry Christmas' banner.  I hand-stamped the sentiment in archival black ink onto white card stock.  I cut flag ends, and bent the strip into this fancy looking banner.  {smile}
Viola.  Something sweet, vintage, shabby chic, and with a bit of country charm.  {smile} Just my style!  Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you have been inspired to create something beautiful for those special folks in your life.

My Planner

Howdy, and good morning.  One of my new years resolutions, is to be more organized.  Can someone be 'more' organized? or is it simply 'organized'?  Well, I feel that I am pretty organized, per say.  But, I  also believe that there is always room for improvement.  So, I am working on being 'more' organized.  And to help me conquer this task, I purchased a planner to keep everything together at my finger tips.  {smile}

If you do a search for 'planner' on the internet, you will be bombarded with images, tutorials, and various manufacturers products.  A lot of eye candy!  So, during the last week of December, I headed to a local craft store, and picked up a few items.  And I finally did a little bit of crafting, and decorated the cover of my planner, and the inside cover of my planner.  {smile}

My planner is striped in a rose gold metallic and cream.  I really liked how these two colors looked together.  I started with a paper lace doily from Stampin' Up!.  I layered a scrap piece of cream and gold metallic lace, towards the bottom of the doily.  Then I added a piece of pink polka dot washi tape.  I purchased that big beautiful fabric blossom in the clearance isle of a craft store.  So, I hot glued the blossom, to the cover.  I die cut two leaf pieces and my initials from a scrap piece of glitter paper, that is pretty similar in 'gold' color on the cover.  I adhered the two leaf pieces to the upper left of the blossom, and adhered my initials to the right of the blossom.   I adhered the rose gold and rhinestone charm just under the blossom.  And the final touch was adding a trio of blush sequins, and a trio of flat-back 'pearls'.

I am pretty happy with how the cover is decorated.  I didn't want too much on the cover, as I use my planner daily.  It's kind of a ritual now a days.  I open it, and look at my various sections each morning, while I am drinking my coffee.  It helps me stay on track for projects, and I get to review my calendar, and make notes of different items of interest.  I am truly loving this whole process! {smile}  I also wanted to make a few additions for my planner, and to make the inside just as pretty!

I trimmed a Project Life card and re-rounded the corners to this beautiful metallic card:  'By being YOURSELF you put something WONDERFUL into the world that was not there before'.  I think all of us need reminders how special each of us are.  And that we should celebrate not being carbon copies of each other.  

I made 4 different but equally beautiful 'clips'.  I took large paper clips and simply added things I love!  Three are made out of paper, and one is another beautiful blossom.  {smile}  The sign, coffee cup, and mason jar are made from paper.  I added a little foam adhesive between the front and back piece of heavy card stock.  And hot glued the paper clip in place.  For the blossom, I simple tied a double bow to the paper clip and hot glued the pink paper blossom to the bow.  I backed it with a scrap piece of pink felt.  I added some small gold accent post-its, and two magnetic closures: a tiffany blue flag, and a gold metallic diamond shape.  I printed a calendar year onto heavy card stock and slipped that in the large pocket.  So, I can see the whole year in one view.  I also made a few notes for each month.  That is where I jot down large projects.  

Well, thank you for looking, and spending a little time with me, to see what I have been doing.  I hope you are still on track with your new years resolution(s), too.  Changing how you do things, and creating 'good' habits are hard.  It does take work, and discipline.  But, I know that I am happy with the changes I have made this year.  I am still exercising 3 times a week.  Running 2 days a week.  Making better, healthier choices of food.  And having time on my calendar to craft, really takes the stress away.  I don't fret about deadlines anymore, and I can get so many more things done in the day.  It makes me believe that my stress is reduced, which is good for my heart, and my family. {smile}  And I continue to work on my 'problem' areas each day.  So there are strides there.  And feeling like I am in control of those areas, is empowering!  Have a great day!

Pretty Vintage Mason Jar

So, I've been busy crafting.  I'm trying to get a few different, and new, items for this weekends Trash to Treasure Trunk Show.  But, I want to have repurposed, recycled, and reused items, that have a new, pretty life!  {smile} And one of the things I love to make for parties, is painted mason jars.  But I didn't just paint and distress my jars.  I also added some trims to jazz-up the jars! {smile}

To start, I painted the jar with cream/vanilla chalk paint.  I wanted a warm color under the main color, of white.  I allowed the paint to dry in-between coats.  I painted the jar with white chalk paint, as my final color and layer.
Once the paint was dried, I started distressing the jars with sandpaper.  I used three different grits of sandpaper.  I started with a medium grit, to knock off the most paint.  I did that, over all the raised lettering.
Then, I used the fine sandpaper to distress areas of the jar that would normally receive some 'wear and tear'.  And finally, some super fine grit sand paper, over the whole jar.  That way, all the brush strokes and 'thick' painted areas could be removed, and allow some varied imperfections to shine through. {smile}
The final touch was a layer of a creme sealant.  I hand-applied the sealant with a sponge and in a circular motion.  Once it set for 30 minutes, I used a soft rag and buffed the sealant.  Now, this distressed jar, will not 'distress' any further with normal handling.
No paint was applied to the inside of the jar; that way you can add fresh flowers, or a plant, or anything else that may require water.  *Just be careful not to soak or scrub the outside of the jar.

Now, let me share another jar.  This one is distressed in the same manner as the other jar.  However, I added some silver gilding randomly to add some antique sparkle.
I wrapped some taupe colored lace around the mouth of the jar.
I then added some antique pink tinsel just above the lace.
And then I added some pink and white paper shred garland.
The final touch, was a pale pink seam binding multi-loop bow, tied with thin silver cord, and an antiqued star added.
Thank you for stopping by today to see what I have been crafting.  I hope you have been inspired to paint and distress an empty jar for yourself.  And have FUN decorating it with what you have on hand.  {smile}

Gift in a Jar

The title says it all!  A trend: gift in a jar.  A creative use for mason jars.  These glass jars don't hold just jelly anymore!  And who ever got us hooked, I thank you!  I can.  Yeah, I have a little farm girl inside of me.  I can blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, and peaches.  I make Blueberry Spoon fruit, Christmas Cranberry Relish, Low Sugar Strawberry Jam, and Vanilla-Spice Peaches.  I love the whole process.  It's not hard, but you do need to pay attention to what you are doing.  And you get to enjoy the ripe fruit through out the year.  Oh, and I buy from local farmers.

Anyways, I have canning jars.  All sizes: 4 oz, 8 oz, and 16 oz.  Wide mouth, and regular.  But, back in Sept. I saw these super cute jar toppers.  A creative person, Betsy Veldman, created a die and stamp set, so you could create snow globes to put on your canning jar lids.  These were a limited edition, so only a few were made.  And so I placed my order on Oct. 2.  Well, they were already sold out (sales started Oct 1).  Do to the high demand, they did one more production and my order was finally filled Nov. 2.  But once I received them, I have been making little houses, tiny deer, and tiny snowman.  

I had created a few for the last craft fair.  (My order arrived the night before the craft fair.) and they were a hit.  So, I started making more.  The selling point: they are just too cute! and creative!  So, without further ado, here is a close-up of my favorite house color combination:

When I crafted these, I thought it was obvious what to put inside.  And to some shoppers, it wasn't so obvious.  So, for next Saturday's craft fair, I have added an idea list to each jar:

This is a finished jar.  To the outside of the jar, I added a trim around the lid, a 'Merry Christmas' banner, and a bow.  And yeah, no two are alike!  Inside the jar I have added an idea list of what to put inside the jar, and a tag.  These are actually a lot of fun to create!  But I imagine that they will sell fast, so let me get back into my craft room, and whip up some more!

Thank you for stopping by and having a look.  To see more of my crafts in person, visit my booth at this years La Cueva High School Craft Show!  I am @ booth B-34.

Bunco Eleven & Ten

Whew.  I have been a bit busy with creating and crafting.  I am hosting Bunco this month.  We will be meeting this week at my house.  How we do Bunco in this particular group of 12 great ladies, is the hostess serves dinner and provides the prizes.  So, every month we get together, have dinner, play a dice game, and get a prize for how well you played that night.  The best part is that you get to play each month, but only have to do the work once a year {smile}.  Pretty cool, huh?  And, this is really our excuse to get together once a month to chat, laugh, and basically keep in touch with each other {smile}.

Now, if you have been following my posts, (here, Instagram, or Facebook) you know that my theme is 'farmland'.   I make my gifts.  It's really an excuse for me to craft and share one of my passions (crafting) with my friends.  But, I can't give just a 'gift'.  So, I made a coordinating gift bag (and card) to hold the gift/prize, and a special altered clothes pin, for each person.

For the next several days, I will be sharing what I have created with you here, Instagram, and Facebook.  So, please stay tuned.  Also, not all the posts will be the same.  So, lets get started!  Here are prizes/gifts # 11, and #10.  (I don't make a gift/prize for me: 12 - 1 = 11)

Let's get started!

prize number: its a small mason jar

The kraft gift bag is heat embossed with my 'name' : Designs by Sharon.  I made this the focal point of the decoration.   I machine stitched the chocolate chip ribbon to the lace and adhered it the top of the bag.  I hot glued a button tied ribbon piece to the left upper corner.  

The prize number is clipped to the right side of the bag with an altered clothes pin, the recipient gets to keep {smile}.  

The matching card, is 'gift size' in that it is not large enough to be mailed thru the postal system.  I used digital paper for this card.  Along with some pink pirouette seam binding and a glittered button.

The prize is a refrigerator magnet that holds a wallet-size photo.  I used digital paper to decorate this, as well.  I also added a clay embellishment and a hand-stamped postage stamp.  (close-ups to follow)

and here is #10:

I used the same lace on each gift bag.  I heat embossed my logo on the front of each bag.  I also added an altered close pin to each gift bag.  I wanted to keep things the same, so everything would 'belong' and not seem random.

The gift card that goes with each gift bag, have the same layout and are the same size (2 3/4" x 4 1/4").  The cards don't have envelopes, due to their odd size, so I tucked them into glassine bags.  I thought it added a special touch to them.

This prize is a pair of quilted fabric coasters.  I used material I had on hand, to help keep costs low.  I'm not a very good sewer on fabric.   But I thought these little darlings fit my theme.  (Yeah, I'm a theme girl)

Well, thank you for stopping by!  I will post about every day this week, with prizes, food, decorations and various other 'pieces' of my hosting Bunco party.  Take care, and stop by again soon.

Mason in Pink

I don't know about you, but I have a love for mason jars.  I didn't always have this passion.  This new 'romance' has only been around for a few years, now.  I started canning a few years ago.  Nothing fabulous, just home-made goodies: strawberry jam, blueberry fruit, cranberry relish, and sliced peaches.  I do a water bath canning process.  I don't have a pressure cooker, and so vegetables don't get canned at my house {smile}.

I embraced this new 'romance' whole heartily.  That translates to mason jars can be seen in my paper crafting.  I now own 4 rubber stamps, that are mason jars.  I have embraced their sense of home, farm-land, comfort, and vintage implications.  

And so, I have a 'board' on Pinterest titled, Jars.  I love the creative look of altered mason jars.  Painted, wrapped in lace, or bits of burlap/twine.  All clever and beautiful!

here is what I did:

If you love these gems, and want to distress them, grab a drink, and settle-in.  There are hundred of different tutorials on how to distress these kitchen common items.  And there are just as many different techniques and tips to help you achieve this look.  So, my suggestions, are to look for a tutorial that provides you with a complete list of supplies, photos to show the process, and techniques that you are comfortable preforming.  To me, there is nothing worse, than spending a bunch of $ on supplies to 'try' something new, to find that you are incapable to completing the task.  The end product is hours spent in frustration, an uncompleted project, materials that you (now) have no use for, and disappointment.

I wanted to paint the outside of my jar.  That way, I can put flowers (and water) on the inside.  I also wanted to use materials that I already had on hand.  And, I wanted to utilize techniques that I am comfortable with.

So, I painted the outside of the mason jar with baby pink craft paint.  Two coats.  I also used a foam brush, instead of a bristle brush.  I let the jars dry for a few days, to allow for the paint to cure.  Then I used a few different grits of sand paper, to distress (remove the paint) from various portions of the jar.  Ok, I raided my husband's work shop {smile}.  I sanded the paint off the threads at the top of the jar, the raised lettering, the bottom rim, and then random places.  Then, I gave each jar a few coats of a clear sealant, to help protect the outer surface.  Tada!  I'm totally happy with how my painted distressed jars turned out!  

I hope your crafting attempt, inspired from Pinterest, is successful, too!