Quick Change Year in a Frame

Happy Holidays everyone!  It’s Elizabeth this week with a quick post ... because I’m sure you, like me, are very strapped for time this week ... ‘tis the season.

So here’s a look at my “Quick Change Year in a Frame” project.  I wanted a speedy way to decorate for every month’s theme ... a sure way that there was at least some form of thematic decoration in my house.  Nothing easier than slapping something in a frame, right?

The frame is deep.  Almost shadowbox like and has a frosted glass border.  The depth allows for foam adhesive and buttons even with the glass still inserted ... whew ... ‘cause ain’t nobody got time for dusting papercraft projects : ).

To keep the designs consistent and the crafting time minimal, I decided to always include a button and to make sure the shapes were simple.  The shapes are just free clipart I gathered off the internet. Now ... the first two designs are a bit different from the other eleven ... they were my firsts ... and just like parenting, the first ones are always done differently : ). So when I got to March, I decided to add a stitched square of coordinating pattern paper.  I. Love. Sewing. On. Paper. It’s almost nauseating how much I do that.

Well, enough words ... let’s get to the eye candy ... the pictures.

January: Sparkly Snowflake

February: Two Hearts

March: Lucky Clover

April: Button Bunny

May: Mother's Birdhouse

June: Father's Tie

June Bonus: Graduation Hat

July: Stars and Stripes

August: Summer Sun

September: Apple for the Teacher

October: Bats in the Belfry

November: Fall Leaf

December: Tree Time

I hope you enjoyed this quick look at my “Quick Change Year in a Frame”.  It would be a great project to work on during the week in between holidays ... then you could hit the ground running Jan 1^st. To be ahead of schedule?  That would be the best holiday gift EVAH!  

Bonus Holiday Tutorial & Blog Candy Winner

Hi Everyone,

Anna here today.  Thank you so much for visiting with us over the past 12 days.  I hope we inspired you to get a little creative over the Holiday Season.

Today-I am doing a BONUS tutorial!  This is a cute Ghirardelli Candy Holder.  A sweet little something to tuck into a stocking or just hand out to your banker at the bank. You can also give to the postman at the post office or maybe even the Cashier at the grocery store when you purchase your Holiday Groceries.  The possibilities are just endless.

Supplies:

• Big Shot
• Stampin Up! Bigz Scallop Envelope Die
• Double sided pattern paper
• Card stock
• Stamps of Choice
• Adhesive
• Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares
• Foam Adhesive Dots

 Step 1:  Cut out your Envelope with your die and Big Shot machine.  Fold in side flaps and glue bottom flap on edges and fold upward.  Leaving the top open.

 Step 2:  Cut a strip of red card stock to 3/4" x  6 3/4".  Score at 2" & 5 1/4".  Wrap around envelope and adhere to hold it closed.

Step 3:  Finish off with stamped image.  I used foam dots to adhere my stamped image to the envelope to add dimension.  Tuck your Ghirardelli Chocolate Square inside.  You are now ready to spread some Home Holiday Cheer.

BLOG CANDY WINNER!!

The winner of the BLOG CANDY is:

IRIS

CONGRATULATIONS!  Iris I sent you an email.

Thank you again to everyone who gave us a visit and we hope you continue to visit us in the future.  

A Very Special THANK YOU to our GUEST Contributors.  Thank you so much for helping us make this Holiday Hooplah a Success.  

Tara from Spot of Tea Designs

Shane Hershey - Little B LLC

Sarah Hamer from Pink Cricut

From The Crafting Journal's to you-  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! 

Crafting Christmas Candy: Pecan Pralines

Happy happy holidays!  It's Carla here.  Can you believe it's almost the end of our 12-day Holiday Hooplah? If you want to win the prize drawing, be sure you've commented on each day's project as described in the link above!

One of the fun parts of the holidays for me is the food. It's this time of year when we attend the most parties, and get to enjoy all the different dishes people bring! Today I'm bringing you my favorite holiday treat. If you've spent time in the South (of the U.S., that is), you know about pralines, the brown-sugary candy loaded with pecans. I find them extremely addictive, which is why I try to make them only around the holidays! They're fast to make (about 45 minutes from the time I start to think about making them), and they go over really well at holiday parties. I wish you could actually taste these right now! 

By the way, I think it's a great idea to scrapbook your holiday foods, along with your other favorite traditions of the season.  One of my goals is to create a scrapbook-cookbook of my favorite recipes.

So, back to those pecan pralines. Here are a few tips. As with cooking any candy, getting it to the correct temperature is key. I don't use a candy thermometer. Rather, I go with the "soft ball" test. When you drop a bit of the candy liquid into a cup of ice water, and you can pick it up and roll it into a soft ball between your fingers, then you've reached the right stage. After removing the pot from the heat, it's important to stir the mixture until it cools and thickens. When you're ready to drop the pralines, work quickly so the candy doesn't harden before you've spooned it all out of the pot. I like to scrape the leftover candy from the sides of the pot and use these "crumbs" for topping my oatmeal the next morning!

Pecan Pralines

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ stick butter

½ cup milk

1 ½ cups pecans

Combine all ingredients over medium heat.  Stir frequently, and boil until soft ball can be formed in a cup of cold water (boil about 10 minutes or so, until candy starts to thicken and cake on sides of pot).  Remove from heat.  Stir until thick.  Spoon onto parchment paper or buttered wax paper.  

Makes about 3 dozen.

Sock Snowmen Tutorial

Welcome to Holiday Hooplah!  Anna here from St@ampAnna Designs.  Today I am going to share with you a tutorial on how to make these cute little snowmen.  

First off you need a few supplies:

• Mens Sock
• Womens socks with patterns
• Scissors
• Rubber Bands
• Rice
• Buttons
• Toothpick
• Hot Glue

Step 1:  Take your tube sock and cur off the top portion about 1/2" from the ridges of the tube.

Step 2:  Turn your tube inside out and tie a rubber band around one end of the sock.

Step 3:  Turn your sock inside out again so the rubber band is on the inside of the sock.

Step 4:  Fill your sock up with rice.  I do about 2 of the juice size cups full.  Then tie a rubber band on the top of the sock to close up the snowman body.

Step 5:  Take a decorative sock and cut it like shown in the picture.

Step 6:  Tie a rubber band around the toe part of the sock.  This will be the Hat of the snowman.

Step 7:  Take the other part of the sock that you cut. (the middle) and place on your snowman body.

Step 8:  Place the hat on top of the snowman.  I used hot glue to hold the hat in place.

Step 9:  Create a pom pom out of Yarn and Hot glue it on top of the hat.

With a orange tooth pick, cut off the tip and hot glue it on the snowman for its nose.  With hot glue place black buttons for the eyes and the buttons of the shirt.

********************************

*G*I*V*E*  *A*  *W*A*Y* 

There will be only ONE WINNER for the blog candy.  To be eligible for the loot in the pictures above- you must leave a comment on each of the Holiday Hooplah Blog postings here on the blog.  These are dated from 12/2 - 12/13.     

You have up until midnight (EST) on 12/13 to leave a comment on each posting.  

The winner will be announced on 12/14. 

Thanks so much for joining us and we can't wait to share with you some fun fun stuff.

Note:  Blog Candy mostly donated by EK Success Brands.  Give-a-ways are not affiliated or endorsed by Facebook. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  

WISHING YOU ALL A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!  

New Baby Christmas Ornament

Hi everyone and Happy Wednesday! Sarah Hamer here from Pink Cricut... Can you believe we are only 13 short days away from Christmas?  It's crazy how fast time has flown this month! I for one, LOVE Christmas time...the decorating and the gift-giving.  (Oh yeah, and definitely the cookies!)

So, today I'm going to show you how to make a sweet ornament that would be perfect for a new baby at Christmas time or any time really!

The ornaments I love working with each Christmas season are these amazing flat round ones, from Hobby Lobby.  You have to swipe them up at the beginning of the season, because they always seem to sell out.  They are perfect for crafting because they have a nice big space to work with on the front & back.

The first thing I do, is fill my ornament with whatever it is I want to fill it with.  I do a lot of glitter and tomorrow I will be doing popcorn with my kiddos.  But, since today's ornament is for a little baby girl, I wanted to add some pretty pink tulle.   I also added some pretty beads that I used to make a mobile for this same baby girl's nursery.  Once I give the ornament to her mom, she will also add the baby's hospital bracelet and any other little birth memory pieces.

The ornament is kind of plain still and not very personal, so I wanted to add some quick vinyl.  I love working with small vinyl projects- they add so much and take so little time!

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the baby girl's name and birth date with white vinyl.  It was about 3 inches across. 

After that, I weeded the vinyl, by pulling up at an angle first, and then using a pick to catch all those tiny middles of letters. 

I like to use contact paper as my transfer paper--so cheap and it works so easily!  I have found it works better than most of the other transfer paper out there.  Get the Duck brand at Walmart that looks like this on the back.  I've tried the dollar store stuff, and it just doesn't work. 

Transfer the vinyl to the ornament, carefully centering it.  (See that brown square underneath the ornament?  That's the tool I use to burnish or get the vinyl to transfer...it's actually a Pampered Chef scraper!! ha! Don't tell my husband I go to kitchen parties for crafting tools!!)

Then, since the momma is ultra-girly, I wanted to add some faux rhinestones and some pretty crinkle ribbon.  That's it.  A quick, super-thoughtful gift for the family with a new baby.  Or, you could even make one for a newly engaged or married couple. 

Here is the ornament with the lights dimmed- so pretty! I can't wait to give it to her! Now I need to make one for my new baby :) 

Thanks for joining me today- and come visit me for more crafty inspiration!

Oh, and don't forget--commenting on each of the Holiday Hooplah posts can earn you entries for a prize at the end!  

Guest Post: DIY Mason Jar Snow Globes

Happy Holidays and welcome to day 9 of our Holiday Hoopla here at the Crafting Journals! I'm Shane Hershey and I am so happy to be a guest blogger here at the Crafting Journals. I've had the pleasure of working with each of these artistically talented women for several years and love sharing ideas with each of them as we craft our way through the seasons. I have been in the craft industry for more than a decade and have been personally crafting for as long as I can remember. Currently I have the pleasure of being a Creative Content consultant which allows me the opportunity to work and play with amazing products each week.

For me crafting has always been a release and an opportunity to express my thoughts, both artistically and linguistically. There are times where I can spend hours creating a single scrapbook layout, days laboring over a mixed media canvas project, or months trying to get the wording just right on a new poem. However, as our calendars fill up quickly and schedules begin to overwhelm our days there isn't always as much time to craft as we would like. Fear not! There is no reason that we need to sacrifice our creative selves in the process.

I have three rules for myself when crafting to make sure that I maintain a steady outlet of crafty goodness:

1. Projects have to be fun! Whatever we are working on needs to inspire us and it needs to make us smile. If a project doesn't do that, it will notoriously end up on the "half-finished" project shelf, waiting to be deconstructed for spare parts.

2. Projects have to be simple! Less is more! I can't count the number of times that I have heard family and friends lament the fact that they don't craft because they think the act of creating needs to be a labor intensive effort, or can't craft because they don't have the time to devote to learning how to make something. That is when I point out the store bought wreath that they purchased and added their own ornaments or ribbon to it. Or the store bought blank cards to which they added a few embellishments.

....and finally, but certainly not least:

3. Projects need to be practical! The last thing that we want is for something that we put our heart and soul into creating to end up in a shoe box in the closet or on the table of the next garage sale. We want to make things that will stand the test of time, or serve a practical purpose in our daily lives, whether it be a party favor, a holiday decoration, or a decorated picture frame.

That's why I was so excited when I stumbled across the inspiration for today's DIY Snow Globe project. It was something I have always been mesmerized by since I was a child watching the snow settle back to the bottom before vigorously shaking it up again. As I started crafting I realized how simple and fast it was to make. Aside from drying time, it was less than half an hour, and now I have a beautiful new Christmas decoration for my holiday decor!

So let's get started...

What you will need:

• A mason jar or any jar with a screw on lid
• E-6000 Adhesive
• Mini Christmas Ornaments or other water safe decoration
• Rhinestones
• Glitter
• Little B LLC Winter Snowflakes paper tape and Mini dimensional stickers.*(see disclosure below)
• Water

Step One: Glue the Christmas ornaments together using E-6000. Once dry, glue them to the underside of the jar lid. (Tip: I also glued the two lid pieces together to create a watertight seal)

Step Two: Glue rhinestones onto the ornaments. Let dry. (Tip: When choosing a decoration for the inside of your snow globe, make sure that it fits the jar nicely without being too big or too small.)

Step Three: Add water and glitter to your mason jar (Tip: Start with less water than you think due to displacement when adding your ornaments. For the glitter, you can always add more if you want more sparkle later on.) Once you are satisfied, add E-6000 around the rim and screw on tightly. Allow to dry before going onto the next step.

Step Four: Embellish your mason jar. (Tip: Remember the rule - less is more! Let your ornament be the star of the project and the embellishments the supporting cast!)

Finally sit back and let it snow...let it snow...let it snow!

Hope you enjoy making these, and feel free to follow Little B LLC on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

(*Embellishments were provided by Little B LLC)