Happy Holidays!

Vintage Inspiration: Glass Ornaments

Vintage ornaments are so beautiful and are just the type of thing that I like to look at

 for some creative inspiration. Take a look at these glass ornaments, both old and new, 

and hopefully you'll be inspired too!

I love the jewel tones of these ornaments

Antique ornaments via 52Flea

Vintage bulbs via BHG

I love the champagne color of these ornaments

These look so delicate

Pretty onion and finial ornaments

These ornaments are shaped like bunches of grapes

Mercury glass ornaments

How to antique glass ornaments from Martha Stewart

What do you think?

Simply Christmas and thank you...

 

I always wonder if I could do a simple clean Christmas?  I love this look, easy going and relaxed not to flashy and just the right amount of sweet.  I fell for this image on Dreamy Whites.. her whole house is this perfect!   You should check it out!

I also wanted to say Thank You to all of the wonderful shops that participated in our Holiday Giving Series this year!!  It was a pleasure having you!

Tastes Orangey

Besotted Brand

Rocq Macarons

Approximate Notions

 

Found Object Christmas Tree

I love the idea of this found object Christmas tree!
Imagine taking bits and pieces of things you have collected over the 
years, mementos or other small objects that hold meaning to you, and 
arranging them into a holiday assemblage...

Wall assemblages are unique works of art! 
What makes them  so special is the personal connection that 
the creator has with each item or component. I think this idea would 
be great displayed year-round but in a different, (non-holiday) shape, 
such as a big star. 

I'm not sure how the tree in these photos was created- it looks as if each
item is adhered directly onto the wooden wall or door. Wouldn't this be neat 
created on an old salvaged door? You could also use plywood or a large screen
as a base.  Any other ideas?

all images via nicety

What do you think? 

just a little bit..

 

Oh my goodness we are in the final stretch here it seems.  Christmas is so close!  I finally got the house lightly decorated before my guests arrived on Saturday.  It is a little different from last year and fit my mood perfectly.  The lighting was a little off yesterday due to the rain so I am hoping for sun and I can show you something a little nicer.  These are just a few little bits and pieces.  

On Sunday I went to the flea market in Long Beach and picked up a few little goodies including some pillows to finish off the living room.. Love vintage textiles!

Wishing you a lovely Monday of madness and rushing around before the holiday!

 

 

peppermint bark..

 

I have been waiting all week to make some peppermint bark...  I saw this from Sweet Paul and needed to give it a whirl.  We are having friends over for a cookie decorating party so I somehow have to get the house decorated {then clean up}, make dinner for 8 and actually be dressed before they arrive.. should be interesting.  But in the morning first thing I think I will make a little sweet treat!

 

There are several variations on the theme but I am going to go simple and keep it straight forward.   Maybe next time we will try out the pretzel sticks...

all of the recipes are in the links..

 

 

glitter....

 

I have to admit I have a weakness for a little Christmas sparkle and glitter.  This is our tree from last year - I am not sure what kind of changes I want to make this year but here are a few of the newest editions that I did pick up.  I love the stags and the little glittery house in the globe.   

Do you stick with the same holiday decorations or do you change it up each year?

We have a made a step forward though - we picked up our trees yesterday - I love the smell of the fresh tree so perfectly Christmas.

 

 

Doily Print Clay Dough Ornaments Tutorial

In my last blog post, Bright White Clay Dough, I shared a recipe and directions for how to make your own white clay dough and ornaments using cornstarch, baking soda, water, and a little creativity.

Now let's take it a step further and make some ornaments with doily imprints on them! Your friends and family will be so impressed and will think that you spent hours working on these, when in reality, they are super simple to make and take no time at all. 

To make these you will need one batch

of Bright White Clay Dough. The recipe 

and directions can be found here. 

Unlike salt dough (which has a golden appearance),
Clay Dough has a silky texture and does not darken 
during baking but remains a bright white. 

Doily Print Clay Dough Ornaments

Prepare a batch of clay dough as directed here.

 Roll clay to 1/4 thickness. Position doily on clay as desired. 

Using a rolling pin, gently imprint the doily into the dough by rolling back and 

forth a few times. 

Slowly remove the doily to reveal your doily-imprinted clay.

Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and bake as directed in the recipe. 

Completed baked clay dough ornament.

You can leave them white, or add color...

Here are the results of my color experiments: 

If you want to create a contrast, gently blot the finished design with an ink pad.

Here is the same star from above. I blotted it with a damp paper towel to soften

the ink and spread the color throughout the ornament.

 Next I blotted it with white ink. I like this snowy effect.

Here it is with a heavy blue coat of ink. 

What do you think?

Pin this post! 

Thanks for visiting!

Holiday magic

 

I came  across this gorgeous space and had to share.  Love love the garland and the antlers.  How are you doing on your holiday decor and shopping?  Still no tree here- hoping for tonight if it is not raining too badly, shopping is going a bit better.

image via

 

Classic Salt Dough Ornaments Recipe

This easy salt dough recipe is perfect for making ornaments and gift tags! Not only is this recipe simple, it's also inexpensive, and you probably already have all of the ingredients right in your kitchen cabinet. Classic salt dough is the perfect afternoon project to make with your kids! I had my 8 and 10 year old daughters help with this recipe, and they were excited to craft some ornaments to give as gifts for friends and family. 

Classic Salt Dough 
2 cups of flour 
1 cup of salt 
1 cup of warm water 
Directions 
1. Mix salt, flour and water in a mixing bowl until a dough 
forms. 
2. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, adding additional 
flour if needed, until a soft, smooth dough forms. 
3. If rolling out dough with a rolling pin, do so on lightly 
floured parchment paper. 
4. Bake finished creations on a parchment paper covered 
cookie sheet in a warm oven (I did mine at 200 degrees F for 
about three hours, flipping them over about half way through 
baking.) 
5. Once completely dry, finished salt dough creations can be 
painted with acrylic craft paints and sealed with a craft sealant.
 6. Wrap unused dough in plastic wrap to keep it fresh. Use
unused dough within a few days.


Stamped Salt Dough Ornaments 
1. Roll out dough on lightly floured parchment paper until dough is 1/4 thick. 
2. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes. 
3. Use a toothpick to make a hole in each ornament so that you have a way to hang them. 
4. Stamp dough with rubber stamps - either inked or uninked. 
5. Bake as directed above. 
If you prefer, you can stamp your dough before cutting out shapes with cookie 
cutters instead of cutting and then stamping. I tried it both ways and the results 
were just about the same with each method. 

 Knead until a soft dough forms

 I love how little hands are always so eager to help! 

 Wrap unused dough in plastic wrap to keep it fresh. This photo shows how much this recipe makes. 

I divided it into three balls, each is the size of a large handful.

 Roll out dough on lightly floured parchment paper until dough is 1/4 thick. 

 The dough should be completely smooth, without any crack or wrinkles. If you bake an ornament that had a crack in the dough before you baked it, the baking will shrink the dough a bit, and your finished ornament will have a actual crack, so be sure to really knead that dough until it is super-smooth. If it's too dry when you begin to knead it, add water a few drops at a time to soften the dough and make it more pliable. 

 Pick out some cookie cutters 

 Use cookie cutters to cut shapes.

 I didn't even know I had this cookie cutter until my kids dumped out the bag and found 

it...upside down basket? mushroom? Now it is! Awesome! 

 Use a toothpick to make a hole in each ornament so that you have a way to hang them! 

 To make a nice clean hole without marring the edge, I put the toothpick straight into the 

dough and then used a circular or stirring motion to widen the hole. I made the holes about 

3mm, and the reason I can give you that exact size off the top of my head is because I know my 

bead sizes! We jewelry artists and beaders know our millimeter bead sizes like the back of our hands! 

 These are ready to go into the oven. 

 OR... 

 We can  get fancy!

 I thought this Stampin' Up rubber stamp that I had would go well with the woodland 

 theme of our cookie cutter.

 I inked the stamp on a regular green ink pad, and as you can see, I made two mistakes. 

First, I probably pressed a little too hard with the stamp on the dough, and second, 

I should have been more careful when inking my stamp as to not get ink on the edges

 of the stamp. That is, if we were going for perfection. But we weren't, we were going 

for fun and I sort of like the handcrafted look of this one of a kind mushroom! 

 For this next one I tried a birds nest stamp and metallic silver ink. 

 I was more careful this time when inking and stamping. 

 Once all were stamped, I baked them in a 200 degree F oven for close to three hours,

 flipping them over about half way through baking. The parchment paper made them

 very easy to flip. 

 The final result: After a little trial and error our stamped ornaments were looking good! 

 Both the raw dough and the finished, baked ornaments had a natural, bread color 

that got darker with baking. They had a nice organic look and feel to them. 

 Later... 

We had a lot of fun making salt dough, but next, we wanted to try something a little bit 
different... so next we created a batch of Bright White Clay Dough! 

 Bright white clay dough (top) Salt dough (bottom) Can you tell the difference? 

What is Bright White Clay Dough? 

 Be sure to check back for my next blog post, Bright White Clay Dough, 

 where I'll be sharing how I make my homemade white dough and ornaments, and 

 find out how they compare with the salt dough! 

Pin this post!

Thanks for visiting! 

What do you think?

Check out my new book!