Lights + Letters.

How cute is this display our Floral department came up with?!

I love how simple it is - yet it still makes a big impact. This display would obviously be great for a wedding but I also like the idea of using letters and lights like this at any event or party.

You could even do this on a smaller scale and spell out NEW YEAR for a festive piece this weekend!

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 25

Day 25: Merry Christmas Sign

And finally, today I wanted to share with you this Merry Christmas Sign. The wood piece is sold unfinished, so to complete this project all we had to do was paint the piece itself, embellish with a few embellishment stickers and then 'blinged' it up a bit with some glitter ribbon for hanging.

I hope you all have enjoyed seeing our 25 Days of Christmas projects as much as I've had sharing them with you! And I hope you were able to find some time to create some of them too.

Have a wonderful holiday from all of us here at Crafts Direct!!

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 24

Day 24: Float Frames

Another fun project to create for your holiday decorating are these altered float frames. The pieces come as a plain black frame, a glass panel in the center, and a black ribbon for hanging.

For the first project we created a grid of squares for the back of the frame using pieces of pattern paper, added the peace&joy card (which is also from a piece of pattern paper) to the front of the glass and then swapped out the ribbon for a piece of twine.

The next sample we created in basically the same way, just used a different pattern paper line and also added a photo to the layout we created on the frame.

The next sample we created by adding the pattern paper the back side of the glass and then added a vinyl saying directly the front of the frames glass. To alter the frame a bit we dry brushed the piece with white paint to give the frame a bit of a distressed look.

And finally, for the last project we added another vinyl saying to the glass, but this time we added pattern paper directly to the frame itself to change it up a bit. A few snowflake embellishments and some white ribbon and the frame looks like a completely different piece.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 23

Day 23: Glass Blocks

As you know, glass blocks are definitely a favorite of ours! Not only are they a easy way to add a little crafty project to your home, but they really are super simple to create, and really with all the options available when it comes to vinyl and filler you can create so many variations of this project - deciding what to do might be the hardest part. To help you a bit with that problem, we have created some new sample ideas for you to try (although looking through these samples it might still be hard to decide :).

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 22

Day 22: Collage Frame

A new product to the store are these 9x17" collage frames. Of course they would be a great product as they come and you could simply add a few photos to the frame and be set. However, if you want to add a bit more to your frame we have a couple of samples to share with you.

For the first frame we covered the original mat with pattern paper, added a vinyl saying to the center opening, added photos to the others, and then embellished a bit with some layered stickers on the corners.

We followed the same basic process for this sample as well, however used a different pattern paper, added some fun "snow" and snowflake vinyl to the front and a few embellishments to the snowflakes. The great thing about this sample is that you could definitely display it all winter long!

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 21

Day 21: Holiday Clothespin Projects

Today I wanted to share a few different projects that we created using these small holiday themed clothespins you can find in our Paints & Basics department.

For each of the projects we started by using paint markers to color the images on the clothespins. Of course you could also embellish them even more with glitter, rhinestones, stickers, etc if you wish.

The first project we made was this holiday card/photo holder. The top is simply a piece of pattern paper matted onto a piece of card-stock. From that piece we adhered a piece of ribbon to hang down from the paper. Then added the clothespins to the ribbon, which you can use to hold cards or photos.

The second project we used the clothespins to create a photo display. For this piece we painted a wood bookplate, then covered it with pattern paper. Then we glued the clothespins directly to the bookplate and clipped the photos into the clothespins. Another idea is to simply add magnets to the back of the clothespins and use them for the sample purpose on your refrigerator or magnetic board.

Our final project we created is a place setting using a few pieces of pattern paper and a decorated clothespins. They stand up nicely on their own so you can add this directly to your holiday table.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 20

Day 20: 5x5 Tiles

I love the little 5x5 tiles that we sell for a couple of reasons - first, they are small and not at all overwhelming when you sit down to create something with them - second, they are blank canvases and the possibilities endless - and three, they come pre-drilled with two holes which makes adding ribbon, rings, etc super easy.

For the samples below we simply embellished the pieces with paint and paper - and then depending on the piece embellished them up with some vinyl, photos, ribbon, and other small embellishments. They are great pieces to hang in small spaces (or on a door knob) or could also be displayed on a small stand as well.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 19

Day 19: Shadow Boxes

Today I wanted to share a few samples of our 8x8 shadow boxes that we created for the holiday/winter season. For all of the samples we applied a vinyl image/saying to the front of the shadow box, added some pattern paper (and maybe a photo) to the back of the frame and then filled in the middle with something fun like 'snow' or bells or a wintery mix.

Very simple and a great piece for a mantle, table, or even a kitchen counter.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 18

Day 18: Glass Bottles

Today I wanted to share some fun ways that you can embellish and decorate a plain glass bottle to use as your own holiday decor or give as a gift. Most of the samples shown below only require a few steps - and even the examples with a few additional steps would still be easy enough for anyone to create.

Also, to add a bit more to these projects, regular or twinkle lights can be added to any of the bottles as well.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 17

Day 17: Christmas Canvases

Earlier in our Christmas Countdown I shared the "Joy" Canvas project with you - and today I wanted to share a few other canvas project ideas with you. These pieces are a great way to add something a little different to your holiday decorations. I love to be able to swap out a few of my regular pictures and prints for something holiday themed during the month of December, and with these piece you can do that easily and affordably.

The first piece was created on one of our wood painting panels. All that you need to do for this project is add a little paint to the panel and then once it is dry apply the vinyl piece.

For this Christmas Rules piece we painted a regular canvas, added a piece of pattern paper to the front and then applied the Christmas Rules vinyl. To add a little embellishment we added a bow of twine and bakers twine and a button to the corner.

The Let it Snow canvas was created by making a snowman figure out of circles punched from pattern paper and then adding a vinyl title and snowflakes to the top.

And finally, the Merry Christmas Canvas - this pieces using a large vinyl saying that comes as one complete piece. For this project the canvas was covered with pattern paper, painted on the sides and then the vinyl added to the front.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 16

Day 16: Clothespins

If you are looking for a quick and easy project to create - today I have four samples we created using our wood clothespins.

These would be great to set out on a surface to hold a photo, recipe, note, etc. or you can also add a magnet to the back and use it on a board or refrigerator to hold items as well.

Frosty Clothespin: for this sample we painted the clothespin, covered the front with pattern paper, and then added the die-cut tag that we embellished with a few adhesive pearls.

Merry Clothespin - for this piece we started by painting the front of the clothespin white, once it was dry we added letter stickers to spell out the word "merry", then painted the entire clothespin red. Once the red paint is dry, remove the letter stickers to reveal the white paint again, then embellish with a few holly pieces.

The Snowman clothespin we created by simply cutting white circles from white glitter paper and then added a vinyl snowman face to the top and a little ribbon for a scarf.

And finally the me&Santa Clothespin - we painted this clothespin black, then added red cardstock to the front and hand cut the gold glitter and black paper for the belt. The title was added using letter stickers from Doodlebug.