Quilt Block of the Month

Only 3 days until the fun begins!!!!Remember you can stop in anytime in January to pick up your first block. We can't hardly wait to hear what everyone thinks.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 25

Day 25: Rolled Paper Frame - Really, there is no better gift than the presence of friends and family, but here is a craft that can hold a fond memory. Angie from Customer Service created this festive frame. She made one for herself using sheet music. How clever! Find the instructions here and have yourself a Merry Christmas!

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 24

Day 24: Snowman Paint Can - is a quick and easy way to wrap a gift if you are short on time. Earlier this month we had a group of Girl Scouts come in for a craft class and we helped them make the paint can with matching ornament to put inside. Which makes a nice little gift.

Paint can:

• Sticko ½ sticker sheet – snowmen (saving let it snow one for lid)
• sheet of tissue paper

Lid:

• 3” circle of printed paper
• 1 ½” scallop circle of printed cardstock
• let it snow sticker
• foam dot
• using glossy accents for adhesive

Ornament:

• 2” circle printed paper for back of ornament

Front:

• 1 1/2” scallop circle printed cardstock
• 1 1/4" or 1 3/8” circle of printed paper
• snowflake button
• self-adhesive rhinestone
• ribbon
• using glossy accents for adhesive

*We used all Doodlebug paper for our sample.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 23

Day 23: Geo Mesh Christmas Tree - This fabulous tree would be the perfect addition to your table scape. Geo Mesh is a unique material that we sell at Crafts Direct that comes in a variety of colors. It also works great for wreaths and bows. Get the instructions here to create your own tree.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 22

Day 22: Stackable Snowmen - This little guy was made using a set of wood boxes. Just by painting them and adding a few embellishments they turn into a snowman. It can be displayed as is or can be used to give a gift in.

Supplies:

• Set of 3 boxes- SPC
• Acrylic paint - Black, White
• Felt/fabric
• Black buttons various sizes
• Jesse James Dress it Up Carrot Nose
• hot glue gun

Instructions:

1. Paint the smallest box and lid black covering all sides.
   
2. Paint the the mid size and large size boxes/lids white.
3. Once boxes are dry, glue the white mid size box to the large lid centering it. Then glue the black lid upside down on top of the mid size lid centering it. Stack boxes to create snowman. The black box will be upside down, as the lid creates the brim of the snowman hat.
4. Glue two buttons to the large box. Glue buttons & carrot onto the mid size box to make mouth. On the lid of mid size box, glue two buttons on for eyes.
5. Use felt or fabric for the scarf and glue around the lid of the large box.
   

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 21

Day 21: Family Mirror - This is a great way to make use of some photos and would be a great gift for a parent or grandparent. Find the instructions here.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 20

Day 20: Stocking Holders - How cute are these? We sell the undecorated base, they are on special for $4.50. The best part is that they can be customized pretty easily by changing out the paper.


Supplies:

• Stocking holder
  
• Acrylic Paint (we used white)
• Printed Paper (we used Cosmo Cricket Paper)
• Sticker Letters (we used Thickers)
  
• Button
• Ribbon or Tulle
• Adhesive: Pioneer Embellishment Glue Stick & Glue Dot

Instructions:

1. Paint the entire base, let dry.
2. Cut printed paper to 3"x6" and adhere toward top of base leaving a 1/8" border on top and sides. Leaving about 1 3/4" of white showing on bottom.
   
3. Tie tulle or Ribbon around your stocking holder toward bottom overlapping the paper.
4. Use glue dot to adhere button to the center of the knot or bow.
5. Apply name below ribbon/tulle and hang.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 19

Day 19: Party Pails - Great for treats , drinks or as a centerpiece, they can be decorated to your own liking. Listed below is what was used on each of the pails pictured. The pails are now on special for only $3.98.

Sweet Treats:
Decorate Your life Vinyl-Sweet Treats
Printed paper (we used Doodlebug, and applied it to the inside of the pail)
Rick Rack/Ribbon
White paint pen for swirls of candy
Hot glue

Christmas Cheer:
Decorate Your life Vinyl-Christmas Cheer
Geo mesh for the inside

I picture giving this one as a gift with a bottle of wine and a couple wine glasses. A quick and easy hostess gift.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 18

Day 18: Coasters - are perfect for any occasion. The ones shown have been adorned with some Christmas/winter paper but can be decorated for everyday use. Just follow these instructions to make the coaster sets in the black holder, just change out the papers. We used Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket paper/embellishments on ours. These are the instructions for the box set, again change out the paper/rub-ons. For the box sets pictured we used Fancy Pants and Bo Bunny lines.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 17

Day 17: Most wonderful Time of Year Frame - I just love this project. It uses a newer line from Echo Park - Wintertime, that has been quiet popular. The shape of the frame is what I like the most. The frame is a white paper mache material that can be altered with all sorts of mediums, which make the possibilities endless, but works well with this paper line.
Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Supplies:

• Beyond the Page: 12x12” Bracket Chipboard Frame
• “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” Vinyl Saying from Decorate Your Life
  
• Echo Park: Wintertime-

-Snow pattern paper
-Snowman pattern paper
-Stripes pattern paper
-Element Stickers sheet

• Paint: Americana: Tuscan Red

• Adhesive: Pioneer Embellishment Glue Stick & Pop-dots

Instructions:

1. Using the American paint in Tuscan Red and foam brush paint the chipboard frame.
2. Using the Embellishment Glue stick adhere the piece of snow pattern paper to the front side of the chipboard frame.
3. Use craft knife or scissors to trim excess paper from the frame opening and the outer edges.
4. Trim the piece of Snowman pattern paper to 8x8” – taking care to determine image placement of your trimmed piece.
5. Add vinyl saying to piece of Snowman pattern paper.
6. Adhere snowman and snowflakes from the Elements Sticker sheet to the frame using pop-dots for added dimension.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 16

Day 16: Tissue Box Cover - 'tis the season for colds and runny noses. This means Kleenexes are used on a daily bases. If you are anything like me when you are buying them you dig through all of them to find the cutest boxes. This will solve that issue, and it is much cuter than any box you'd buy in the store.

Supplies:

• Wood Tissue Box
• American Crafts: City Park Line

-Central Park
-Waterfront Park
-Balboa Park
-Adhesive Layered Embellishments

• Paint: Americana: Spa Blue
• Adhesive: Pioneer Embellishment Glue Stick

Instructions:

1. Using a foam brush and the American paint in Spa Blue paint the wood tissue box.
2. Trim four pieces of the Balboa Park pattern paper to 5.25x5.5”. Adhere a piece to each side of the tissue box using the Embellishment glue stick.
3. Next trim four 1.5x5.25” pieces of Central Park paper. Adhere these strips around the center of the tissue box.
4. Punch a 2.5” circle of the Waterfront Park paper. Adhere to the center of one of the tissue box sides. Embellishment with a layered sticker.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 15

Day 15: Canvas: Some of My Best Friends are Flakes - is a piece that can be left up long after Christmas, especially if you live in Minnesota. Supplies:

• 6x12 thin canvas
• Krylon almond spray paint
• Jilli Bean Soup papers : Heavy Cream (snowmen), White Sugar (stripes)
• Darice rusty tin snowflake
• Small acrylic snowflake
  
• Ribbon
• Quick Grip Glue
• Double-sided adhesive
• Vinyl Words - Some of my... vinyl saying

Steps:

1. Spray paint he canvas and let dry.
   
2. Cut horizontal strip of snowman from paper, mount on the stripe paper leaving an 1/8" border on top and bottom. Trim off extra paper.
3. Adhere the strip of paper, using double sided adhesive, along bottom of canvas.
4. Apply the vinyl saying toward the right side of the canvas.
5. Tie a little bow the through center of rusty snowflake and glue snowflake to left side of canvas, using Quick Grip.
6. Glue on acrylic snowflake like we have on our sample, using Quick Grip.
   

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 14

Day 14: Paper Backed Squished Ornaments - you can never have too many ornaments and there is nothing better than a homemade one. You can customize them to fit the personality of the person receiving it, just by changing the paper or embellishment. I usually don't share too many ornament ideas through out the 25 days of Christmas,but we have had too many cute ones this year not to share them with you. Our clear glass ornaments are a great buy at $3.33 a box.


Ingredients:

• Glossy Accents(use this as the glue for your paper & embellishments)
• Printed papers
• Punches (optional)
• Embellishments
• Vinyl/rub-ons
• Ribbon
  
• Ornaments
  

Steps:

1. Cut or punch out circle from printed paper.
2. Using Glossy Accents, adhere your paper circle printed side down on one side of ornament this will be the back. For the photo ornament pictured above, I adhered the photo to the printed paper then adhered the printed paper to the back of the ornament.
   
3. On the front adhere other smaller printed circles and/or embellishments.
4. Apply vinyl word or design if desired.
   
5. Add ribbon to top for hanger.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 13

Day 13: Candy Cane Seeds Favor - to sweeten your Christmas. This would be great for a holiday party or to make for a group of friends. My nephew made one of these at our Holiday Open House and gave it to his grandma because she liked candy. I thought was sweet of him. The tubes can be decorated for any occasion and are only $1.

Supplies:

• Candy Cane Seeds printed on white cardstock
• Doodlebug Ladybug(red) double-sided cardstock
• Doodlebug Sugar & Spice Paper 3" x 4 1/4"
• Circle Punches 1 3/8" & 1 1/2"
  
• Colorbox Warm Red Chalk Ink Pad
• We R Memory Keepers Clear Stamps - Holiday Sweets & clear block
  
• Zip Dry Glue (this works the best on plastic when adhering paper)
  

Instructions:

1. From red cardstock cut a strip 3/8" x 4 1/4" and punch a 1 1/2" circle from paper.
2. Using Zip Dry, adhere the sugar & spice paper toward the bottom of the tube. The 4 1/4" length is what gets wrapped around the tube.
3. Adhere the red strip of paper on top of the paper on tube overlapping it if desired.
4. Stamp the peppermint candy on the white cardstock. Adhere, that to the red circle, then the red circle to the tube, using Zip Dry.
5. Fill with peppermint candies.
   

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 12

Day: 12 Magic of Christmas Purse Hanging - I have to say Nicole K. has out done herself. I gave her an unfinished wood plaque and mentioned that it might be fun to use a purse handle as the hanger and this is what she came up with. It is so simple, yet is one of my favorites.

Supplies:

• Wood Plaque
• American Crafts: Christmas -Bright Boughs paper
• Deja Views: Holiday Joy Rub-ons
• Plastic Purse Handle
• Red Ribbon
• Paint: Folk Art: Fresh Foliage
• Adhesive: Pioneer Embellishment Glue Stick

Instructions:

1. Measure and drill holes in the top of the wood plaque.
2. Using a foam brush and the Folk Art paint in Fresh Foliage paint the wood plaque.
3. Trim a 11x7” piece of Bright Boughs paper. Adhere to the wood plaque using the Embellishment glue stick.
4. Tie a ribbon around the bottom portion of the plaque. Also use the red ribbon to attach the plaque to the purse handle.
5. Add the title rub-on and a matted photo.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 11

Day 11: Be Merry Shadowbox Frame - is easy enough for the not so crafty person. With a few supplies and a little work you'll have a great decor piece or gift.

Supplies:

• SPC Wood Frame - DON/7
  
• Making Memories: Noel: Brocade Noel pattern paper
• “Be Merry” Vinyl Saying
• Paint: Americana: Tuscan Red
• Adhesive: Tombow Adhesive Runner

Instructions:

1. Using a foam brush and the Americana paint in Tuscan Red paint the wood frame.
2. Add the vinyl saying to the glass.
3. Trim four 1.25” strips of the Making Memories pattern paper. Adhere to the edges of the frame using the adhesive runner.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 10

Day 10: Cocoa Mugs - These mugs can be filled with a gift card, hot chocolate packet, or even candy. If you need just a little something to give someone this would be it.Supplies:

• Double-sided cardstock (we used Doodlebug)
  
• Printed paper 2" x 2 1/4" (we used Doodlebug)
• Adhesive
  
• Pop dots/foam dots
• White cardstock
  
• Sticker or Embellishment (we used Doodlebug stickers)
  
• Filler: gift card/cocoa mix/candy

Instructions:

1. Cut out mug using our Accu Cut die cut machine from the double-sided cardstock.
2. Print out desired greeting on white cardstock, then cut to 1 7/8" x 1 3/4".
3. Assemble mug by adhering the 3 sides.
4. Adhere the printed paper to the front of the mug, then greeting.
   
5. Adhere, the sticker or embellishment to the white cardstock using pop dot and fill.
   

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 9

Day 9: Snowman Knitted Hat - For the knitters out there, this would be a great little gift for the children on your list. This is just adorable and my daughter would just love it. She loves all snowmen and calls them all "Frosty". Anyway, you can find the hat pattern here. Happy knitting!

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 8

Day 8: Cupcake Ornaments - These are absolutely delightful. Cupcakes of any kind have become a favorite of many & these are no exception. As part of Homemade for the Holidays, these ornaments we made for our Sweet Treats theme tree, along with some other cute ornaments. Get your instructions here for the Cupcakes and find the instructions for the other ornaments featured on this tree here under the Homemade for the Holidays 2010 tab.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 7

Day 7: Winter Friendship Glass Block - A perfect gift for a friend, and one she would cherish year after year.

Supplies:

• Large Glass Block
• Photo
• We R Memory Keepers Paper: Merry January: Flake
• White Cardstock
• Bazzill Chipboard Heart
• Folk Art Acrylic Paint: Warm White
• Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad: Blackbird
• Kaiser Craft: Self Adhesive Pearl
• Marvy Uchida: Snowflake Punch Extra Jumbo
• Retro Snow
• Ivory Tulle
• Vinyl Words: Winter Friendship...Vinyl
• Double Sided Adhesive

Instructions:

1. Paint heart warm white. Once dry lightly ink the edges.
2. From the flake paper cut out the 6x6 square with the snowman. Then punch a snowflake from remaining paper. Place a pearl in center of snowflake, then adhere snowflake to center of heart.
   
3. Crop photo and mat on white cardstock. Adhere matted photo toward center right on the snowman paper. Apply adhesive on the backside of the of snowman paper and insert in
   glass block. Use ruler to reach in and push adhesive side against glass. (Opening of glass block should be on top.)
4. Apply vinyl to front of glass block as pictured in photo above. Then pour some retro snow into glass block.
5. Take tulle and carefully wrap around glass block tying it in knot at top to create bow. Take a few short pieces of tulle to tie on top to create a bigger bow/pouf. Trim off excess.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 6

Day 6: Christmas Scroll Frame - All three of these frames are adorable and perfect for the season. The frame on the far left is the one that I am highlighting, but all were made using the same concept. With just a few items you can recreate this frame for yourself or as a gift. The frames are on special for $1.50, which makes it even better.
Merry Christmas Scroll Frame

Supplies:

• Wood Frame
• Little Yellow Bicycle: Christmas Delight - Merry Mint Brocade paper & Lace paper (Poinsettia)
• Making Memories: Noel: Plaques
• Paint: Americana: Tuscan Red
• Adhesive: Pioneer Embellishment Glue Stick

Instructions:

1. Using a foam brush and the American paint in Tuscan Red paint the wood frame.
2. Adhere, Merry Mint paper to the front of the frame. Use scissor or craft knife to trim off any excess paper. Repeat the process for the Lace paper.
3. Add Merry Christmas plaque to the frame.

It is as easy as that!

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 5

Day 5: Snowflake Notepad/Shopping List - This is a little craft that is fun, easy, cute and perfect for all ages. You can find all the supplies at Crafts Direct to recreate this notepad and the instructions you can find here.

We used Doodlebug double sided cardstock pink & turquoise and Doodlebug glitter snowflake paper. The snowflake is a Jesse James Dress It Up embellishment. The rhinestone we glued on but we also carry self adhesive ones that would work too.

25 Days of Christmas 2010: Day 4

Day 4: Merry Christmas Inlay Frame - Isn't this beautiful? The wonderful and talented Nicole K. created this piece. I think it would be a great piece to add to ones decor or make as a gift. You can find instructions below.

The inlay frame comes with the hooks and 5 little frames already attached all you need to do is add the paint, paper, vinyl and photos. For out Passport to Creativity Members our vinyl sayings are 25% off through December 14th. “Merry Christmas” Inlay Frame with 5 square frames

Supplies:

• Wood Inlay Frame
• Echo Park: Merry Christmas pattern paper
• -Winter Wonderland (2)
• -Jolly Stripe (2)
• Cardstock
• Bazzill Chipboard snowflakes
• American Crafts Elements: Large Jewel Brads
• “Merry Christmas” Vinyl Words
• Martha Stewart: Sterling Glitter

Paint:

• -Americana: Tuscan Red
• -DecoArt: Dazzling Metallics Elegant Finish

Adhesive:

• -Pioneer Embellishment Glue Stick
• -Dotto Permanent Adhesive
• -Krylon Spray Adhesive

Instructions:

1. Using the American paint in Tuscan Red and foam brush paint the wood inlay frame, five hanging frames, and two of the chipboard snowflakes.
2. Using the Metallics paint in Silver paint two additional chipboard snowflakes.
3. Spray the four snowflakes with the spray adhesive and apply the glitter. Once dry add Jewel brad to two of the snowflakes, then layer onto additional snowflake.
4. Trim four pieces of Jolly Strips pattern paper (two 12x5.75” and one 1.75x5.75”). Adhere into the inlay frame using the Embellishment Glue stick.
5. Trim two 4x12” pieces of the cardstock. Center and adhere into the inlay frame.
6. Apply the vinyl words “Merry Christmas” to the cardstock.
7. Trim four 12x ½” pieces of Winter Wonderland pattern paper. Align and adhere on the top and bottom edges of the cardstock.
8. Add the layered snowflakes to the frame.
9. Cover the front of the five square frames with Winter Wonderland pattern paper. Trim out photo opening with a craft knife or scissors, then add a photo.