12 Weeks of Christmas Quilt Blocks - Week 1

Whether taking time this fall to make this quilt for yourself or making it with the anticipation of giving it to someone at Christmas, I know you will love the process and more importantly the finished quilt! 

I hope you will join us for these 12 weeks of quilting fun!

 Close-Up of Quilt Block #1

Starting August 30th, the Christmas Quilt Block for the Week is available to purchase. The Quilt Block for Week 1 will be available to purchase in the Quilt Shop until supplies last. A new block will come out every Saturday. The price for the Quilt Block of the week is $8.97.
 

The quilt is already on display in our Quilt Shop (on the front endcap of aisle #28) and you can also view it below.

 

  

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.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 15

Day 15: Banners 

Today I have two banner projects to share with you that we created using different a couple different wood pieces and vinyl letters/words.

For the first project we painted three of the wood snowflake pieces, covered them with blue cardstock and then added the vinyl letter to each piece. To embellish them each a bit we added rhinestones to the snowflake points as well. The to create the banner we punched holes in the top of the snowflakes and threaded ribbon through.

For the second banner we followed the same basic process. We used three 5x5 tiles - painted them and then added pattern paper and vinyl. These pieces actually have pre-drilled holes so you can just thread the ribbon through once the tiles are done.

Easy and simple way to add a crafty banner to your holiday decor!

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 14

Day 14: Notepads

As a stocking stuffer or a holiday project for yourself - a decorated notebook or notepad is always a fun idea. We have a variety of styles, shapes, and sizes and of course plenty of paper and embellishments to choose from so you can decorate it anyway you wish. 

(They would also be great to decorate as a notebook for the new year as a gift too!)

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 13

Day 13: White Plates

If you have or work with young children, today I have a project idea you are going to love! Not only would this make a great keepsake project, it would also be a great gift idea for a grandparent, teacher, etc. Also if you are a teacher or group leader this would be a great holiday project to have the kids complete as a parent gift or even for themselves.

For both plates we used paint to create the hand or foot print, created the trunks with help from little fingers and then added the vinyl words, star embellishments, and the name/date once the paint was dry.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 12

Day 12: Wire Trees 

Today I have a couple fun project ideas to share with you using our decorative wire trees. These pieces come as just the black wire base, but can easily be altered to create a great decor piece for your home.

For the first tree we added a little color and sparkle to the tree by using Glitter Blast spray paint - for the tree we used a green color and then the star a yellow. Then we simply added a few glitter dot embellishments to the tree and a ribbon around the trunk. We added a few photos to this sample, but it could also be used as a Christmas card holder as well.

For the second sample project we put together we actually used the base of the tree to create an advent countdown calendar. Using pattern paper, number stickers, and glass marbles we made magnets with the numbers 1-12 on them. Then we just wrote some daily activities or events on pieces of pattern paper and placed them on the tree using the magnets. Such a fun way to countdown to Christmas!

 

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 11

Day 11: 12x12 Frames 

If you have any favorite Christmas, holiday or winter photos you know that half of the fun of having those photos is the fun and creative ways that you can display them! Today I have a few project ideas on how to alter and embellish our 12x12 frames that would be perfect for this purpose. All of the frames come unfinished - but with a little paint, paper, vinyl and ribbon you can create quite the custom frame. Plus the photo opening size is 4x4" so most of your standard size printed photos will work with this piece.

For this first frame, we started by painting it red - then covered it with a few pieces of coordinating pattern paper, added the Jingle Bell vinyl and embellished with some ribbon and little bells.

For the second frame, we also started with paint and some pattern paper, but then we simply added some chipboard embellishments to the the corner of the photo opening.

For the last frame, we created a general winter themed frame by using a snowflake pattern paper and embellishing with metal snowflakes and blue rhinestones. The title at the bottom was created by just layering a couple pieces of pattern paper and adding a sticker using pop-dots for some added dimension.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 8

Day 8: Christmas Coasters

Today I have a couple versions and designs of a project idea to share with you! As either a project for yourself or a gift idea for someone else - a set of Christmas Coasters would be perfect. We have two different styles of coasters to choose from - a set that comes with a white finish and comes in a open top box and another set of wood coasters that come in a wood box that closes with a clasp.

The wonderful thing about these projects is that you can use any paper line, embellishments you wish to create a set that you love. And you can also always add photos to the coasters to add a more personal touch to the project.

All of the coaster sets follow the basic project instructions found on the project sheet HERE.

25 Days of Christmas 2012 - Day 5

Day 5: Wood Inlay Frames

Today's project is a perfect way to add a little homemade Christmas decor to your home. These pieces are a great size - and will easily fit into lots of spaces around your home. Also great is the fact that you can decorate these pieces in many different way to match your decor or space.

For the first sample we painted the frame - trimmed and adhered a piece of pattern paper to the inside - then added a matted piece of paper (with a vinyl saying) to the piece using pop-dots. The snowflakes are chipboard pieces that we painted and added a rhinestone to, then adhered to the frame.

For the second piece we used alcohol inks to color four white tiles - then glued them into a painted inlay frame, added the vinyl letters to each tile and embellished a bit with some layered stickers.

25 Days of Christmas 2012: Day 2

Day 2: "Joy" Reindeer Canvas

The project that I have to share today has been a very popular project here at the store! Sarah created this amazing piece by painting a reindeer and the word "joy" onto a piece of burlap - then adhering the burlap to a standard canvas (which she also painted the same color) and adding a few embellishments to the piece. We do have a template available for the reindeer as well - you can find it in store or we can email it to you - just leave a comment if you would like a copy. (It will also be put online with the full project sheet shortly.)

Christmas Kits.

We've had some customers inquiring about Christmas Kits - so I wanted to let you all know that we do now have a good selection of felt and embroidery Christmas Kits available in our Fabrics Department. However, they are already going fast, so for the best selection make it in soon!

You can find them on the middle endcaps between aisles 23 & 24.

25 Days of Christmas 2011: Day 16

Day 16: Decorated Wood Pieces

Today's blog post contains a bunch of different projects - but what they all have in common is that they all started out as unfinished wood pieces. With just some paint, paper, and embellishments you can turn a plain piece of wood into such a cute Christmas decoration! Such as this wood sled that I used to display a favorite photo of my kids sledding last year:  

Or a wood snowflake dressed up with some glitter paper and a Happy Holidays sentiment:

For this piece I covered the front of the wood piece with a glittery foam sheet and then added little photos to each of the O's:

To display some photos from our trip to pick out this years Christmas Tree I added photos directly to the hanging trees on this wood piece:

For this piece I simply painted the piece and then covered it with a piece of pattern paper that I love:

And this guy got dressed up by just using paint and some rhinestones:

Women's Showcase.

Tomorrow Crafts Direct will be taking part in the Women's Showcase event at the St. Cloud Civic Center from 9am-4pm. We will have a booth at the event and will be offering the four projects below as free Make and Takes at our booth from 9am-12pm and 1-4pm.

We will also have lots of project ideas and store samples on display at the booth, which will be decorated with half a Christmas theme and half a Fall/Halloween theme. You'll definitely want to stop by for tons of creative inspiration and of course to leave with a few cute projects too.

More information about the event can be found here. We hope to see you there!

Snowman Cube Photo Holder

Autumn Greetings Tile.

I've Got My Eye on You Tube.

Let it Snow Wood Plaque.

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!