3 EASY CHRISTMAS CRAFTS

This weekend I was privileged to speak at a Holiday event for the ladies at Covenant Community Church, where I shared some Christmas decorating ideas with them.  I can sit behind a computer screen and talk all day long, but I'm a rookie at speaking to large groups!  The ladies were so gracious and hospitable, and it was a lovely evening.  Hi Ladies!  :)

I loaded up the truck and displayed several Christmas decorations that were inexpensive and simple to make or pull together.  Over the coming days I'll share several of those ideas with you here, and most of them will work their way into my Christmas decor.  I wish I would have taken a photo of my set-up, but all I have is this pic my husband snapped with his phone while we were setting up.

Now, I'm not rushing past Thanksgiving, but I wanted to go ahead and share these ideas with you so you would have time to make them over the next week or two if you would like to.  I never decorate before Thanksgiving, but I think I might this year since it is so late in the month, and we're not hosting this year.

Lanterns are such a classic accessory to own.  I use mine year round.  I shared two ideas to dress them up for Christmas.  First, nothing more than a candle and sprig of fresh greenery suggests the season at hand.  I also added a fun ribbon and filled the bottom with berries that I cut off of floral picks from Hobby Lobby.  An extra tip here...if you fill the bottom with something that will fall out (shells, acorns, ornaments, etc.) tip the lantern back just a little when you're opening the door to light the candle.  Everything will stay in place and if you're gentle the candle won't fall over.

For another look, I piled the lantern full of ornaments, and spread a 20 light string of white lights through them as I filled them in.

There was enough space where the door opens to squeeze the cord through, and I'll just turn that side towards the back so it won't show.  Can you imagine how pretty it would be with all silver ornaments?  Or red?  Or gold?

Next, I took a few wreath ideas to show.  I made this gorgeous ornament wreath by following Kristin's instructions at Bliss at Home.  She made it so easy!  I've made this type of wreath before on a wire coat hanger and it did not hold up well.  This method was fantastic!

Now, just so you're prepared, even though it's DIY and I bought the ornaments on sale and used a coupon for the wreath, this wreath will still cost around $30-$35 to make.  There are a LOT of ornaments on there, and styrofoam is expensive!  If you're not in a hurry ornaments should be on your thrift store or garage sale list, and the cost would go down significantly, or pick up a bunch after Christmas to make one for next year!

Another wreath I shared was an upgrade.  I bought this on clearance at Target last year, but it had silver jingle bells spread throughout it and I didn't like how those looked.  So, I tore those off and made some yarn pom poms to fill those spots.  I like the texture and fluff they added.  Don't be afraid to change up a store-bought item so that you like it better!

The last idea I'll share with you today is to glam up some clear vases or containers.  I found some glass containers with straight sides that I liked the shape of from the thrift store.  I don't think I paid more than $1 for any of them.  Then, I grabbed some star stickers from the dollar store, some left over garage sale price stickers, and some painter's tape.

I used the stickers and tape to create the patterns I wanted on the vases, making sure that the edges were adhered well.  I also covered the bases of the pieces that I did not want painted with a small plastic bag.

Now, time for the sparkle!  I sprayed two light coats of regular gold spray paint on the outside of each vase, then I tried out the new Gold Glitter spray paint from Rustoleum on top.  With the regular gold underneath, the coverage was great and I only needed a little bit of the glitter paint.

Want to see what your house would look like if you've been crafting for days?

Well, yours might not, but mine did.  Ugh, projects strung out everywhere!  I'm off to finish cleaning up.  Tomorrow I'll share another Dollar Store project with you.  I think it's my favorite of all!