get yourself into glamourous handmade gear for new years

This is the only holiday that is immediately followed by another equally huge holiday. You have 7 days of breathing room to relax, clean up the house… and then smack-wham another celebration.

If you have found yourself with a little extra time, and are dying to add your personal handmade touch to your new years attire, check these out….

Make a Fastinator

Make Fabric Oragami

Make a Mock Tuxedo Bib

Make a Ruffled Party Necklace

Make Silk Flowers

Make an Osman Tie

all photos and links from Burdastyle.com

Jolly elves to brighten your day

Jolly Elves from Parents.com

What You’ll Need

• One whole chenille stem and half a stem
• Small and large beads
• Wooden face bead
• Small jingle bell
• Felt
• Glue gun and hotmelt adhesive
• Scissors
• Ribbon

Make It

• Hat: Cut a 1-1/2-inch-diameter semicircle from felt. Wrap the semicircle around from point to point to form a cone, leaving a small opening at the tip; hot-glue to secure.
• Scarf: Cut a 1/2-x-4-inch piece of felt; fringe ends with scissors. Cut a small lengthwise slit about 1 3/4 inches from one end for opposite end of scarf to pass through.
• Body: Bend one chenille stem in half and, in the following order, thread materials over the bent point to about halfway down the stem: large bead for body, face bead, felt hat, small jingle bell. Leave about 3/4 inch above the jingle bell and shape the stem into a loop. Then, starting on opposite ends: Thread 4 small beads onto each leg and bend the ends to form feet. Use the half chenille stem to make arms by centering and twisting around the elf’s neck area. Thread 4 small beads onto each arm and bend the ends to form hands. Wrap the scarf around the elf’s neck, then thread ribbon through the top loop and hang.

Last min holiday ideas

Why have i been avoiding falling in love with Free People… i dunno!  but its finally happened. I added them to google reader and cant stop reading. they are brilliant. and chic.

my favorites (and i really wish i read them earlier)

Alternate christmas tree :: All the Luck in the World found via Free People Clothing

This one may even be fun for a year round decoration… flowers on a little girls wall… outlining trucks or a city on a little boys wall (this artist is even the creator of that really cool recycled chair in the photo. oooh shes going to be bookmarked too!!)

floral table :: All the luck in the world

This little table is just one of the examples of the artists’ other pieces. My daughter has a small table + chair set (… Dora+Boots) which i am personally tired of looking at. she is obsessed with stickers which in combination with this little table gave me an idea.

I’m going to sand down Dora+Boots to remove the loose stickers, and any gummy glue from ones she tried to reposition and give it a coat of white paint. We will then decorate the table top (in perfect design order) with stickers and cutouts of her drawings. I have a giant container of gloss which i will layer ontop of her creations to seal and protect them. The goal will then be to NOT add more stickers or doodles.. ha yah right.

Beaded Trees :: Free People Clothing

We still have a large collection of buttons and beads of all shapes and sizes. Yes i found even MORE while organizing my craft room last weekend. This might just be our tradional christmas eve craft this year… now to find some styrofoam cones that are eco-friendly…

Garland Light :: Tord Boontje via Free People Clothing

This one i can totally imagine in my front hall, now that the house is all clean and organized (and grown-up). We have a dome light cover just as you walk in the door. Its boring. and Gold. My favorite shop of all time (the dollar store) has foil garlands of snowflakes. At some point (since this is very last minute) i am going to find a way to wrap this around our light fixture –maybe dangle some gold beads… and reproduce this work of art.

all in all… this may be the last post before the big day.

i wish everyone JOY and HAPPINESS this holiday season.

and thats all i can say before i turn to a big puddle of mush, soaked in tears. (im such a sap –and yes i cry for EVERY holiday commercial)

** NOTE: Free People is a line from Urban Outfitters, who also developed Anthropologie.

Unique Christmas Centerpieces

We are having Christmas Eve dinner at our house.. for the first time EVER. Its nerve-racking but exciting, because now i have a reason to create a centerpiece.

Its not just for my personal enjoyment.

Here are a few of the inspiring ideas i found:

Christmas Balls perched atop unused candlesticks :: BHG.com

Decorate a tiered tray with vintage decorations :: BHG.com

I’m fell in love with these unique Christmas balls…before i even realized they were recycled decorations.

Christmas Balls from Reused Christmas Lights :: BHG.com

I’m wondering how many of us have purchase the new supposedly eco-friendly led style christmas lights… and what people have done with the big fat old energy sucking ones…

sparkling stars light up the night

Im obsessed with stars lately, perhaps for the desire to make a million wishes, or possibly just for their glittering sparkle appeal. If you feeling the same, here are a few tutorials to fulfill your wish-making dreams…

Paper Acordian Star :: Martha Stewart

To make:

1. start by folding a square or rectangle of paper into accordion pleats (you may want to experiment with plain paper before working with fancier stock). The number of pleats determines the number of points on the ornament: For example, four pleats will equal eight points.
2. Fold the accordion of paper in half to find the center; unfold, and staple once at the center. If your ornament is too long to be stapled, you can fashion a staple out of wire: Make two small holes in the center with an awl, insert the wire through the holes, and twist the back.
3. Make a deep diagonal or slightly curved cut into each end of the folded paper (about halfway to the center); the sharp corners will form the points of the star.
4. Fan the sides out so that they meet, and attach them on the back with small pieces of tape. Use Scotch Magic tape, which is easy to remove, so you can flatten and store the star until the next special occasion.

More flat paper star tutorials from Martha Stewart

another fabulous tutorial uses plastic bottles (especially good since apparently they are so difficult to recycle), creating different patterned stars taking advantage of the different designs on the bottom of the bottles.

Water Bottle Stars Tutorial :: Espritcabane

Unique trees = so much love

These yarn wrapped trees are exactly what i was looking for to add colour to my house.

Recycled Yarn Trees :: Paper*Ballet

Yarn wrapping technique :: Paper*Ballet

The general materials are listed on her flickr page (click on top photo) but basically its a cone shape from recycled papers such as junk mail, or toilet paper rolls. You can wrap with anything you have lying around the craft room.

This seems simple enough that i could give this to my daughter to work on by herself. This is a big thing lately. i would most likely get my arm chewed off if i try to slip in and fix something. Funny story though, because its all my fault. I was trying to teach her not to change or ‘fix’ other people projects (i found my doll with a big black smile across his somber face, because i didnt make him happy enough) … and now its coming back to get me, and my need to get my hands in and help ‘guide’ her.

Felted Trees Tutorial :: The Long Thread

I am overjoyed for these felted trees, but i personally dont wear or have wool sweaters. I love the colours though. (square tree from martha, if you dont have wool or friends with wool) Below is another paper tree tutorial

Magazine Trees Tutorial :: Not Martha

And a simple wooden tree…

(i couldnt decide where to list this one.. under sticks or trees.. such serious decisions to make)

Wooden Tree :: espritcabane.com

But for the more serious crafter …

Felt Holiday Tree Tutorial :: The Thompson Family

The unique beauty lies in the choice of fabrics and colours. Use monochromatic colour scheme for an elegant + sophisticated look. Or if your house is like mine, and the furniture, walls and accessories are already monochromatic  (all beige + brown) try for a mismatched random colour selection.

Recycled Holiday Challenge… from Craft Gossip

Here at Craft Gossip, I wanted to take that spirit a little farther, and have a Recycled Holiday Craft Challenge. Between now and Christmas day, any time you make something for the holidays that’s got recycled materials in it, post it to the Craft Gossip Flickr pool and tag it “recycled contest”. I’ll be posting all those items here to the blog so everyone can see all the goodness, and for each item I post to the blog, the crafter will be entered into a drawing.

all you have to do is:
1. take a picture of an item you’re making for the holidays
2. post it to the Craft Gossip Flickr pool
3. tag the photo “recycled contest”
4. wait to see it show up here [on the craft gossip blog]

… read more over at craft gossip