Day 358 December 31 finnish star

It is the last day of the year 2011 so I thought I would make something out of an old calendar.  This is called a Finnish star and it is very easy and very pretty.  In with the new....out with the old calendar.

Day 357 December 30 t-shirt knot bracelet

This is a very cool bracelet made out of t-shirts.  The knot is what I really like.

Day 356 December 29 button stitch markers

Knitters will know what these are.  Stitch markers do just that - mark a stitch on the needle.  Very usefull.

Day 355 December 28 scratch off

I found out that if you mix a little dish soap with a little acrylic paint and you paint it on something you can scratch it off like a lottery ticket.  Pretty cool.  I can see doing this for kids birthday cards or just as a game for a baby shower or whatever.  I just did it on my moo cards to see how it works.

Day 354 December 27 salt dough ornaments

Salt, flour and water is all you need to make the dough.  Then I  rolled and cut them out, stamped them and baked them.  After  they cooled I whitewashed them a bit and gave them a protective finish.  These make nice gift tags too

Day 353 December 26 placemat wrist cuff

I made these wrist cuffs out of another set of holiday place mats that I got on clearance.  I used some fabulous old buttons and made the cord out of scrap.  I love these.

Day 352 December 25 paper medallion earrings

These are made from some gold paper medallions.  I think you could even cut some from some paper doilies.  I painted and rubbed paint off to give them some color and depth.  Then they were coated with a clear finish and hung as earring.  Pretty.

Day 351 December 24 bottle brush trees

I tried to make my own bottle brush trees.  I took some rope and separated it into separate strings and then glued and twisted it into some wire.  Then I trimmed it to look more like a tree.  I think I could probably trim them better and maybe add some snow like the original bottle brush trees.  Anyway,  I feel I was successful but it could be a lot better and I hope you get the idea of what I was trying to make.

Day 350 December 23 placemat baskets

I bought these place mats on clearance last year.   I sewed the  sides up and gave it a base and then added some handles.  Now I can wrap a couple of gifts in style.

Day 349 December 22 paper scrap tree

For this cute little tree I attached a skewer to a bottle cap base then layered scraps of cut up book paper.  Then I painted a little glue on and sprinkled it with my home made glitter.  The origami star tops it off.

Day 348 December 21 snowmen bread clips

Instead of just throwing those bread clips away I painted a snowman face on it.  Now I can use them for treat bags for the holidays.  Very cute.

Day 347 December 20 five point star

I love these stars and it is simply cutting the shape, scoring the folds and then folding.   I covered a piece of cardboard with music paper before I folded and added some salt glitter for dazzle.

Day 346 December 19 salt glitter

This isn't really sparkly like glitter but it stills look cool.  It is just salt with a drop of food coloring cooked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.   It can be used like you would use glitter and you can make your own colors.

Day 345 December 18 scull snowflake

Every snowflake is definitely different.  I cut this one out of music paper and added a few interesting details.  Then I glittered  it a little on the edges for a little more dazzle.  It will look very cool in the window.

Day 344 December17 coffee filter wreath

Can you believe this beautiful wreath is made from only coffee filters and cardboard from a box?  It is stunning.  I only added a ribbon bow but you could add some little ornaments to it or other pretties.

Day 343 December 16 draft dodger

I live in northern Michigan so it is cold.  I made this draft dodger out of scraps of fleece and filled it with plastic bags.  It works great and it didn't cost a thing but I am sure it saves a bit on energy. 

Day 342 December 15 beach glass mobile

I wrapped some beach glass and added beads to the wire for hanging.  Then I hung several of them on a circle that I got in the floral department and covered with paper and paint.  Very cool.

Day 341 December 14 light bulb hanging storage

I found these huge light bulbs at Goodwill.  It wasn't easy but I got the insides out and then wrapped the top with wire to hang it from.  Then I filled it with all the origami stars I made.  It looks great and I know where my little stars are for other projects.

Day 340 December 13 felt tree

The base of this is a Styrofoam cone.  I wrapped and glued on some green felted sweater.  Now I can add some decorative tacks or pin on buttons or whatever.

Day 339 December 12 dryer sheet bags

Dryer sheets make great little bags when sewn together.  I am using these to package my hand warmers for gifts.  They smell great.

Day 338 December 11 phone caddy

This started out as a hand lotion bottle.  I cleaned it, cut it and decoupaged material to it.  Now the phone is off the floor when it is being recharged.  And it looks pretty cool too.

Day 337 December 10 dog tutu

I don't think Mattie likes it but she looks so cute under the Christmas lights in her tulle tutu.  I knotted the tulle to a little girls sparkly headband and that is it.

Day 336 December 9 rice hand warmers

I made some little bags from t-shirt material and stamped them with cherries and my green porcupine stamps.  Then I filled them with rice and sewed them shut.  20 seconds in the microwave and they are ready for the coat pocket and will stay warm for 15 or 20 minutes.  I added a few drops of scented oil to the rice so it smells good too.

Day 335 December 8 moravian star

These three dimensional stars are made from an old movie poster.  I thought I would try some big ones before I went to the smaller ones.  There are some tricky folds in this origami.  They would look good on my Christmas tree or put together in a circle for a wreath.

Day 334 December 7 tree earrings

I made these cute and festive earrings out of book pages and wire and beads.  I coated them with bees wax to give the paper a translucent look.

Day 333 December 6 dinosaur jar

It is just a little jar but it is so much more with a dinosaur on the top.  I just glued the toy on and now it is a special jar for that special something.

Day 332 December 5 snow globe

I made this with a jar, glue, water, dash of glycerin, glitter and a figurine and a tree.  Very easy and so cute.

Day 331 December 4 paper flower wreaths

I love this spiral cut flower.  It is so easy and the results are spectacular.  I covered  the Styrofoam wreaths with the same paper I used for the flowers. I used the book pages I cut out of a book to make a secret hiding place for one and maps for the other.

Day 330 December 3 spool kinara

A kinara is the traditional candle holder for Kwanzaa.  It is made much the same as the menorah but I used a black ceramic tile as a base and I painted the spools in the traditional colors of a kinara.  The candles are just what I had around and are probably not traditional.

Day 329 December 2 spool menorah

I made the base of this by decoupaging some music paper to a board and applying bees wax as a finish.  The small wooden spools on top are also waxed.  I sew a lot and have all shapes of spools so this menorah has a beautiful shape.  These are the only small candles I had and they are probably not too traditional but they look pretty for the picture.

Day 328 December 1 light bulb pears

What do you do with burnt out light bulbs?   I wrapped a couple with thick twine and added a stem on top.  They are a perfect pear shape and make a nice still life.