Tag Archives: glitter

Jeweled Candles

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This is an easy craft that combines a few of my favorite things – candles, glitter and jewels!  It can be tailored to any color scheme or occasion, and when the candles burn down (if you even have the heart to light them, they’re so pretty!) you can reuse the jewelry components in your next project.  I went with a red, silver and gold theme for the Christmas season.

 

candle collage

 

Supplies:

  • Candles

  • Painter’s tape

  • Mod Podge

  • Foam applicator

  • Jewelry components

  • Hot glue gun

  • Glitter

Tape off your candle and apply the Mod Podge to the space in between; be sure to apply a thin coat – if it’s too thick the glitter will come off when you remove the tape (been there, done that). Sprinkle glitter on the Mod Podge and allow to dry (I gave mine about 2 hours). Carefully remove the tape and then use the glue gun to glue the jewels into place.  Here’s the finished product:

 

candle twins

 

I decorated a small table in my living room using a vase filled with leftover branches from our Christmas tree and two of the candles:

candles8

 

How are you decorating your home for the holidays?  Let me know in the comments!

 

Have a great craft you want to share? Check out Inspiration DIY, where my Jeweled Candles craft was featured!

 

inspiration diy

 

Six Pumpkin Crafts for Labor Day. . . I Mean, Halloween!

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With Labor Day weekend officially underway, folks are still trying to hang on to those last precious bits of summer with cook outs, lazy days at the beach, and last-minute getaways.  But even on this sunny, decidedly summer day, I see signs of the coming fall all around, especially at the supermarket – most notably in the massive displays of Halloween candy already on the shelves.  Move over, s’mores, make way for the candy corn and pumpkin Peeps!  I’m actually ready to bid goodbye to summer, as fall is my favorite season – the amazing foliage, apple picking (and baking!) and of course, Halloween.  My son is getting a little old for trick-or-treating, but we still indulge in the decorating.  We’re going to mix it up this year and try out these alternatives to the traditional jack-o-lantern carving!

Dripping melting crayon wax onto pumpkins turns them into festive Halloween decor (and makes use of all those little crayon stubs):

crayon pumpkins

Does glitter flow through your veins?  It does through mine; I’m going to get my fix with these quick and easy glittered pumpkins:

glittered pumpkins

Colorful tissue paper squares and googly eyes make this embellished pumpkin craft project fun for the whole family!

tissue paper pumpkinThis decoupage lace pumpkin craft lends a lovely vintage look to your decorating project:

Lace-Pumpkin-DIY

Love all things bling?  Jewel-studded pumpkins and a sparkly spider make a bold statement:

pumpkins-with-rhinestones-1010-xl

Try wrapping your pumpkins in black tulle and tying some seasonal ribbons on the stem for this sophisticated look:

black tulle pumpkins

What are your favorite decorating traditions for Halloween?  Let me know in the comments!

Have Glue Gun, Will Craft

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With the Thanksgiving leftovers almost a distant memory and the holiday season officially underway, visions of glitter and glue guns have begun dancing in my head.  As these next few weeks become increasingly hectic, I like to take time out with my family to flex our DIY muscles and create Christmas decorations.  I have found that this is a fun way to slow down and connect with family and friends during the holiday season.

When my son was younger, we would brush white craft glue onto plain glass ornaments and roll them in glitter (think rolling snicker doodle cookie dough in cinnamon sugar).  It was fun and easy and yes, messy, but we still hang those ornaments on the tree years later.  As he’s gotten older, we’ve graduated to painting glass ornaments and using a hot glue gun to bedazzle them with crystals, feathers, ribbons, even birds!  An easy cut and glue craft that we enjoyed doing together consisted of taking a tin or cardboard star, cutting festive scrapbooking paper to size, gluing the pieces onto the star and sealing it with clear or glittery Mod Podge – adding a seasonal ribbon completed the look.

Check out  some of our creations from Christmas past, before and after:

Plain glass globes and a tin star

Paint and feathers, Mod Podge and crystals – voila!

Plenty of inspiration abounds on websites like Pinterest as well as craft stores like JoAnn’s or Michael’s. One project that I was excited to try this year is this adorable Santa Tulle Wreath from Jill at babyrabies.com. Her tutorial is easy to follow – check out the results.

Santa Tulle Wreath cute

If you have a particular idea in mind or need some guidance, Michaels.com has great suggestions for crafting projects ranging from ornament decorating to cookie baking to sewing.  Plaidonline.com is also an excellent resource for more holiday crafting ideas, as well as year-round and rainy day projects. Both these sites offer materials lists, pictures and clear instructions so even the novice or youngest crafter can turn out some really fun and pretty awesome decorations.

What are your favorite holiday crafting projects?  I’m always looking for new inspiration, so let me know!