Christmas Ornament Redo

Bonjour Mes Amis!

While I admit I'm more than a little tempted to go out and buy a bunch of new Christmas ornaments each year (especially when I spot anything sparkly or silver!), I usually try and stick to my rule of 

"making the most of what I've got"!  So that often means redoing or repurposing those items that I already have on hand.

So today I thought I'd show you one of my latest creations, these pretty Frenchy decoupaged ornaments!

 They actually started out looking like this:

 I'd picked them up years ago at a garage sale, for next to nothing.  While I really loved them and enjoyed them as is for many years, I was in the mood to give them a French accent, in keeping with my

"glittery-silvery-creamy-Frenchy" theme this year!

 So here is what I used to transform the ornaments (which are made with a styrofoam like base).

I began by tearing pages of a vintage French dictionary into small pieces.  No worries, the dictionary is not valuable!  I picked it up a few weeks ago at our library's used book sale for just 50 cents!  I never would tear up a valuable book, I bought it just for crafting.

Besides, I already have a nice French dictionary that I use:)

 I then used my handy-dandy Martha Stewart fleur de lis punch (love!!),

and punched out a bunch of them from pretty light blue scrapbook paper.

I wanted the ornaments to be a bit glittery, but I didn't want them shedding all over the place!  Believe it or not, even though I am a glitter nut, I really don't want to find the stuff on every square surface of our house!

And since I am a cheapskate  budget minded,  I hate wasting anything!!!

So, I had a bit of a brainstorm!  I had a large bottle of iridescent glitter glue that had gotten too thick to really use.  So, I cut open the bottle, and mixed it with satin Mod Podge.

 I save the little trays that my "Lean Cuisines" come in, they are perfect for decoupaging and painting projects.

 I didn't take any photos while I was decoupaging the ornaments, it was more than a little messy!

Anyway, once I had the balls all covered with the French dictionary pages, I let them dry.  They I added a fleur de lis cut out to both the front and back of each ornament, went
over the entire ornament with more Mod Podge,
and lightly sprinkled with iridescent mica while still wet.

 I wish that the glitter and mica showed up better in my pics!

 Anyway, I am so happy with the way they turned out, and am glad that I hung onto those ornaments, I was about to donate them to the thrift store!

 They look so pretty hanging on our tree, best of all, they cost next to nothing to make!

Oh, notice the little crocheted angel hanging to the left behind the ornament?  My mom made that years ago, and I really treasure it.

Hard to believe Christmas is just over a week away!

Have a fun and creative day!

A Few Fun Ornament Ideas

Wow, it's hard to believe that Christmas will be here in less than two weeks!

Seems as if the season goes faster each year, doesn't it?

For me, one of the best parts of Christmas is creating!  And sharing those creations with family and friends.

So today I thought I'd share a few ornament that I made for gifting.

 Instead of running out and buying a bunch of supplies, I think it's fun to challenge myself and see what I can create with items that I already have on hand!  You know how much I adore the image of the sweet French Christmas angel.  I just had to use her yet again!  With inspiration from Pinterest, I created this pretty and glittery shadowbox scene ornament.   It is actually made from the lid of a small and sturdy cardboard  box that once held jewelry.  I ended up making two just like this, one from the lid, the other from the base of the box.

 And since I was on a glittery roll, I had fun creating this snowy ornament above, fashioned from a petite wood picture frame.  I'd had the frame in my "to do" stash forever, and was actually about to donate it to the thrift store, when inspiration struck!  So, I removed the glass, went over the frame with one quick coat of cream spray paint, then added this fun snowy scene.  I brushed the frame with Mod Podge, then dusted with shimmery mica flakes. To the inside of the frame, I added a snippet of vintage sheet music and a pretty piece of snowflake velum paper that I happened to have.  White foam snowflake stickers were added, as well as a generous dusting of clear coarse glitter and "snow" glitter.  I printed the words "let is snow" on the printer, mounted them with foam squares to give a bit of dimension, and glittered the edges.  To the top of the frame, I screwed in an eye hook and hung from vintage looking silver tinsel trim.  Oh, I also glued a piece of Christmas scrapbook paper to the back for a neat finish.

 Ok, getting back to my angel shadow boxes..........

I had so much fun creating these!!

I first used some white craft paint to paint the sides and inner edges of the box top and bottom.

Copies of vintage French Christmas sheet music were glued to the insides (found at the Graphics Fairy).

Cotton was hot glued to the inside bottom of the boxes, then I added pretty silver glittery snowflakes, "Joyeux Noel" on chipboard, and the cute little angel.  I first cut the angel silhouette out, mounted her on heavy paper, then added her to the boxes with foam mounting squares, again for dimension.

Then I did the same as for the frame, and coated the heck out of it with my clear glitter, mica and snow glitter!  I also used glitter glue on the angel.

 Silver tinsel trim was hot glued around the edges of each box, and I used silver cord to hang

(I just punched a hole in the top of each box).

 I gave these to my hairstylist the other day when I went in for a cut. She was so surprised.  I remembered last time I was in, she mentioned she didn't have much in the way of Christmas decor.

The other angel shadow box is a gift for a friend.

 Here is the backside of one of the boxes, covered in pretty paper.

 So fun, and so glittery!

 And this is part of my crafting arsenal (hahahaha!), my Martha Stewart glitter and mica. 

(I forgot to include a pic of the glitter glue.)

Martha, if you are reading this, I am still more than willing to become your official 

International Glitter Ambassador!:)

 Here is one last look!

Happy creating!

Making the Most of What You've Got

Years ago, I enjoyed watching a Canadian cooking show called "The Urban Peasant".  The chef was an older man transplanted from England, with a fun sense of humor and cute British accent.  One of his favorite little saying was
"make the most of what you've got" 

(imagine said in an English accent!!) 

Meaning, instead of running out and buying a bunch of fancy ingredients for your dinner, look around in your pantry and fridge to see what you've got.  Find some inventive and resourceful uses for what you already have on hand to create a delicious meal!

So, weather it be in life, decorating, crafting or cooking, I try my best

to make that my life's mantra and

"make the most of what I've got".

(which I often repeat to myself in the chef's accent!)

With that, I can't wait to share with you my latest glittery Christmas creations,

made with what I already have on hand!

 (I got a little carried away with my photo shoot, so lots of pics coming up!!)

I found this adorable vintage French Christmas angel on Pinterest.  Isn't she a doll?

I knew right away she would be perfect for what I had in mind!

 For the petite faux Christmas tree that I've been putting up in our sunroom the past few years, I've decided to go with a glittery French theme.  

So I fashioned these pretty little ornaments that I had so much fun putting together!

Silvery tinsel trim, shimmery silver cording, silver glitter glue, and sparkly snowflakes, and 

oooh, la, la!

 I'll show you in a sec what materials I used.

 Continuing on with my "use what you already have" motto,

I took a glass jar that held a candle that we just finished burning. I removed the label and gave the inside a good washing.

 I then used a light coat of Mod Podge to adhere vintage sheet music and the angel graphic.  After it dried, I applied a top coat and generously coated it with clear coarse glitter.

(Martha Stewart brand is my glitter of choice.)

 I tucked a tea lite inside, and when lit, the effect is just magical!

The jar came with a gold metal lid, but I wanted it to be silver.

No worries!  I just brushed on some more Mod Podge, then a liberal coat of fine silvery glitter.

Because you know what my motto is..................

"You can never have too much glitter!"

I didn't want the glitter to shed whenever I lifted the lid, so I brushed it with a coat of glossy clear sealer.

 Ok, back to my ornaments.  I also made gift tags as well

 Since I wanted the gift tags to have a bit more substantial weight 

( I thought the recipients might like to hang them from their trees),

I began with chipboard for their bases.

I covered the backsides in pretty scrap booking paper that looks like vintage postcards.

 For the bases of my ornaments, I used the hardcovers from vintage Reader's Digests.

Yep, that's right!  While I would never tear apart valuable vintage books, I picked up a stash of old Reader's Digest's that a thrift store was giving away. They had been gathering dust in a corner, and I thought the covers would make a perfect canvas!  I just used a sharp box cutter to cut the covers down to the size I wanted.  

I just used a glue stick to adhere the vintage sheet music to both front and back of the ornaments.

As for the chipboard, I never buy it!  It often comes inside of picture frames, is used in packing materials, etc.  So I save it for future projects!

Here is my work table, with the supplies I used.

 As you may guess, I go thru lots of glitter here at the chateau.

I added some glitter "snow" to the ornaments, as well as "Stickles" brand glitter glue.  In the vintage salt shaker is my fine silver Martha Stewart brand glitter that I so love.

(Martha, if you are reading this, I would love to be your official

"Glitter Ambassador", tee , hee!)

 After Christmas last year, I purchased on clearance a package of these pretty glittery foam snowflake stickers.  I had no idea what I would do with them, but just knew they would be perfect for some kind of project!

 I also really love the silver tinsel trim by Tim Holtz.

 So there you have it, my glittery French "Joyeux Noel" creations!

 

 I hope this has inspired you to

"make the most of what you've got!"

 Have a fun and creative day!

 Au revior!

Glittery Fun!

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Ok, I am not one who likes rushing the Christmas season. It seems that it comes earlier and earlier each year, doesn't it?

So what have I been doing, but creating glittery Christmas ornaments!

I know, I know, but I just couldn't help myself!

 A few weeks ago I picked up a few paper mache star ornaments from Hobby Lobby, not sure exactly how I would use them. I decided to give them a glitter French twist!

So I pulled out bits of this and that, all things that I happened to have on hand.

I started by decoupaging copies of vintage French Christmas sheet music

(found at the Graphics Fairy) to the stars.  Then the fun really began!

I used both clear glass glitter as well as regular iridescent glitter to cover the stars.

 I "aged" this gorgeous silver tinsel trim with dark brown ink to give it a more vintage feel.

 Then I created a bunch of little "Joyeux Noel"

(French for "Merry Christmas") and mounted on heavy chipboard.  Also glittered, of course!

Love!

 I had a bunch of pretty silver glitter snowflakes left over from last year, which were perfect for this project.

 I combined them all together, along with some wonderfully crinkly cream seam binding, and this is what I came up with!

 The glitter isn't showing up well in the photos, but they are nice and sparkly!

I think they will look so pretty hung from the tree, and really will glisten in the lights!

 They were so fun to make, I want to create some more!

 Happy creating!