Merry Holiday Review

So many projects, so many more to do!

I did a remake of these wood trees, I got them 66% off and knew they had potential!

Before:

After:

Used vintage music sheets, applied bronze acrylic paint with my fingers,  Rhinestone cup chains, mica flakes for the stars.

Sweet little gnomes by the dozens!

Felt,  greenery, pompoms, and jingle bells with an ornament hanger on the back plus a magnet!  So much fun to give, got smiles in return!

Your Christmas chuckle!

Happy Everything to everyone...

Ready Set GO Ideas

Fabulous expensive look and very affordable to make!

Music sheets, buttons and assorted old ornaments (or dollar store)

Easy over the top decor from the dollar store.  Layers of color and glitz, Use E6000 to affix multiple items in layers.  Enough is not enough in this season!

HOHOHO

Fall offers fun projects

When September rolls around the frenzy begins!  

Back to school, Fall decorating, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas (did I say that?).

We still have some items for your decorating and craft projects, Let's see some now.   If you want to purchase anything, please send a message and we can invoice you and ship ASAP.

We have some of these kits ready to mail, one side says BOO and the other side says JOY, on a black and white Santa paper, flip them and you can use them through December.

$12.00 for the kit send your $ through Venmo, Zelle or Paypal.  

Questions on how to use the payment options, please ask in an email to artsociates@gmail.com.

Have fun!

It's a TRAIN RIDE Day - HI-Jinks for sure!

We are traveling through Northern Arizona into the canyon forest.  

The Train has indoor and outdoor cars, we will take blankets to sit outside and perhaps see some wildlife.  Eagles, mountain goats, mountain lions, coyotes and more may be along the way!  Hot chocolate and chilly weather help to be in the Holiday spirit.  AND even more special today is Jake's 18th Birthday!   We have a surprise cake for him and hope he treasures this magical train ride.

This is the Verde Canyon, (green canyon) the mini Grand Canyon.  

The whole family is having this Christmas Experience as one of our gifts.  Making memories with family is the very best way to celebrate in my opinion.

Thanks for stopping by to visit!  

Merry and Happy Holidays from Jean and Family.

Christmas tags

Many crafters (including me) have been making Christmas cards to send to friends and family.  It's a wonderful way to show those you care for how much you love and appreciate them.  Another way is to create special tags for your gift boxes and bags.  The three tags below are each different styles.

This one uses a single focal image with a scrapbook paper background and a couple of embellishments.

Another style is to use a large image and either attach it to a shipping tag or simply cut your card stock into a tag shape and embellish.

And the last is a collage of themed collage images.

Whichever style you choose to create, your presents will have a little pizzazz to make the person receiving it feel special!

Check out your Christmas collage images at DIY Design Studio.  And don't just stick to Christmas.  There are collages for all types of themes and occasions!  The files are digital so it's not too late to order and start creating your own personal art!  

Here is the link for circular tags too!

How about some Mini's?

Supplies:

Shipping tags

Art tags

Music pages

Christmas images

Threads/ribbons

Chipboard snowflakes

A Holiday Project made of Wood and Paint

I decided that this year I would change up our Christmas Decor. 

(I'm fibbing I do that almost every year!)

This one had red feather boas all over and a red and green theme.

This is for the retro 50's tree.   Turquoise and red.

And this was preparing the Grinch tree!

We have had most every style tree you can imagine.  We went through the shabby chic phase, the gold and glitter phase, traditional red and green, a little bit country, vintage creamy colors and crystals, and Yes even the Grinch tree.  Real ones, artificial ones, indoor, outdoor and even in the bathrooms!  Chandeliers festooned with ribbons, crystals, and ornaments.  It's the one time of year when... MORE IS NOT ENOUGH!

  

We all know how popular "farmhouse" has been, so we decided to try that style this year.    My elf was working to put together a wooden tree collar.  I will stain and paint it with a stencil or two.  I realized I can paint more than one stenciled message since the box has four sides!

And Since we are doing sort of a Farmhouse effect, I will paint and decorate our Chicken Wire Tree as well.  I will use our Dixie Belle paints as a base and decide what to do when that is dry.  I have a few ideas rattling around.   We have 4, 8 and 16 oz jars of Dixie Belle Paints, plus glazes and clear coat.

We downsized our tree this year and it is a 7' slim profile artificial tree (we have two - one for the Family room and one for the Pool room).  Therefore to accommodate the base of the tree the wood collar is 20 inches square with an open bottom.   The corners were reinforced with 1 x 1 pieces halfway up the interior sides.  

A personalized stencil was created on the Silhouette.   The EST. year we were married was added, what fun!

Another heirloom for the future!  The tree colors this year are Red, aged silver Shiny Brite ornaments and a soft blue.   

  

  

Thanks for stopping by, we enjoy your comments!

Holly Jolly Times

Are you READY?
We have a giveaway!   

I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and Grinch cookies so far.  I had an amazing helper who is THE best at watching the clock to ensure no burnt cookies!  Something I am guilty of not doing (multitasking diversion).

I am in process of making a variety of sweet Biscotti today.  I also found a recipe for Savory Biscotti with dried tomatoes, olives, basil, and parmesan!

I will also make chipotle cheese crackers and a pomegranate covered cheese ball among other things.  

I got tired just typing this!  It is the time of year that brings out the cook and baker in me.  I have always loved to cook and bake.  I'm not a Julia Child, but prefer honest, simple, homey foods.  

I will do a giveaway of the beautiful mason jar lids for the Holidays. 

Comment below and share to Facebook to have your name in the drawing.

Here are some tried and true recipes for your gifting and eating!

Beer Cheese Spread

1 lb aged natural cheddar cheese

1 lb natural swiss cheese

1 clove garlic, mashed

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 -2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

8 ounces beer  (regular or non alcoholic)

DIRECTIONS

Grate the cheeses finely.

Mix the cheeses with the garlic, dry mustard and Worcestershire.

Gradually beat in the beer until the mixture is well blended and of spreading consistency.

Place in a small mason jar for gifting.  Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Serve at room temperature.

                         ********** 

 VERY CHERRY FLUFF

1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

1 (8-ounce) bowl frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (any kind)

In a large bowl, fold together all ingredients.

Spoon into a serving bowl or individual dessert glasses. Chill before serving.  You can add a pirouette cookie to the glass for a garnish.

                          **********

Make sure to comment!                           

Perfect for Gift Giving

Let's make a beautiful gift box!

Today's project is a great upcycle using sturdy packaging from a recent purchse I made.  It is very much like a circular wine bottle "box", but a bit shorter.  It will be great for odd shaped gifts or plyable type gifts like a scarf, kitchen towel or a cute pair of fuzzy socks.  So, let's get started...

Here is what we started with.

YOU can see the complete supply list & links at the bottom of the post.

Here we have the first layer of vintage text pages decoupaged onto the surface.

Next, I dry brushed ivory colored chalk paint, added a bit of black chalk paint here and there, then the final layer was a thin coat of gold metalic using my gold metallic Gelato.  I was going for a worn, vintage look. 

Then, it was time to decorate the lid.  I added more gold metallic, laces, big chunky glitter and die cut snowflakes that I painted white and added more chunky glitter to.  I initially thought I would use a pretty glittered Prima flower on the lid (seen in the top pic here), but decided on the glittered snowflakes. 

 

Now, it was time to add my digital images.  For the back of the box I cut out a number of smaller vintage Santa images and decoupaged them in a random pattern.  I then added more glittered snowflakes.  You can see in the image below that I added beaded trim to the lid of the box...you can never have too many embellishments! 

And here is the front again with a much larger focal image of a very cheery St. Nicholas and a cute little angel peaking over his shoulder...along with a few more glittery snowflakes to tie it all together. 

I hope you are inspired to upcycle your own creation!

DIY Design Studio has everything you need to do just that!

Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting! 

Steph S. 

Supply List -
Santa Brings Cheer Digital Art Collage
Embellishments, Lace and Trims 
PPA glue
Vintage law books  for text pages
Chalk Paint -primitive
Chalk Paint - relic
Gelato Metallic - gold 
Die cuts and other embellishments

Lisa Kettell Holiday Card Exchange

HO HO HOLIDAYS

You may know Lisa Kettell, an artist,  a joy-bringer, a Bright Spirit and all around super person!  She exudes charm, positivity and such a warmth.

Lisa organizes a Christmas card exchange on Facebook each year for anyone (please follow the rules) to participate.   By the time you read this, the card exchange will be closed but you can make a note to remind yourself for next year.

I thought I would share my card creations with you and in a December blogpost I will share the cards I receive.

Forming ideas.  I grab a stash of supplies and GO.  It helps me to get the creative mojo going!  I knew I wanted the cards to be lush and wonderful.  Maybe soft lavender or lime green!   

Yes, I often have a schizophrenic style.

I began by painting chipboard diecuts with chalk paint.

But when going through boxes I found a template that inspired me...I may change in midstream!

More to come from this fun event with Lisa.

Lisa is taking a short break for now, but you can still follow her Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/LisaKettellDesigns

Sweet gifts for Friends.

Do you agree that Homemade is the BEST?

We think so.

As you know, we carry mason jar lids and metal rings, this project uses both.   Plus our wonderful collage sheets.  You can order a full kit or purchase the individual items. 

Our collage sheets allow you to make any jar theme you want; kids, women, men, floral, holidays.  

Read to the end for a wonderful "recipe".

These precious lids become ornaments 

or simply jar lids!  

Add lace to finish it off.  

Think out of the box.  Jars hold so much more than foods, it can be luxurious body care items, or a fun and wacky birthday gift.

Homemade Luxurious Moisturizing Lotion:

16 ounces baby lotion
8 ounces coconut oil (solid form, not melted)
8 ounces vitamin E cream
Mix together with a handheld mixer until it resembles icing.

Store in airtight containers…keep it for your own supply…or create a label or lid insert for gift-giving!   Collages are available to create lid inserts.
My friends loved it! 

Cost breakdown:
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil $7.00
Dollar Store Baby Lotion $1.00
Dollar Store Vitamin E Cream $1.00

Use half the jar of coconut oil, the whole bottle of baby lotion & 1/2 the jar of vitamin E Cream.