I am a huge fan of pennant banners. I have used triangles, circles, and traditional pennant shapes. By simply mixing up the materials and themes you can make one for any occasion. When I saw the Darice Chipboard Alphabet Letters I knew that they were meant to be on a Valentine’s Day pennant banner.

Supplies:

• Natural Burlap Fabric Piece – 22 x 35 in
• Mod Podge – Gloss
• Martha Stewart Crafts Glitter Multi-Pack 24 Count
• Darice Chipboard Alphabet Letters – 3 in
• Twine
• Foam Brush
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue

I grabbed 4 of the chipboard letters and spelled out “LOVE.” I love the shapes and style of these letters so much.  I spread Mod Podge over the fronts of the chipboard letters and sprinkled some red glitter until they were completely covered. Once it was dry I added another layer of Mod Podge to seal in the glitter.

Then I cut out four pennant shapes out of the burlap. For the most part, I just eyeballed how big I wanted them to be and cut away. They measure about 5 inches across and 7 inches down. Once I had a rectangle shape, I cut an inverted “V” into the bottom of the pennants.

I attached the glittered letters to the middle of each burlap pennant with hot glue. I also attached some twine to the tops of the pennants. I folded over the tops of the burlap just slightly so it would wrap around the twine and then I secured it by hot gluing the twine to the burlap. Just make sure that you evenly space each pennant as you’re gluing.

Now all that’s left is finding a place to hang up your new Valentine’s banner. Make sure to leave enough twine on the ends so you can securely hang it.

I love how the sparkly red letters look against the rustic natural burlap. It’s the perfect mesh of old and new!

It’s such a simple project but makes a huge statement in your home. If you like, you can mix up the colors to match your home’s style and décor. The burlap is easily paintable and the glitter comes in an array of colors. The possibilities are endless!

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Thank you to Courtney from A Diamond in the Stuff for this guest post! 

We carry these great paper Mache mailbox sets, so I thought I would decorate them and reminisce a bit.  Hey, maybe I’ll save them and give them to my {future} children to bring to school one day – ha-ha!

Supplies:

• 3 Piece Paper Mache Mailbox Set
• Matte Mod Podge
• Scrapbook Paper  of Your Choice – I used the paper from the Love Complete Scrapbook Kit
• Ribbon – 1” for the Large Mailbox and 5/8” for the Medium Sized Mailbox
• Coordinating Paint (optional)
• Embellishments of Your Choice – I used Foamies Valentine Cookie Magnet Kit , Foamies Valentine Foam Stickers, Scrappy Cat Dimensional Stickers and Darice Silver Glitter Chipboard Letters
• Foam Brush
• Scissors

First, remove the mailbox flag and hardware in order to get a nice, smooth, Mod Podge finish.  They come off pretty easily, I just kind of yanked at them and they popped out. 

Cut your paper to the size of the side of your mailbox; not including the raised, rounded edges.  I used pattered paper for the main center part of the mailbox then used a plain coordinating color for the ends.  Note: for the largest mailbox, you will need two pieces of paper to cover both sides and you will have a small seem.  Using your foam brush put a coat of Mod Podge onto the side of your mailbox then lay your paper on top of it.  Add another layer of Mod Podge over the paper and using a pencil, poke holes in the box where the original flag and hardware holes were.  This will make it much easier when you are ready to reattach the pieces.  Let dry completely.

Trace both ends of the mailbox on the plain colored paper, cut them out, and Mod Podge them to the ends. 

Trace the mailbox flag onto a scrap of the plain colored paper and cut it out.  I painted the back side of the flag a coordinating color, and Mod Podged the cutout piece of paper to the front.  Let dry then reattach the flag and hardware.  Glue your ribbon around the exposed paper Mache edges between the ends and the middle of the mailbox. 

You are now ready to embellish and pretty-up your mailbox however you would like!  The smaller mailbox was more of a test and I didn’t really care for how the color combo came out, so I made it a little more childlike with all the stickers and Foamies.  For the larger, pink mailbox, I really liked the scrapbook paper design and how simple and pretty it was so I didn’t want to do an overkill decorating job.  I just added some sparkly ribbon, a cute Foamies heart to the flag and called it a day! 

I thought this was a pretty fun project so I can only imagine how much kids would love it!  Try it out and give your child’s Valentine cards an extra special home!

Here is a gift bag, a card and bonus mini cards that will really show your Valentine how much you care!

Supplies:

• Core’dinations Ebony & Ivory Cardstock
• Gift Bag
• Felties Valentine Pink Owl
• Felties Valentine Peace Hearts
• Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue
• Red Marker
• Thickers Alphabet Stickers – Cherry
• Gingham Ribbon
• Fiskars Paper Trimmer
• Sizzix Big Shot Die Cut Machine
• Sizzix Polka Dot Embossing Folder
• Core’dinations Sand it Gadget
• Core’dinations Dust Buddy
• Clever Lever Scallop Punch

 Directions:

1.   Assemble the pink owl.  Adhere pieces together and set aside to dry.

2.  Cut black paper to fit your gift bag.  Cut pink paper to size  similar to one shown. The main card is 6×6″ and the small cards are 3×3″.

3.  Place cardstock in embossing folder and follow manufacturers directions on how to emboss.  Remove from embossing folder.

4.  Use the Sand-It gadget to sand the paper.  Use the Dust buddy to remove the dust.  (I like to tap my Sand-It gadget on the inside of the garbage can to remove the excess dust that can build up on it.)  Repeat this step for all of the cardstock you wish to emboss.

5. Adhere your completed owl to the gift bag and add the sentiment of your choice.

6. Adhere the paper pieces to the 6×6″ card base.  Adhere heart and add sentiment of your choice.

Use the scraps of the paper to make the mini cards. The circles are made with Clever Lever punches. Embellish as desired.

If you would like to see a photos on how to sand the Core’dinations card stock, check out this card.

Supplies:

• Core’dinations 12″ x 12″ Paper – WhiteWash Collection – Color: Barn Siding  – Pack of 20 Sheets (available through our customer service department at 1-888-552-7238)
• 10” Straw Wreath
• Poly Satin Ribbon in Ivory
• 6″ White Sparkle Tulle
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue
• Spray Adhesive
• Martha Stewart Fine Crystal Glitter

I used my paper trimmer to cut the 12″ x 12″ sheets into four equal 6″ x 6″ squares.  I then made a template of a circle on each one (I traced around a CD, but it doesn’t need to be exact by any means).  I then tore out the circles by hand.  Because the paper has a color core, it gives a great antique look when torn.  For an even more antiqued look, sand the circle to distress it and reveal more of the Core’dinations ColorCore center.

To turn these imperfect circles into flowers you want to start at the outer edge and carefully rip them into a spiral.  It is helpful to keep the size of the spiral consistent, so you might want to pencil in the spiral shape before you start tearing.  This process took a while, but it’s an easy one to do while you catch up on some TV.

Next you can start rolling the roses.  Start rolling the flower beginning with the outside edge.  Roll as tightly as possible, keeping the bottom edge aligned at all times.  You can either roll the white or the deep red side toward the inside.  I did both and mixed them up.

When the flower is rolled completely tight, carefully pinch together, then let it go and it will spring into shape. 

You can experiment with how much you want it to open up and manipulate it to how you like.  When you get the rose to its desired size, hot glue the base together.  For more rolled paper rose techniques, click HERE.

Once you have all of your roses assembled, line them up on a piece of newspaper or a drop cloth and lightly spray with the spray adhesive.  While the roses are still tacky with the adhesive, sprinkle them with the Martha Stewart Glitter.  I love, love, love Martha glitter so I used a heavy hand.  Obviously the glitter is not necessary, but even if you don’t glitter them, you will want to give them a little spray just to keep the roses in place.

Next, while your roses dry (about 15 mins) wrap your straw wreath with the satin ribbon.  I like the one I used by Darice, because it is not slippery – it is more of a floral ribbon.  Hot glue the ribbon into place.  Warning- the wreath will shed some, don’t be alarmed.  The ribbon will keep it from continuing to shed. 

Start to assemble your roses onto the wreath.  This part is like a puzzle.  I just kept fitting them in and once I found a spot I liked, I hot glued it in.

Continue to place roses until you have the desired fullness.  You will be surprised by the weight of the overall wreath (that’s a lot of heavy cardstock!).  Overall I used about  75 roses on a 10” wreath.  I added a white tulle bow to hang and finish it off beautifully!

Voila!  This wreath is not only perfect for Valentine’s Day but versatile enough to stay up all year-round!

Depending on the color scheme that you choose, these fun snowflakes can stay up all winter long!  So, are you ready to make this intricate and complex-looking but low effort craft?  Here’s how:

Supplies:

• Darice Cardstock
• Glue Dots
• Paper Cutter (optional)
• Scissors
• Stapler

1. Take 6 pieces of cardstock in your choice of colors – I used white, light blue and dark blue so it can stay up all winter long.  Cut them into a square.  I used an 8.5” x 11.5 piece of paper and made it into an 8.5” x 8.5” square, and it turned out to be a very large snowflake.  Choose the size of your squares depending on how big you want your finished snowflake to be.
2. Fold the square into a triangle, and then fold it again into a smaller triangle.  Note: if your paper is not a perfect square and you have excess on the sides, that is okay, it will not show.
3. Unfold the small triangle so you are working with the big triangle piece.  Cut diagonal lines from the bottom of the fold up to just before the crease of the paper – DO NOT cut all the way to the crease!  Do the same to the other side of the triangle and match up the distance of the slits the best you can.  I cut 4 slits on each side, but that might differ depending on the size of your triangle.
4. Unfold your triangle and starting with the middle, roll the two points together, forming a tube.  Adhere with a glue dot (I started out using tape and it was a little hard to use and you could see it, so glue dots are perfect!).  Flip the paper over- so the next tube will be on the opposite side of the first- make another tube and adhere the point together.  Continue with the rest of the paper, making sure to alternate sides with each cut out.
5. Repeat steps 2 – 4 with the other 5 pieces of cardstock.
6. After all 6 sides of the snowflake are completed, take 3 of them and staple the bottom points together.  Do the same with the other 3, then staple both sets together by matching the center points together.
7. Once the snowflake is fully assembled, staple the snowflake sides together so they look more connected and do not come apart.  The staples should not show.  Add a ribbon or string to hang, and your pretty, 3D snowflake is done!

For the whole month of December we will be hosting a Winter Holiday Linky Party! Post any or all of your Christmas, winter, and holiday crafts.  Whether you made an adorable handmade snowman card, a scrumptious cake or candy recipe, or have a great holiday tip – we want to know what you have been working on!

As a way of saying “Thank you!” to all of you who link up and share your craft projects, one lucky crafter will receive a prize pack of their choice valued at $100! The categories that the winner can choose from are: scrapbooking/paper crafting, jewelry supplies, or yarn and needle crafting.  The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on the morning of December 28^th, 2011.

• Please link directly to your project, tutorial, creative tip, or recipe post by clicking the blue “Add your link” button.
• If you do not have a personal blog that you can link up to, that’s ok!  Just leave a comment to enter the contest.
• Please, no links to retail or selling sites like Etsy – we just want to share crafting ideas and tutorials.
• Link up then share on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. so everyone can join in on the crafty fun!
• We will feature some of our favorite links on Facebook for all to see!

Now, go ahead and share all of your craftiness–we can’t wait to see!

We hope that you all had a great holiday and thank you to everyone who voted in our Ornament Challenge Showdown! 

It was close, but the ornament that got the most votes was Sarah F’s Ribbon Flower Ornament!  And the randomly selected voter who will receive a prize pack worth $100 is…Maria Soto!  She said:

To sweeten the pot, the winning crafter will receive a prize AND one randomly chosen voter will receive a craft prize pack valued at $100! (The winner will get to choose the crafting category/categories that they would most like products from, i.e. paper crafts, jewelry, kid’s crafts, etc.)

To enter, just leave a comment below telling us which ornament is your favorite!

1) School Picture Keepsake Ornaments by Jenny:

2) Christmas Ribbon Flower Ornament by Sarah F:

3) Mixed Media Spool Ornament by Vicki:

4) Wooden Snowflake Ornaments by Paul:

5) Cupcake Ornaments by Sarah B:

6) Etched Glass Ornament by Niki:

7) Garland Ornaments by Jen G:

8 ) Scandinavian Bird Ornament by Christian:

9) Bead & Glitter Ornaments by Anne:

10) Snowball Ornaments by Kim L:

11) Berry Accents Ornament by Kim M:

Giveaway (Sweepstakes) Disclaimer:

• Odds of winning are based on number of entries.
• This giveaway begins: 12/21/11 and ends: 12/27/11 at 9am EST.
• To enter this sweepstakes, leave a comment on this blog post.
• One comment per person, please.
• The winner will be contacted via email
• The retail dollar value of this prize is worth: $100.00
• No purchase is necessary.
• You must be a US resident aged 18 years or older and live in the Contiguous US for be eligible to win. Sorry, my international friends!

Supplies:

• Berry Accents Vase Fillers (I used Green/Yellow Pearl and Gold Glitter)*
• 3 inch Dylite Balls or any other size/shape Styrofoam base
• Studio 71 Acrylic Paint in Iridescent Gold
• Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue
• Dual Temp Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
• Flat Paint Brushes
• (2)  24 inch pieces of 3/16 or 1/8 inch Double Faced Ribbon per ornament
  

1)  Use acrylic craft paint as a base coat. This will keep the white of the dylite from showing through any spaces between the berries.

2)  Once the paint dries, use hot glue to attach the ribbon and divide the ornament into 4 different quadrants. Start by gluing the middle of each ribbon to the bottom of the ornament, and use one or two additional glue dots to adhere each piece up the ornament, finishing at the top. I twisted the ribbon in between each dot of glue to give it a fancier look.

Berrying in Process!

3)  Working on one quadrant at a time, make lines with Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue. Using a flat brush, spread the glue around thickly to fill up the space. Place berries onto the glue, pressing softly to make sure each berry nestles into the glue.  (Note: It proved to be a little easier to do half of each ornament and allow to dry before finishing the other half, to keep the just-set berries from moving around in the wet glue.)

4)  Once the glue has dried and the berries are set, create the ribbon hanger and bow. Using two opposite pieces, gently tie a knot next to the ornament. Then tie those two ribbon pieces together at the top as well.  Take the remaining two pieces and tie them into a decorative bow around the hanger to finish off the ornament.

 Bonus: Berry Accents Topiary Christmas Tree

Berry Accents Topiary Tree

Additional supplies needed:

• Small Durafoam Cone
• 1.5 inch Star Tree Topper
• Gold Glitter (I used Martha Stewart, but Darice gold glitter might better match the berries)

I made this cute Berry Accents topiary tree much the same way as I crafted the ornaments above.  However, before I started to glue on the berries, I used hot glue to attach a glittered star tree topper. Once the berries were affixed and the tacky glue had dried, I added twisty ribbon tinsel–hot glued at the top, bottom, and once or twice in the middle–to finish off this free-standing holiday decoration.

*Note: Both ornaments and the topiary together used a little less than 1/4 of the Green/Yellow Pearl Berry Accents, and maybe 1/6 of the Gold Glitter Berry Accents. So this is a great option for those who need a lot of handmade ornaments!

Supplies:

• 70mm Glass Ball Ornament
• Aleene’s True Snow
• Martha Stewart Glitter Set
• Diamond Dust
• Paint Brush
• Food Coloring or Paint (optional)
• Ribbon

Using a paint brush, cover the glass ornament with Aleene’s True Snow, making peaks periodically around the ornament.

While the snow is still wet, sprinkle diamond dust and/or glitter until you achieve your desired look.  Let dry completely then add ribbon or hook to hang. 

For a colored Snowball Ornament, add food coloring or paint directly into the True Snow and mix well.  Follow steps above.