Red Faux Berry Heart

Perfect for your after Christmas decor, this heart uses red beads to mimic winter berries and the heart shape will carry you all the way through till spring.

Things you’ll need:
12 gauge wire
Wire cutters
String of red berry beads
Ribbon or string

Things to do:
1. Cut a length of wire about three feet long.

2. Thread the beads onto the wire. You can leave the beads strung on the thread as you wire them to make keeping them together easier and then trim the thread and excess beads off once it’s full or you can string them one by one.

3. Find the halfway point and bend in half, Using your knee or something rounded as a guide, shape the top of the heart on either side of the bend.

4. Pull the ends together and twist the wire to lock it in place. Trim away any excess wire and hang with a ribbon or string.

Winter Fun Ice Marbles

When the temperature drops below zero, there is a little less you can do in terms of our door decorations, but these ice marbles are one thing you can do. And boy are they fun!

Things you’ll need:
Balloons
Water
Food Coloring
Glitter (optional)

Things to do:
1. Stretch open the top of the balloon and add a few drops of food coloring to the inside, as well as glitter as if you want.
2. Pull the top over the end of the faucet, and, supporting the bottom of the balloon, fill it with water until the bottom of the balloon is nice and round.
3. Tie the balloon off tightly and flip it into the snow, knot down. Leave outside until it’s nice and hard.

4. Cut the balloon at the knot end and peel away the rubber. Then display out in your yard!

Mini Outdoor Ice Wreath

If you, like me, live in a place where the temperatures hover around (or under) freezing, even during the day all winter, you might find yourself limited to do some outdoor things due to the weather. But constant cold has it’s advantages, like these pretty little ice wreaths.

Things you’ll need:
Mini Bundt pans
Ribbon
Water
Berries and/or herbs

Things to do:
1. Fill the pan about halfway with water and then add the berries or herbs, arranging them in the pattern. Pop them in the freezer until hard.

2. Settle the ends of a length of ribbon onto the ice and add more water to cover. Set in the freezer until hard again.

3. Once frozen, pull the pans out of the freezer for a minute to let the surface thaw slightly and then turn the wreaths out. Hang outside in the shade out of direct sunlight to help them last longer.

Mini Spool Sewing Pins

If you have a sewer in your life, then you have sewing pins. And while sewing pins are, primarily, workhorses, there’s no reason they can’t be fun as well. These cute little spool pins make a great adornment for your pincushion while still remaining useful. While we wrapped ours in patterned tape, you could use paper, ribbon or even thread to decorate yours!

Things you’ll need:
Mini spools
Washi tape or ribbon
Craft glue
Bead headed sewing pins (quilting/corsage pins)

Things to do:
1. Wrap the tape or ribbon around the center of the spool, filling the space where the thread would go on a real spool. Optionally you can cover the top of the spool as well.

2. Add a generous amount of glue to the top of the pin and insert it into the hole, just inside the bottom of the spool.


3. Allow the glue to dry before using.

Mini Spool Tree

Here’s a Christmas ornament for the crafty person in your life – a mini spool tree! While we painted our spools green, you can easily adjust the colors of this tree to suit your holiday décor, or make a year round version to decorate your craft space by wrapping the spools in patterned paper!

Things you’ll need:
Mini spools
Green acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Narrow ribbon
Craft glue or hot glue gun and glue stick

Things to do:
1. Depending on the size of the tree you want, set out your spools, making sure you have one more (for the trunk!) than you’ll need for the tree. Paint the “tree” spools green and allow them to dry. Leave the final spool unpainted.


2. Thread your ribbon through the trunk spool and though the center spool on every row with an odd number of spools. Thread back through again, leaving a loop at the top and tying a knot at the bottom.

3. Between the trunk and the first threaded spool, sandwich two spools, gluing them to each other, the ribbon and the spools below and above it. Add enough spools on either side to make the bottom row.
4. Add spools to the next (odd numbered) row as well to finish the row, gluing them to their neighbors as well as the ones below.
5. Repeat this process until you reach the top. Allow the glue to dry and then hang it up and enjoy!

Mini Spool Ornament

This is the perfect little ornament for the crafter on your list. For me, (although I’m a crafter myself if you hadn’t guessed) that’s my daughter, who has recently dived into sewing, gluing and painting with both feet. So this year I’ve made her a special little sewing themed ornament for her little bedroom tree. If you have a little (or big) crafter that needs something special for their tree, look no further.

Things you’ll need:
Wooden spool
Buttons
Embroidery thread
Embroidery needle

Things to do:
1. Wrap thread around the spool until it looks nice and full. Tie off or glue the end in place.

2. Thread the needle with about a 12-inch piece of embroidery thread.
3. Stack your buttons and spool and more buttons in the order you want them to hang.
4. Draw the needle and thread through the button you want on the top and then through the rest of the stack. When you get to the bottom, leave a generous loop and draw the thread back up in the opposite order.

5. Tie a knot at the bottom and the top, creating a loop at the top for hanging and trim the bottom loop into tails for decoration.

PomPom Bookmarks

These bookmarks are a great way to use up the last of your yarn scraps or bakers twine and make a fun, simple and functional gift. And they are so easy that your kids can help you (or take over!) If the long piece accidentally gets cut while trimming your pompoms hair, don’t worry, simply thread a length of yarn onto a darning needle and draw it through each pompom a few ties, tying it tightly on the other side and trimming the tail to length.

Things you’ll need:
Yarn or bakers twine
Scissors

Things to do:
1. Wrap the yarn around your fingers, the more fingers you use, the larger the pompom will be, here we used four fingers and wrapped each pompom about 100 times around.

2. When you have a good bulk on your wrapping stop but do not cut the string. Using the tail and the string still connected to the ball, tie tightly around the middle of the wad, slipping it off your fingers as you work. Be sure to get it nice and tight.

3. Measure out a length on the attached string that is about as long as you want the bookmark and then add a little bit and start wrapping again, trying to get the same bulk as the first one.
4. Tie off as you did with the first pompom and then cut through the loops (but not the connecting string!).
5. Lightly roll the pompoms in your hand to round them then trim away any excess to create a nice ball shape. Slip the connecting string between the pages of your favorite book and you are set!

DIY Snowy Tree Cones

I happen to live in a snowy climate, which I love, I really do. But if you aren’t lucky enough to live where a snowy winter view is out your window, or, if, like me you are, but you can’t get enough of the white stuff, then this is the holiday project for you.

Things you’ll need:
Fiberboard doll cones
Green acrylic paint (at least two greens)
White acrylic paint
Paintbrushes
Disposable cup

Things to do:
1. Paint the cones with several thin coats of green paint until the brown cardboard no longer shows through.

2. Once the green paint is dry, pour white into the cup and thin slightly if needed.
3. Dip the top of the cone into the white paint and shake slightly to get rid of most of the excess paint.
4. Flip the cones over if you want snowy drips or allow it to dry hanging upside down over a covered work surface for a straight line and a more modern look.

DIY Rustic Manger Scene

I have a nativity set that’s been in my family since I was a little girl. And while my kids are fascinated with it and feel the constant need to shift the characters around, it’s fragile and special and just not something I’m comfortable with them playing with. Just in case. So this year I’ve made them their own (unbreakable) set.

Things you’ll need:
Wooden peg dolls – two large female dolls, one large male, one small male
Fabric scraps
Acrylic paint in blue, white and brown
Narrow ribbon
Paintbrush
Hot glue gun and glue stick
Brown felt
Lace
Scissors

Things to do:
1. Paint the bodies of the dolls. Paint one of the girls white and one blue and the large male doll brown.


2. Cut a half circle of fabric for Mary’s dress, a rectangle of fabric for Joseph and round the ends of a length of lace for the angle. Create a bow out of lace for the angles wings.

3. Cut a rounded wedge of the felt and set the baby in so the head is at the point. Glue the rounded edge to the bottom of the baby and then wrap the ends around it’s body, gluing to secure.

4. Using glue and ribbon, wrap the rectangle of fabric around Josephs head and the half circle of fabric around Mary’s body.
5. Wrap the lace around the angle, crossing over in the front and securing the ends with glue. Attach the wings to her back with glue as well.
6. Trim away flyaway fabric ends and hot glue strings and set up your scene.

DIY Wire Coil Trees

These coiled wire trees are modern and fun and super easy to make. Change up the metal the wire is made from (copper would be cool!) and the size of the gauge to alter the style and make a whole forest of them for your winter displays. Because you aren’t applying anything to the cone, but are just using it as a form, you can use an already decorated cone if necessary.

Things you’ll need:
Doll cones
Wire
Wire cutters

Things to do:
1. Tightly wrap the wire around the top of the cone, bending the end down so that it gets hidden under the coils.

2. Wrap around the tree, down to the bottom and back up again several times until you have a good even coverage.

3. Pull the coil off the tree and cut two three-inch lengths of extra wire.
4. Wrap the short pieces around the bottom few coils to flatten the bottom a little, bending the tree as needed to straighten the tree.