Thursday, November 1, 2012

12 Days of Christmas--Day One

On the first day of Christmas Beyond the Picket Fence gave to me...a swag with some rusticity.  
 Did I not warn you the rhymes would be bad?  Only so many words rhyme with me.  Now, I have a confession to make, I have had a tough time coming up with Christmas ideas to share.  I have some plans for some fun things, but they haven't happened yet.  I have been working on the smaller. crafty things and the conclusion I have come to is that I am not really a "crafter". I like to think bigger--furniture, home decor that serves a purpose, wood and power tools.  Coming up with smaller decor items is a challenge.  I look and I play and I think and I put it down and come back to it.  I am getting ready for a Christmas market and I need some of these smaller items to sell, and I use them in my holiday decor, I am just more comfortable with a sliding compound miter saw than I am with a glue gun.  So with that confession made, here is my first project--a  swag with some rustic elements.

I started with some little tart tins that were shiny.  I put them in vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and salt.
Within a day, the tins were rusty.  A few of them did not have enough rust on them so I sprinkled some more salt on them which gave them a nice, crusty rust.
And then they sat because I wasn't sure what to do with them. They are adorable as ornaments, but you all have seen that.  I finally decided to paint some letters in them and use them in a little swag.  I drilled holes in them to attach them to some jute twine.
I also made some paper stars for these.  I drew these on old book pages and sewed around them, erased the pencil and then cut them out and punched a hole in them.  These were fun to make, you might see more of these. 
I used some fake greenery--I am not a big fan of fakes, but this stuff looks good.  I laid it out and tied the top with jute.  I also added a jute loop to hang it and big burlap "ribbon" knot.
 Simple and perfect for a Montana cabin.

Now it is your turn to link up your Christmas ideas.  This linky party will remain open through Christmas.  I will be sharing it every day of my 12 Days of Christmas.  There will be no 12 days of Christmas posts on Sundays or Wednesdays, I will share my regular Sunday Verses and linky party on those days.  Please read the linky party rules, thanks!

12 Days of Christmas Linky Party Rules
1.  Please link up only Christmas or other winter holiday (i.e. Hanukkah, Kwanzaa) ideas.
2.  Please include my 12 Days of Christmas button on your blog or a link back to my blog.
3.  Please visit each other's posts and comment.
4.  No direct links to items you are selling.
Thank you--have fun!


7 comments:

  1. Becky...Thank you...Thank you ...Thank you....For having this Party so early....I have been preparing for a Christmas Open House that starts tomorrow...And I have been feeling like it is so early...You have totally lifted my spirits..Blessings, Becky

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  2. becky--I look forward to all of these projects. You're off to a great start! Very sweet swag!

    crafty? I totally understand what you mean. Sometimes when I have to do a craft post, I get very frustrated with the planning stages. Like you, I'd prefer to be building!

    gail

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  3. I'm excited for this. Can't wait to see what everybody links up. Certainly puts me in the festive mood :)

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  4. I have a few of those little tins I picked up at sales knowing someone would make something I could copy. So I'm pinning the wreath.

    Bliss

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  5. I LOVE your joy hanging thingy.... pinning!

    Crystelle
    http://www.crystelleboutique.com

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  6. I love how you made the tins rusty! I'm going to have to try that. Great project!!!

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  7. I love to look at your blog! You have such wonderful ideas and projects. My husband made an outdoor serving table and bench that was inspired by you! Each plank on the top was painted a different color and was distressed. It came out beautifully!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate your kind words!