12 Days of Christmas, Day 9, Scrappy Wreath

Tired of doling out dollars every year for an evergreen wreath? Looking for a fresh idea to greet guests at your front door?  Try a scrappy wreath!

I had this wood wreath maker, thingy from Michaels.

I used some scrap wood pieces--approximately 4"-7" long.  I painted these red, white, and green.  I had about 5 more than I needed, just to have some extra to "play with" and fit in. Lay out the first layer and then turn it over and screw through the back of the wreath into the wood.

Then turn over and place the second layer of pieces.  I screwed through the top of these, and touched up the screws with paint.  

I added a big burlap bow with "tendrils"--jute and ribbon and rick-rack pieces.  I had a house number 2 and 5 to add to the bow, but put them somewhere special so I wouldn't lose them. After an hour or so of looking and rusty old keys took the place of the numbers.  You could use vintage Christmas decorations or anything, have fun with it.

A wreath any wood scrapper will love!

12 Days of Christmas, Day 8, Rustic, Simple Nativity

I have always loved the Nativity or creche, because for me, it is the focus of Christmas.  A restless night of sleep the other night led to this simple idea.

Some reclaimed wood, secured with screws to make the barn and manger, 

and a star made from folding ruler pieces was all it took to create a rustic, wall hanging Nativity scene.  I glued the star together with E6000, using rubberbands to hold it together until it dried.

I hot glued a little moss into the manger and added a rolled up piece of burlap and a washer for a baby Jesus.  

Most of the pictures do not show baby Jesus--I knew I need a baby and my friend Bliss Ranch gave me the burlap idea.

I love the simplicity of it and the focus on the manger.

12 Days of Christmas, Day 7, Ironing Board Tree?

There is a question mark in that title, why?  I don't know why other than I did not know what to call this project :).  But, as you can see--an ironing board it is.

While perusing the thrift store one day (aka, racing around the store as fast as possible on half price day so I can grab the good junk first) I spied a green, metal ironing board and noticed it looked very much like a tree.  By the way, I did not have to do battle with anyone over the old ironing board--which is often the case with the junk I seek.  Others seem to like "more normal" junk than I do.   

Back to the ironing board tree.  I saw it, saw a tree, saw the holes for lights and knew it had potential.  Most thrift stores seem to have a metal ironing board on a weekly basis.  If you cannot find a green one, simply paint it.  It would be pretty painted white too. Hubby broke the weld on the legs and took those off for me (with some rather loud hammer banging).  I used a hundred count light set, which was more than enough, sticking them through the holes and securing them with big ol' globs of hot glue.  At first, I was putting the lights in a zig-zag pattern.  I did not like that so I redid it in a random pattern instead.

I screwed through the bottom edge of the ironing board to add a tree stump.  This is for looks--you must hand the tree on a wall, it won't sit on this "stump".

A star glued to the top 

and Christmas bulbs glued to magnets

and that is all it takes to make your own ironing board, Christmas tree card holder.  

I did add the burlap sack and a few "gifts" around the bottom to hide the cord.  

Sunday Verses

12 Days of Christmas, Day 6, Vintage Luggage

Don't you just adore vintage luggage?  The sturdy boxy shape, lovely handles, and satiny insides.  I can just imagine the trips these pieces have gone on--cross-country train rides, steamer ships, big, old airplanes where the stewardesses wore little pill hats.

I pick up vintage suitcases whenever I can find them at an affordable price (Boy, do I wish I would have snatched them all up several years ago when they were a dime a dozen!).  I decided to use one from the stash to make a sweet Christmas decoration, that is useful too.

After gluing down some of the edges, I painted it with red Chalk Paint from Annie Sloan.  I then found this adorable vintage graphic at The Graphics Fairy--she has so many to choose from!

I Modge Podged it on.  The way I learned to do Modge Podge to help avoid bubbles is to put the glue both on the back of the paper and on the item you are sticking it to.  I get bubbles still, but as it dries they seem to disappear. TIP: Spray your image with a clear sealer spray before decoupaging so the colors won't run.  Use a light coat or two, if it is too heavy the ink will run.

When it was dry, I added a border of modge podge with a paint brush and then some clear glitter.  

A ribbon tied to the scrumptious handle, 

and a coat of clear spray to protect it all and hopefully keep the glitter on there a bit better finished up this sweet suitcase.  

And the best part, it gives you extra storage--a place to hide your "normal" decor and a place to store Christmas decor the rest of the year.

12 Days of Christmas, Day 5, Junk in the Trunk Tree

What is your favorite Christmas symbol or "thang"?  Do you collect stars, nativities, snowmen, or trees?

Me? I love trees, and Christmas trees are my favorite.  So I knew I had to come up with a fun, new tree this year--and JUNK in the trunk (tree trunk, that is) was perfect.

 I joined together two pieces of barnwood and painted it green and then white.

I collected junk that was rectangular in shape, such as door lock "whatchamajigs"

a fisherman's knife, and a Jello mold star topper.

Attach the junk to the barnwood with screws if possible--I glued the yardstick piece with E6000.

I added a simple, reclaimed wood "frame".

Create your own "junk in the trunk" tree.

Each one is unique and a fun treasure hunt to come up with the perfect branches

PS--Coming Soon!

Sunday Verses

12 Days of Christmas, Day 4, Ribbon Tree

Decorating for Christmas, what does that entail at your house?  Do you put up a tree and call it good?  Do you Christmasfy every nook and cranny?  In the past, I did the latter.  Decorating involved several rooms in the house--bathrooms, kitchen, the kids' rooms.  

Nowadays, I fall somewhere in between the two extremes.  I love to decorate the main living areas, but the bathroom may just get a Christmas scented candle and the children have grown (except the 11 year old daughter--she does her own room).  But, decorating does involve putting away my usual decor and that includes artwork hanging on the wall.  I love to create new things to take the place of my everyday wall decor like this ribbon tree.

My ribbon star was such a hit last year, that I decided to try a different ribbon creation this year.  I started by joining together two pieces of barnwood.

I whitewashed the wood and then drew a Christmas tree with chalk.

Screw 1" screws into the points of the tree.

Tie a ribbon on the top screw--I did put a dab of hot glue on this to secure it.  

Start wrapping the ribbon around the screws to create your tree.

Tie off the ribbon at the top.  I forgot pictures of the rest of it, but I then added 4 screws to create the trunk and a red bow on the top.

I decided the tree needed garland so I added a few more screws UNDER the green tree ribbon and loosely wrapped jute around them.

You could make a BIG version of this and clothespin Christmas cards on the garland, but I like it as just some fun Christmas art--something fresh and a little different.

12 Days of Christmas, Day 3, Merry Christmoose

On the third day of Christmas...If any of you have been reading my blog for a few years, you may have noticed one other difference from my usual 12 Days of Christmas--no horrible rhymes this year.

Honestly, I forgot, but it has made the posts easier and I am sure easier to read too.

So, have you noticed the woodland/forest animal trend that has become so hot this past year or so?  Let me tell you, I think I am a bit behind on this trend.  I live in Montana, woodland creatures (aka, dinner) are ALWAYS popular here.  Before marrying my husband 25 years ago I made him agree to the "dead animals decorate the garage" theory.  Now, I am bringing them into the house.

However, this moose trophy requires no traipsing through the woods, no gutting, no trips to the taxidermist.  

All you need to create this chic lodge art are some old doilies (one item I always look for at the thrift stores on 1/2 price days).

I sketched out a moose head on some construction paper, you can also print one.

I laid the doilies over my sketch, cutting where I needed to.  

I tried to not just cut the doily wherever, but as much as possible to cut along the shapes and designs in the doily.

I joined two pieces of barnwood to adhere the doilies to.  You could use a piece of plywood painted, or even put this on a piece of stretched burlap.  I slightly darkened and cleaned up the wood using a little bit of coconut oil.  I have been using this more and more--it is safe and environmentally friendly, moisturizes my hands as I use it, and smells divine.  I rubbed it in well so the glue would stick.

After conferring with some fellow junkers, I chose to use E6000 to adhere the doilies, putting small dabs of it on the edges and on the larger parts of each doily.

I brought the doilies over to the wood from the construction paper, piece by piece.  In retrospect, it would have been easier to lay it all out on the wood BEFORE starting to glue.

I must say, I love my lacey christmoose--

the juxtaposition of the lace on the rough barnwood and the unexpected shabby chic moose makes me smile.  Of course, you could do all kinds of fun shapes with this same basic idea, Christmas tree, a star, a reindeer. Happy creating!