DIY Faux Fur Hat

-To begin grab your measuring tape. The kind that works best is the loose kind that fashion designers use.

-Measure around your head by wrapping the tape around and meeting the two ends and mark where the ends meet.

-Now measure from the top of your head down to see how far down you would like the sides of your hat to go. You probably at least want it to go halfway down your ears.

- For the top of the hat find something circular that matches the size of the top of your head. A dinner plate usually works for this. When you find the matching size, take your plate and place it on your chosen fur. Draw and cut your circle out of the fur. Repeat this for the lining.

- Take the measurements from earlier and draw out the dimensions on your fur and your lining. Cut these pieces out. You should now have a total of 4 pieces of fabric; two of the fur and two of the lining.

-Pin the front of the rectangular pieces of fabric together. Do the same for the round pieces.

-Take your round pieces and sew around leaving a small hole open; Pull right-side out through this hole.

-Take your rectangular pinned pieces of fabric and sew three of the sides, leaving one of the long sides un-sewn; Pull right-side out.

-Sew your round piece (lining facing you) to your rectangular strip (along the un-sewn side).

-Turn the entire hat inside out. You should only see fur now and the lining should now be in the inside of the hat.

Enjoy your fabulous hat!

Pretty Pink Peppermint Lip Balm

I'm in the mood for something girly again. Onto more pretty pink things. Here's a great DIY recipe for making a girly pink peppermint lip balm. You can make this for yourself, your friends, your family, etc. It's super moisturizing and nourishing for your lips. If you want to make it non-girly for the guys in your life don't add the alkanet root or the glitter.

Ingredients:

14 grams cocoa butter
14 grams almond oil
alkanet root shavings(for color)
25 grams coconut oil
12 grams beeswax
5 vitamin E capsules
15 drops of essential oil (peppermint,spearmint or another pleasing mint you like)

a sprinkle of edible sparkle/luster dust (optional: you can get this from online bakery sites)

• Combine cocoa butter, almond oil and beeswax in a heatproof bowl or similar container. Heat this container in a larger pan of warm water to melt the ingredients.
• After the mixture is melted, stir thoroughly.
• Slice open five vitamin E capsules and add the contents to the mixture (figure A).
• Add 15 drops of essential oil and the alkanet root shavings.
• (you would want to add the glitter now)Mix well and remove from heat.
• Pour into shallow lip balm pots or plastic tubes to store (figure B). You can find these online or at health food stores near the beauty supplies. The balm firms up in about 10 minutes.
  

(figA.)

(fig.B)

No-Knit Scarf

I got the Martha Stuart Magazine this month and saw this great project. A no-knit scarf. I thought it was very cute and thought I'd share it with you.

Here's a cozy yet speedy project. Cut 12 pieces of bulky-weight yarn to about 1 1/2 times the desired length of the final scarf. (We used 140-inch pieces to make an 86-inch scarf.) Divide yarn into 4 bunches of 3 strands each. Tie 2 bunches together with a square knot, leaving 6 inches of fringe at end; repeat with remaining bunches. Pin the knots to a piece of foam board. Knot inner 2 bunches of yarn together, spacing knot about 1 inch from existing knots, then knot left and right bunches together. Alternate knotting the inner bunches and the left and right ones, spacing knots evenly apart, until about 6 inches of yarn remain on the end. Finish so that final knots mirror opposite end, and trim to even the ends.

Cure for Arthritis*

I got this recipe from a great woman I work with. Her father was sort of an Apothacary. He made all of his own slaves, drinks, mixes, etc. to cure, prevent and fix any problems for himself or his family. He used this to fix his arthritis and after using it for two weeks his arthritis went away completely. It is essential to keep using this after the arthritis goes away to prevent it from coming back.

-Jack Daniels or another brand of good quality whiskey
-Mint leaves
-Hot peppers (cayenne, italian hot, etc.)
-salt
-2 jars
-a strainer

Place all the ingredients in a mason jar, cover and place in a cool dark place for about 6 months. After 6 months all the ingredients should look thick in the jar. At this point take the empty jar, place a strainer on the lid and strain the contents of the other jar into the empty jar.

Drink a shot of this mix every day forever and you should see a difference in your arthritis.

*Obviously if you are allergic to any of the ingredients do not drink this mixture. I'm not a doctor and this mix has not been scientifically proven to cure anything, I am going by the recipe handed down from father to daughter and trust in the honesty of my friend.

Why choose Organic?

I went to art school. I was surrounded by tree-hugging hippies and I hated it. They walked around barefoot (mind you this was a city, not the country), dreaded their hair (which I find dirty and disgusting), and a majority of them were vegan.

Most were self-righteous, pompous, jerks that thought I was an uncaring and evil person because I loved meat and hated hippies. I’m fine with that and found them to be huge hypocrites anyway. It always amused me that the vegans would complain that I was killing the earth and myself because I ate meat, while they all stood outside and puffed away on their cigarettes. Yeah, cuz cigarettes are sooo healthy for you and the environment….idiots.

Anyway, what they didn’t know was that I consider myself an “Organivore”. Now I’m officially calling this word my own. It is officially © by Jennifer Lena as of today. I’m going to make my millions on being a “Organivore” and writing books.(Yeah, so I have big dreams, you wish you were just as creative). My definition of an Organivore is a person that eats anything they want, as long as it’s organic. That means fruits and veggies that are free of pesticides and “super-gro” formulas. Meats that are raised in open grazing fields; hormone-free and chemical free. Raw milk that is free from the unnecessary process of homogenization. Everything is pure and natural, ensuring your body gets all the nutrients it needs in order to feed itself what it needs in order to fight off disease and sickness and gain strength.

Top 9 Reasons to Go Organic:

1. Reduce The Toxic Load: Keep Chemicals Out of the Air, Water, Soil and our Bodies
Buying organic food promotes a less toxic environment for all living things. With only 0.5 percent of crop and pasture land in organic, according to USDA that leaves 99.5 percent of farm acres in the U.S. at risk of exposure to noxious agricultural chemicals.

Our bodies are the environment so supporting organic agriculture doesn’t just benefit your family, it helps all families live less toxically.

2. Reduce if Not Eliminate Off Farm Pollution
Industrial agriculture doesn’t singularly pollute farmland and farm workers; it also wreaks havoc on the environment downstream. Pesticide drift affects non-farm communities with odorless and invisible poisons. Synthetic fertilizer drifting downstream is the main culprit for dead zones in delicate ocean environments, such as the Gulf of Mexico, where its dead zone is now larger than 22,000 square kilometers, an area larger than New Jersey, according to Science magazine, August, 2002.

3. Protect Future Generations
Before a mother first nurses her newborn, the toxic risk from pesticides has already begun. Studies show that infants are exposed to hundreds of harmful chemicals in utero. In fact, our nation is now reaping the results of four generations of exposure to agricultural and industrial chemicals, whose safety was deemed on adult tolerance levels, not on children’s. According to the National Academy of Science, “neurologic and behavioral effects may result from low-level exposure to pesticides.” Numerous studies show that pesticides can adversely affect the nervous system, increase the risk of cancer, and decrease fertility.

4. Build Healthy Soil
Mono-cropping and chemical fertilizer dependency has taken a toll with a loss of top soil estimated at a cost of $40 billion per year in the U.S., according to David Pimental of Cornell University. Add to this an equally disturbing loss of micro nutrients and minerals in fruits and vegetables. Feeding the soil with organic matter instead of ammonia and other synthetic fertilizers has proven to increase nutrients in produce, with higher levels of vitamins and minerals found in organic food, according to the 2005 study, “Elevating Antioxidant levels in food through organic farming and food processing,” Organic Center State of Science Review (1.05)

5. Taste Better and Truer Flavor
Scientists now know what we eaters have known all along: organic food often tastes better. It makes sense that strawberries taste yummier when raised in harmony with nature, but researchers at Washington State University just proved this as fact in lab taste trials where the organic berries were consistently judged as sweeter. Plus, new research verifies that some organic produce is often lower in nitrates and higher in antioxidants than conventional food. Let the organic feasting begin!

6. Assist Family Farmers of all Sizes
According to Organic Farming Research Foundation, as of 2006 there are approximately 10,000 certified organic producers in the U.S. compared to 2500 to 3,000 tracked in 1994. Measured against the two million farms estimated in the U.S. today, organic is still tiny. Family farms that are certified organic farms have a double economic benefit: they are profitable and they farm in harmony with their surrounding environment. Whether the farm is a 4-acre orchard or a 4,000-acre wheat farm, organic is a beneficial practice that is genuinely family-friendly.

7. Avoid Hasty and Poor Science in Your Food
Cloned food. GMOs and rBGH. Oh my! Interesting how swiftly these food technologies were rushed to market, when organic fought for 13 years to become federal law. Eleven years ago, genetically modified food was not part of our food supply; today an astounding 30 percent of our cropland is planted in GMOs. Organic is the only de facto seal of reassurance against these and other modern, lab-produced additions to our food supply, and the only food term with built in inspections and federal regulatory teeth.

8. Eating with a Sense of Place
Whether it is local fruit, imported coffee or artisan cheese, organic can demonstrate a reverence for the land and its people. No matter the zip code, organic has proven to use less energy (on average, about 30 percent less), is beneficial to soil, water and local habitat, and is safer for the people who harvest our food. Eat more seasonably by supporting your local farmers market while also supporting a global organic economy year round. It will make your taste buds happy.

9. Promote Biodiversity
Visit an organic farm and you’ll notice something: a buzz of animal, bird and insect activity. These organic oases are thriving, diverse habitats. Native plants, birds and hawks return usually after the first season of organic practices; beneficial insects allow for a greater balance, and indigenous animals find these farms a safe haven.

It's hard to switch completely over. I still sneak in a few of my favorites once in a while. The most important thing to remember here is that everytime you spend a dollar somewhere, you're voting with your wallet. That's an important concept to think of with anything. When you drop $10 at mcdonalds for that quick burger you're not just going their because you're hungry, you're paying to support all the chemicals that went into growing the tomatoes and lettuce in that state across the country. You're okaying the fact that your meat came from a cow that never grazed outside, but was probally living is squalor, standing wedged between other cows that were diseased, fed hormones and who knows what else. And really have you tasted mcdonalds hamburgers lately? They're truely the most awful things I've ever had and really for the same price as that "value meal" I got I could've spent $2 more and gone down the street and actually felt full on a quality meal at a nice restaurant.

So next time you feel the urge to go and get that meal-on-the-run remember who your giving you money to and what you're supporting.

Super-Simple Organic Conditioner

If your hair looks tired and dry, brittle and frizzy, or just plain needs a boost; this is what your hair is craving. My hair was always damaged, frizzy and unmanageable. I've switched to organic and will never go back. All the alcohol in the other conditioners dried out my hair. This leaves it silky, shiny & manageable.

Ingredients:

• 1 Avocado
• 1 tbs.Coconut oil
• 1 tbs Jojoba or tea tree oil
• 2 tbs. REAL Mayonnaise
• 1 Egg
• 1 tbs.Lemon juice
• 1 tsp.Sea Salt
• 1 tbs. Pure Aloe

Instructions:

Avocado
One-tablespoon lemon juice
One teaspoon of sea salt
One tablespoon of pure aloe
Directions:
Peel, remove seed, and mash the avocado. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until you have a paste.
Apply:
Comb through hair, and then cover hair with a plastic shower cap. Leave in for 20-30 minutes. Rinse, shampoo as usual.

Peppermint Centerpieces

This is a fun and festive centerpiece you can make for the holidays.

What You’ll need:

-Real or Fake Roses(whatever color you prefer. I suggest red or white)

-A round ball of floral foam(for real flowers make sure you soak in water) or a round ball of Styrofoam(for fake flowers)

-Greens and baby’s breath

-A thick wooden stick

-white paint

-Red ribbon

-A coffee can

-A large bag of peppermint sticks

-Two rubber bands

-Thick red ribbon(or a premade red bow)

-peppermints(the round ones)

-glue

-dirt, sand, or another material to weigh down the can

-floral sticks

To Assemble:

-Take your coffee can and fill with the dirt, sand, or other weight material you have chosen.

-Take the two rubber bands and place around the outside of the can.

-Take your peppermint sticks and begin to place them under the rubber bands. Continue this until the container is completely covered.

-Move the rubber bands down so that they are in the center of the container.

-Take the Thick ribbon and wrap a strip around the container, covering the rubber bands.

-Tie in a knot.

-With remaining thick ribbon create a bow and place it in front of the knot. Glue in place if necessary.

-Take your stick and paint it white. Take the thin ribbon and add glue to the backside. Wrap it around the stick in a spiral motion.

-Take the ball of floral foam or Styrofoam(depending on what kind of flowers you have chosen) and place it on top of the stick.

-Take the stick and place it into your dirt, sand, etc.

-Begin making your arrangement. Evenly space out the roses, greens & baby’s breath until the ball is covered. Use the wooden floral sticks on the "harder to push in things" like the baby's breath and greens.

-To finish scatter the round peppermint candies in the pot to cover your dirt, sand, etc.

This centerpiece looks lovely for the holidays, makes a great gift that children and adults love and looks great as wedding centerpieces when the colors are themed red and white.

Pink “Snowball” Coconut cupcakes with Raspberry Cream filling

I love things that are festive. I also love things that are girly. When the two are combined I'm a very happy camper. You're probably thinking that you can't combine the holidays with girly, but now you can! I wanted an excuse to combine pretty pink color, delicious flavor and festivity all in one. I got it by combining recipes and adding a twist and a new name. This is your traditional coconut cupcake, but with a surprise inside and out. The filling is raspberry cream and so is the frosting. A typical snowball would be white, but why not make them pink and pretty? If you still want that little bit of "Holiday color" you're missing, take a raspberry and place it on top of the cupcakes.

Cupcakes

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut
Red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.
Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Filling & Frosting

Pastry bag with tip
2 (6-ounce) containers fresh raspberries, cut in half or 1 (16-ounce) container fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Using a fork, coarsely mash 1 1/2 containers of raspberries in a medium bowl. Beat the cream and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Fold the mashed raspberries into the whipped cream. Fill the pastry bag with the filling mix. Puncture the cupcake and squeeze a little bit of the filling into the middle. Frost the cupcakes by piping the top with the remaining pastry bag filling. Place 1 drop of red food coloring into a bowl of the remaining coconut. Mix well until you have an even coating of a pretty pink color. Sprinkle the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining coconut.

These can also make beautiful gifts or Wedding Cupcakes. Wedding cupcakes are becoming just as popular as the cake and are very cute and trendy. If you color is different than pink, substitute the correct color food coloring. If no food coloring is available in your colors, try plain white or dust metallic edible food dust powder over the tops.

How to give a personalized gift without an embroidery machine.

I’m still in Holiday Gift giving mode, thinking about what things to make my friends and family. I just came up with another great gift idea; monogrammed gifts!

Then the realization came that I had no embroidery machine.

Flipping through the catalogs and shopping online let me to realize that they cost about $2,000…. A little bit more than what I carry in my back pocket. Remember I’m a starving artist here.

So then I realized that I can do one of two things:

1.) Go to the store and buy an embroidery hoop and figure out how to embroider.

2.) Try to utilize my sewing machine as a makeshift embroidery machine.

Trust me I’m like the Mcguiver of working with what’s available at hand with crafts and I’ve decided to share with you how to do both .

First I’ll do the sewing machine version because it seems to be the fastest of the two, and I know how just about everyone in this world needs more time.

Sewing Machine Monograms

What you need:

-You’ll need to get iron on interfacing and iron it into the backside of your fabric

-A heavier weight interfacing piece

-A stencil with the letter of your choosing

-A pen in a similar color to your thread

-Thread

-A sewing machine

-pins

How To:

-Take your fabric and place the heavier weight interfacing piece under where you would like your letter to go and pin in place.

-Take your stencil and place it on top of your fabric.

-Draw the outline of your letter on the fabric

-Remove the stencil and place the fabric in your sewing machine

-Set the stich to zigzag or a combo setting so you get a “thick” line

-sew around the line you drew on your fabric.

-Done!

The hand- sewn Gift

Some of us don’t have the luxury of owning a sewing machine. Here is how to embroider your monogram “the jen way”.

What you’ll need:

- embroidery hoop

- thread

- sewing needles

- a clear sheet of acetate

- a small craft knife (looks like a pen with a mini x-acto blade)

- your choosen fabric

- a piece of interfacing (can be left out if you’re careful)

- a printer

Instructions:

-Create a new document in your computer’s document program (word, wordperfect, etc.)

-Select from the list of fonts, which font you would like to use.

-Type in the letter(s) you would like to use in the correct size you would like to see them on the fabric. ( a good size would probably be 72pt font or higher)

-Print your letter(s) out on the acetate sheet.

-Take your craft knife and cut out the shape of the letter(s)

-Place your now created stencil over the area of the fabric you would like your monogram to appear on.

-Take your pen and outline the shape of the stencil.

-Remove the stencil and place the fabric with the outlined shape into the hoop.

-Thread your needle and start by pushing your thread up through the underside of the fabric. If you don’t you’ll see the knot you made.

-Sew your shape either via the outline you made, or do a filled in shape.

If you do the filled in shape you’ll be doing a “satin stitch”

Begin as you would for a running stitch, by making a single stitch. Bring your needle back up through the fabric directly next to where you began the first stitch. Make a parallel stitch to the first as close to the first stitch as possible. Repeat to create a solid field.

A case of the Winter-Skin Blues

If you live in an area that gets chilly in the winter you're probably familiar with the awful skin that goes along with the season. It includes:
-Cracking
-Flaking
-Bleeding
-Itchiness
-Dryness

I know many people that suffer from some or all of the ailments I listed above during the colder months. I had one friend that tried to remedy her cracked hands by sleeping with about a pound of cream on her hands and then covering them with gloves to hold in the moisture. Her husband was not a fan.

I've found a pretty good solution to beat the "Winter-Skin Blues" as I've named them. While your in the shower use a hardcore body scrub and then immediately after you're done slather a good amount of body cream all over your body. That way the cream gets sealed into your skin.

I believe that organic is the way to go with anything you put on your body. I have a great body scrub recipe and body cream recipe that'll whip your skin into shape in combating that evil winter air. You'll be glowing in no time...don't fret.

You can also turn these into great x-mas gifts for friends and family!

Lemon-Brown Sugar Body Scrub (http://www.organicauthority.com)

Ingredients
1/4 cup coarse brown sugar (to gently exfoliate without drying)
1 cup grapeseed oil (to moisturize)
1/4 cup grated lemon peel (to invigorate your senses)

Directions
1. Mix together all ingredients.
2. Gently rub on your body in a circular motion. Concentrate on rough areas like elbows, knees and heels.
3. Rinse with water.

Almond Joy Body Lotion (http://www.add-adhd-help-center.com)

This almond body lotion recipe will relieve even the driest skin.

1/2 cup water
1/8 tsp. borax powder
1/2 cup almond oil
1 tsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. grated beeswax
2 Tbsp. honey
3-4 drops orange Essential Oil (optional)

To Make This Body Lotion Recipe: Mix water and borax together, stirring until well mixed. Set aside. Mix together the almond oil, coconut oil, honey, and beeswax in a glass measuring cup. Place the cup with the oils-beeswax mixture in a pan of water (about 1 to 2" of water), making a water bath. Heat over medium heat until the beeswax is melted (8 to 10 min.), stirring occasionally. When the wax is melted, bring the water/borax solution almost to boiling (put the glass cup with the water/borax in the microwave on High for 1 min., or use a water bath on the stove top). Remove the oil-beeswax mixture from the water bath and pour into blender. Slowly add water/borax to the mixture in the blender and whip. Allow the lotion to cool completely. The consistency may seem a bit thin, but it will thicken as it cools. You may add the orange Essential Oil now if you wish. Pour into a lidded container. To use: massage a small amount into your skin.

This body lotion recipe leaves your skin feeling and looking radiant. The Almond Joy Body Lotion feels silky-smooth and smells terrific. This body lotion is a lavish and invigorating way to treat your skin.

It is easy to make an affordable, skin nourishing and pampering bath and body product. Feel free to substitute or add other essential oils to personalize your body lotion recipe. The recipe can be left without fragrance or essential oils can be added for therapeutic benefit.

Creams and lotions are made by combining oil-based, which provide nourishing properties, and water-based ingredients to moisturize the skin. Creams and lotions are the only skin care applications that moisturize and nourish at the same time.

Here's a quick, inexpensive and easy packaging idea; Removing labels off empty glass jars. Relish jars, olive jars and baby food jars all work well. Spray paint the lids with a granite spray. Hand lotion recipes packaged in a cobalt bottle or a brushed aluminum bottle always present well. Or, place your almond body lotion recipe in decorative bottles. For an added touch, write the recipe on a little card and tie the recipe onto the bottle with ribbon or raffia.

Christmas gifts - Snowflake Cookies

I decided to create Holiday cookies this year for my boyfriends family. These aren't just any cookies. These are going to be the most beautiful (and tasty) cookies you've ever seen.

I've been looking everywhere for the perfect snowflake cookie cutter and I finally found one last night at Williams Sonoma. $8 was more expensive than I would normally spend on a cookie cutter, but it's HUGE and it's copper, so it's okay.

Anyway I know exactly what I want and how I want to make them. These will probably be sugar cookies, but rather than frost them the traditional way I've decided to use a fondant. While the Wilton brand fondant is easy and already made for you, it tastes horrible. So I went on the hunt for another nice fondant recipe.

I found a great marshmallow fondant recipe that sound easy and delicious. You can purchase a prepackaged sugar cookie mix if you want to speed things up a bit, that's what I'll be doing.

Here is the Fondant Recipe:

Marshmallow fondant
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 tbsp water
1 1/2- 1 3/4 cup powder sugar

Place marshmallows in a standard 1 cup measuring cup and push down and pack them in. Place in a microwave safe bowl and add the water. Put in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Just long enough for them to soften and puff up. Take out and stir with a spoon until it is combined well. At this point it looks kind of soupy. Then add the sugar and mix and fold until all is incorporated and it is no longer sticky. I take it out of the bowl when it gets to the point where most of the sugar is incorporated and I knead it in my hands. This takes roughly about 5-7 minutes. Take a fondant roller or a regular rolling pin and roll out just as you would Wilton's fondant. You can get this fondant almost paper thin and it also repairs well. It's cheap, easy to work with, and tastes great too.

You can make a large batch of this fondant as well by doing this:

Large batch of Marshmallow fondant
1- 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows
2 tbsps water
2 lbs powdered sugar (8 cups)

Do the same procedure as above.

To Get the perfect snowflake shape just reuse the cookie cutter you used for your cookies on the fondant. Cut out the snowflake shape and you have a perfectly even and smooth "frosting" on your cookies.

To Decorate the Snowflakes:

-Superfine sugar
-food coloring
-edible beads
-frosting
-piping bags and tips

-While the cookie is cooling, Make your fondant. If you want your fondant white, leave it as is. Some people want a pale blue cookie with contrasting white frosting or sugar. If so I'd suggest adding 1 drop blue food coloring to the large batch of fondant (remember a little bit of food coloring goes a looong way).
-Cut out your fondant with the cookie cutter.
-If you would like your entire cookie to "glisten" take a brush and dip it lightly in water. "paint" the surface of the fondant with the water and immediately sprinkle the superfine sugar over the fondant.
-To add extra sparkle you can add the edible beads.
-You can also simply decorate you cookie with the white on white and a little shimmer. After the fondant is placed on the cookie, decorate around the edges of the cookie with frosting. Sprinkle the frosting with the sugar and viola, you have a shimmery snowflake.

DIY Christmas Presents - Gold and Silver Ornaments

Last year I made some Christmas Presents for friends and relatives. The gifts turned out wonderful. I decided to follow the same path for some of my presents this year as well. Just because you're doing presents yourself doesn't mean you're giving someone something that looks cheap. Some of the gifts I make end up looking like they cost a lot of money and then you get a lot of excitement when people find out you actually made the gifts yourself.

Last year I made beautiful ornaments for my boyfriends family and my family. The ornaments, if sold in a high end store would probably go for $10-$20 / ornament.

Here's what you need to create the beautiful ornaments:

-Get plain clear glass bulbs (usually sold around the holidays in large packs at a local craft store)
-Gluegun and sticks
-mini plastic snowflakes(usually come in bag near the scrapbooking section)
-organza ribbon(thinner the better)
-silver bulbs
-different plan bulbs
-squiggly gold spray (in the flower section)

*Go into the bridal section of your local craft store and look for the following:
-Gold and Silver ribbon (the thinner the better)
-mini pearls(on a strand)
-mini roses
-larger pearls

You can stick to one kind or color bulb that you want to create. I'm showing you how to make many kinds so that you have a variety and you have options if you know someone has a certain color or decor.

To Decorate the Inside of a Bulb:

-Pull off the metal piece on the top of the bulb, this is the section that holds the bulb on the tree.
-Take three pieces of the squiggly gold spray you got from the flower section and cut the end off them. You should be cutting about a 5" piece.
-Take the 3 5" pieces and hot glue them to the inside part of the metal piece (you'll have to hold them for a second as they dry or else they'll flop over.
-Once dry push the strands into the bulb and secure the top on the bulb.

To decorate the outside of a Bulb:

-Cut a strand of ribbon(whatever color you want) and begin to make a bow. What I do is try to shape about 2-3 loops in my hand and hotglue those down to the top of the metal piece. Then as I form more loops I glue them down.
-To hide the glue and any bow mistakes add embellishments like sprays, flowers, pearls, etc.

-You can also double up your bows, like I did on many of my ornaments. For example I'd start with a gold bow and then do a thinner organza bow in front of it. Or I'd do an organza bow and a very thin pearl bow in front of it.

Pictures coming soon of my ornaments. I'll probably have them up by Monday evening.

Welcome

Hello & welcome to my blog. I am an artist that loves to draw, design & create. I decided to create my own blog to help others that want to create & have fun, but might not know how exactly to do it. I hope that others can join me in posting to help the community have fun and create exciting things.