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crafts

easy embroidered felt ornaments | christmas crafts

I have been wanting to make some felt ornaments for a while.  In fact, I purchased all of the supplies last Christmas and just never got around to it.  But, this Christmas season, I’ve been feeling extra crafty, so I got out my felt and embroidery thread and made a few easy embroidered felt ornaments. For inspiration, I looked at a few felt ornaments I already owned.  I have some of from and a couple of other references that were gifts.  I share these ornaments in the video tutorial embedded below.  I didn’t copy them, but rather used them as a jumping-off point for inspiration.  I wanted to keep these felt ornaments very simple, though.  I didn’t want to get into stuffing or needle felting.  I wanted to create ornaments that had the layered and stitched look I loved but took less than an hour to make.  These easy embroidered felt

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December 10, 2021 5 Comments
crafts

molded salt dough “gingerbread” ornaments | Christmas crafts

These molded salt dough “gingerbread” ornaments were one of those crafting happy accidents.  They started when I made an impulsive purchase from an Instagram ad for a couple of cookie molds.  Minutes after I purchased them, I thought it was a stupid purchase.  But, I really loved the patterns and they were inexpensive (I think $16 for both.)  I thought it might’ve even been a scam because the site had one of those not-quite-right names that I can’t even remember now.  But the carved cookie molds arrived at my house a few weeks later.  I was relieved they weren’t a total waste of my money, but I still questioned the hasty buy.  I put them into the cabinet with my other baking gear, cookie cutters, gingerbread house templates, etc. On Monday, I decided I would try making “gingerbread” houses out of cinnamon salt dough for Christmas instead of using traditional

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December 8, 2021 16 Comments
crafts

swallow bird ornament from a cereal box | christmas crafts

I have another easy Christmas craft for you using a cereal box, school glue & glitter!  While I love pretty much all creative endeavors, I’ve never considered myself a “crafter”, but Christmas brings out the crafter in me.  It’s the perfect time of year to make handmade gifts and decorations.  There is also something about the season that inspires me to make things just for the sake of making them…for the process and enjoyment of it.  And then I can hang it on our tree or put it on a shelf or give it as a gift.  In this post, I’m sharing how I made a pretty swallow bird ornament with simple supplies. I just love the shape of a swallow in flight with that delicate tail, so when I was thinking about an ornament shape to make, the swallow immediately came to mind.  Here is the vintage graphic I

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December 6, 2021 11 Comments
All Things Home

gold leaf ornament tutorial | christmas crafts

After adding the gold star to the top of my dining room Christmas tree, I felt like I needed a few gold ornaments to add some more shine and gold details that would tie in with the topper.  Well, that’s an easy thing to make!  Here is an easy tutorial showing how to apply gold leaf to ornaments. What I love about gold leafing is that it elevates simple, humble materials.  I’ve used this trick so many times on dated or boring frames and other home decor items to add a little bit of shine.  I started with just some inexpensive ($.50/each) raw wood ornaments.  With the addition of gold leaf, these ornaments look elegant and are just what the tree needed. You could apply gold leaf to almost anything, though.  Wood, ceramic, paper, cardboard, glass, and plastic will all work.  This opens a whole world of options for elevating

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December 4, 2021 11 Comments
crafts

lino printed wrapping paper project | christmas crafts

Over the Thanksgiving break, I worked on cutting out a lino block for printing wrapping paper and cards.  The project turned out even better than I expected and, as I shared peeks of the process on Instagram, many people asked if I would share a tutorial.  So, this post is it!  Here is a lino printed wrapping paper project for beginners.  We’ll walk through the materials you’ll need, the process of carving a “lino” (linoleum) block, and printing. | The pattern that I carved over Thanksgiving took me several hours, so we’ll use a simpler pattern for this lino printed wrapping paper project. Before we get to the details, I will share the process of how I made this one for those who are interested.  The process is very similar, but I used some different materials.  Instead of using an easy-cut “lino” block made of a rubbery material, I used

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December 1, 2021 17 Comments
crafts

how to make a 3d cardboard & glitter star | christmas crafts

I remember seeing one of these 3d stars made years ago by Wendy Addison and I’ve always wanted to make one!  This year was finally the year that I cut up a cardboard cereal box, folded the 3d star, and finished it off with some German glass glitter.  Here is how to make this 3d cardboard & glitter star… 3d cardboard & glitter star | Materials & Tools Thin cardboard (cereal, cracker, or other dry goods box) pencil ( is my favorite) ruler or straight edge   aluminum baking dish plastic spoon 3d cardboard & glitter star | video tutorial 3d cardboard & glitter star | steps THIS is the star template I used.  The shape felt like a good vintage-style star and there was no need to reinvent the wheel.  I did enlarge it to about 180% to make the start as large as I could fit on a

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November 27, 2021 7 Comments
crafts

finger knitting tutorial | christmas crafts

Last December, I hopped onto Instagram Stories and made a quick finger knitting tutorial for those who were asking how I made the little wreath present toppers.  The quick tutorial went over so well that I decided I should make a proper video tutorial for my YouTube channel and to share here on my blog.  What’s wonderful about this project is that it’s super easy and a very quick project.  You can make one of the little wreaths to use as ornaments or handmade present-toppers in just a couple of minutes.  If you want to knit a garland to mix in with greens or swag on a Christmas tree, that would be an easy TV-watching project.  It’s also kid-friendly. Here is the easy finger knitting video tutorial… Finger knitting is easier shown than explained, so I would suggest watching the video and you’ll pick it up quickly. Did anyone else

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November 20, 2021 6 Comments
Artistic Endeavors

creating like a bowerbird

Last year, I was introduced to the bowerbird through Sibella Court’s book .   It’s a gorgeous book about creating beautiful interiors with collected items.  As someone who loves collecting, hunting, pecking, and curating, that book was right up my alley.  But, I recently did more research on the bowerbird and realized I have more in common with this bird than I knew.  The bowerbird goes beyond collection and creating, but collects and creates very specifically.  The satin bowerbird collects and decorates only with things that are a specific shade of blue.  He’ll even go so far as to pick things out of his surrounding area that are colors he doesn’t like (reds and pinks specifically.)  If you’ve read my blog for a while, my de-redding things will have a familiar ring. In my personal creative time (creative work that isn’t specifically for creating profit but is just to play for

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November 15, 2021 31 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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