The 12 Days of Ornaments :: Day 1

Hi everyone! This is Lolly, one of the Little Blue House Gals!

Welcome to our first annual Little Blue House 12 days of Ornaments Extravaganza! Each and every day between now and Thanksgiving one of the Little Blue House Gals will be sharing a tutorial on how to create a fabulous ornament for your tree AND... each of those 12 days you'll have a chance to win the ornament of the day!

All you have to do to win is leave a comment on each post and we'll pick a winner each and every day!

I created this ornament yesterday at the Little Blue House Holiday Open House! It was so great to see so many of you drop by (I got a whole lotta hugs in too)!!! For this ornament, I used papers and stickers from The Girls Paperie Christmas line called Tinsel & Twig (available at the LBH now (but going quicker than lightening cause it's sooo fabulous))!

This super fun rolled paper cone technique can be used to make wreaths, ornaments, and really nice package toppers for your special gifts this year! All you have to do to change the size of the project you make is increase or decrease the size of the squares you cut! It's that easy!

Let's get started with the tutorial!

I started with 18 - 2 1/4 inch square pieces of patterned paper.

Starting from one of the straight sides of the square, roll it around a pen or paint brush.
This helps to soften the paper and break the fibers (making it easier to work with)

To the same square, now do the same thing from one of the corners...
...just roll it all the way around...

You should have something that looks similar to this.
(it's very fancy don't you think???)

Once you have done all that rolling, it will be easier to roll the square into a cone shape like this.

Gently squeeze your cone shape and tuck one flap under the other like this.

Once you have formed your shape, unroll it and apply adhesive to the flap!
I use the Helmar Permanent Adhesive Runner cause it's super sticky and strong!

I have highlighted the area in teal where you want to apply the adhesive!
(and added some arrows too in case there was any doubt about where that adhesive goes).
Isn't teal the coolest color for this kind of thing?!?!?!

Simply roll up the cone shape again and press down the flap where you applied your adhesive!

You should have something that looks like a little ice cream cone.
(and if you have cravings for ice cream while making this project, I simply can't be held accountable)

I personally recommend trying some pumpkin flavored ice cream.
It's actually mandatory during the month of November that you have it at least once.
(trust Lolly on this one girls)

After you've had your pumpkin flavored ice cream, and rolled about 18 cone shapes...
You should have a nice pile that looks like this.

I then punched a 2 inch circle and started gluing down each of those cones.
(I used hot glue)
It's kinda tricky to get them centered, so if they aren't, don't worry about it!
Just glue another circle down underneath and keep on gluing!

Keep on truckin' with your cones and glue until...

...you have something that looks like this circle cone thingy!
("circle cone thingy" is a highly technical craft term that can be found in the dictionary of crafts)
(I think)

I then took two pieces of Tinsel & Twig paper and cut them into 4 inch circles.
I like to use my Sizzix - Circle Clear die for these types of things.
(you can see the one I am talking about HERE)

I cut them in half and layered them together and used a Tinsel & Twig border sticker right down the middle!

I then used my Helmar V2 Vellum Adhesive to adhere some linen fabric to a scrap piece of card stock.

Here is what the back looks like!
I ran the fabric/paper combo through my Sizzix using the Basic Grey Snowflake die!
You can see this die HERE.

I do this to give the fabric some backing so the element you cut holds up!
Fabric elements like this are super neat and easy to add to your projects!

(and don't forget that Miss Tracy can order ALL of the Sizzix dies your heart desires)
She has a catalog at the LBH and can hook you up!

I also used another piece of the Tinsel & Twig paper to cut this little tree!
He's another Sizzix die (similar to this one HERE)

At this point I got to talking with some of you girls and forgot to take pictures.
Soooo.... I'll just have to explain this next step...

I layered my snowflake under my 4 inch circle and glued them to the circle cone thingy.
You can see the snowflake peeping out from behind the circle in the picture below.

Let's just pretend that you have some nice tutorial pictures!
(pumpkin ice cream helps with the whole make believe thing)
(trust Lolly)

I then cut a thin strip of paper and turned it into a little mini banner.
You use a small dab of hot glue to anchor down each section bowing up the strip of paper as you go.
This gives you a wavy banner effect!

I glued down the right side of my little strip and then...

...used my Helmar Zap Dots to pop my little tree up...

I stuck him down and then continued gluing down my mini banner.

Once my banner was in place, I used small sticker letters from the Tinsel & Twig sticker pack to spell different holiday phrases.

This one says "Merry Christmas" and the other one says "Peace. Joy. Hope."
I want to mention one last thing... on just about every element (except the fabric snowflake)...
I used Distress Ink in Walnut Stain around the edges.
I love that color like chocolate.
For reals.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial (little being a relative term since there are something like 26 photos here)! YIKES!

To win one of these ornaments, all you have to do is leave a little comment on this post!

In the comment, let me know what your favorite dessert is... and don't be surprised if I send you an email asking for the recipe! hehehehe

We'll be back tomorrow (and every day from now until Thanksgiving) with another fabulous ornament tutorial so make sure you drop back by!

Holiday HUGS from Lolly - The Little Blue House Gal!