Thursday, November 27, 2014

The Little Blue House 12 Days of Ornaments Recap


Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We want to thank you for following our LBH 12 Days of Ornaments Blog Feature! We hope you have been inspired to make it a HandMade Holiday this year!!! Just in case, you missed a day here or there, we are posting a recap of all 12 Days along with a link to each tutorial. 

Day #1: Holiday Wishes- Dome Shaker Ornament
Designed by: Susan Liles
Day #1 Tutorial

Day #2: Miniature Shutter Angels
Designed by: Tracy Pounds

Day #3: Treat Tube Ornament (vinyl)
Designed by: Susan Tidwell

Day #4: Doily Frame Ornament
Designed by: Kristyn McElroy

Day #5: Pretty Paper Frame Ornament
Designed by: Nat Sheeran
Day #5 Tutorial

Day #6: Fillable Light Bulb Ornament
Designed by: Valerie Bishop

Day #7: Mini Coffee Cup Ornament
Designed by: Cat Grigsby
Day #7 Tutorial

Day #8: Snowman Bell Ornament
Designed by: Rhonda Merry
Day #8 Tutorial


Day #9: Miniature Junk Tree Ornament
Designed by: Lynette Chiles
Day #9 Tutorial

Day #10: Merry Mason Jar Lid Ornament
Designed by: DeeDee Roe
Day #10 Tutorial

Day #11: Cupcake Liner Ornaments
Designed by: Susan Tidwell
Day #11 Tutorial


Day #12: VerDay Wonders Ornaments
Designed by: Tracy Pounds

We are so thankful for your continued love and support of our Small Business. The Little Blue House wouldn't be the same without amazing customers like YOU!!! Thank you for leaving your comments on each post....We loved reading all of them! We appreciate you taking the time to share your holiday favorites, special traditions, and memories with us. So which Ornament do you plan to create first?? 

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving and a
Very Merry HandMade Christmas!

Much Love from the LBH Gals,
Miss Tracy, Rhonda, Kristyn, Susan T, Elaine, Lynette,
Susan L, Cat, Nat, Valerie, DeeDee

CONGRATULATIONS to the DAY #12 WINNER:

LADY BRIGHT

Please contact the LBH to claim your ornament

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

The Little Blue House 12 Days of Ornaments: Day #12


Miss Tracy here to present our final Ornament Tutorial. I hope you have enjoyed all of the Ornaments we have presented to you this year and are inspired to create them for your Tree this holiday season.  

I have designed some beautiful ornaments to share with you today that feature the fabulous VerDay Paints by Ten Seconds Studio. 
VerDay Wonders
Designed by: Tracy Pounds




 All of these ornaments are simple Paper Mache that I have added texture too. Continue reading my tutorial below to find out how I created the unique look of these rustic chic ornaments.

Here are the items that you will need:
Paper Mache Ornaments
Embossed Specialty Paper  
Scotch Tacky Glue
Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Base Paint (could be craft paint or spray paint)
VerDay Paints (Ten Seconds Studio)
VerDay Activator (Ten Seconds Studio)
Sea Foam Sponges
White craft paint
Perfect Pearls Mist - Heirloom Gold
Metal Embellishments or Buttons (FabScraps)
Bling (Queen and Co)

All of the items used to create these ornaments are available at the Little Blue House.

I used two different techniques to add the texture to my paper mache ornaments. The first one is an embossed paper used primarily for wall covering. It is a new style that I fell in love with and had to have! I created a template for one side of my ornament and then traced them onto the Embossed Paper and cut out. I positioned my template in a specific place on the embossed design each time I traced. I attached to my Paper Mache Ornament using Scotch Tacky Glue. Once they were all glued in place, I painted over the entire ornament with White Paint. Allow to dry.

The second technique was kind of an experimental one...I wanted to see what it would look like if I added some dimension using hot glue. I simply "drew" on the ornament with hot glue...

Be sure to let the hot glue cool completely. Once cool, I painted a base coat on them. You could use any craft paint but to save time, I painted mine with a Spray Paint. 

Now for the fun part, adding the VerDay!!!
VerDay is a Reactive Metal Paint and when sprayed with the VerDay Activator, a reaction takes place and the result is 4 unique beautiful patinas. There are four colors-- Brass, Bronze, Copper, and Iron. For my ornaments, I used mainly Iron and Brass. If you have acrylic nails-- You will want to wear gloves for the following steps. Using  sea foam sponges, simply apply the paints in a pouncing motion all over the ornaments (stars and embossed paper ornaments). I did this to all of the ornaments featured today. It will look something like this when you are done...

Immediately, while paint is still wet, spray over the ornament with the VerDay Activator. Spray thoroughly and set aside. 
It won't take long for the reaction to begin...


It will go through several different stages of colors. The Iron (rust patina) takes the longest to transform so set them aside for a bit. Try to be patient....let the magic happen...

Once patinas have come to life and the ornaments are dry, you can begin the next design stage of these beauties! 

For the Embossed Paper Ornament, I wanted to create a Shabby Distress. I simply applied white paint with my finger over the embossed designs. I love the way this looks!!! 

Now for the stars, I chose to lightly rub over them (again with my finger) with the Brass VerDay Paint. I did not use the activator this time-- Just the paint itself. 

For final finishing touches, I sprayed them all with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist...This gives them a beautiful irredescent shimmer (hard to see on camera). Allow to dry. 


All that's needed now is a little metal and bling for the centers of the stars and some pretty ribbon for the embossed paper ornaments.
  


I really love how they turned out and I hope you will be inspired to re-create these Rustic Chic VerDay Wonders for your Tree!

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! One lucky commenter today will receive one of my VerDay Ornaments...Please share with me your favorite ornament of our 12 days feature!!! Tomorrow I will be posting a recap of ALL 12 handmade ornaments and announcing the WINNER of today's Ornament. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a
Very Merry HandMade Christmas!!!
Miss Tracy :)

CONGRATULATIONS to the DAY #11 WINNER:

Linda Hahn

Please contact the LBH to claim your ornament

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The Little Blue House 12 Days of Ornaments: Day #11


Susan Tidwell here to bring you Day #11 of our 12 ornaments this year. Can you believe we are almost finished? This is one of my favorite LBH activities and I hope you, too, are enjoying all the fabulous ornaments the gals have been posting.


CUPCAKE LINER CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT




Supplies Needed for Tree (**means available at LBH)


**piece of green card stock (I used approximately 6" square - size will be determined 
by desired size of tree)
**6-12 cupcake baking liners
**2 gold stars cut from star ribbon
**6" thin red paper twine or other ribbon
**16-20 red sequins (or use mix of red and gold)
**1/4" Scor Tape
**Glossy Accents
**Distress Glitter - Clear Rock Candy
Hot glue
toothpick

Let's begin!


1. First make a cone from the card stock. Round off one corner of a square to make a "triangle with rounded bottom." (The size of the straight edges will be the height of the cone.) Roll into a cone, taping or hot gluing the sides together.



2. Cut the bottoms out of several cupcake baking liners. 


3. Use Scor Tape to add first liner to largest end of cone (open end). Start about 1/2" in from bottom so liner covers the edge. Continue wrapping liners around cone about 1/2" apart until the cone is completely covered.
Tip: depending on size of cone you might need more than one liner for a layer. Just cut another piece to add.



4. Use hot glue for this next step. Fold twine and glue to back of one star, then glue end of toothpick in place. Line up second star and glue together.  Glue the other end of the toothpick and stick into the top of the tree (there should be a small hole at the top of the cone).

Almost finished!  

5. Wipe Glossy Accents on each layer of cupcake liners. You can use a small brush or your fingers like I did. Sprinkle dry Distress Glitter over while wet. Continue for entire tree.
6. Use Glossy Accents to add sequins to the tree.
Hang and admire!


CUPCAKE LINER CONE ORNAMENT




I also made a second version using the cupcake liners. The process is the same for making the cone and adding the cupcake liners. However, the ornament is turned upside down!  You could add candy, a tiny gift or even a gift card inside!

Additional Supplies:
**cardstock in desired color (about 6" square)
**4" baker's twine or paper twine
**chandelier drop
**24" narrow red, green and gold ribbon
**12" gold beaded wire
**Diamond Stickles
Cropadile
**optional - washi tape
1. Make cone and wrap cupcake liners as shown above for tree. I alternated colors for this cone.

2. If desired, wrap washi tape around open edge of cone for a finished look since this will show. (I did not do this on the tree as it is upside down and doesn't show.)



3. Instead of a star, I used a "chandelier drop" to dangle from the pointed end of the cone. 
Tie twine through chandelier drop and make a knot. Thread ends of twine through small hole in cone and glue knot to secure.



4. Punch a hole on opposite sides of top of cone for the hanger. Place ribbon through holes and knot each end. Wrap gold beaded wire around ribbon hanger. Tie bow between bottom of cone and chandelier drop (see photo of finished cone).

5. Add Stickles to edges of all cupcake liners.

I hope you enjoyed these ornaments. It was fun making them! And there are so many colorful cupcake liners available - think of all the possibilities!

Be sure to comment on this post in order to win an ornament! Tell me your Christmas Eve traditions - do you unwrap gifts then, wear Christmas jammies, or are you still assembling toys?  Now our children are grown, our family always attends Midnight Mass. When they were younger, my husband always read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" before bed. It's time now to start this tradition with our grand boys.

Be sure to stop by the LBH to see ALL the lovelies hanging on our tree!
 And check back tomorrow for our last ornament!

Susan

CONGRATULATIONS to the DAY #10 WINNER:

Glenda Lehrmann

Please contact the LBH to claim your ornament

Monday, November 24, 2014

The Little Blue House 12 Days of Ornaments: Day #10


Hello! DeeDee Roe here today...and I'm excited to share my Merry Mason Jar Lid DIY ornament. :) 
I LOVE handmade for the holidays and this one is super cute and easy to recreate. 


Merry Mason Jar Lid Ornaments
Designed by: DeeDee Roe

Check out my tutorial and supply list below. :) 

Start off with two mason jar lids. :) *Pro-tip* Wipe them down with an alcohol wipe so the paint will adhere more easily. 


Separate the inner circle from the outer ring. 

Then paint all sides of the ring with Tattered Rose Distress Crackle paint. (I created two and used Weathered Wood on the second ornament.) Make sure to paint thickly or it won't show well on the silver. Allow to dry. 

I painted the jingle bells with VerDay Brass paint and added the patina spray - just to give it a bit more age and texture. Allow to dry. 

Paint the spool with leafy green paint. Cut "24" from the patterned paper. Adhere and wrap around spool. Cover paper with Glossy Accents and coat in Iridescent glitter. Okay, I know. You're either a glitter person or you're not. I see glitter and my brain just says YES, girl, this project obviously calls for sparkle. Bring it.. 




Use the lid insert to trace a front and back for the ornament. Try to pay attention to which part of the design you're tracing. Like, don't accidentally trace the logo at the bottom. 

I used Glossy Accents to adhere the patterned paper to the jar lid on both sides. 


Sand the edges down so the paper fits easily into the lid ring. 

Then ink the edges of both sides with Antique Linen Distress ink. I used Glossy Accents around the inside of the rim to adhere the inner circle. Easy peasy. 


Next, fill the lids with Glossy Accents using a small paintbrush (to be totally honest I used my pinky) and then pour in Mica flakes. Shake off excess. Allow to dry. 

Trace the inner rim with Platinum Stickles. 


Using sharp detail scissors cut the "partridge in a pear tree" from the patterned paper. 

Coat the rectangles with words in Glossy Accents and set aside to dry. 

Once dry put the phrase on adhesive foam squares overlapping the left side of the rim. 

Tie a bow with the brown burlap ribbon and adhere to the top left side of the rim using hot glue. 

String the jingle bells with the twine and knot around the base of the tree. Attach the tree to the lid using hot glue. 

String the remaining twine through the back of the bow and tie a knot at the top for hanging. Attach button to center of bow using hot glue. :) 

Use hot glue to attach the wooden spool to the bottom of the ring. 

Pat yourself on the back because you're creative and amazing and have a new handmade ornament for your Christmas tree.

Here's my second version of the same basic ornament. So cute right?! :) 

Front and back view. 


Thanks for checking out my tutorial and ornament. I hope you make a couple for yourself! :) 
Be sure to leave a comment today and you could be chosen to WIN one of my Ornaments! Share with me when you open presents....Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?

DeeDee


CONGRATULATIONS to the DAY #9 WINNER:

PAM M

Please contact the LBH to claim your ornament