Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

I don’t know about all of you, but I am having trouble getting my very long to-do list done!  That usually means my expectations are getting too great for me to meet.  It’s Christmas and I usually push to get more done than usual. 

But there’s really only one important thing to remember at this time of year though we are tempted to get caught up in the secular celebration and forget that Christmas really belongs to believers who want to celebrate their Savior’s birth.  I made this banner to help me remember.  And though I’ve spent every spare moment I’ve had for the past two days to finish it, I have used that time thinking about the place I’ve prepared in my heart for the baby who would come to die for my sins and to redeem me! 

Even though the project isn’t complicated, it did take time to do faux stitching on all the pieces.  I also had to photograph it in two sections because it is way too long.   I will add this banner to the garland that goes along the top of the bannister in my living room.  It’ll look grand there! I promise to take pictures when I get it up. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

The pennant and its shadow are cut from Sports Mania and are cut at 5”, and the scalloped circle and its shadow are cut are 4 1/2”. and are from Accent Essentials.   The snowflake is from A Child’s Year and it and its shadow are cut at 4”. The letters are from Winter Woodlands at 3 1/2”.  I also used Base Camp for the welded phrase “is the”.  Of course I used  my Gypsy to weld the phrase and to plan the banner.  

The paper is a great mish mash of stuff from my stash.  The pennant patterned paper is one of my all time favs and several years ago I bought about 10 sheets to use for one scrapbook.  That scrapbook didn’t come to be, but I’ve enjoyed that paper like crazy!  I think it is K&Company.  I also used several sheets of Karen Foster.  Love it too.  The cardstock is all from Core’dinations.  The ribbon is some I’ve had forever.  I am so glad I’ve been making quite a dent in my paper and ribbon stash! I am all about using what I have.

Now for some close ups!

Giving Thanks

Today is Veteran's Day, and I for one am grateful for all those families who make the sacrifices that come when a family member joins one of our armed forces and serves our country.  It is a huge sacrifice and one without which we couldn’t enjoy the freedoms we now have.  Thank you, all of you, who served and those who endure long periods of time without your loved ones and who sometimes endure the loss of that loved one.  Thanks YOU!

What are you thankful for?  That’s the question I asked myself when I started this project. I wanted to create a project that put all those things I hold dear together and expressed my feelings.  My husband jumped in when he saw what I was doing and added his own thoughts.  It turned out great except for the couple of words that I got crooked and I didn’t catch it until it was too late to change it. 

For this project you’ll need:

One sheet of solid colored card stock

One sheet of background paper

one small scrap of contrasting paper

One 12x12 artist canvas

Paint to cover the edges of the canvas

Mod Podge

Glue

Tools:

Gypsy

Several Cricut Font Cartridges.

paint brush

craft knife

This project started with my Gypsy and really was pretty easy because of the Gypsy.  I used just about every font I have, and I threw in a few graphics in to fill some holes and to add interest to the canvas. 

Before I cut the words out, I took my 12x12 canvas and painted the edges with black paint.  It took at 3 coats to sufficiently cover the canvas.  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of this process as well as all the other steps.  After the sides dried, I liberally painted the canvas with Mod Podge and added a sheet of paper on top of the canvas from the Old World stack from DCWV and then liberally spread a coat of Mod Podge over the paper. 

I cut the words from a sheet of black Core’dinations paper and then left them on the mat until I was ready to glue them on.

When the canvas and paper was dry, I trimmed the edges of the paper that over lapped the edges of the canvas, and sanded off the rough edges.  This meant that I had to go back and touch up the black paint on the edges, but I didn’t do that at this point. I began gluing the words on the canvas using the negative images left in the paper as a guide.  I actually laid the 12x12 negative image of the words on the canvas and began gluing the words on according to the outlines of the words.  I did cut one of the graphics in a deep autumn orange to give a little pop of color and to add interest.

Once all the words and graphics were glued on and dry, I went back and repainted the edges pulling some of the paint onto the edges of the paper.  I like the look this added to the canvas.  Sorry for the glare on this picture.  Pulling the black paint onto the top of the canvas covered the edges of the paper which has a white core. 

At this point it was time for a top coat of Mod Podge, and I was careful to make paint brush strokes as though there were actual paint strokes on the canvas. 

And I was done.  I hung it on my family room wall to show you my work. 

One more look:

That crooked “friends” is really bugging me!  Oh, well!  I like how it turned over all. 

My final words for you all today are be thankful for the freedoms we have and the people who have made it possible.!

Flowers by Cricut

I have been squirreled away in my studio making flowers for a project I’ll show you all next week, but I thought I’d show you how I made them.  I don’t usually post on Saturdays because I reserve that time for my husband and family; however, Jim’s working and I have no other obligations, so I thought I’d send a bonus post to those of you who check in on the weekends. 

I’ve been making these. 

Here’s how I made them:

I started with the flower cut on A Child’s Year, and made several sizes.  then I collected my supplies

I inked the edges and although I don’t show it here, I used two different colors ink, orange and yellow on both sides of the flower because the tips will be curled up except for the bottom flower. 

I used a wooden pick to curl the petal down and up on the rest of the layers. I also folded the flowers down for the first couple of rows and then left some as they were and then up on the last couple of rows. 

After the bottom two rows were clued together, I added pop dots before I added the next row. 

I used pop dots a couple more times to lift the center of the flower up.  Just before I added the last flower layer, I ran a length of about 15 inches of floral wire through the flower, so that it could be used in a way I am not going to share right now. 

I wanted to add some texture to the flower and I had the bright idea to use a brown pom pom.  The only problem was I didn’t have any brown pom poms.  Then I thought, “Why not dye them!” Actually I think they turned out better this way because they have a depth of color they wouldn’t have otherwise. 

I think they turned out more than acceptable.  What do you think?

Now I can’t wait to show you how I am using them. 

A Tiny Banner

Tiny things fascinate me. How did that guy write the whole Declaration of Independence on the head of a pin? Yes, I think about those things. It’s crazy being inside my head.

Any how every year I try to find new ways to celebrate my husband’s birthday, and this year I came up with the idea to make a banner that I could hang in his car. This little banner is the result of my labors. He loved getting in his car on the morning of his birthday and finding this banner hanging from his visor.

This is the banner that caused my head long plunge into banner mania.

It’s only about 2 feet long and the tags are only 1” wide. And those pinwheel rosettes? They’re ba---ck. They are barely 1” across and were tedious to fold and put together, but my man is worth it.

Once again I have to apologize for the photography. I really could not get a good photo of this banner no matter what I did.

I used Coredinations card stock again. I love that stuff. It cuts like a dream on my Expression and is so easy to work with. The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby from their fabric department. Instead of hot gluing them to the ribbon, I used staples which I thought gave it a slightly industrial/manly look. I used A Child’s Year for the tags and Base Camp for the lettering. Besides the rosettes which I love to use and hate to make, it was a pretty quick banner.

Here’s a close up and then I’ll let you go:

Darn! I wish I could get a better picture.