Jennifer Andrew

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Crafty Christmas | DIY Christmas Silhouette Wall Art

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I am having a very Rifle Paper Co. holiday season if you can’t tell already. I bought lots of holiday gift wrap with the intention of not using it as gift wrap. It’s kind of a big waste if you ask me. Why not use it for something that will last? Like wall art!

First print out some Christmas clipart silhouettes. I found mine here. Then cut them out and adhere them to solid or decorative paper with a tape runner or a glue stick. Cut out the silhouette again and attach it to a contrasting paper background. I used sticky tac to attach them in case I wanted to change my mind.

Put them in some frames and display your festive handmade decor! If you’re like me, you might break some glass or one of the wooden frames. It’s alright.

I know that Christmas is six days (!!!) away, but I’m not quite finish with my Christmas crafts. I’m so excited for next December when I will open up a box of already-made holiday decorations. I guess you could say I’m planning ahead. :)

Crafty Christmas | DIY Instagram Ornaments

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Like I said a couple days ago, I have stacks of Instagram prints from PostalPix just waiting to be used. The possibilities are endless! I decided to turn a few of them into ornaments, many of which I’ll be gifting to friends and family. And here I thought I wouldn’t have time for handmade gifts. These are so easy it’s ridiculous. Also, really fun. :)

First get your hands on some Instagram prints. I absolutely love PostalPix. The shipping is free and they always arrive so quickly. I suppose you could also just use regular photographs huh? :)

Trace a circle onto the back of the print and cut it out. Then cut an ornament topper out of gold paper (I traced a bunch of them on the back of the paper to get it right). Attach the paper ornament topper to the photograph with a dab of hot glue. The gold paper I used was really thin so I put card stock behind it.

Punch a hole in the top and attach some thread or wire to it. Then go crazy decorating your tree with memories. :)

Ps. The sticker letters are from the Target dollar bin!

Holiday Gift Guide | For the Christmas Lover

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Sometimes Christmas-related gifts are the best gifts. I know that the day after Christmas, all the hype is over, but ornaments stay in families for so long. There is something really special about bringing out cheery holiday decorations even if it is just for one month out of the year. Traditions are exciting.

This gift guide is inspired by my best friend Sara. She loves Christmas so much! I bought her these antler drink markers (#5) as an early Christmas present. They are so cute!! I think a lot of these would be neat little stocking stuffers.

1. Pine Ornament Card – Rifle Paper Co. $4.50 each or $18 for boxed set of 6 
2. Holiday Gift Card Earring Set – Urban Outfitters $8.00
3. Evergreen Tree Tops – Anthropologie $12.00
4. From Deer to Eternity Sweater – ModCloth $72.99
5. Antler Markers – Patina $5.95
6. Mulled Wine Pot With Heater – Houzz $44.00
7. Mercury Monogram Ornament – Anthropologie $6.00
8. Fraser Fir Seasonal Poured Candle – Casa.com $40.00
9. Instant Ugly Sweater Patch (Set of 6) – Urban Outfitters $14.00

Do you have any friends or family who are crazy about Christmas? I’m usually not that girl, but this year I am just embracing the holidays. I can’t resist sparkly things and cookies and all of the fun that comes along with Christmas. Also, I just can’t wait to be with my family in a cozy house surrounded by trees and…snow? That’s to be determined. Ahhh, I have warm fuzzies. :)

Crafty Christmas | 10 DIY Holiday Gift Tag Ideas

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And so it begins… Christmas crafts!! I had just about given up on posting Christmas DIYs this year, but I miraculously had the past two days off from work. I made a huge mess in the living room, but no regrets! I crossed some things off of my list and I’m very excited to share them.

A few days ago, I made a bunch of holiday gift tags! Working at Paper Source has really awakened my love for paper crafts. I had been a little apathetic about paper. Thankfully, that is over. Paper forever. :) Here are a few ideas for making your gift tags personal and special this year!

1. Instagrams! I printed mine through PostalPix a while ago, and I have been using them projects here and there. This season, I am going a little Instagram crazy. This is a really fun way to make a gift tag memorable. All you need is a paint pen or sharpie to add a note! Any color would probably look pretty.

2. For this tag, I used the Martha Stewart set of Christmas stamps and I embossed the border stamp. Heat embossing is one of my very favorite things to do. We’re all about heat embossing at Paper Source. I think it is the most exciting way to make a paper craft look fancy. You can find a full tutorial here! I’ll probably write my own one of these days. It’s all just kind of magical.

3. Rifle Paper Co. has the most amazing holiday paper ever! I bought some from Paper Source and Anthropologie recently and I plan on using them for anything and everything I can think of.

4. More heat embossing! I also used gold glitter Stickles on this one. I can’t really get over the word “stickles”.

5. This one was made with textured gold paper from Paper Source and red and white craft straws. Kinda like candy canes. :)

6. Heat embossing! Again. I seriously love these stamps.

7. Here is another tag using that pretty gold paper and Rifle Paper Co. paper.

8. Target has the most amazing, cheap wrapping paper. I bought a roll of this pinecone wrap, some gold wrap, and another roll that is silver with glittery silver trees. On this tag, I also heat embossed. This is my favorite gold embossing powder called Queen’s Gold.

9. I made this tag while I was working at Paper Source, so I all of the supplies I used are Paper Source brand tools that I don’t actually own. :)

10. And lastly, washi tape! This has to be the most simple way to decorate anything ever. Love!

I had so much fun making each of these! I’m not sure all (or any) of my gifts will be handmade this year, so it will be nice to add a little crafty touch to them.

Have you been decorating tags or gift wrap this season? Send links to your projects!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a tasty holiday recipe. :)

Crafty Christmas | Sparkly Star Garland

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You guys. There is one week until Christmas. One week. Holy moly, right?! It always sneaks up on me. It has been so wonderful to decorate our house with simple diy projects. Like I said, I normally don’t do this. Over the past few years, I lived on a college campus and had a tiny gap between finals and Christmas day. So decorating was exhausting. Now, I’m college-free, living in a house that is begging to be decorated. Yay!

One of my favorite holiday decorations this month has been this sparkly garland:

I picked up a bunch of pretty pipe cleaners without knowing what to do with them. One morning, I got inspired and thought they would look pretty as a snowflake garland. The thing is, each “snowflake” ended up looking more like a asterisk or sometimes…a spider. I thought this was a DIY bust. Like one of those things you’d find on Regretsy.

Thankfully, I found a way to make this work. It’s not really a snowflake garland. More like an star garland. I had to improvise. :)

Supplies needed: Cotton yarn, ruler, metallic pipe cleaners, scissors, tapestry needle.

First, cut your pipe cleaners into three-inch sections. Then attach the sections by twisting them together, one at a time, until you have connected five pieces of pipe cleaner.

If your little star looks uneven, just trim the edges. I probably trimmed every star to make sure it was even.

Next, string your stars onto a long piece of cotton yarn.

Space them out evenly, cut the cotton yarn, and hang your garland somewhere nice. I hung mine above my new desk. Please excuse the mess :) I’m still trying to create my crafty station.

I hope you are having fun making your living space sparkly and festive in any way!

Crafty Christmas | DIY Felt Star Tree Topper

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My roommate Sara and I decorated our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. I have never started decorating that early before! It was a fun evening of cider and Christmas music (mostly Mariah Carey). However, we didn’t have anything to put on top of the tree, so I thought I’d make a handy felt star.

Supplies needed: felt, embroidery floss, fiber fill, a star template, and a pen.

It was super easy. I made it just like I made the heart ornament the other day. Just cut out two stars (I traced a star shape from google images), sew them together, stuff with fiber fill, and place it on top of your tree. I left the bottom of the star open, so that I could stick it onto the top branch of the tree.

What is your Christmas tree topped with this year??

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