Tag Archives: Christmas

Creative Way to Present a Gift Using Bag & Tissue

With Halloween just a few days away and the holidays approaching there will be many opportunities for goodies and gift giving. Today I have a tutorial that will show you a creative way to present a gift. It’s a twist on using a gift bag and tissue.

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I chose plain brown paper bags but you could use any solid color. My love for baby boo pumpkins inspired me to use tissue in an aged beige color. The pumpkin would be very cute in orange too.

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For the star I used a smaller bag. My plan was to use a matte gold tissue paper but the store I went to didn’t have it. They did have this beige and gold glitter paper so I decided to give it a try.

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Now for the very simple instructions and supply list.

1) Gift Bag
2) Tissue Paper
3) Scissors
4) Glue
5) Pencil

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Right click to save the above template to your computer and print it in the desired size

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Trace around the star onto the bag

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Cut tissue paper into 1 1/2 inch squares. You will need 35-50 depending on the size of your bag, etc. Crumple each square up into a ball and then open back up enough to pinch from the middle and create a sort of pointed blossom.

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Begin gluing blossoms in the center of the star, dotting the pointed end with glue and pressing onto bag. It won’t have defined edges during this part of the process but keep the bottom (glued portion) of each blossom within and against the pencil border.

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Once the glue has dried, define the star shape by pinching, pressing and scrunching the outer edges.
Any simple shape will work and the design could be adapted to fit any occasion.

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Here’s the template I used to create the pumpkin bag.
Feel free to use, pin and share!
Happy creating!

This week’s tip for A Little Bird Told Me is on a subject I loathe ~ cleaning.

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This is how I clean my oven door and it works beautifully!
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Linking with: Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson,The Scoop, Between Naps on the Porch, From My Front Porch to Yours, Cozy Little House, A Stroll Thru LifeIvy and Elephants, Shabby Art Boutique, French Country Cottage, Amaze Me Monday, VMG206, That DIY Party, Funky Junk Interiors, Savvy Southern Style, The Charm of Home, Vintage Charm

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Sugarplum Festival + A Little Bird Told Me

In case you were thinking that I’m ready to start talking about Christmas, I’m so not! I do however want to let you know about an event that I’ll be selling at. Sugarplum Festival is St. Joseph, Missouri’s annual kick off to the holiday season held at the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art.

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Great shopping, a “Deck the Halls” auction, wine tasting and a lunch café will get shoppers going on their lists for gifts and décor. I will be selling my jewelry and a few other goodies including these wood slice ornaments.

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I may be back later with a tutorial on these ornaments.

And now it’s time for A Little Bird Told Me where I share a weekly tip from my own bag of tricks.

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You’ll save many a calorie this way!

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A Tunic and a Long Necklace

I love a good tunic. Tunics cover your bum when you are feeling modest.

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A tunic is not quite a dress but a little more than just a top. They go perfectly with leggings which go perfectly with a no-jeans kind of day.

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And tunics are great for showing off a long necklace.

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I layered a lace top underneath the gray tunic to tie in with the lace of the necklace. My long necklace is one I created using a rusty piece of hardware as the base, covered in vintage lace and adorned with a chunky red vintage button. The small pop of red was enough color to keep my outfit from feeling drab and dreary like the winter days we’ve been having.

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Wearing a tunic and leggings is much like wearing a dress and tights. Often times I feel like an occasion doesn’t quite call for a dress. When I want to wear something just a little more casual I pull out my tunic. Now that I have sung the praises of tunics, I think I need to get a couple more!

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Here I am wearing the same outfit in our newly renovated wine cellar where we hosted our couples Christmas party this past December.

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And here are the guys at the same party, showing off their looks.

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I’m linking up with The Rich Life on a Budget for How I Wear My…,Style Elixir, Rachel The Hat, Lena B. Actually, Not Dead Yet Style,Because Shanna Said So

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God and Sinner Reconciled ~ Merry Christmas!

With only 2 days left to prepare for the big day, I would like to take a moment to say Merry Christmas from my house to yours, and to share a few of my holiday vignettes. Many of my displays are the same from year to year. I might tweak them a bit, but once I get them how I love them, I put them together the same way each year until I’m ready for something different. I will only show you the ones that are brand new this year, and I have two of them.

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The first one is my buffet that sits between my kitchen and dining room. You can see how I decorated it last year here. I decided to use most of those pieces on my other buffet in the dining room this year. So I had to come up with a new look for this buffet, and my inspiration was the pair of mirrors.

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The one in front has most of the silvering worn away, and has a sort of wavy pattern in the glass. The ripples remind me of sand dunes or the ocean tide. It’s the same mirror I used in my blog header. I love it so I use it a lot!

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First I took the tiny vintage garland and draped it over the mirrors in a random way. I pulled objects I already had like the birdhouse church and the two white stick trees. I added the gold angel hair underneath for softness and embellished the birdhouse with vintage picks of gold glass glitter. I wanted to bring in some silver so I added the mercury glass owl candle holder.

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A real bird’s nest tied in perfectly with the birdhouse. I needed a little more sparkle so I added the vintage coiled tinsel and two candlesticks with crystal prisms.

The second thing that’s new this year was a project my husband helped with.
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We have had several trees cut down and I am finding so many ways to repurpose the slices, both small and large. I was standing at my kitchen window one day and I spied the large slices laid out overlapping one another and it gave me an idea. So I grabbed hubby and dragged him into the yard to share my thought with him, fully expecting him to be blown away by my great idea! wink, wink. Most of the slabs I needed were already there, but I needed a couple more cut to fill out the tree. He obliged, and the result was this simple stacked Christmas tree. It’s the centerpiece on my dining room table, but I had to move it to the end to get good lighting for the picture. Please excuse the shot of me in the mirror. And see those pumpkin colored walls? Those have got to go in 2015!

So now to the heart of the matter, the reason we celebrate. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the decorating and gift buying to the point of forgetting to pause and give due honor to the King of kings. I’ve done it, and I have to remind myself to spend time pondering the beauty of the Christmas story and how it truly does make the season bright with hope and sweet with peace. I wish you a heart full of joy and a new sense of wonder at the miracle of Christ’s birth and the gift of reconciliation with the Father.

Merry Christmas!

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Vending at Junk Jubilee Jingles ~ Part 3

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you’re getting everything checked off your list and that you’re taking time to reflect on the wonderful meaning of Christmas. I still have one more set of pictures from the market I sold at in November, Junk Jubilee Jingles.

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Here I am, ready to make some sales.

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And here I am with a sweet neighboring vendor I got to know during the show. Nicole of Angel Wings and CT is amazing! She has a shop in downtown Winterset, IA. I haven’t seen it but I’m sure it’s full of gobs of goodies, judging from her booth at the show.

Here is a look at a few of her creations
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In her shop, she also carries boutique clothing, jewelry, home accents and antiques. It was a pleasure meeting her. You can check out her Facebook page here Angel Wings and CT.

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Junk Jubilee Jingles: Pictures and Stories Part 2

I’m back with more pictures and stories from the show that consumed the last 3 months of my designing time. And not just my studio time, to be totally honest. Many things are put on hold when I am preparing for a big show. Thankfully, I have a husband that is understanding. He knows by now that I get so crazy consumed by getting ready for the big event that there will be big heaping piles of laundry, take-out meals more than twice a week, and requests to please get out his tools and “do a little job for me”.

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These necklace stands are one of those requests that he so graciously fulfilled.

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My husband has willingly gone along with me to many shows and helped with set up, tear down and anything else I have needed from him. But this time when my best friend offered to go in his place, he happily bowed out.

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We stayed up late talking all three nights at the hotel, even though we needed our sleep. I was just too keyed up to sleep. Do you know that feeling when you are just so exhausted but your mind won’t shut off? Yeah. So we had wine and chocolate, laughed and cried, and fell asleep in time to get about 5 hours each night.

When the show closed the first night, we headed out for our 20 minute drive to the hotel. About ten minutes into the drive, I heard a still, small voice nudge my mind with a thought ~ a scary thought. I asked Bobbi to grab my purse from the back seat and see if I had put the money bag in there. As she frantically dug around in my purse, my gut told me that it wasn’t there. Me and my gut were right. I pulled over and we searched everywhere before heading back to the fairgrounds. The ten minutes back seemed like an eternity. I just kept saying, it will be there, nobody took it, it will be there. I ran from the car to the building and tried the door ~ locked! So I ran around the building trying doors until one opened. I tried to calmly (not insanely) walk past the people lingering by the door. I got to my booth, checked the place I kept it, and it was there! I can’t tell you how relieved I was! I’m usually not a particularly forgetful person, except when I’m sleep deprived.

The next day it snowed about 3 inches, and as we were getting ready to close, people were saying that there were several reports of cars sliding off into ditches. Oh yay! Nighttime highway driving in an unfamiliar city…with slick roads! Another drive to the hotel that should have taken 20 minutes turned into an hour. I wasn’t taking any chances so I drove really slowly and we arrived safely and ready for the hot tub. A good soak while watching it snow from the hotel window ~ does it get any better?

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Having Bobbi there gave me a much needed dose of girl time, but she was also extremely helpful. From rolling up her sleeves and helping with the heavy lifting, to offering valuable advice. It was her suggestion to pair necklaces and bracelets that coordinated on the necklace stands, to assist customers in putting together sets. I think they displayed great this way.

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And now, for a look at some of the other wildly talented vendors’ booths.

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I still have a few more pictures to show you and a vendor to introduce you to, but I will save that for the next and final JJJ post. I hope you’ll come back and read part 3.

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