Starched Doily Christmas Tree

No skill involved, just dip a doily in liquid starch and lay it over a styrofoam cone and you have A Shabby Romantic Christmas tree.

I wondered if I could starch doilies and make a Christmas tree?  Halfway through I was not to sure, but I liked it in the end.

Grab one of those styrofoam cones and take the label off, leave the plastic on.

Dip your doily in starch 

And lay it over your cone and let it dry, it will take about 24 hours.

I tried one with a lace doily, but it just did not have enough interest.

When the lace dried I ended up putting it under my crocheted doily like a crinoline.  I also added a second crochet doily on the top.

Now, let the fun start!  I hot glued some pearls from a necklace

And added a vintage pin and some old lace and tulle to the top

I hot glued the styrofoam to a candle holder and then added some vintage jewelry on that

So, there you have it! It is sitting on my fire place mantel

About halfway through I thought it looked a little like a grandma craft, but once I started decorating with the beads instead of flowers, I was kind of digging it.

You guy's are way to nice, but since I am asking and I promise you won't hurt my feelings, do you think it is a thumbs up or a thumbs down?

Carol

I linking up with "Metamorphosis Monday" 

and 

"Just something I whipped up"

Creating Vintage Charm

Oh I am so excited to be in the Holiday issue of 

Creating Vintage Charm

I did a tutorial on using clay roses for Holiday Ornaments

This is such a great magazine loaded with tutorials, luscious pictures, and Holiday cut-outs 

 Take advantage of our 25% Off Holiday Sale from 12 pm November 26th through December 31st. So you get your copy for $8.75
Offer valid on any issue you purchase and any quantity under the amount of 20 copies. 

Just click on the magazine Above to go to the site to order.  You will see a button when you get there to get published, submit your fabulous ideas for the next issue.

Carol

Happy Thanksgiving and featured at Remodelaholics

I hope you are all enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend.  A time for family, fun, food, giving thanks, and kicking off the Holiday Season. 

My bathroom is being featured on Remodelaholics this weekend for your viewing pleasure LOL!

 One of my first posts was remodeling my blue bathroom.  I did this remodel completely on my own.  I thought, now how much work can one little bathroom be....  OMG!  Half way through my 3 week remodel I thought I had bitten off way more than I could chew.  I now completely understand why bathroom fixer guy's get the big bucks! 

This is how it looked when I bought the house.

The whole post is Here

For the first time in 100 years I am not making Thanksgiving dinner.  A sweet friend has invited my whole family over!  But wait a minute.....No left overs?  No way!  I got a turkey breast and Thanksgiving morning I am going to cook up the turkey, potatoes, and deviled eggs (My contribution to my friends dinner) So I can have leftovers all weekend.  So much for not cooking!

A Special Thanksgiving greeting to all the Mom's of service people.  We know you worry everyday about their safety.  We salute you and your precious babies, thank you for our freedom.

OK, back to your Turkey and fun.  Thanks for dropping by.

Carol

Using CD Cases for Packaging

 Vintage hankies are pretty all on their own, but packaging makes all the difference.  A unique gift for teachers, hostesses, or holiday party guests.

Packaging makes all the difference and a CD case is the perfect fit.  You might have CD cases laying around or you can purchase empty ones at an office supply store.  Just strip out the guts.

Use cardstock paper cut to fit the CD case and using a little spray adhesive cover the cardstock with, fabric, sheet music, wrapping paper, wallpaper, scrapbooking paper, or what ever your creative minds choose.

Now Iron your vintage hanky and put it in your CD case.

You can find vintage hankies at any antique store for $2-$3 and you might be lucky enough to find some at a thrift store for less.

You could do the hanky alone or you could iron the hanky around the cardstock paper and add a piece of jewelry.

For those of you that make cards and tags it would be a great way to package them for selling or gifting.

Of course the real fun comes with decorating the case, the possibilities are endless!

If you have a gift that is going to need more space than a CD container has, you could use the paper CD holders.

Use the cardstock paper for backing and punch a hole for the ribbon.

I ironed a vintage doily around the cardstock and added a pin.

Maybe an ornament, this one is available in my online store.

The possibilities are endless, it would also be a great way to present a gift certificate.

If anyone has or knows someone with the initials E.M.D. let me know and I will send you this hanky!   

This tutorial was for the "Handmade Gift-O-Rama" at

Country Chic Cottage

A must see!!

12 Fabulous days of tutorials on handmade gifts for the holidays!!

So, what else could you package in a CD box??

Happy Creating 

Carol

Embossed Velvet Gifts

Have you tried this?  Embossing velvet is so easy, no skills needed!  If you can iron, you can emboss. 

This was so fun!  I love a new craft that does not require a lot of equipment.

The only thing you need is velvet.  I use any blend, velveteen or crinkled velvet will not work.  I got my velvet at JoAnnes I think it was 100% polyester.  There are tons of tutorials online, this is the cliff notes.

Pick your rubber stamp, the simpler the pattern the better.

These intricate patterns don't work.

Turn your stamp face up on a hard surface.  I find the ironing board is to soft and I can't press hard enough.  Then put the fuzzy side down on the stamp.

Heat your iron to cotton or linen and press it on top of the velvet.  Use the part of the iron that does not have holes or you will get that impression.

Doesn't everyone iron outdoors!!

It takes about 45 seconds, but leaving longer won't hurt.  I carefully check and know it is ready when I can see the impression of the stamp on the back of the fabric.

You will need a little practice to see which stamp works best and how long to iron it.

The gift of a candle holder

A bag for coffee, candy, gifts.  I like the velvet and burlap together, soft and hard.

A gift bag

So, there you have it

I am sure a lot of you have tried this, but some times a reminder gets your wheels turning again.  It could be used in ornaments, Christmas pillow, scarves.........I see your creative brains are cranking.

I have been inspired by so many great Holiday ideas on all of your blogs, I have been bookmarking like crazy!  It seems these great ideas just fly out of my head if I don't save them.

Happy Creating! 

Have I told you lately how much I appreciate your comments?  I really do!!

Carol

My Booth is Ready for Christmas Shoppers

My booth at Orange Tree Antiques Mall in Orlando is ready for Holiday Shoppers.

Those of you who have booths know this is a huge undertaking.  Usually about 3 times a year I take just about everything out of my booth and start over.  Christmas is one of those times.  It keeps the booth fresh and this is the time that I reevaluate prices and merchandise.   Somethings that have not sold just need to go back to the thrift store where they came from!

The whole process takes about 4 hours, but it feels so good to have it done.  I thought I would share some pictures.

In my excitement over buying vintage linen I often don't see holes and stains.  I quit kicking myself and now I just see it as an opportunity.  I cut around the bad parts and make aprons out of the table cloths.  I price these at $10 and sell out every year.

My holiday linen is a very good seller.

Here is the candles I made on this post.

(3 of these have already sold, if you have a booth, get these in.  They were a huge seller for me last year)

This was just an Ok sign, I wish I was better at sign making.  I typed the word Noel and then ran some sheet music threw my printer.  I then sat outside with a match, burn't the edges, and used some paint for a little distressing.

Throughout the year I collect Avon Christmas perfume bottles.  I can only price them at $3-$4 dollars so, I never pay more than $1 for them.  I do think they add a nice touch and they always sell.

Christmas plates are a hard sell for me so, I buy very few and only buy plates made by Lefton, Fitz & Floyd etc.

If I have any old quilts with holes or stains, it is really easy to make them into Christmas stockings.  I price them at $9 and I think I sold a dozen of them last year.

So, there you have it.  My booth and online store are ready and waiting!  Here's hoping I have the right items, a good mix, the right prices, and lots of customers.......That's a lot of hoping.

Is your booth or on-line store ready?  What is your best selling Christmas item?

Happy Creating!

Carol