Trimming the Tree

Oh dear! I haven't posted in almost a month! Well, the holidays can be like that, right? Wonderfully hectic :) I have committed myself to making a few gifts, not all, I don't think I'm a crafty pro yet! I decided to make ornaments for a circle of girl friends who are all very crafty. Originally I knew I wanted to make things with paper rosettes but I had no idea what they were called or how to make them. That is, until I found two extremely helpful tutorials...
This one required multiple squares of paper that you fold and glue together.
The second one used long strips of paper that you pleat with a fan fold. My poor little hands almost gave out on me with this technique! I would recommend the squared method in the first tutorial to anyone that has tendinitis or arthritis. It's a little bit easier on the hands. So! Here are the results...
This is the Pink Slipper ornament. This poor baby sat unfinished on my desk for weeks before I finally was able to put the rosette on top. From there it only took about 15 minutes to finish! My hubby was stunned and suggested I make another one and "take some time with it" if I wanted to give it as a gift. I guess that's part of my creative process. While it sat on my desk, I was busy "finishing" it in my mind. I knew exactly what I wanted to do... just needed that rosette! I wish you could see the sparkle all over. I did buy myself some silver Krylon glitter spray and this little shoe got a generous dose.

Tis the Season Dear! Or should I say, Deer? I really love this ornament. It has a large rosette, silky green ribbon, tons of glass glitter and a cute baby deer. A lot of this paper came from a scrap swap I did at Swap-bot.com. The deer is a sweet bit of clip art from the internet. I bought the glitter at American Harvest in Pleasanton. Their shop is a true winter wonderland right now! I am not ashamed to say that I was influenced and inspired by the gorgeous art they have in their store.










So, I whipped up ornments #1 and #2 at lightning speed. But what to do about #3? I have 3 crafty friends and I wanted them each to have something unique and special. After perusing Etsy.com to see what the folks there were making, I decided to go with an ice skate design. I found this adorable template on Paper Craft Inspirations website. I liked the curliness of the blade and the high, slim ankle of the boot. I used lavender paper and a whole lot more glass glitter. The "laces" are threaded through white eyelets and the hanger is just silver wire adorned with beads. I intended to make two but, sheesh, one was hard enough! Maybe next year I'll make two for myself :) I especially love the snowflake button. My Mother-in-law bought me a Dress It Up set called Dashing Through the Snow. Boy, does she know how to make me smile!



Right now, all three are on my tree. I want to let each of my friends pick which one they want. I'm very interested to see who will pick what!
My other crafty plans include gifts for my mom... I'll probably post those after xmas so as not to spoil the surprise.
I also have another bottle snowperson to show you! I'll take some pics and hopefully return before the New Year ;)
blessings,
Allison