Glass Christmas Ornament

Ginger Bowie at Ginger Snap Crafts created this amazing 2012 ornament.   For this project, you'll need the following supplies.  

Head on over to Ginger Snap Crafts for the full tutorial, step by step!

DIY Fabric Pinwheel Ornament

Last week I shared Mae Armstrong's Embroidery Hoop Christmas Wreath.  In doing this project, she realized that she had a lot of extra fabric, so she came up with idea to also do some ornaments.  This project is festive, fun and personalized:  she used her Gigi Monogram Peel & Stick stamps by PSA Essentials. 

The fonts on these Monogram sets really are fun!  She stamped the "A" onto wooden discs to be the center of the ornaments.

Using her Big Shot, Mae selected a circle die to help her with the fabric pinwheel production. It was a truly a great way of cutting all the fabrics she needed.  You'll need five circles to complete one pinwheel.

To assemble the pinwheel start by folding the circle in half.  (This is exactly the same way she assembled the pinwheels for the embroidery hoop!) 

Then fold into a cone shape making sure the edges meet. Secure with glue and begin with the rest of the of the remaining pre-cut fabric. Mae suggests cutting all the circles in one batch and the rest of the process gets really easy.

Arrange the folded pieces to make a circle. Glue the stamped wooden disc.

 Attach a stretchy gold string and that's it!

Try making different sets for friends, family, teacher gifts or a fun gift tag for the Christmas! 

Advent Calendar #3

Our trend setting designers have shown us two great advent calendars, and last but not least is the fantastic Gina Luker of the Shabby Creek Cottage.  Her blue, white and silver color combination is refreshing during the sea of red and green in December!



She's used her PSA Essentials Vanilla Peel & Stick stamps on various pieces of die cut papers.  She's stamped directly onto some scalloped dies or framed into other papers.   She's layered papers, fabrics, baker's twine, and bags to create a lot of texture and visual interest in this project.  In each bag lies a treat, something different each day - a surprise for the kids!



Share your ideas for advent calendars on our Facebook page or here on the blog.  I am loving the DIY trend and can't wait to do one of my own.

Advent Calendar #2

I like Ashley's spin on an advent calendar.  Rather than go for a 24 day countdown, she's chosen 12 days (for various reasons, but the one I like most is so that her husband can be a part of the tradition with her family and he's super busy right now!)  I love the bright green and cheery red, and the polka dot paper she's chosen.   I love that it's an activity, too!  

Want more reasons I love it?  When you pull them out, each becomes an ornament!  When they're all pulled off, it's a decorative Christmas tree!  It's one project with so many uses. 

To recreate, you will need the following supplies: 

12 Mason Jar Lids (with the band)

Scrapbook Paper

16×20 canvas (I used the really thin one)

Fabric for the background

Thread

PSA STAMPS - PSA Vanilla Peel & Stick stet

Paper punch or scissors

A way to glue the paper to the lids

First, Ashley used her paper punch to cut out circles to fit on the mason jar lids.  Then she stamped on the numbers using her PSA Essential Stamps Vanilla Peel & Stick stamps. 

 Then she glued the “pretty side” on the under part of the lid.

Next she punched out some plain white circles to write down her activity for that day and glued them onto the other side.  Check out these activities, I am totally doing this!  "Watch Charlie Brown", "Make Apple Cider,"  "Build a snowman" (Okay, I can't do that one with our warm weather...) 

Then she glued some ribbon on the back side (with the white circles) to make them ornaments.  Now, set those aside and work on the Christmas tree part!

Lay out the mason jar lids in the shape of a Christmas tree and then tie them together with some string. Ashley used crochet thread. 

Ashley then took fabric covered canvas and put a thumb tack in to hold up the mason jar bands.

You'll want to hang the mason jar bands with the top “right” side against the canvas so you can stick the lids in there. 

Then Ashley added a paper banner on the top and some paper presents with washi tape decorations on the bottom. 

Here's what you are left with when all the ornaments are removed! 

What do you think of this?  I am loving it! 

Advent Calendar #1

Advent Calendars are back.  Big time.  They're by far the biggest trend I am seeing this season in the crafting world.  Just hop on Pinterest, huge blogs like Tip Junkie, Tatertots and Jello or Eighteen25.  Everyone's doing them.  Over the next three days, I am sharing three great ideas by three different PSA Essentials Design Team Members who prove that just because everyone else is doing them, doesn't mean they can't be unique.  In fact, I am pretty sure they're the trend setters.

Up first is our talented Mae Armstrong whose retro red advent calendar uses our PSA Essentials Archive Peel & Stick stamps, plywood, and tin pails.

Mae used 25 miniature buckets and spray painted them in red.  She picked the gloss to make the red pop like red lipstick - it's a Christmas red, don't you think?  Air dry for 24 hours and set aside.

Using her Silhouette SD, Mae prepared 25 decorative labels and stamped the numbers using PSA Essentials Peel & Stick Stamp Archive stamp set.

 

She glued the stamped labels on the painted buckets.

 

Mae then used a 1/2 x 2 x 2 Birch Plywood and glued the decorated buckets. 

And in those short steps, she's created a super cute advent calendar.  Mae is going to put this project to good use with her twin boys! 

Embroidery Hoop Christmas Wreath

It is the day after Thanksgiving --which in the retail world and in the crafting world is synonymous with getting ready for Christmas.   If you happen to be at home today, instead of fighting the crowds at the stores, check this one out!  Our talented design team member Mae Armstrong came up with her very own embroidery hoop Christmas wreath. As always, she puts a lot of time and care into her work and has taken the time to share it step by step with us today! 

Mae started by using the biggest embroidery hoop she could find at Michael's.  (Don't forget your Michael's coupon!) 

 Trim the size of the base fabric. For this wreath Mae selected natural burlap as her main canvas.  



Insert the burlap and attach the outer hoop. Tighten the screw and secure. Gently stretch the burlap making sure it's nice and flat. Set aside.

 

Mae also wanted a black initial and she found that felt was the best option. Using her Silhouette SD, she selected a decorative font and trimmed the letter. She used freezer paper and ironed it using a low setting onto the felt to serve as her pattern.  She then cut the felt and glue the letter onto the center of the stretched burlap.

 

Mae chose to decorate her wreath with stamped wooden discs mounted on a fabric pinwheel. She used the PSA Essentials peel and stick TreeO stamp set.

Using her Big Shot, Mae selected a circle die to help her with her fabric pinwheel production. It was a truly a great way of cutting all the fabrics she needed.  You'll need five circles to complete one pinwheel.  (And she made a lot of pinwheels!) 

To assemble the pinwheel start by folding the circle in half.

Then fold into a cone shape making sure the edges meet. Secure with glue and begin with the rest of the of the remaining pre-cut fabric.

Mae made a whopping 14 pinwheels for this wreath as she wanted cover the entire hoop. That means this project required 70 circles to complete the wreath.  Since she knew she was going to re-use it again she didn't mind the time of putting it together.  (This woman is amazing!)

Arrange the folded pieces to make a circle. Glue the stamped wooden disc.

Line the edge of the hoop with the fabric pinwheels and spread them out. Secure each pinwheel with glue.

And voila!  Didn't it turn out beautifully!?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at PSA Essentials.  Enjoy the day with your family or friends, we truly hope you have a great day.  I found this subway art print from one of my favorite designers, Monika Wright.  Her fabulous blog inspires me all the time. 

I love it all by Monika Wright: http://www.etsy.com/listing/60628073/thankful-family-rules-subway-art-print

Thanksgiving Cards

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!   If your plans include going to someone else's home, are you bringing anything as a thank you for hosting the dinner?  If you are lucky enough to be "off" and not cooking, crafters may consider a homemade card (coupled with a bottle of wine, perhaps!)  Here are two ideas by two talented ladies. 

By Jennifer Ingle - Stamps from Happy Holiday & Just a Note Peel & Stick by PSA Essentials

By Kelley Eubanks - Uses Hello Kitty Trick or Treat Peel & Stick stamps by PSA Essentials

Another great idea for a hostess gift is one of our "grab and go" Peel & Stick stamps for the cook.  We recently launched these 7 new pre-packaged, ready to go stamps.  Just pair them with a PSA Stamper or use with an acrylic block and stamp recipes, canning jars, treat bags, and so much more!  You personalize it at home. 

What do you think?  Which is your favorite.  I am partial to the pig!  You can get these great new designs at any of our retailers, or visit Cyber Savvy Shop to check out their specials.