Snow Dome Ornaments

In recent years I’ve seen a lot of neat vintage looking Christmas ornaments in the stores. The ornaments have a glass globe or bell covering a little winter scene. I’ve been wanting to make some of my own but had a hard time finding small glass coverings to use. I had pretty much given up hope. This year, my sister came across a tutorial called, DIY Vintage Inspired Bell Jar Ornaments, showing how to make your own using plastic wine glasses. The idea for the material and how to turn it into a bell shape were perfect. I’m so glad she found this helpful hint which allowed me to finally make my own vintage looking ornaments.

Santa and the Snowman

We bought our plastic wine glasses at the Dollar Tree. Lucky for me, my boyfriend has a Dremel rotary cutting tool and he was able to saw off the stems of the plastic glasses in just a few minutes time. I’m sure there are other tools you could use, but this was a suggestion in the tutorial we found, so we tried it. They won’t all be perfectly level, but handmade items are not always identical, and that’s why we love them!

Winter Gnome

For this project, your must have tools will be scissors, a glue stick, and a hot glue gun. You can choose from any number or ways to decorate your snow dome. I made the bases using patterned scrapbook paper glued onto cardboard or a cereal box. Use a circle template to trace a circle slightly larger than the rim of the glass onto the cardboard. You can cut this out with plain or decorative scissors for different looks.

To decorate the inside of the snow domes, you can use little toys, figures, or objects. I had a lot of fun using my rubber stamps to create unique little scenes. I stamped my images onto white paper and colored them with pens and colored pencils. I carefully cut them out using an X-ACTO knife. I used a little line or dot of hot glue to make the paper images stand upright on my bases. Continue adding all of your stand up elements.

Decorated base

Next, I glued the plastic dome onto the base using hot glue. To cover up the hot glue line, trim your glass with ribbon, paper, glitter, or pipe cleaner. I used pipe cleaner because it is easy to shape and dries quickly with hot glue. Then, fill your dome with fake snow, glitter, confetti, or in my case, tiny glass balls called Micro Marbles. You can get these in different colors, and a lot of scrapbook brands make them. The clear ones I used have a nice snow/ice look to them. I painted the bottom with opalescent glitter before pouring in the clear glass marbles, just for added sparkle.

Different style toppers

To close up the opening in your snow dome, you can use a little hot glue and a bead or button. I had some clear buttons that were just the right size, slightly bigger than the hole in the glass. Tie your thread or string that you are using to hang your ornament through the bead or button and use a dot of hot glue to keep the string attached to the underside of the button, that way it won’t fall into your snow globe when it’s not hanging up. Remember to add your string before you glue it closed! I used the clear button by itself, but on others, I added a second button, or a matching pipe cleaner trim. I even made a dome with a glittery ball that is just a shelf decoration instead of an ornament. The only limit is your creativity.

Vintage Charm

The above snow dome was made using a rubber stamped image of a typewriter, and metal brads in the shape of typewriter keys. By adding a seasonal message like the word, “joy”, you can turn any image into a festive decoration to match your interests or decor.

Home for the Holidays

I love this rubber stamp of a great big old house. I use it for lots of things but couldn’t resist adding simple touches like candles and a wreath on the front door. I made little trees for the front by trimming green pipe cleaner at an angle to create the shape of a tree. You could make these using photos of your own home or special restaurants or hotels to commemorate events. These would make a special gift for those hard to shop for people we all know.

A dome for any occasion

As you can see, I was having way too much fun with these! Don’t limit yourself to Christmas ornaments, or even ornaments for that matter. Above, I made this adorable squirrel that will look great displayed on a shelf, mantle, or table. This woodland dome will look great all year round. I made my own tree stump out of paper and pens, added cute little colorful acorns, and a rubber stamped squirrel. I can’t wait to make more of these for all kinds of holidays, occasions, or just for fun. This craft is a great way to pass the time with family and friends. The materials don’t cost much, especially if you utilize your rubber stamps, or cut out images from magazines and photographs. Plug in your glue guns and have fun!

Easy Gift Tags

It’s time to wrap the presents! Don’t spend money on gift tags, make your own using wrapping paper and a few craft supplies!

Make tags to match any wrapping paper

You will need some wrapping paper, plain colored paper, scissors, a hole punch, and a glue stick. If you have access to craft punches, these tags will be even quicker to make.

Supplies

Step One, glue down your paper

The first thing you will do is cut out a square of your wrapping paper and use the glue stick to glue it onto the colored paper. This creates the front and back of your tag. Wrapping paper by itself it thin and tends to tear or curl up.  Now you can either use a craft punch, or cut out a shape with scissors.

Step Two – cut out the tags

I’ve used a large circle punch, a smaller circle punch, and a corner punch. Some tags I cut by hand, simply follow the design on your wrapping paper. When you have them all cut out, use a standard size hold punch to make a hole at the top of each tag. I used a black pen to write To: and From: on the back of each tag.

Step Three – Wrap your gifts

I like to make a bunch of these all at once and keep them with my wrapping supplies. I generally wrap my presents whenever they come in the mail, or when I get home from the store. Having a matching tag makes your present look great! To use, simply thread your ribbon through the tag before you tie it around your package.

Custom and cute gift tags

Don’t forget to use plenty of curling ribbon, it’s cheaper than buying bows and so much fun to curl! Happy Holidays!

A Halloween Wreath

October is a busy time for our front doors and porches. In addition to a seemingly steady flow of political canvassers, we are coming up on that magical night, October 31st. Some years that means a small handful of trick-or-treaters, and other years, it means a steady parade of carefully constructed costumes. While running out of candy would be tragic, having an uninviting front porch would be worse. How else do you let people know they are welcome to come up and knock! In addition to flickering carved pumpkins, I always put out a few other festive decorations and lanterns. Don’t forget to leave the porch light on as well. All it takes is one decoration to let people know you celebrate this spooky holiday. If you don’t have a large doorstep or porch, then this is the ideal Halloween decoration for you. Today we are making a simple Halloween wreath.

Supplies

This craft is pretty inexpensive, I got all of my supplies for about $10.00 at Michael’s. I used a 40% coupon on the wreath itself and all of the extra bits were on sale. This black plastic wreath is just like green ones you find around Christmas time, I chose the 18″ size, pick whatever size is right for your needs. Whenever I’m making a wreath like this I always check the Christmas section for floral and wreath making accents. You might be surprised to learn that these glittery orange leaves and silvery grey balls were tucked in with with poinsettias and holly berries! Plus, if you want a bit of color in your Halloween wreath, they have some great purple and bright green accents to choose from. I picked out some black and white ribbon, a cute little wooden ornament of a spell book, and this great little owl with an orange glittering front. You will need some string, black is best, and a hot glue gun and glue sticks, also a pair of wire cutters or scissors.

Black Wreath

Before you decorate these wreaths, you need to “fluff” them out. Kind of like setting up a fake Christmas tree. The one on the left is straight out of the bag, when you pull apart all of the branches and bend them outward, you end up will a nice full looking wreath like the one on the right.

The owl and spell book

The first thing I put together was my little owl and the wooden spell book ornament. I cut off the ribbon from the ornament and tucked one of the wires from the owls feet through the hole. Then I used hot glue to secure the wire to the ornament. I glued a long piece of black string to the back of the ornament, this will allow me to tie the piece onto the wreath. I cut off the wire from the other foot and added a small drop of hot glue to secure it to the wooden book.

Owl and spell book

The owl has a small clip on the back that I secured to one of the branches and then tied my string around the wreath. I like this better than gluing the whole piece down because I can straighten in out easier when I hang this up again next year!

The black and white bow

I’m the first one to admit, I have no idea how to make a proper bow! Maybe someday I’ll learn, but this cut and glue method usually does the trick for me. I started by making four large loops, the length depends on how big you want your bow. I used hot glue to secure the ends together and to hold the middle of each loop into the pinched shape. I stacked these larger loops together using hot glue to form what is starting to look like a bow. Then, I cut a bunch of smaller strips and folded them to make half size loops, I glued the ends together and glued these single loops all the way around to fill out the bow. I did the same thing with even smaller loops to make a fuller middle section. Then I made one small loop and glued in to the center. Next, I flipped over the bow and glued a long piece of black string to the back. Just like we did for the owl, this makes the bow easy to tie on and re-position if needed.

bow with orange glittered leaves

Once my bow was tied on in the right place, I cut apart my stems of glittered leaves. I hot glued little leaf clusters on each side of the bow and continued gluing leaves down until it looked as full as I wanted, on both sides. With the bow finished and my owl in place, I put the silvery grey balls on as a finishing touch. I cut them off the cluster using wire cutters and randomly placed them around the wreath using a dab of hot glue on each. I think they break up the solid black sections nicely and give this wreath a little more glamour.

The Halloween Wreath

I have a large metal hook to the left of my front door which is where I always hang my wreaths. These don’t weigh too much though, I’ve used wire in the past to tie them to the wooden part of the screen door, or you can pick up a wreath hanger that slips over the top of the door. I’ve seen them pretty cheap this time of year, check the Dollar Tree.

Halloween is coming…

I found this green glass jar at Goodwill last week. It was only $1.99 and such a great color, I had to get it. I decided that because I didn’t “need” it, I would use it for a Halloween decoration, or candy jar.

Green Glass Jar

I used rubber stamps and scrapbook paper to make a label for my jar. I carefully cut out the stamped design and used a piece of double sided adhesive to turn it into a sticker.

Making a label

I applied my sticker to the glass jar, all done! I chose to name the contents Poison, but you could make a bunch of these using all different containers and have fun making up the various labels and contents. This was a very quick craft too, less than 15 minutes. It’s a bit early to decorate for Halloween but I couldn’t resist this Goodwill Bargain.

The Poison Jar

 

The case of the spotted monster…

Hey everyone! I’ve been staying busy with some school stuff but I am trying to make a few new things for an upcoming show. The Super Rad PDX Craft Show is this weekend, check out the details in my events section or visit Super Rad PDX! To make a long story short, this is my latest creation. I acquired more fake fur than you could imagine awhile back and just started trying some new things. This little guy started with some inspiration from a game I’ve been playing on my phone. The game is simple, feeding and playing with pet monsters. One monster in the game has curly ears that I thought were too cute. So, here is a monster with curly ears!

Curly ears

I start making new monsters by drawing out a pattern on paper. I cut out the paper pattern to mark my fabric. I originally had a different idea for the feet and this creature was going to be standing up. When I got the body sewn up and partly stuffed, I decided I wanted it to be a “sitter”. That’s how I describe flat bottoms and dangling legs or feet. So, the reason this post deserves a mystery novel title is as follows… changing a design midway is all fine and dandy, but this time I wasn’t thinking clearly and cut out a round piece for the seat area. After a frustrating amount of time, which shall remain a secret, I realized I cut the wrong shape! The last few “sitters” I made had round bottoms and by habit I just went with round. Silly me! This guy needed an oval shape, no wonder it wasn’t working!

An all around view

The thing I wanted to share with my fellow crafters is this, everyone makes a mistake once in awhile! I eventually stepped away from the table and two minutes later realized what I was doing wrong. Remember to take a break, it’s really easy to keep trying the wrong way hoping it will magically work. Even when I’m doing something like this, that I love and enjoy, I need to take breaks. Lesson learned. In the end, I am pleased with this new creature and I’m sure it will be a big hit at the show on Sunday.

The curly eared monster

Glow in the dark eyes

 

 

 

 

 

A Fresh Coat of Paint

The red bird

I plant a lot of flowers every summer for my container garden. Years ago I purchased this resin bird statue to sit among my flowers. I leave this bird on my back patio all year round and the sun and rain end up fading it. Every other summer I repaint it and give it a couple coats of spray varnish. I’m pretty sure this statue will last forever! Well, this year I’ve been seeing all kinds of amazing bright green and orange flower pots. Because I already have more than enough flower pots, I decided to bring in a bit of new color with paint. Since my red bird was looking less than red, I figured it was time to try green!

My shiny new bird statue

I gave it a good scrub with soapy water and let it dry. I used some acrylic paint I had already, the color is called Citron Green. I didn’t bother with a base coat of primer or anything, so I had to do about three coats of green to get a good even finish. Once that was dry I sprayed it with the clear to help it last longer in the rain and sun. I really love this color!

Fresh greens

I put the bird next to my Coleus plants. The way the leaves match the birds green color is great, and the purple and pinks make it pop even more. After seeing how bright and modern my bird was looking, I decided to repaint a small bunny statue I had.

Brown bunny statue

This little guy came from the Dollar Tree. Like the bird, it’s resin and will last for a very long time, it just started looking kind of faded and not as cute. An easy fix, white paint! I’ve loved seeing all of the things people paint white these days, from thrift store statues to ugly lamps. A solid white object looks really modern and cool. I scrubbed the bunny with soapy water and let it dry. I used white acrylic paint and gave it a spray of clear varnish as well.

The white bunny

This little bunny fits in the palm of your hand, and fits neatly on top of a flower pot. I love the contrast with bright flowers and leaves. Next year I think I’ll repaint a few more garden statues and maybe even some of my flower pots. This was a free project because I already had the paints on hand. A little more than an hour, quicker if you use spray paint, and you get a whole new look!

DIY Glass Fusing and Glass Blowing

It’s summer time, that usually means making time for something fun! Whether you are out of school or just have a day off work, you might be looking for an activity to do with friends or family. Awhile ago I posted about DIY ceramic painting, which is a great option. Today I want to share my experiences with DIY glass art.

My first class was purchased from Groupon. This was for “Intro to Fusing” which was offered by Aquila Glass School here in Portland, OR. This class was a lot of fun and we got to make several pieces to take home. Fusing glass is a process where you cut and layer glass pieces that will be “fused” together in a kiln. This process is easy to learn and allows for a lot of creativity. You will end up with amazing art glass.

Ready to be fused

I took this picture at the end of the class. Here you can see the items I’ve made before they enter the kiln. In this class, we learn how to use the tools to break and cut our glass, we learn how to assemble our pieces and get them ready for firing.

Pendant pieces

We each made four pendants. The two on the left are fired until they are “tack fused” meaning they are stuck together but the edges are still defined and you will feel the separate layers. The two on the right are “full fused” meaning that the glass is heated to the point where the layers melt down into one, these are smooth to the touch.

My glass tray

The biggest piece we made was a 5″x8″ glass tray. These start out with a clear 5″x8″ sheet of glass. You get to pick out your colors, which if you notice the orange circles on my tray, can include patterned glass. We cut our glass to the sizes and shapes we wanted and they layered them onto the clear glass base. I used an opaque brown and cream colored glass as well as the translucent red and yellow. If you stack the pieces just over the edge of the clear base you can get a sort of scalloped look like mine, or make them line up for a straight edge. These pieces are fully fused into one smooth layer. To get the shape of a tray, they are fired a second time, this is called slumped glass. The piece is placed over a mold and heated, the glass will become hot and drape itself over the mold, taking that shape.

My glass bowl

The last piece is a 4″x4″ bowl. This was fun to make because we all had to use the same basic technique. The base is a clear sheet of glass. We were given a 3″x3″ square of opaque gray glass which we wrapped in a towel and broke with a hammer. Once you had your gray shards of glass you would lay them back into a square on top of the clear glass. By lining up the gray edges with the clear edge you get a neat cracked look. Then it was up to us to embellish it and make it unique. I chose all opaque glass in red, yellow, and blue. This piece was also slumped to get the bowl shape.

Glass fusing is really fun to learn and produces satisfying results in a short time. A few hours of class and a couple days for firing later, I got to pick up my finished art. The coolest part is that once you take this class, Aquila glass will let you use their studio to create on your own! The staff are very knowledgeable and helpful, so I wouldn’t feel intimidated to give glass fusing a try again. This is one of those projects that can be as simple or as complicated as you want. These items also make pretty home decor, if you’re willing to part with your creation, they would be lovely gifts as well. Let me know if you take this class and feel free to share a picture on the Created by Jess Facebook page!

In the shop at Live Laugh Love Glass

My second adventure with glass was a glass blowing class that I purchased through Living Social. This was “Blow your own glass masterpiece, level 1″ at Live Laugh Love Glass in Tigard, OR. This place is amazing! The studio and all other areas are incredibly clean and comfortable. I went with my sister, grandma, and aunt. We had a great time and it was only the four of us in the studio! Our instructor, Jeff, was  a very nice guy and really helped us to learn the process so that we could make our own pieces with him observing. It was very rewarding picking up the finished piece and knowing that with only a few steps done by Jeff, we had made the rest. The Hot Shop is bright and very warm, while this could be a dangerous place, you don’t have to worry because safety is a priority and you will be in good hands. This start to finish class covers materials, techniques, equipment, safety, and fun. We watched Jeff do each step and then tried it ourselves. One at a time we went through the whole process until our piece was finished. I really liked this one on one attention and felt confident going through each step on my own, knowing the instructor was supervising and could help out if you started to get nervous or had a hard time with anything. You can stay and watch from the Hot Shop as your friends make their piece, or you can observe through the large glass wall from the comfort of the air conditioned room with cozy seating and beverages. You get to pick your colors from a really large selection, and Jeff was really patient explaining how some look totally different when you heat them up, or others are clear or opaque.

My blown glass piece

I made a large glass float and had Jeff put a loop of glass on it so that I can hang it up. I chose green, brown and yellow to match some other colors in my living room, in case I wanted to hang in inside. These look so pretty outdoors with the light shining through them though, I think it’s going to be garden art! The finished pieces are really strong. There are a few choices to make in your first class, and I’m sure you’ll find the right colors for you, have fun!