Christmas Quick Fixes

Just a few tibits today - I hope they might make the next week a little easier on you, or at least inspire you to be creative with supplies you already have in your stash!

I find that when I'm rushing around getting ready for the holidays it's beneficial to have a few tricks up my sleeves (quick fixes!) for holiday wrapping, sending and gifting.  There's never enough time in the day to squeeze in EVERYTHING you originally intended - so sometimes you need to work with what you have in order to get things done!

Quick Fix 1:  Scrappy Gift Tags

I always, ALWAYS forget about gift tags!  I don't make them, I don't buy them, I just completely forget about them!  When I was a little girl my Mum used to save all of last years cards and cut around the pictures to make large gift tags.  With a little inspiration from my friend Meg Herr (Hi, Meg!) I revisited her tradition with a twist this year...

All you need are some old Christmas cards, some fun punches, and ribbon from your stash.  Just punch out shapes from your cards (they don't even have to be centered, or entire images - I think they look best when they are a little off kilter!), punch a hole in top, thread ribbon through and you're done!

Quick Fix 2:  Sprucing up Christmas letters

One thing that I love about the Holidays is receiving Christmas letters from friends and family.  I also really enjoy writing ours - just because it gives me the opportunity to reflect on the past year.

In the past I've bought store bought pretty (EXPENSIVE!) holiday paper from the office supply store to run through my printer.  This year I had aspirations of getting some cream paper and doing some stamping and embossing on the letters.  On fifty five letters?!  Who was I kidding?!

Well my Stampin' Around Jumbo from Stampin' Up! came in INCREDIBLY useful.  I left enough space on the bottom to roll an image.  I used Christmas Chatter stamp and real red ink.  It hardly took any time at all to roll the bottom of each letter.  Maybe because of my helpful stamping buddy Oliver, shown above!

Quick Fix 3:  Origami Boxes

I had a couple of very small things to wrap - and of course the store was all out of small boxes when I purchased the gifts.  I just took some scrapbook paper (I used the Merry Moments Designer Series paper from Stampin' Up!) and put together a couple of origami boxes.  They are super quick and easy to fold - you can see my tutorial on these HERE.  Some ribbon from your stash ties the boxes up and you're good to go!

Thanks for popping by today - despite the rush of the holidays!  What are some of your quick and crafty fixes for the holidays?  Share with us in a comment below!

Happy Friday!

Christmas Guest Post Series #2: Scrapbook Style Stocking with Mega•Crafty!

I'm so pleased to bring you the second in a series of four holiday-themed guest posts here at Ready, Set, Craft! Today I'm thrilled to have Meg of  Mega•Crafty guest posting and sharing this great stocking project with us!

Hi there Ready, Set, Craft readers! I'm so happy to be doing a guest post on Joanne's blog. Today I'm personalizing a store bought stocking with my own pictures.

I've printed photos of my new nephew (isn't he cute... couldn't resist a doting aunt moment) onto printable fabric sheets using a regular ink jet printer.

I trimmed the photos with scissors and played around with different layouts until I was happy.  These sheets have iron-on adhesive on the back but I decide to glue them to the stocking with fabric glue because I wasn't sure if the iron would ruin the fuzzy material.

To finish the edge I made a frame by glueing on some ribbon. You could also sew a really nice border or use ric-rac style trim (that would be so cute). Then I embellished the frame with a few more pieces of ribbon.

I found the printable fabric sheets in the sewing isle of the craft store.  The entire project was really quick, it only took about half an hour. And now I'm thinking about all the other projects I could use these for. I bet you could make some really cute reusable shopping bags or even hand bags.

Thanks to Joanne for hosting my project today!

I love this! Isn't Meg's nephew a DOLL?!  Be sure to leave Meg a comment and let her know how much you love her stocking, and then head over to her blog to check out all of her wonderfully crafty projects.  And don't forget to tell her that Joanne at Ready, Set, Craft! sent you over!

Poinsetta Pens

Good evening, crafty friends!  So sorry to be getting this post to you so late in the day -- I'm a little lot behind schedule!  Today I've got some darling little pens to share with you which would be a great gift for teachers, co-workers, etc. around the holidays - or a stocking stuffer for the ladies in your life.

All I did was follow my original flower pen tutorial HERE.  I nabbed the glittery poinsettas from the dollar store at a buck a punch, and already had the floral tape and pens in my stash.

If you're going to give these a shot, be sure to check out the helpful hints HERE.

Be sure to join me here tomorrow to welcome our second in the series of four holiday guest bloggers... you DON'T want to miss her WONDERFUL project!

Baby Christmas Gifts 1: Appliqued Onesies

I wish I could say that I am making EVERY Christmas gift I'm giving this year - but I'm not. Maybe one year that will be the case - but not this year. What I AM trying to do, however, is make sure that everyone gets a touch of handmade loving with their gifts. You know, 'cause I like to keep it real like that! : )

One particular little lady in my life will be receiving a couple of appliqued onesies. If you've been around for awhile, you know that I LOVE me some appliques! I really enjoy making my own appliques and customizing store-bought pieces. It's a nice way to add a personal touch.


To see my tutorial on making and sewing your own appliques - head HERE.

I cut a whole bunch of appliques for this project - I like to have extras on hand for last minute gifts...


I just LOVE these little elephants! Serious cuteness!




The outline stitching done by machine doesn't need to be perfect - a little bit of crooked-ness adds to the charm. At least that's what I tell myself! : )


This one took a lot of time since there were so many appliques to sew on, but I think it turned out super cute!




And you haven't seen the end of the appliques yet! They will be making an appearance here again soon! (amongst other things... don't worry!)

Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Guest Post Series #1: Crafty Ornaments with angelina la dawn tomato

Happy Monday! We're kicking off the week with the first in a series of four guest posts here at Ready, Set, Craft! Today I'm thrilled to have Angie, of angelina la dawn tomato, guest posting and sharing her adorable ornaments with us. Enjoy!


i'm a fan of all things plushy, so i've been making a ton of these ornaments lately! they're really easy, and i love the final product- crafty with a rustic touch


supplies:
(my crafting philosophy is all about using what you have and making it work for you, so i see most of this as a guideline)

scissors
hot glue (a crafty girl's best friend),
sewing machine (or needle and thread since there is minimal sewing involved)
ribbon (just a few inches worth)
embellishments (puff paint, buttons, and sequins)
fabric in two colors (i'm using wool fabric upcycled from thirft store skirts) but you can use whatever you have. if it's not heavy enough just use some fusable interfacing
polyfil (or other stuffing)
freezer paper (one of my favorite craft supplies!)

before we start, a word about freezer paper. it's amazing! you can use it for lots of different crafts. it's paper on one side and plastic on the other, so you can write on it (if needed) and iron it onto pretty much anything and it peels right off. (which also means you can use it again) you can get it pretty much anywhere (it's with the foil and plastic wrap), it's cheap and you get a lot of it (i've had my roll for over a year)

in this craft, i use it for ironing onto fabric to use as a pattern of sorts. it's easier than pinning something down, or tracing onto fabric (but both will work if you don't want to use/get it)
i could go on and on about it but i won't, and we'll move onto the directions!

step 1: take your freezer paper and draw a circle (i'm using a cup as a guide) and then add a little sqaure on top. (see? it's ornament shaped!) now iron it onto your chosen fabric (since freezer paper is actual paper, make sure the iron is on a dry setting with no steam so it won't pucker)




after you've got it ironed on, cut it out, peel off the paper and then repeat (so you have two pieces of fabric the same shape)



step 2: put your two pieces of fabric together and pin the ribbon in place and sew all around the edge. make sure to leave a small hole so you can stuff it!




step 3: stuff it! and when you're done, sew up the opening.


step 4: make a snowflake on your freezer paper (if you're like me and can't draw at all, find an image you like on the internet. just make sure it fits onto your ornament)

iron the snowflake onto your fabric, cut it out and peel the paper off.



step 5: after you've got your snowflake cut out, hot glue it onto your stuffed ornament (you can sew it on if you'd like, but you have to do that at the beginning of step 2, and i think it's more work than it's worth)



step 5: embellish! i put some iridescent puff paint and sequins in strategic places so it sparkles and finish with a button in the middle.


ta da! you're done! now go make a whole bunch more :)
(which should be easy because you've kept your freezer paper patterns!)


you can of course use all kinds of different designs or images, and embellishments. maybe letters (you can line them up to spell "peace" or "joy") you could sew on beads or use yarn instead of ribbon. personally i think there are lots of possibilities. i also made matching wreath.


So what are you waiting for? Leave Angie a comment and let her know how FABULOUS her ornaments are, and then head over to her blog to check out her projects, photos, and stories about her life in Kansas. And don't forget to tell her that Joanne at Ready, Set, Craft! sent you over! Love her stuff so much you have to have it? Check out her Etsy shop!