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Monday, November 28, 2011

Upcoming Holiday Inspiration & Merry Digi Download

Sarah, Heather and I along with a gathering of Guest Gardeners will be gifting you this holiday season with more inspirational tutorials, recipes and holiday goodness starting December 1st. 

We are pleased to announce that Traci and Leah will be returning again this month to share their beautiful work.  You won't want to miss out on their tutorials!

We also have invited some more friends to join us for the holidays:

Julie of A Vintage Chick will be there to share a creative tutorial. I just love her vintage style and her heartwarming stories of her family.

Miss Lynn of Create Breathe will be sharing some creativity that you don't want to miss. 

Ellen of  One Ripe Peach will also be here to share her inspiring holiday tutorial. 

Our gift to you....
Click on the image and them save.
 
We hope you enjoy our holiday gathering of friends and inspiration.

Sheila

Friday, November 25, 2011

Christmas Card Mini Album


I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families.
I sure did.

I am so honored to be a part of The Creative Patch.
A wonderful community of very creative women.

Today is Black Friday.
For many of you it is a day of shopping.
For me it is a day of decorating for the Christmas season.
I love everything about this upcoming holiday.
Even getting the mail.

I love Christmas cards - sending them and receiving them.

For the past few years I have saved all of the cards received and assembled them in a mini album.

A great way to save your holiday greetings in one place.
I always love to look back at them each year, read the sentiments and view any photos sent.


All you need to make this mini album - metal rings, cards, hole punch, ribbon and other holiday embellishments and a cover page.



I use one card as a template and line up the other cards with it and punch the holes.



Then I just assemble them all in the rings and tie on some festive ribbon.
I used a Christmas overlay for the front of this album and added a few embellishments.
In other years I have covered cardboard with holiday paper.
Whatever you have around your creative space.

I also try to include the Christmas card that our family sent out at the beginning of each years album.




It's so fun to see how much the kids have grown each year.
I am hoping to get my kids outside together this weekend for a photo.

Have a wonderful day ladies.
Thanks for stopping by The Creative Patch!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, I am reminded of how blessed I am to be able to put together this creative blog with help from Sarah, Heather and all our fabulous guest gardeners.  You ladies continue to inspire me and I couldn't have done it without each and everyone of you. 

Thank you.... 

And a very special thank you to all our blogging friends that have left sweet comments and words of encouragement here at The Creative Patch.  You give us all joy by just visiting..

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving.




Monday, November 21, 2011

Bottled Blessings

I am a collector/lover of bottles and jars.  While I love to decorate my home with them, I like to embellish  a bottle or jar now & then. And since this is the month for giving thanks, I thought I would "bottle" up some of the blessings I've been counting.
Supplies needed: an empty bottle or jar, vintage paper, twine or ribbon, label & sticker paper, embellishment{mine is a bejeweled flower by Prima}, glue gun & glue, scissors.  Print, type, or handwrite some "blessings" on a plain piece of paper.
Choose a graphic image to fit your bottle/jar.  Glue your "label" to the front.  Or you can scan the image like I did and print it on sticker paper{available at office supply stores}.  Cut the image out and adhere it to the bottle/jar. 
I printed my "list of blessings" on plain paper and cut them into strips.  Then, I folded the strips accordion-style and stuffed them inside the jar.
 Once you have the blessings "bottled up", cover the top of the bottle/jar.  This can be done a variety of ways...a cork, stack of buttons, some bling, etc.  I decided to wrap the bottle neck with a strip of vintage ledger paper.  With the paper "cap" in place, I then wrapped it with some twine.
 
Now, all you have to do is add an embellishment or two.  Using my glue gun, I simply glued the flower to the neck of the bottle.  As an afterthought, I added some letter stickers to my label because it seemed a bit too plain.
And there you have it, a bottle full of blessings.
Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Ribbon Napkin Rings Tutorial

Looking for an easy project to dress up your Thanksgiving table?
These ribbon napkin rings are simple to make and so fun!
I love the mix-and-match look, but you could definitely make them all the same.

Supplies:
Assorted ribbon, trim, and burlap in coordinating colors.
Buttons, lace/fabric scraps, vintage jewelry, silk flowers, acorns, or other embellishments
Scissors
Hot glue and glue gun.

Cut ribbon pieces to about 6.5 inches.

Layer ribbon as desired and glue down.  Glue embellishments to center of ribbon.
.

Flip over ribbons and fold down about 1/2" inch on each end.  Glue in place.  This will help prevent fraying and create a more finished look.  Roll ribbon into rings and glue ends together.

Easy peasy and so pretty!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Creamy Christmas Trees

Do you want to add some creamy vintage goodness to your holiday decor this Christmas Season? 
With a few minutes and some vintage goodies, you can turn these small trees into creamy goodness with a little bleach and hot water.

 Supplies:
Small Christmas Trees
Bleach - approximate 1/4 cup to approximate 1 gallon of hot water
Vintage Pearls and Small Cream Vintage Buttons
(I used pearls from a broken vintage necklace)
Vintage Mica Snow
Spray Glitter
Hot Glue Gun
 Soak mini Christmas trees in a bath of approximately 1/4 cup of bleach to a gallon of hot water.  It took approximately 15 minutes to bleach these trees. 
 Once the trees are bleached, set aside to dry completely
 Once dry, decorate your trees with vintage cream pearls and small creamy buttons by using hot glue to adhere them to the tree.
Then spray trees with glue and roll in Vintage Mica Snow to give them a dusting of freshly fall snow.

You won't be able to stop with just one tree, you will want to make a forest of Creamy Christmas Trees to add to your Christmas decor.

As I made my forest of trees I found myself humming "I'm Dreamin' of a White Christmas"! 
How about you?  Are you dreamin' of a white Christmas?  I know I am!

Sheila

***Update - I have noticed that there are botttle brush trees that are made from different materials.  Some are easier to dye than others and unfortunately some will not dye hardly at all.  My suggestion is to buy just a few to try out initially before investing in a lot.  Once you know that they will dye, then purchase more to complete your project.***

Sunday, November 6, 2011

November - Monthly Kits



We are so excited to be offering exclusive kits blooming with inspiration
 from Sarah, Heather and myself...

Heather is offering a beautiful vintage wallpaper scrap pack.
A lovely packet of 10 vintage wallpaper pieces.  These are medium-sized sheets, all measuring around 8" x 10".  These are perfect for collages, cards, journals, and many other crafting projects ~ even gift wrapping!  There are 10 different styles of wallpaper.  The collection is full of soft colors ~ creams, light greens, grays, blues, and metallics. 
*As a bonus, you will also receive a mini scrap pack with a dozen or so small pieces! (Shown in second photo.  Patterns and sizes will vary slightly in the bonus pack.)

You'll want to collect these beautiful vintage scrap pack for all your creative projects!

I am  excited to be offering my first digital collage printable sheet - Thankful Happiness.

(Artwork using Thankful Happiness - Digital Collage Sheet)

Order this digital collage sheet and print these lovely vintage images to use in all your creative artwork this fall season.


This kit features a vintage bottle brush wreath, vintage mercury glass beeds in pink, silver, blue/aqua and mica flakes.  All you need is glue, glue and more glue to create this fun Vintage Inspired Weath Ornament.  This ornamnet looks lovely on a tree or nestled in a bowl.

Please note:  The mercury glass beads will vary in size.

We all have enjoyed creating exclusive kits for your crafting pleasure this month.  Limited kits are available, so place your order soon.

See you soon for more creative tutorials.