Hello! How has your day been? Did you have to work today? I didn't! YAY! The kiddos were all off too. I have spend the day cooking, baking and crafting and I can't wait to share my creations with you so don't forget to follow me on BLOGLOVIN to see what I come up with next! My husband took my car in to be inspected and licence today before having to work tonight and tomorrow BUT it is his LAST week as a Patrol officer! He starts Detectives on Monday, December 1! We are pretty excited about it!  But anyway on to the second craft from my Girls Crafting Day this past Saturday with my lovely friend Cheri in her new house!

To make this craft you will need:

Your choice of large plastic charger

Chalkboard paint

Foam paintbrush

Letter Stickers

Ribbon  and Bow Tying Skills or Pre-made Bow

Adhesive Rhinestones (optional)

Plate Stand (optional)

First lay down newspaper or plastic bags to protect your surface. Be sure to mix chalkboard paint before starting,

Then paint the center of your charger with the chalkboard paint. We found dabbing it on thick for the first coat worked better than painting with strokes. Then go back and dab in missed areas. I then gave mine a second coat - it dries very nice and smooth!

Next I added a strip of adhesive red rhinestones around the center of the charger. I wanted mine to be really blinged out! It was super easy I just peeled off the strips of rhinestones and lined them up! I love how it added to the finished project and brought it all together!

After the paint dries add your letter stickers starting with "Christmas" and then centering the other words above it. You can see where I messed up and had to repaint! I hate centering letters! You can see this in my scrapbook layouts because I almost always but letter stickers for titles on a straight edge or purposefully crooked!

Finally use ribbon to make a bow if you are capable of doing so....or buy a pre-made bow (like me) and attach with hot glue gun!

And there you have it! A custom easy countdown charger! I love how mine looks and it will look great with my red, white, and silver, Candy Cane themed decor!

Here is Cheri's almost finished. I love hers too! She went with a more rustic burlap look but it is equally fabulous!

What do you think? Thanks for looking! Feel free to pin!

Find Joy in the Journey,

Tess

How is your week going? Mine is GREAT! Only two work days this week! I tried a Chestnut Praline Latte at Starbucks this morning (because they were out of Salted Caramel AND Caramel Brulee) and it was pretty good!I am ready to start cooking the next few days for Thanksgiving. I don't have to do the whole meal because we are going to my Mom's Friday for Thanksgiving it will be our first Thanksgiving their since Dad died three years ago. Thanksgiving is so hard for me with the memories of Dad attached to it. We will g0 visit his grave site too. Anyway didn't mean to be a downer! Let's check out the craft I have to share with you today! This past weekend I got to visit my dear friend Cheri at her beautiful new house! We planned two pinterest crafts and each bought materials for one and then shared! First we chose these wine bottle Santas. I am sharing it first so you can start saving wine bottles!

For this project you will need:

Wine Bottles with the labels removed.

Red Spray paint - I LOVE the Red Shimmery one we used (from Hobby Lobby)

a dowel (to hold the bottles when painting)

Jute or Twine

Thick Black Ribbon

Small Crystals ( the strips work best!)

Large Crystals

Jingle Bells (optional)

First - Spray paint the bottles outside (on a NON-windy day preferably) using the dowel. Let dry.

Then wrap Jute or Twine around the top and bottom securing with hot glue. I found the bottom to be tricky and need hot glue all the way around the bottom first layer of jute. This really helps hold the base and keep it from coming off of the bottom.

Next Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to go around the bottle and glue down.

Finally add the bling "buckle" outline, and bling buttons.

You can also add a couple jingle bells if you would like. I left the jute off of the middle bottle and plan to leave off the buttons and maybe add jingle bells to it or black bling buttons. 

What do you think?!?!? I love how they turned out! These would be cute on a buffet or mantle. You could also use them as candle stick holders!

Find Joy in the Journey,

Tess

Today I have a super easy ribbon pumpkin tutorial for you!

All you need is:

Scrap Ribbon

Pins, Hot Glue, or Double Sided Tape

1 pumpkin real or foam

Start by cutting your lengths of ribbon - you can do whatever color combination you wish! I chose fall colors so that it could set out from September till Thanksgiving!

You can use any kind of ribbon, thin, thick, sheet etc.

Then you will start at the bottom and adhere your ribbon - you can see here I used pins and then pinned again at the top. Using hot glue you could do the same or put the glue the whole length of the pumpkin. Double sided tape you would put the whole length. I must say my kids have played with this and it has really held up well!

For the top I decided to cover the stem and make it decorative. I just looped and pinned some ribbon all the way around the stem which covers up the pins and ends of the stem ribbon. Yes you can see it if you are looking down on it but that is the only time and who is going to do that if it is setting on a shelf or mantel?

The end product! I how it turned out and it took maybe 30 minutes! And if you pin it you can always change it if you want the next year. What do you think?

Find Joy in the Journey, 

Tess