Double Duty Christmas Decor

 Have you ever had a clear vision for a project & somewhere along the way it turns into something completely different? Well, this is one of those projects... kind of. It can still be used for it's original purpose, but I'm using it in a different way.

When I saw these trees at Hobby Lobby, I thought I could pop them off of their base & use them as part of a pretty wreath.

To start my wreath, I used a flat wreath form & glued 2" half wooden balls to the form.

I left a space to add the trees.

My original thought was that I could take a hammer to the trees & knock them off of the base they were standing on. However, they were inserted into the wood & I didn't want to break them.

So, I decided to leave them attached to the base.

The trees & base were too heavy to glue onto the wreath form, so I screwed the wreath onto the base to attach it.

The trees came with a little greenery in front of them, but I wanted to add more greenery to cover the wood board that created the base for the trees. I took 2 picks of spruce with pinecones that was similar to what was already on the base, twisted their stems together, added glue along the base, & also added a screw through the stems to make sure it was secure.

To hide the board & stems, I covered them with Snow-Tex using a pallet knife.

I used the pallet knife to add a little "snow" to the greenery & the pinecones.

The final product worked fine as a wreath...

But, because I left the base on the trees, it stands up! So I decided to use it on my buffet. Now I get to see it everyday.

And, who knows, maybe next year I'll hang it on my front door!

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Christmas Wine Bottle Stoppers

 After doing a project last Spring using oyster shells to create art for Easter, I had a lot of shells leftover. You can see that project HERE. I scoured the internet looking for other projects to create with the shells. I found a lot of posts that used oyster shells to make wine bottle stoppers. So, here's my version...

I can't begin to tell you how many projects I've done using napkins to decoupage, so this was right up my alley!

I first paint the inside of the shell with white acrylic paint to cover up the dark spots. If I had skipped this step, the dark areas would show through the napkin.

I left the back of the shell natural.

When using paper napkins to decoupage you need to separate the layers. If you don't, the napkin won't adhere properly. Typically they have 3 layers, but sometimes there are 4.

For my first stopper I used this cute Christmas napkin with pretty little houses. I cut out a section of the napkin with the part of the design I wanted to use. I cut it larger than the shell. You need extra because of the curved nature of the shell.

I added a coat of ModPodge to the inside of the shell, placed the napkin on the shell, then used my finger to gently press the napkin into the shell. The napkin can tear easily when wet from the ModPodge so you need to avoid rubbing back & forth.

Once the napkin was pressed down, I used a soft brush to give the napkin a coat of ModPodge.

I let the ModPodge dry completely, then tore away the excess napkin. It helps to wet your finger with water, rub along the edge, then tear.

Using my finger, I added Gold Gilding Wax to the edge of the shell.

I used hot glue to attach the shell to the stopper.

I knew the hot glue wouldn't be enough to secure the shell long term, so I added a layer of resin, covering the glue & the edge of the shell.

When adding the resin, I did one side at a time to prevent drips, curing each side of resin under the blue light that came with my resin kit.

After curing, when the resin was hard, I used a stiff brush to cover the glue & resin with the gold gilding wax.

I didn't like that the stopper was silver & the accent on the shell was gold. So, I changed the silver to gold with the gilding wax.

When it's time to put Christmas items away, I'll have this one that I made with a napkin that can last throughout the whole winter season.

These stoppers are so fun to make. And, they'll make great gifts!

Linking To:

The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Answer Is Chocolate, Flutter Buster, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction,  Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado