Let It Snow, Let It Snow Banner

Since things were so busy before the holidays and I had so many plans for the new year, I decided to make my holiday banner a winter banner, so I could leave it up on my tree all season. Of course, I still have the holiday stuff up, so this photo shows the banner with all of it’s holiday attire, but I assure you, the ornaments and Christmas cards will soon be packed away…

I started with a 6×6 paper pad from Michael’s and cut out tags using dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs to make the banner. I added a few cut outs from the paper pad, as well.

Then, I embellished with silver glitter paper using dies from Impression Obsession and a deer punch. I used the Sizzix Precision Base Plate to get the thin metal dies to cut through the glitter paper.

Then I added ribbon and buttons and strung it up with a bit of twine … since the tree is in my hallway where the lighting is poor, the photos on the tree never look great, but you get the idea!

Tray by the Sea

When you have beautiful paper, like the By The Sea collection from Graphic 45, creating an elegant piece of home decor is really quite simple.

I started with an old tray I had picked up at Goodwill, painted a bright blue, decided I didn’t like it, and stashed it in a closet for a year. For this project, I pulled it out again and covered that blue with white.

Then, I added a layer of Distress Crackle Paint. Once dry, I used a dauber to add a bit of coffee Archival Ink to help highlight the cracks and crevices.

Then, I covered the tray with paper. (the gold is some Halloween paper from Reminisce).

I sanded a bit of the paper off, which also took off various layers of paint. There are even a few spots where some of that blue came through. It created a beautiful finish!

Once all covered in paper, I added a thin layer of Glastique with a paintbrush to the entire tray to seal it. The Reminisce paper bubbled with the liquid, so I would not recommend using it in this application … but I made it work.

Next, I added some fibers a friend gave me. The burlap ribbon is from Michael’s. The twine is from May Arts. I’m not sure where the other fibers came from.

I tied lots of them to the ends of the tray. they are so soft and match so well!

I love this tray! It matches my living room perfectly and is filled with all of my favorite colors. Thank you, Graphic 45 for the papers and Anna for the fibers!!