Paper Ball Ornament with Rose

I have always loved making my own ornaments.  I have made many over the years. They have been different colours and styles but all made by me and sometimes my children. I feel a real christmas tree always looks best decorated with ornaments that have been made with love. I will try to share a few of my favourites that are easy enough to make you can get the children involved.

To make these, I started with a styrofoam ball that I purchased from my local dollarstore. I took a piece of paper ribbon and made a hanging loop. I then used a straight pin (from my sewing box) to pin the loop to the ball. If it seems loose add a dap of tacky glue to secure.

The next step is to take old book pages and rip them into small pieces. I like to use the bits that are left over from other paper projects. Using a small foam brush and mod podge, glue the pieces to the ball. When the ball is covered in paper, go over it with more mod lodge to make sure it is wet. Holding the ball over a paper plate and coat with glitter. Hang to dry overnight.

To finish it off, make a small bow with the paper ribbon and attach using hot glue. Add a small paper rose to the middle if desired. Instructions for the rose are HERE.

If you would like to purchase one already made, check out my Etsy shop HERE to see if I have any in stock.

Another Evergreen Artisan Market

It's always good to relax after all the work that goes into a craft show like the Evergreen. It is a big event and I put a lot into making a nice display of my work. Not to mention all the work that goes into making the items.

I am always surprised what sells and what doesn't. What does well one year may not do well the next.  I was very happy to see that everyone seemed to love my owls as much as I do. All the owls that sold went to good homes. I could see that they would be loved. I will be putting the pattern on my Etsy Shop later this week if anyone is interested in making one yourself. I do have a few owls left that will go into the shop as well and will take orders. If interested, contact me through my Etsy shop or at bettysusanneATgmailDOTcom.

Another surprise was that I sold ALL of my handwoven tea towels. Since weaving is still new to me I was quite flattered that they were so well received. I am already making plans to weave up some more. I forgot to save one for myself! I really thought there would be some left over for me. 

A big thank you to all who came out to support me and all the other artisans this past weekend. 

Spinning and Weaving

For Christmas one of my darling daughters gave me a membership to our local Spinners and Weavers Guild.  What a wonderful gift this has turned out to be!

I have spent the last few months meeting kind, talented people and learning wonderful new skills! I can now spin and weave! I have wanted to learn to spin for the past ten plus years so this is awesome. Sure, I still need more practice but I can turn fibre into yarn. It's amazing! I have even started knitting with the yarn I've made. What a thrill.

This is some llama fibre from a local farm. 

This is a cowl knit from the llama yarn. It's very soft. 

                                          (I realize the colour looks off. It looks grey above and brown below. 

                                    In person it is more brown. I'll try to get better pics when the weather permits. )

As for weaving, I always new I'd never be in a position to own my own loom so I never even dreamed of weaving anything.  Being a member of the guild gives me access to a loom and knowledgeable people who are glad to help. Now there are a lot of projects on my list. So far I've made a scarf and two shawls, which I am quite happy with. And I'm looking forward to starting on tea towels soon. Yeah, you read right, I'm going to make my own tea towels. Never in my wildest dreams would I think of making tea towels. I'm told that once I make my own I'll never waste money on cheap ones again. I'll let you know how it goes.

My first weaving project, a wool scarf. I'm very happy with the results.

My first shawl on the loom. Love the colours.

This is the loom that I've been using with my second shawl started on it. 

If it ever decides to stop being winter here and spring arrives, I'll try to get outside and take some pictures of the completed shawls. They will be perfect for warmer weather.

Thanks for stopping by!
Betty

P.S. I guess you're never too old to learn new tricks!

December Already?

December is a month that always seems to take me by surprise. For most of the year it is always in the distance but then it is suddenly December and it goes by so quickly.  Already it is the third and there is so much that needs to be done!

Lucky for me my darling husband saw paperwhites at the store a few weeks back and bought some for me. Thanks to some houseguests, I was able to get motivated to plant them. They are starting to grow now and by Christmas will be in full bloom. Paperwhites are definitely one of my favourite things about the season.  They are very fragrant and look so elegant, standing tall all green and white.

My children love our Santa advent calendar (bought from Ikea a few years back). They don't even want a candy treat inside, just a secret message that hopefully leads to a fun activity. I've been recycling the same messages but they don't seem to mind. The joy on their faces as they take turns reading the messages is another of my favourite things.

Living away from family means that the first week of December is Christmas card writing time. I like to include the girls school photo as most people on my list we don't see often.  This year I thought, well why don't I make them? I'm not 'working' so I should have lots of time. Well, they are almost ready to be mailed out (tomorrow fingers crossed). I decided to make the folded paper page trees that I had made into ornaments for the sale. Instead of adding a hanger I glued it to a kraft paper card that I had stamped with snowflakes. Very simple and fun to make. For a select few, I've included an ornament inside.

Well, I better go finish these off and start getting the house cleaned up.  We don't have a tree up yet and you can't have Christmas without a tree!