Button Christmas Tree Canvas (Step-by-Step Directions)

About a year an a half ago, I made a button tree to hang in my craft room, and it was very fun to create. You can see it here

But, with the Holidays in full swing, I decided that I need to create a Button Christmas Tree to hang in its place.

Button Christmas Tree

view tutorial at imperfectsliceoflife.blogspot.com

To complete this project, you will need:

A canvas (I used an 8x10 canvas I purchased at Hobby Lobby)

Acrylic Paint (white, brown, green and a background color)

Paint Brush

Buttons (lots of green, white, brown, star, & snowflake if desired)

Pencil (to sketch out design)

Hot glue & Hot Glue Gun

Coordinating Ribbon (to create a hanger for the canvas)

I had thede two tubs of buttons I purchased for another project, so I pulled out white, green and brown

Paint used for the background

Brown, green and white paint used to paint designated areas of the cavas

Star Button for top of the tree (purchased at Hobby Lobby)

I purchased this botton assortment from Pat Catan's to give me more green buttons to complete the project

And I found these snowflake buttons at Wal-Mart - perfect to round out the canvas!

First thing to begin the project is paint the canvas.

Once the paint is dry, draw on your tree shape

Then, using a thin brush, carefully outline the tree shape using the green acrylic paint.

Fill in the entire tree shape 

While that is drying, carefully paint the trunk of the tree using the brown acrylic paint

And while that dries, paint the snow, using a thin brush and white paint

Let all paint dry. I let it dry overnight to be sure, I didn't want to smear any of the paint while I was working with the buttons.

Once it is completely dried, start to place the buttons on the canvas.

I started with the trunk because it was the smallest area.

Fill in as tightly as you can with the buttons

Then more onto another area, I chose to move onto the tree.

Once I started working, I thought it would be best to get the points of the tree done, so that way I can a nice clean look. 

Then, I continued to fill in throughout the rest of the tree.

Next, I added the star on top of the tree. What tree is complete without the star?

If you don't want a start atop the tree, skip this step.

And finish off by filling in the snow at the base of the canvas.

And to add to the beauty of the canvas, I added the snowflakes to make it look like a scene outside my window on a wintery day.

After everything was attached, I hot glued a hanger to the back - I used some green ribbon I had left over from a project. 

And viola, you have a beautiful Christmas Tree canvas to decorate your home.

Take time to enjoy the imperfections in your holiday season!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Christmas Wreath (Step-by-Step Directions)

Awhile back, I received an email that the Overstocks Crafts 2000 store near my home was having a sale, 75% off the lowest ticketed price. That was absolute music to my crafty ears. I headed over after work and started filling up a cart (literally). And as I was going up and down each aisle, I heard some of the cashiers telling customers that the store was closing and would be there until the shelves were empty. To be completely honest, I was a little heart broken, Crafts 2000 was always my first stop for any crafting needs. Anyways, I got a ton of great craft supplies, and saved even more, and headed on my merry way home. When I got home, I unpacked my bags, to revel in all my great bargains. But, as I looked through the steals I got and the very little I had forked out, I felt like i had missed out on some great craft-ortunities. So, I headed back the next day to see what was still available. And I was able to score the supplies to create this wonderfully wintery wreath.

Here is the finished wreath

So, I found this wreath in with the Christmas decor. It is a 16 inch wire wreath that is wrapped in grape vine, then wrapped in "snow" and sprinkled with glitter. Honestly, it was the perfect find. As I continued to browse the aisles (the second time), I came across some two inch gold snowflake ornaments. And next to them were 4 inch gold snowflake ornaments. I began thinking about the potential of the wreath, and put the snowflakes into the card. I liked the idea of the silver contrast on the snow to the gold contrast of the snowflakes (normally, I'm not a bit gold person, but I decided I'd live on the edge). I knew the wreath needed more than just the snowflakes, so I continued browsing to see what stood out to me. I continued to browse, and found several other great items, like some super cute pumpkin decorations, and the wreath hanger shown in the picture above, and then I happened upon some red holly berries. I thought that they would add a pop of color among the neutral tones of the wreath I was imagining in my head. Then I set out in search of some thin ribbon to use as a hanger for the wreath. Since I decided to live on the edge, I thought gold ribbon would be perfect. So once I found some, I headed to the check out, with some other items in my cart too!

Here are all my supplies

2 inch snowflake ornaments

4 inch snowflake ornaments

16 inch wreath

Holly berries

I also used a Hot Glue Gun, Hot Glue, Scissors, and Wire Cutters. 

Step 1: I stared out by laying the wreath out and placing the snowflakes and berries on to find the perfect arrangement. I tried two different placements and settled on the second one as it felt "lighter" to me.

Arrangement #1

Arrangement #2
And the winner!

Step 2: Cut the strings off of the ornaments before you glue them on.

Step 3: Glue on the snowflakes. Make sure you have plenty of glue on the center.

Once I had put the snowflake on, I added some hot glue in other spots to secure it to the wreath

As you can see, I used five of the two inch snowflakes and one of the large four inch snowflakes at the top.

Step 4: I decided to use some of the leaves from the holly berries to add some more color to the wreath. I clipped off the wire, right at the base of the leaf (and the berries too!) with wire cutters and glued them on.

Step 5: Once all the snowflakes, berries and leaves were secured, I moved onto the ribbon hanger. I threaded the ribbon around the wire frame, not the grapevine, to secure it. Then I attached it with a hefty amount of hot glue on the ribbon to secure it.

Step 6: Glue the ribbon end to the rest of the ribbon, and I lined the edges up so it looked seamless.

And, ta-da, there you have a beautiful winter wreath!

Like I said before, I was able to get all the supplies at the Overstocks Crafts 2000 store at 75% off the lowest prices. So I was able to create this wreath for a great price! Unless you have this awesome opportunity near you, I would suggest looking these items, or similar items to make it your own after Christmas when stores are offering huge savings on Christmas items.

I score the 16 inch snow/grapevine wreath for $2.18

A package of five 4 inch Gold Glittered Snowflakes for $.35

A package of ten 2 inch Gold Glittered Snowflakes for $.35

Two bunches of holly berries for $.24 each

and a Five yard roll of 3/8 inch thick gold ribbon for $.26

All in, $3.62, with some snowflake ornaments and gold ribbon to spare!

I am definitely sad that Overstocks Crafts 2000 is closed, but super excited to be able to do so many crafts and not feel like I broke the bank! I'm sure my husband appreciates it too!

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Holiday Season! Enjoy the time with family and friends, and don't forget the reason for this wonderful season!

And enjoy your imperfect slice of life!

Super Cute Cupcake Ornaments (Step-by-Step Directions)

I saw a picture on Pinterest of some super cute Cupcake Ornaments made from Terra Cotta pots. I followed the link and found a list of materials. And some very basic directions. I knew I wanted to make them, but I new that tackling something with so few directions could be a little tricky. So I started collecting the items I needed in the summer. Well, come Christmas time, and I just didn't get them done (actually, I didn't even get them started). So I slated them for the following Christmas.

Before we go any further, I imagine you would like a picture of these super cure cupcake ornaments.

Okay, onto the materials list:

Small Terra Cotta Pots - the original post used the very small ones. I used the ones that I found in my parents basement, and purchased a few more. They can be purchased at craft stores for 50 cents a piece- maybe less. 

Acrylic Paint (colors are your choice) - You need two colors for each pot (or use white to lighten the color you have), as well as red paint for your "cherries" on top

Styrofoam Balls - I purchased a 6 pack for $2.57 at Pat Catan's ( I used the green floral ones because they were cheaper than the white ones)

Hot Glue Gun & Hot Glue

X-Acto Knife

Wood beads - puchased at pat Catan's for $2.99 for a pack of 30 - more than enough. I used the 20 mm size, but use the size that fits most with your Terra Cotta Pot size.

Snow Tex - I purchased at 16 oz container at Pat Catan's for $7.97. I do not know it is available at Hobby Lobby. It is $2.49 for a 2 oz container or $3.99 for  a 4 oz container. If you plan to do just one cupcake, the 2 oz container should be plenty. I plant to make at least 5 of them, so I purchased the largest size. And it was much cheaper that way.

Diamond Dust (also called Glamour Dust) - I purchased this at Pat Catan's for $3.97 for a 6 oz and I have a TON left! I could not find it at Hobby Lobby (this is NOT required, but does make it look more like frosting!)

Small beads (used as sprinkles) - I found a package at Pat Catan's for 95 cents that gave me 20 grams in different colors. You can use all one color, Or a mixture, whatever fits your fancy!

Ribbon - choose a color that you like. I got 1/8 inch thick white ribbon at Pat Catan's. The roll cost 40 cents and has 10 yards. I think I'll have plenty left over.

Popsicle sticks

Step 1: Gather all supplies

Step 2: Clean off the Terra Cotta Pots. The easiest way I found was to just use a damp rag and wipe them clean.

Step 3: Paint the entire Terra Cotta Pot the coll you want the "cupcake liner" to appear. I suggest beginning at the bottom of the pot. it took me two coats (letting dry in between) to make sure it was good and covered and you didn't see the pot color through it.

Step 4: Use either a lighter or darker shade to paint lines that give it the appearance of the folds in a cupcake liner. If you did not buy two different shades of the same color, you can add a drop of white paint to your original color, and it will give you a lighter shade. Or a drop of black or gray paint will make it a shade or two darker. I ended up using white paint with the green I had, because the one in the picture was too bright compared to the color of the pot.

Once finished adding lines, it should look like the real pot on the right,

 Step 5: Cut the styrofoam ball in half - you can do this while your paint is drying.

 

I used an X-acto knife to cut the foam in half. 

Don't worry, they don't need to be perfect!

I put the half in the pot and it was a smidge too bit, so I shaved a little off the edge so it fit perfectly in the pot.

Step 6: Poke two holes into the styrofaom ball - make sure it is large enough for you to feed the ribbon through. I used a paintbrush that was sitting nest to me to poke the holes.

**If you don't want to make ornaments, scroll to the bottom for an alternative. 

This is what the underside of the styrofoam ball should look like

Step 7: Cut a piece of ribbon that is too long to be the ornament hanger, you can always trim the excess off later. 

Step 8: Attach a small piece of a popsicle stick between the two hole, this will prevent the ribbon from pulling through the foam since it is so soft. Trust me, it will do it!!

Afterward, the the ribbon through it and secure the popsicle stick with a little hot glue 

Step 9: Hot Glue the half of the styrofoam ball into the pot. Be sure to use plenty of hot glue!

You will leave the ribbon stick out until the very end!

And here begins the hardest, most time consuming, and patience require part! But in all honesty, it may have been my favorite part!

Step 10: "Frost" your "Cupcake!"

Use the Sno - Tex (see below)

You are going to "frost" the "cupcake." Truthfully, it is like frosting a real cupcake, but I should tell you that my cupcakes are never frosted smoothly, I just can't do it!

Except I did feel like I was frosting a cupcake with cottage cheese LOL

I used a popsicle stick to help me spread it around, as you can see it was lumpy. It stuck to the styrofoam, it stuck to the popsicle stick, and it stuck to me!

Work your way around the entire pot. I chose to cover the "rim" of the pot, but if you don't want to, you don't have to.

Continue to work your way around the entire cupcake,

When you get to the top, try your best to fill in around the ribbon. If you get a little on the ribbon, it's okay, It will be covered by the cherry.

Move on to step 11 before the Sno-Tex dries.

Step 11: If you choose to add the diamond dust for extra sparkle, sprinkle it on as soon as you are finished with the Sno-Tex. I didn't take an after picture because it was hard to tell it was on there when the Sno-Tex was still well.

Move right onto step 12.

Step 12: Sprinkle beads onto the frosting (Sno-Tex) while it is still wet.

Sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle.

The beads weren't wanting to stick real well, so I used the end of a paintbrush to help push them down into the frosting a bit. 

Step 12.5: Paint your cherries

I rolled them around in red paint. And let them dry.

This can be done at any point. When I was making the cupcakes, I totally forgot about it, so I had to wait for my cherries to dry!

Step 13: While the Sno-Tex is still wet, thread the ribbon threw the cherry.

Push the cherry down into the Sno-Tex. I actually put a dab of hot glue underneath to be sure it was secured to the cupcake.

Let Dry. The directions for the Sno-Tex say to let it dry for 2-3 hours, but it also sait that the thicker the Sno-Tex was, the longer it would take. I don't like to chance things, so I let them dry over night!

Step 14: Tie a knot in the ribbon and trim evenly to make the ornament hanger.

And now you have some super cute cupcake ornaments that look good enough to eat!

Here is the alternative to ornaments. Just super cure cupcake decorations. They would be perfect to put out during birthday celebrations!

The only difference is that you won't need a hanger threaded through the styrofoam and bead. Instead, I filled the top hole of the wooden bead with Hot Glue and painted it red. Then I Hot Glued the cherry right on top!

These cute little cupcakes fit right into my imperfect slice of life.