not a card

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DIY POM POM GARLAND

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I love pom poms. And I’ve wanted a pom pom garland for my Christmas tree for the longest time, but the cost of those beautiful handmade garlands always stopped me in my tracks; a single 6’ garland can run $35 +/- and upwards. My tree is 7.5’ . . . based on the size, I would need somewhere between 30 and 36’ of garland to wrap around it . . . You do the math . . . Seriously, I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that much on a garland, alone, for my tree.

Part of my plan, of course, involves some weebles (a.k.a. grandbabies); I really REALLY wanted my tree to be entirely child friendly—no wild shrieking “DON’T TOUCH!!!” out of the adults. And no worries about broken glass from fragile collectible ornaments and possible boo-boos.

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I hit the craft store and purchased a 1 pound skein of yarn (Caron brand, white). Pulled out my pom pom makers, and got BUSY! If you’ve never made your own pom poms, I gotta say, they’re easy, fun, and a great way to decompress/alleviate stress! AND, you can watch your favorite TV shows while you’re pumpin’ out the poms! I wasn’t able to edit and share this before the holiday, BUT, I now have a quick video tutorial for those of you who have not yet been introduced to the ways of pom pom makers—you’ll be ahead of the game for next year’s tree, OR, there are lots of other things you can make with pom poms . . . (I’m collecting ideas HERE on Pinterest).

I used very nearly the entire pound of yarn to make two 12’ and two 6’ garlands for my tree.

LINK: How-to video for the little paper house ornaments featuring dies I designed is HERE.

LINK: How-to video for the little paper house ornaments featuring dies I designed is HERE.

I’m so happy with how it turned out!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and I wish you an amazing 2020!

My joy. ❤️

My joy. ❤️

SUPPLIES:

The 12 Tags of Christmas 2019

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This set of tags was inspired by the holiday song, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”—from the claymation movie I’ve watched every Christmas season since I was a weeble! After I got done with these I had to laugh because they TOTALLY remind me of PEZ candy dispensers! (chuckle)

I didn’t actually film the making of them at the time I made the set, but later on, I did. I didn’t have time to do a voiceover so it’s high speed, set to music.

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Santa and the gang will make sure your gifts are delivered to the right recipient, and rather cutely, I might add. (wink)

I don’t think I can actually give this set away to anybody—I’m going to need all the tags I make . . . LOL!

Thanks for stopping by and hope your holiday season is allowing you some creative/crafty time amongst all the hustle and bustle!

Be sure to check out the Ellen Hutson 12 Tags of Christmas series and challenges HERE!

OMBRÉ RETRO HOLIDAY TAGS

12 tags of Christmas are underway at the Ellen Hutson blog — are you up for the challenge???

It just occurred to me that even tho I had made these ombré holiday tags a long time ago, I hadn’t photographed or shared them (face palm) . . . Truth: The Shipping Tag Die is one of the simplest, yet most ingenious things I believe I have ever designed. Why? Because if I’m a gonna make tags, they have to be quick and easy to make a butt load of. I am a vewy lazy tag maker.

I’m very in to persimmon, coral, orange, and mustard for the holidays this year, I’ve noticed . . .

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HALLOWEEN TREAT PACKAGING IDEAS

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Halloween’s a comin’ and you gotta’ treat your boo’s, eh?! Well, I got ya’ covered with a variety of ideas—these were (literally) wicked fun to make!

  1. I have a serious addition to little paper sacks and fun paper straws and used some from my stash to make this adorable witch’s broom following this ridiculously easy tutorial. If you’re looking for similar kraft/favor bags, I did find these, which are sized identically to mine, on Amazon: Extra Small Kraft Bags and Black and White Patterned Paper Straws

  2. I modified one of my favorite The Stamp Market Dies, Gift Bag & Tags, to make a larger size bag with assembly flaps. That sounds really confusing but if you watch the video, you’ll totally get it (scroll down or watch on YouTube HERE.). If you are one of those sewing-machine-happy-fanatics (onto paper), then by all means, skip this trick. But, if the idea of dragging out and setting up your sewing machine makes you wanna stick a fork in your eye, (yes, I really am that lazy a paper crafter!) this is an awesome and easy way to modify. (wink) Just sayin’ . . . I’d slip a cookie into this bag. Of the Snickerdoodle variety. (personal favorite)

  3. This Pillow Box by Lawn Fawn looks so cute garnished with a peachy pink web and a bat (bat is on a Mini Action Wobbler for added fun). OH, and, BTW, I gave my bat some fur using a white gel pen. I think he’s ADORABLE all furry!!! EEP!!!

  4. The small bag die in the Gift Bag & Tags set is PERFECT for gift cards—I mean, seriously!!! A Halloween gift card for a coffee treat??? YAASSSSS!!!

Seriously, with these ideas, your Halloween treats are gonna’ be the talk of the ‘hood. BOOM!!!

Before I forget—Ellen Hutson is having a sale on dies Aug 15-17th! Dies are 20% off in the Die Cutting Category with code: welovedies2019 at check out!

NEW HOLIDAY RELEASE COMING

I've had my head down, workin' fast and furious on my upcoming holiday release--eek!  Goes live, this Sunday, Sept. 9th.  

Lemme just say... I LOVE the unlikely combination of Tutti Frutti ink on Pale Rose card stock.  It is BOMB!!!