Family Keepsake Ornament Tutorial

Well, It's been a month since my last post! I can't believe how time flies! I've been busy working on many projects, mostly making Christmas presents. I thought I'd share a quick and easy project I did for my kids teachers and the grandparents. This is a thrifty way to make an adorable gift, that is meaningful and special. The total price for each ornament I made was $2.50! This number will of course be different depending on what embellishments you decide to use. Try limiting yourself to what you already have on hand!

First, you'll need a few things to get started:

1. Some type of glue that dries clear
2. Clear glass ornaments- the size needed will depend on the size of your photo
3. A photo of your choice, I chose one of my children
4. Loose fake snow, Mica or glitter- I used the Sparkle Christmas Snow from the Bethany Lowe Designs Collection- it looks like Mica but is a lot less expensive!
5. Scissors
6. A small paint brush
7. A funnel or paper cone- I actually used a large icing tip! It worked perfectly!
8. Tweezers

OK, so our first step is to cut out the subjects of our pictures.

When you are done your image should look like the picture below.

Grab your glue, a paintbrush and your clear glass ornament. Take the top off your ornament. The technique that worked best for me was to paint some glue on the bottom of the inside of the glass ornament. make sure you apply generously so that your picture will stick.



Next up, we are going to take our cut-out picture and gently roll it up to fit inside our ornament. Gently squeeze it into the opening at the top of the ornament, being careful not to bend the picture.Once the picture is inside it will naturally unroll a little. You will need to use your tweezers to gently coax it straight, upright and in the position you desire.

Once you have it where you want it, you can set it aside to wait for it to dry. BUT, if you are like me and have no patience for such things, you can go ahead to the next step! CAUTION!! If you decide to go on the the next step before the glue dries, you may have to do some repositioning of your photo!

Now we will grab our funnel, paper cone or large icing tip. Stick it into the top of the ornament and slowly add your mica, snow or glitter. I used a spoon to scoop it into the icing tip. Fill until you have the desired amount. You can also add other things to the snow, like tiny charms and faux berries and greenery.



Lastly, we will decorate the top of our ornament. Choose whatever you'd like to make your ornament festive. Here are some examples of what I used:


Now your Ornament is finished! Give them to teachers, grandparents, and other loved ones!

I hope you enjoyed this quick little, economical ornament. I'd love to see your finished ornaments!If you'd like to share a picture leave me a link in the comments.

Have a wonderful Holiday!

P.S Today is the last day of my 50% OFF Sale! That's right! Everything in my Etsy Shop is 1/2 off! Quick go!

Wish List

Christmas is right around the corner, and my wish list is growing longer my the minute! It doesn't help that Poppytalk Handmade has a fabulous holiday market full to the brim with the yummiest handmade things you can think of! So here are just a few of the things I'll be dreaming about until Christmas!

Slip Pictured at top is by Dottie Angel. Isn't it purdy!

I'm not a big fan of Marzipan the candy, but this necklace is perfect from designer, Marzipan

I'd love this dress for my pretty little baby! She'd look adorable in it! Flowy and girly by Sohomade
Maybe I'd stay organized if I had a gorgeous calendar like this one from Shanna Murray

I hope at least one will be under the tree for me!

A New Day!

A new day, a new dawn! I am so proud to be an American Citizen on this historic day!
Yes we Can!

Congrats President Elect, Mr. Barack Obama!

New Jewelry

I have been busy, busy working on some new pieces for the holiday season! Here is a sample of what I've been making for one of my retail accounts. I love to do custom work, so if you'd like to preorder for the holiday's just let me know!


The last two pictures are of some very fun pieces I have been working on! It can be worn as a necklace or a bracelet! Two accessories in one!

You can view more of my pieces in my Flickr. And make sure to keep checking my Etsy site for more new one-of-a-kind pieces!

Vote!

Whatever your position, whatever your beliefs, cast your vote today so that your voice may be heard!

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."

-John Quincy Adams

Shop Vintage Indie Holiday Market!

Hey , just wanted to tell you all to check out the new Vintage Indie Holiday Market! Yours truly is a sponsor!

Vintage Indie is best know for their fab blog about all things vintage and Indie designers that make vintage inspired art.


The Vintage Indie Market is a cool place to shop Handmade for the holidays! Everything your little heart desires can be be found there. So get going on those Christmas lists early!

Hello Class My Name is Mrs. Jones

Remember when on the first day of class your new teacher would write her name on the chalk board really big! Hello class my name is (teacher writes name on the board)... Well that name will soon be mine! I will be teaching some classes at a local antique store this holiday season. Several other talented women will also be teaching their skills. You might know a few from their Etsy Shops:

This gal
and this one

If you'd like to see more about the classes I'll be teaching, or any others you can look here

I've been super busy trying to help get all this together and haven't spent much time on my garage/studio space conversion. I am dying to get it done, but there just aren't enough hours in the day for all that needs to get accomplished! If only I could wave a magic wand and the laundry, dishes and diaper changes were done for me! If any of you are stay-at-home moms, you'll agree when I say, it's not the taking care of the kids part that's hard, it's doing everything else that's hard!

I have been working on a few new things for the shop



I'm also working on some fun new things for my Poppytalk Handmade Market booth which will start on Nov. 17th.

I'll keep you all posted!

Work in Progress

I'm so sorry to have been neglecting my blog duties lately. I'm tired, very tired! I have had a very busy couple of weeks! TWO of my sweet babies have broken limbs! Yes I said TWO! My middle child broke his OTHER leg (he broke the other leg awhile back ), and 3 days later my sweet baby girl broke her arm! Let me tell ya, it's been wild around here! Now that I'm over my fear of CPS knocking on my door (I mean come on two children in three days! I was scared!), we are all getting along just fine. My son doesn't seem to even realize he has a cast on! The child is still a whirlwind! My baby girl has been a real trooper too! She actually gets her cast off next week, and we all can't wait! I think I'll wrap her in bubble wrap after, just to be extra careful!

I've also been working on some exciting stuff! It's not finalized yet so I'm gonna stay quiet until then. I will tell you it involves this talented lady. I'll keep you updated!

I owe some of you some goodies which I haven't forgotten. I'll be getting those in the mail this week!

That's it for now! Till' next time!

Everyone Wins!

Where have I been you may be wondering? Well I wish I had a really legitimate excuse for being late to draw a winner for the Sweet Spaces Giveaway, but really I have just been so busy around the house, and getting my sweet space organized. Since I have been tardy, and there weren't too many spaces to put in the hat, I've decided to send everyone who participated a little surprise gift!! I am still drawing a name for the necklace I promised but you'll have to wait till' the end of this post to find out who the winner is!


I have a few more Sweet Spaces to share with you. I have been such a lazy bum when it comes to blogging lately, so I apologize for not posting these sooner!

First up is the Sweet Pat from Pat Winters Gatherings. She is a talented quilt maker, and was lovely enough to share some pics of her super organized studio space! Get a load of all her hand dyed silk ribbons! They look so gorgeous hanging up all together! Oh I am green with envy! Sorry I wasn't able to get these pics up sooner, but Pat is going to receive a surprise gift as well! Thanks Pat for sharing your stunning space!



Next is Emmmylizzzy. This gals space is amazing! Her organizing style is most like mine, organized chaos! She uses nontraditional things such as vintage Pyrex bowels (That's her lovely pic at the top of this post!) to store her craft supplies, and everything she loves is accessible and easy to see in the way she has put together this cute space! Thanks for sharing!



And lastly we have Helena from Craft and Creativity. Helena has the most amazing studio space, and creates the most adorable softies! Unfortunately I don't know how to convert pic, file types, and my computer was unable to decode her gif files! Please, please take a look at her space here! It's absolutely gorgeous, I promise you won't be disappointed!

So I know you all are dying to find out who the winner is. You are perched at the edge of your seat. The anticipation is killing you. OK, that might be a little overly dramatic, but I had to build the suspense right?

Drum roll please...
And the winner is:

Congrats Sweet Jessie! You are the lucky new owner of the vintage collage necklace! Please send me your shipping info so I can send it out to you! The cutie who picked the name from the bowl is my oldest munchkin!

Thanks again to everyone who participated and shared your beautiful spaces with us! All of you are also going to receive a little gift just for playing along! Please send me your shipping info, and I'll get your surprises out to you ASAP! Thanks for inspiring us all with your creativity and useful organizing inspirations!

HIgh Speed Troubles!

Hi everyone! I have been out of the Internet loop lately due to a Internet service outage in my area! 7 whole days of no Internet!! I was truly going bonkers! Once the outage was fixed, my box decided it was going on strike, so I had to wait several more days to have a tech. come out and replace my box! Now I'm up and running again! I have several more Sweet Spaces to show you all and I'll start with these two sweet gals:

First up is The Lovely Cindy from Wrens Nest Cottage
Cindy has a gorgeous craft space that would make any crafty girl GREEN with envy! Her style is so country chic! Beautiful neutral colors, and ingenious storage make her room to die for! She makes her own paper, and has a penchant for plain brown boxes! Don't you just love her ribbon storage shown at the top of this post?! I'll be scouring the flea market to copy that idea! Lovely Cindy, just lovely!


Next up is Dorte from Denmark. What a soft and romantic space she has! Dorte creates her beautiful cards and ATC's here in this inspiring space! I could just hunker down and get really creative here, couldn't you!



I'll be adding some more Sweet spaces soon!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful pics, Cindy and Dorte!

Sweet Spaces- Quaint Handmade

Ohhhh, you all are going to love this one! Cindy from Quaint Handmade has created a most delicious space for all her creative endeavors! There is so much eye candy here you just might get a stomachache, but it will be worth it!

Pale pink walls, and beautiful storage pieces (check out that vintage pink chest of drawers, WITH cut outs so her fabrics peek out playfully! OMG!), make this crafting space beautiful and useful! And can you believe how frickin' organized this gal is!! Check out her meticulously folded fabric collection! Only in my wildest dreams could I be that organized! This room has everything a girl needs! It would be hard NOT to feel creative in here!

Cindy and her husband Scott host the sweetest little blog too! Nothing is off the table here, crafting, music, photography, and their lives in general. They share the best pics of their home decorated with vintage flair too! Take peek! You won't be disappointed!

Thanks Cindy for sharing your incredible pics!