All Those Christmas Cards

Every year I get wonderful Christmas cards from family and friends. I really like Christmas cards. They are simple and while they're not necessary, it's at least a way to stay in touch with people over the holidays. My grandmother had 15 children so you can imagine trying to keep up with everyone. So we send out a little Christmas card and newsletter to feel a little more connected. So when I was on one of my favorite sites Dollar Store Crafts I found a great idea to use those 101 Christmas cards that have been collecting.

So here's how: 
Project Estimate:

• 3 greeting cards per house, on hand
• Battery-operated tea lights, 2 for $1
• Tissue paper (optional), on hand
• Tape & scissors, on hand

Total: $.50 per house (unless you prefer unlit houses, and then this is FREE!)

It's even look on well by all the tree-huggers of the world. Now who wouldn't love decorations like that?

Steps:

1. From your stash of cards, find three that are identical in size. If you have to trim a couple to make them all the same, be sure to save the scraps, as you can use those to make your window panes.

2. On one card, cut out a small window on each side. On the other card, cut out a window and a door. Cut down one side and top of a long rectangle for the door, being sure you can fold it to the side to make it look like it's half way open.

 3. Using card stock or your extra card scraps, make window panes on your window openings. Tape the pieces on the inside of the cards. You can tape sheets of tissue paper if you'd like as well.

4. Tape the two cards together from the inside to create a box shape. 

5. Cut the third card in half along the existing crease and tape each half to the sides of the box. Attach the two pieces together to create the finished roof.

6. To make my houses look cute and whimsical, I put tape on the top corners of each roof.

 7. To create a snowy effect, place fiberfill around your card houses.

8. I also tried lighting up my houses by putting in an enclosed tea light candle. To make things safer, I think I would put in a battery-operated tea light candle instead. It looks so pretty at night!

Have fun if you have time to make this. I think we will do it while I am in Knoxville with the rents. Happy crafting and Merry Christmas!

Sweet Drink Lovies

I love things that are simple, direct, and warm. Which is why I love these sweet (and oober easy) stencils. With the holidays coming up you could use them for all the fun baked goods while you're at it. So here they are and the how to. You are going to love how easy they are. I found them at how about orange blog.

Step 1: Draw the design on a piece of paper

Step 2: Lay a plastic lid on top. (This one is from a deli container.) With an X-acto knife cut through the plastic, tracing along the design underneath. A tip: you'll never be able to cut the shapes out in one pass. Make many cuts on top of each other until you break through.

Step 3: Lay the stencil on top of your mug and sprinkle with cinnamon or cocoa. Dust the powder through a sieve or strainer to make a very fine layer.

Violia you're done and really happy about it too! I have thought about doing a few and putting them in a cute little container under a counter for quick access.