Make a Snowflake Ornament from Keys

It's Day 4 of our Christmas Blog Tour and today's topic is christmas crafts.  Right up my alley :)

Remember the huge bucket of old keys my father-in-law gave me?

Yeah, it was a bunch.  I played around with them and came up with this idea for a Christmas ornament and I really like how it turned out.

For this project, you'll need:

6 long keys (like those used for doors)
12 short keys (like the ones used for locks and cabinets)
a thick piece of cardboard or mat board
a strong adhesive like E6000 or Liquid Nails
white spray paint
white iridescent glitter
Mod Podge
12 inch piece of fishing line

Begin by place the 6 long keys into a circle with the heads on the inside and the grooves pointing out. Next, pair up 6 sets of the 12 short keys so that the lengths are fairly equal to each other.  Now take each pair, stack the two keys one on top of the other and form a V.  Each "V" is now placed on top of the 6 long keys.  You should now have 6 sets of 3 stacked keys, 1 long key and 2 short keys.

You may want to play around with the different groupings to get a balanced look with the varying shapes and lengths.

Once you like the design, begin gluing each set with the adhesive.  They will still be 6 separate sets right now.  While the glue is drying, take the cardboard (or mat board) and cut into a circle big enough to glue the "snowflake" to but not so big that it can be seen from the front of the "snowflake".  Spray paint it white (if it isn't already).  Now that the glue on the keys has dried, glue the "snowflake" to the cardboard.  On top of the cardboard piece, place the key stacks in a circle with the small keys on the bottom and long keys on top.  You can place a small weight on top of the ring to press it against the keys until the glue dries.

Now that everything is glued and the glue is dried, you're ready to spray paint the whole snowflake white.  If your keys are rusty, you may want to use spray primer first, then your white paint.  The rust will bleed through just the white paint.

That could be the end of the snowflake but don't we need a little glitter?!

Yep, I thought so.  Much better!  Paint the entire snowflake with Mod Podge then douse with white iridescent glitter!!  Beautiful!

Now, to add the fishing line to hang the snowflake with.  I used a hot glue gun (because it's faster) to attach the fishing line to the back of the cardboard.  Here's a little trick to make the snowflake hang straight and not tip forward because of the weight.

Attach the fishing line at a second spot on the back of the upper most key.  This will be the key that will point straight up when hung.  See photo.

It's ready to hang!  Check it out!!

I hope you liked this craft for repurposing old keys!  Be sure to check out the other blogs today!

2 Bees in a Pod Casserole Carrier

The Crowned Goat White Ornaments

Concord Cottage Glittery Birdhouse Ornaments

bluwaterlife Beverage Station

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie

Make a Snow Village Wreath

Welcome to Day 3 of the Blogger Christmas Series.  Today we're featuring wreaths.  I got this idea from Martha Stewart's magazine but I've tweaked it a little to fit with the village set I already had.

I began with an artificial evergreen wreath, a set of vintage village pieces (found at a thrift store a couple of years ago), blanket snow (or you could use some thin batting), artificial spray snow, and a glue gun.  Lay the village pieces out to get an feel for the arrangement.

Next, remove the village pieces then spray the wreath with the fake snow.  Let it dry and shake any loose pieces before beginning to add snow blanket.

Pull small sections of the snow blanket and begin tucking it into areas of the wreath.  Try to keep the snow areas horizontal.

Next, begin hot gluing the village pieces.  Remember to place these flat against the wreath so that it will appear that the village is cascading down a snowy hill (wreath!)  My village set included farm animals and fencing.  Those pieces were glued to appear as though the animals were behind the fencing.

That's it!  You're done!

I added one of my vintage mason jar snow globe to sit below the wreath.  It contains some of the same village pieces.

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to check out these other great bloggers' wreaths:

2 Bees in a Pod Woodland Owl Wreath

The Crowned Goat Yarn Ball Wreath

Concord Cottage's Christmas Wreath

bluwaterlife Easy Magnolia Wreath

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Holiday Gift Wrapping Ideas

It's Day 2 of our Christmas Blog Tour!  Today we're sharing gift wrapping ideas.

Have you finished your holiday shopping yet?  No?  Me either.  However, once you finish the job isn't over.  Next you have to wrap all those goodies.

Do you tend to pick a gift wrapping theme each year?  I do.  With this year's theme, I'll be incorporating some of the handmade rubber stamps I made in this post.

I'm using the deer head stamp on white paper for a hunt theme to go along with the red and green tartan paper I'll be using on gifts.  White paper is very versatile when it comes to gift wrapping.

I began by wrapping the present and then stamping after it's wrapped.  That way I can choose the placement for each stamped image instead of hoping it lines up correctly after the gift is wrapped.

Instead of a bow on this gift, I chose to use one of these deer head ornaments.  The silver and white look is pretty but I wanted something to tie in with the brown deer image stamped on the paper.  So, using Krylon's gloss brown spray paint, I changed the color of a silver deer head to a sparkling brown one.  Once it was dry, I hot glued the deer head to a wood slice.  The wood slices were the ones I used HERE.

Ready to see it all together?  

I added two rows of gold velveteen ribbon before attaching the deer head.  I like the mix of rustic and elegant.  Seems to fit the hunt theme pretty well.

I kept the jute string on the wood slice so that the gift recipient can use the deer head for an ornament.

Did you notice my "bow" on the tartan paper?  It's a child's leather belt that I found at the thrift store.  Just something about the leather and the tartan that I really like :)

Be sure to check out these amazing blogs for more gift wrapping ideas as our Christmas Blog Tour continues!

2 Bees in a Pod Woodland Fox Theme Gift Wrap

The Crowned Goat Bank Note Inspired Gift Wrap

Concord Cottage's Christmas Gift Wrap

bluwaterlife's Ribbon Tassel Gift Wrap

Check back tomorrow when we will be sharing Christmas wreath ideas!!  Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Angie

You NEED This Recipe During the Busy Holiday Season

We're beginning our Christmas Blog Tour this week with recipes.  During this crazy, hectic, and busy holiday season, there are a lot of parties, potlucks, get togethers.  Saving time in the kitchen by creating this delicious yet SIMPLE dish will help save time and stress.

There are just 5 simple ingredients in this version of CORN PUDDING.  I got this recipe from a former co-worker y-e-a-r-s ago and I have used it over and over and over again.  It's a classic and it's always a crowd pleaser.  

Ready?  Here ya go!  First, preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Start with 1 box of Jiffy Mix corn muffin mix (IMPORTANT to use this brand. If you can't find it in your store, click here Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix - 6 ct), 1 can of whole kernel corn (drained), 1 can of cream style corn, 1 stick of butter (melted), and 8 oz. sour cream.

Dump all 5 ingredients into a 2 quart casserole dish.  (Yes, seriously, just dump them.)

Stir all of the ingredients together until well blended.

Bake in 300 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes (or until golden brown).

Yes!  That's it!  It's super easy and delicious...even the next day, yum!

And, because I know you'll want to save this recipe, here's a version to print or Pin!  

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!     Angie

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