Hanging House Ornaments

Alpha Stamps has some new hanging house ornaments, and they can be decorated in so many different ways! Each set comes with a house and "yard", plus a picket fence, two deer, and an evergreen tree. The pieces are nice and lightweight, even when decorated. Here's what I did with two of the kits: a sparkly monotone house with a subtle palette, and a brighter, more vintage look with Santa. Each house is 5" tall.

The sparkly house was covered with scrapbook paper, and the tree was painted with subtle shades of green. A base of Snow Tex was added to the bottom, and then everything was covered with Diamond Dust to make it extra sparkly.

The sign was cut from a collage sheet, and mounted on matchsticks. It was glued to the base, along with the deer. I used some colored pencils on the deer, but he would also be cute just in silhouette.

I wanted the elements outside to have some depth, so I used a straight pin to help the deer stand away from the house. I circled the pin in the photo below, because it's hard to see, which is, of course, a perk.

I thought this house might be my favorite, but I think the jolly Santa in the next house changed my mind! Although he's left gifts and candy under the tree, he's checking his list twice to make sure no one was forgotten.

Scrapbook paper was used for the sides and roof of this house. I painted the "yard" a very light blue and then unrolled a cotton ball to make the snow. Tiny snowflakes, a bright wreath, and miniature packages and candy complete the scene. Hint: if the tree doesn't fit well, it's easy to use scissors to trim the back flat so it can sit closer to the house. Santa and the fence have some foam tape behind them so they stand out a little.

It's too early for me to have my tree up, but luckily, my neighbors have the perfect bush for glamour shots.

 

Ho ho ho! Stay tuned for more ornaments to come. 'Tis the season, after all. For a complete list of supplies, click here!

Snowglobe Ornament

Here's a fun ornament that's easy to put together quickly. It's similar to a snow globe, but it looks like a little mason jar. Love! The jar is plastic, so it's not as fragile as it looks, and it's nice and lightweight for hanging on your tree. This jar could hold whatever you like, but I decided to make a little snowy scene.

The first thing I did was to build up the base so the deer and the tree would be flush with the clear part of the jar. To do this, I simply cut out three circles of corrugated cardboard that were a tiny bit smaller than the opening of the jar (save room so you can screw that jar in!). I glued the cardboard together and then punched a hole into which I inserted my "tree". I was liberal with the hot glue, because I sure don't want that tree coming loose.

Next, I glued the deer's feet down, and then wrapped the base with white cotton from a cotton ball. It doesn't have to be too neat, just good enough to keep the cardboard from showing through the snow. Once the base was cotton-wrapped, I glued it on the inside of the lid, making sure the lid could screw in before the glue dried. While the glue set, I guesstimated how much Diamond Dust "snow" would be needed to cover the ground and filled the jar up. It doesn't need a whole lot. Hold the jar with the opening upright, and then turn over the lid, gently insert the snowy scene inside the jar, and screw the lid on. Turn the jar over and shake that snow down to the ground.

Once the snow globe is assembled, you can add some embellishments to the outside. I added a little ribbon and some garland to the bottom, and some bright berries to the top. So cute!

Need supplies? Click here!

The Jolly Christmas Houses of Jingle Lane

Now that Halloween has passed, it's time for (you guessed it!) Christmas crafts. I love these new houses from Alpha Stamps; they are so easy to put together, and really fun to decorate. Using 8x8 papers from Authentique, I made a couple of jolly Christmas houses. In this post, I'll show you three fun ways to use them during the holidays. First up: a little Christmas scene. Add a few bottle brush trees and a tiny Santa, and ho, ho, ho- let's visit Jingle Lane!

Here's number 24. Green and red striped candy canes flank the front entrance, and Christmas lights adorn the roof. The doors and windows have tissue paper behind them, so the houses look lovely with a small battery operated tea light inside.

Number 25 Jingle Lane has a beaded swag outlining their roof and a cookie cutter star for decoration. Candy pieces look like flowers under the windows.

Another fun thing about this house is that the roof opens up. I decorated a 2" cube box (perfect for holding jewelry, sweets, or other tiny gift items). It fits perfectly in the house. Two gifts in one!

The ribbon is tied under the flap of the gift box, so it doesn't need to be untied to open the box. This is great for people like me, who love to reuse pretty boxes.

Here's a third option for displaying the houses: tie a long ribbon to the clip, and hang them. They're so pretty with the lights inside. I'll talk a bit about the doors and windows and how that glow is achieved below.

Festive!

Here are a few tips on assembling and altering these sweet houses. Below you can see the walls of the house are covered with scrapbook paper, and the roofs have not been covered. Before I covered them, I folded down the overhang part of the roof and glued it with white glue. Clip it closed while drying. If you are looking at the outside of your house (below), you would put your glue on the other side of the overhang to make the flap.

The houses have windows cut into the front and back already, but I wanted to use some Mini House Doors and Windows because they're so fun. Some of these have different sized openings than the windows that are already cut into the house, so here's how to make those work:  cover all the sides of the house with paper, then place the door and windows where you want them. Don't glue them down yet! First, lightly trace around the opening inside the windows on the new windows or door, then using an x-acto knife, cut a little outside the pencil lines. In the photo below, I have just peeled off the paper, so you can see the where precut window is. I then cut through and removed the cardboard before finally gluing down the door.

Once the new windows are cut out, take some tissue paper and glue it around the opening, so the candle light will diffuse. This is the inside of the house, so no need to be too neat with the paper. In the photo below, the new windows and door have already been glued on the outside, so you do see the mullions in the windows.

Assemble the house, glue it up, and you've got some jolly Christmas houses to help celebrate the season. Enjoy!

For a complete list of supplies, click here!