The Quaint Crafter

It’s time to reveal my gem-covered nutcrackers! I’m excited to share how they turned out. It took some time to get them completely covered in flatback gems, but the work was worth it.

To review, I bought these wooden nutcrackers on sale after Christmas at Michael’s Craft Store. I originally wanted to place them on either side of my front door, but since finishing them, I’ve decided to place them on either side of the French doors that lead to my family room. Even though I painted a protective coating over the paint, I don’t want to risk all my hard work being ruined by the weather. Massachusetts gets a variety of weather in December, including snow, rain, cold and even heat sometimes. So, the nutcrackers will stay safely inside with me.

The majority of the flatback gems I used for this project were a size 12, but I did use some smaller gems to fill in gaps. I used Beadland rhinestones and flatback pearls. I found buying the rhinestones and pearls on Amazon was cheaper than getting them at the craft store, plus there is more variety of color and sizes online. You will need several packs for a project this large. I suggest combining the bags of same-color rhinestones before you begin. You can notice a slight color difference in the green hat of Luigi. I attribute that to small differences in the color between each bag.

For the green, I used emerald and for the red I used Light Siam. The boots, hair, beard & mustache were covered in the color Jet Hematite.

I used tiny flat-back pearls to define the nutcracker’s arms and legs. The pearls made the nutcrackers look much more dapper. I used larger pearls for the coat trim.

The glue I used to adhere all the gems was LiquidFusion heavy duty. I find this glue really holds the gems and it also dries relatively quickly. I also like to use a Diamond Dotz applicator with some wax on the tip to add the gems. The applicator really helps to make applying so many gems easy.

Some might give me a sideways glance at the number of rhinestones and the amount of time it took to add them all. I won’t lie, it was tedious, but I actually enjoy repetitive crafts like this one. Life’s been busy with work and family, but I found adding all these gems was a great way to zonk out and let my mind rest. I set my craft table up in front of the TV and watched re-runs of Sister Wives and Dog the Bounty Hunter while I added gem after gem. I love my reality junk TV, and I found working on these nutcrackers made me feel a little less guilty over watching TV after work. There’s always time to craft.

It took about a month and a half to complete both nutcrackers. I find when I’m loving a craft, the work moves much quicker. The nutcrackers are identical except for the main colors, and I wanted to make the scepters they carry uniform, so the two pieces made a nice set. I left the ball on top of the scepter for last because I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I wanted to somehow include all the colors of the scepter into it but also break the colors up so they were not all jumbled together. Since the flatback pearls came in a variety of sizes, I decided to place a few of the different sizes around the gems. The varying sizes and color give the scepter dimension and texture, and I really like how it turned out.

I hope this craft inspires you to look at all the wooden pieces at the craft store in a different light. There are endless possibilities to create something unique and beautiful. Paint, gems, pearls are only a few options. Maybe even fabric could work. Thinking outside the box is what crafting is all about. Happy crafting!

Last Christmas, I purchased a small wooden dollhouse at Michael’s. It was pricey, even at 70% off, but the more I looked at it, the more an idea came into my head. It could be the perfect Strawberry Shortcake Christmas dream house.

Since I was a young girl, I have loved Strawberry Shortcake. I wore Strawberry Shortcake clothes- I even rode around in Strawberry Shortcake roller skates. So when Five Below started to sell Strawberry Shortcake figurines, I started to collect them. But the problem was what to do with all these figurines. I’m hoping this dollhouse is the perfect home for them.

I’m tackling the exterior first. The dollhouse is part Strawberry Shortcake-themed and part Christmas-themed, so I had to get the the colors right. I decided to paint the exterior pink with a sage roof. The accents on the house are going to be traditional red and green.

For the pink, I used Craft Smart Pink Blast and for the sage I used FolkArt Wild Wasabi. I painted the door with Americana Wild Orchid. The house took several coats of paint because the wood was so absorbant. I sealed the paint with varnish using a sponge brush.

Stay tuned as I continue to decorate the exterior. Hint: there will be lots of sparkle. I’m having so much fun seeing this dollhouse come to life. It’s really starting to look like a Strawberry Shortcake Christmas home. Keep crafting!

About a month ago I stumbled upon something on my thrift wish list at Savers. I passed it by at first, not sure of what I was seeing. I continued to shop, but when I circled back, it was still there. It wasn’t in the best condition, but I had to have it.

It was an Effanbee Princess Diana doll. I have always wanted the Franklin Mint Diana doll with all the outfits, accessories and tiaras. But it’s out of my price range. I think I can make this doll work, though. Priced at $9.99, I’m willing to give it my best shot. The doll was missing several accessories, including her veil, headpiece and bouquet. I decided I would try my best to create a Spencer tiara for her.

After a little research, I learned that this doll was a limited edition created for members of the Effanbee doll club. The original headpiece was made of pearls. But anyone who follows the British royal family knows that Princess Diana wore her family’s heirloom Spencer tiara on her wedding day.

I started off by sketching out a rough design of the Spencer tiara. I did my best and tried to size it just right to my doll’s head. Then I taped my design to the inside of a water bottle.

Using the design as a guide, I carefully glued flatback rhinestones to the bottle. I like to use a Diamond Dot drill with some wax on the tip to apply the rhinestones.

Then I cut the design out. I hot glued the tiara to a thin piece of steel wire that I bought at the hardware store. The wire helps keeps the tiara on her head.

For her veil, I ordered a small piece of white veil from Amazon. I used a fold in the veil to guide my cutting, then I hot glued the veil to another piece of steel wire. I didn’t want to attach the veil to the tiara in case I decide to create more outfits for my Diana doll down the road.

Overall I’m really happy with how this project turned out. I love following the British royal family, and I particularly love the tiaras they wear. Maybe if I work on my sewing skills I can make some iconic outfits for my new doll. We’ll see. For now I’m happy with this wedding look. Time to work on her bouquet to finish the look. Happy crafting!

I wanted to share a super simple craft for Easter. Yes, I know the holiday has passed for this year, but maybe you can try it next year, or make it a Spring tradition. All you need is a vase, forsythia branches and some imagination.

I learned this craft from my mom. We had a big forsythia bush in our front yard when I was a kid, and it often had to be trimmed back away from the driveway. My mom would clip a few long branches and bring them in just before Easter to make a simple Easter Tree to decorate our home.

Currently, I have a whole lot more forsythia in my yard. A lot more. I usually go out on Palm Sunday and clip a few long branches from the mounds of forsythia growing in my backyard. I suggest doing this at least a week before Easter to give the forsythia time to bloom.

Using a knife, I gently scrape the ends of the cut branches to expose the green. Then I arrange the branches as best I can in a vase full of water. This year I used a pitcher my mother painted in ceramics.

You can use plastic eggs on a string to decorate the tree. This year I used some tiny Easter ornaments I found in my parents’ basement.

Placing the exposed branches in water forces the forsythia bloom. The cascades of yellow flowers really added some warmth and Springy vibes to my Easter holiday this year. The flowers also have a pleasant scent.

This is an inexpensive craft to do with children, or just for fun by yourself. I hope you had a Happy Easter, and keep crafting!

A few posts ago I shared a coffee sign that I had made with wooden coffee mug cut-outs. Check out the post here The Coffee Frame

Six coffee mugs, painted on both sides, depicted the 12 months of the year. The mugs hung from a simple sign I had made with a plaque from Walmart. I love home pieces that can be changed for the different seasons and holidays, and I still have this coffee sign craft hanging in my dining room.

Recently, I thought about creating another coffee sign, this time with an existing shadowbox sign that I had bought at Walmart years ago. The frame had one design as its background, but I wanted 12 different backgrounds that could change every month. I admit I’ve been delaying doing this craft because I was afraid I was going to destroy a sign that I really liked. But, after a lot of hemming and hawing, I decided to go for it.

First, I removed the backing of the shadowbox. Next, I traced the backing so that I could create new ones that would fit the existing frame.

Then it was off to the craft store to find ideas to use for the background. I wanted to use decorative paper. Luckily, I was able to find most of what I needed in the scrapbook section of Michael’s.

I adhered the scrapbook paper to poster board to make the designs sturdier. For glue, I used Modge Podge. I found the thicker pieces of scrapbook paper worked better for this project and were less apt to wrinkle. I placed the pieces under a heavy book to ensure they didn’t bow.

I was nervous about what this project would look like when I was finished, but I really love how it turned out. I’m actually bummed I didn’t do this project sooner. I was so worried about making a mistake. But mistakes happen when you craft, and that’s okay. My new coffee sign catches my eye every time I step into my kitchen and puts a smile on my face.

As crafters, sometimes we have to take risks to get what we want. Sometimes the project is a success while other times not so much. But the risks are the only way we’ll create something unique, fun and memorable. So take that risk and happy crafting!

If you were to stop by my house during the holidays, you would quickly realize my favorite holiday theme is Santa Claus. From my mantel filled with my mother’s ceramic Santas to my holiday countdown calendar and welcome sign, Santa is everywhere in my house.

It’s no surprise that when I went to my local Savers and saw this sad pair of earrings hanging by the checkout lane, I grabbed them without a second thought. The big Santa heads instantly caught my eye, and the price wasn’t bad.

But despite my love for Santa, these earrings had seen better days. They also had two things I absolutely can’t stand: jingle bells and french hooks. Sure, they were also pretty tacky, but when it comes to Christmas fashion, tacky doesn’t stop me. So, I went to Michael’s to buy a pair of pliers and then got to work.

In addition to jewelry pliers, I also picked up a bag of gold-plated jewelry findings to replace the French hooks. I got them very inexpensively from Walmart. I liked that they had an attached jump ring for the Santa.

To jazz up the earring finding, I added a flatback pearl to the front of it. I used Liquid Fusion glue to adhere it securely. I find this glue works best for attaching rhinestones and pearls to my projects.

Flatback pearls come in a range of sizes and colors, and I love having them on hand for my various crafting. I also added a small red flatback rhinestone to Santa’s hat for some added sparkle.

After that, it was surprisingly easy to attach the Santa charm to the new earring findings. The pliers really came in handy, and made the project go quickly.

I love my new earrings. It’s a little something old with a little new. The best part was how quickly I was able to do it. There’s something satisfying about wearing an item you had a hand in crafting. With all the leftover jewelry findings I’m planning on looking for more charms to make for other holidays like Valentine’s Day and Easter. Who knows, maybe I’ll become a jewelry maker!

I’ve been working on a pretty big project this past year. The exterior of my house needed a makeover, so after a little debate, we opted to vinyl-side the house. It looks great, and now I finally feel like decorating the outside of my house for the holidays. Enter two very large wooden nutcrackers.

As I usually do, I went to Michael’s Craft Store in search of some Christmas clearance crafts just after holidays. When I found these two guys hanging by the 70% off clearance sign, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

First up was paint. I used inexpensive craft paint in basic holiday colors. I wanted the nutcrackers to be coordinated since I am planning on hanging them on either side of my front door. Once I was done painting, I decided to name my new guys Mario and Luigi after their likeness to Super Mario Bros.

When it came to the scepter they both hold, I decided to paint them to look like cherry candy canes. They’re my favorite type of candy cane, and I thought it would add some fun color to my nutcrackers. I even kept the colors in the same order as the candy canes.

After I was finished painting, I went in with a white paint pen and outlined the details of the nutcracker to give the project some definition.

Since the nutcrackers will be hung outside, I wanted to make sure I protected them from the elements. To ensure the wood doesn’t bow, I bought white exterior paint at Home Depot for the backside of the nutcrackers and a sealing spray for the front. I sprayed two coats of the sealer on the front of the nutcrackers.

I painted two coats of the exterior white paint on the backside of the nutcrackers. I will do a polyurethane seal on the backs of the nutcrackers, but for the front I sprayed them with two coats of waterproofer. I didn’t want the wood too glossy for the next step in this project.

With the nutcrackers painted and sealed, it’s time to start the really fun part: the sparkle. Yes, I plan to cover these two guys with thousands of tiny flatback rhinestones. So far, I’ve had a lot of fun painting these guys, but I’m hoping adding the rhinestones is going to elevate this craft to the next level. Stay tuned for part two and keep crafting!

Last month I lost my mother, Peg, just after Christmas. She had been struggling with dementia for the last years of her life. It was a horrible end to a life filled with creativity. I got my crafting bug from her. My mother painted, crocheted, and even created art with chocolate molds. It makes me sad to think of all the things she could have created if dementia hadn’t cut her life short.

There will never be another woman like her, and I want to try to keep her legacy alive. I’m hoping to compile a photo collage of some of her paintings and other creations in the coming months with other blog posts. Her talent was immense, and I want the world to know.

While I take a bit to grieve her loss, I want to share with you some poems I wrote years ago. Writing is a craft, after all. I found them buried under years of other memories. I wrote them just after my grandmother passed away over twenty-five years ago.

I got the idea to write these poems when my mother and I went to a religious store to get some memorial cards printed for my grandmother. Though not as popular now, memorial cards were a popular thing at wakes or to insert in thank you cards. Together we poured through the book of images and poems, hoping to find the perfect words to sum up my grandmother’s life. We finally found one we liked, but I was struck by how few memorial poems there were. Everywhere I looked were the same poems and images. I wanted to change that, so I decided to try my hand at writing some poems.

I’m no poet, but I came up with a few passable poems. I thought about starting a small business to make my own memorial cards, but life took me in other directions. Family and work never allowed me the time, and I had no idea how to start such a business. The poems got tucked away into an old box of photos and forgotten. I found them when I was looking for pictures to display at my mother’s wake. I think that is her way to telling me to share them with you now.

I hope in sharing these poems is that someone might find comfort in them. Take care and keep crafting.

A couple of Novembers ago I was at Michael’s Craft store and stumbled upon a bin of 90% off Halloween items. Mixed into the bin was a small orange tree. Normally, I’m not into mixing holiday decor. A tree means Christmas to me, but at under $5, I saw the possibilities of this little tree. So off it went with me.

I’ve been slowly accumulating Halloween ornaments to adorn my tree. Some are real ornaments, others are floral picks I converted into ornaments. I even strung a set of purple lights on it. It turned into a really fun project, but I couldn’t figure out what to use as the topper to this tiny tree. A witch? Dracula? I was stumped until it hit me one night: a traditional Christmas tree is topped with a star. Why don’t I make a moon for the top of my Halloween tree?

I bought a four-inch wooden crescent moon online. I thought this shape was the most recognizable for a moon. For the color, I used yellow acrylic paint I already had on hand.

But I felt like paint wasn’t enough. So back to the craft store I went. I found some sparkly flat-backed rhinestones at Michael’s. Bead landing rhinestones come in a variety of colors and sizes and are a nice alternative to my beloved Diamond Dotz.

Like with Diamond Dotz, the rhinestone’s color shows better with a similar color painted as a base underneath. I opted to get an assortment of sizes of stones instead of just one size. I think the different sizes of the rhinestones give the moon some depth and texture – just like the real moon.

To attach the rhinestones, I used Liquid Fusion Heavy Duty glue. I used a craft stick to spread a thin layer of the glue onto the piece. To make handling the rhinestones easier, I simply used my Diamond Dotz applicator and some wax.

To attach the moon to my tree, I straightened a small paper clip and glued it to the back.

This project only took a couple of nights after work to complete. I love how sparkly the rhinestones look. When the tree is lit, the moon literally glows. I’m glad I was able to make this beautiful topper to complete my tree. It reminded me that when you can’t find what you’re looking for, just craft it.

This summer is flying by, but I wanted to share an easy craft I did to spruce up my kitchen. I’ve been busy with a new job and dealing with my mother’s illness, so finding time to craft has been hard. The awful New England humidity hasn’t helped. Any craft that involves the outside has been hard for me to finish, so some of my larger projects are on standby. But a chance trip to JoAnn Fabrics gave me an idea to create some colorful magnets for my fridge.

I found some wooden cutouts at the front of the store on clearance. I picked up a set of four fruit-slice coasters, a strawberry and a watermelon shape . Then I went straight to the paint and Diamond Dotz section. I was sad to discover that JoAnn’s is getting rid of their Diamond Dotz Freestyle section, but I was able to pick up a lot of colors in the clearance bin.

After finding coordinating paint and Diamond Dotz, I got to painting. The pieces were small, so it didn’t take long to paint them all. Luckily, I was able to use the same colors for a few of the fruits, so that helped with the cost of this craft. For the watermelon I used a small piece of sponge to create white on the rind.

When it came to adding the Diamond Dotz, I took my time. Every night after work I would do a small section. I find my Diamond Dotz crafts bring me the most peace. I love how I can forget all my stresses and concentrate on placing each gem. I used LiquidFusion glue to ensure the Diamond Dotz stayed in place. My tip is to pour out a little at a time then spread the glue with a craft stick to a thin layer.

When I was done, I added a small magnet to the back with the same LiquidFusion glue I used to apply the Diamond Dotz. I let it dry overnight before attaching them to my fridge.

I love the way these magnets dressed up my otherwise dull refrigerator. The Diamond Dotz add sparkle, but they also help to bring out the color of the paint. Crafts like this prove that no matter how small a craft project is, if it makes you happy it is worth doing. I’m hoping once the humidity is gone to work on some furniture projects I’ve got stacking up in my basement. Happy crafting!