Getting Christmas Crafty and Thrifty!

Christmas Decor Crafts

Since this is our first year in the new house and money is tight, I decided to do a lot of craft projects to help decorate for Christmas!  I had seen a few regular decor idea's using dollar store items on Pinterest and decided I would give it a shot myself.  I went off to the Dollar Store in hopes of getting a large frame to put over our mantle and cover with Christmas Balls along with my first homemade bow on top.  What I did not realize was I would be walking out with items for not just that project but another one as well :)

Mantel Frame:

~this was my original idea and the reason I went to the store.  As of right now we have nothing above our mantle so this seemed like an easy cheap way to take up some space!  I was lucky in that I had some leftover ribbon from my wreath so I decided to watch a YouTube tutorial and make my own bow!  Here are some quick and easy tips on how to create your own piece!

Things You will Need:
1. Dollar Store Mirrors or Frames (I picked out the only mirrors they had 4 of)
2. Glue Gun & Sticks
3. Ornaments in varying sizes
4. Bow or Ribbon to Make a Bow

How to Make:
1. Place 4 frames how you want mirror side facing down
2. Hot glue bottom two together in the middle making sure to fill in all crevices & then top 2
3. Hot glue top piece to bottom piece, again making sure all crevices are filled
4. Once completely dry flip over and decide how and where you want to place your ornaments.  In my case I placed the large ones first then went in and "filled in" the empty spaces with smaller ones.
5. Hot glue ribbon to top of the frame (be sure not to place any ornaments where your bow will be going)
6. Hang and Enjoy!

Holiday Candle Holders:

These were my wild card idea that came to my while looking at mirrors.  I happened to turn around and see all of these awesome candle holders for only $1 and decided they would be great additions to the end of the mantle, they were super easy to make and to me look like something you would spend $10 a piece on, when I made them for only $2! (not including the candles of course which were $3 a piece at Walmart).

Here is how I did it.

Things You will Need:

1. 2 Glass Candle Holders (any size or shape you would like)

2. Glue Gun & Sticks

3. Ornaments (your choice as long as they have a flat spot to place onto the Candle Holder)

How to Make:

1. Place candle holder on floor

2. Remove hanger string from ornament

3. Hot glue ornament on flat spot to adhere to candle holder

4. Place ornament on candle holder and hold for 10-15 seconds until glue has time to cure

5. Insert Candle and Enjoy!

and for the last one...my first attempt at a Home Made Wreath!

Wreath:

This one I came up with just walking around Michael's.  I went in with a bunch of coupons so I was ready to go and get what I needed.  I got the wreath (fake pine) for $3.99.  While I was outside I also found a beautiful red poinsettia bundle that I used for the bottom part.  I came across the pine cones and thought they would be a nice touch and something to break up the red.  The last thing I added was my ribbon and another piece to the bundle that I cut off another red glittered bundle :).  Overall I think for my first wreath I did a good job and I am proud to have it displayed on our front door!

Thanks for reading and happy Crafting!

~Nicole~