Christmas Decorations

 

 

It is so hard to believe that the holiday season is fast approaching. I am always looking for new ideas for decorations for my home, and great gifts for neighbors. 

 

 

 

 

I have been looking on Etsy and Pinterest for ideas. I have been experimenting with some mason jars for decorations for my own kitchen, so I decided to make some for the holidays as a center piece.

 

 

 

Mason jars are all the rage for shabby chic home décor. It is also a great artsy way to store small items but give it that creative flair to a simple jar. 

 

First I cleaned the jars, then wiped them down with rubbing alcohol to remove any grease.

 

2. I used a craft paint and applied it from top to bottom.

 

 

 

 

3. I added a second coat after the first coat dried. Then I let the jar cure for 24 hours. I actually  added a little white to the paint to mute the green, and a little touch of brown.

 

 

 

 

 

Now that they are all dry I got fine sand paper and began running it across the letters and design. This gives the jars a shabby chic or cottage look. I also sand papered the top of the jar where the lid goes.

You can also use an emery board. 

Here is the finished product. As you can see, I scraped off some areas of the paint to give it that aged look. I will probably make these as gifts to my neighbors or teachers. You can add some cookies or other sweet treat to the jars, or add some silk flowers like I did. 

Show time

 

This past weekend I exhibited at the 22nd Annual Dunwoody UMC Holiday Fest. I added some crates to display my clocks this year.

 

I wish now that I had put my table right at the entrance of my booth. I will definitely make sure to correct that at my next show. You live and learn as you do these events.

 

 

 

 

The shoppers were bustling during the morning, but was slowly around lunch time. I was on the second floor,  and there were also other artisans (all our badges listed us as artisans) on the bottom floor. There was another big room downstairs with people selling very nice furniture.

 

This show is a huge event at this church. The proceeds go to pay for building two homes for Habitat for Humanity.

 

 

 

There was also a photo booth for Christmas pictures.

 

 

 

 

There was also an auction room for gift baskets, and each artisan donated a piece of their merchandise for the show.

All throughout the day they had middle school kids who wore elves hats with pointy ears, that came all throughout the day to offer us muffins, orange juice, or water. They also came to pick up any trash we may have had.

My neighbor next to me thought that the crowd was not as big as last year. However, she thought more people were downstairs shopping than upstairs. Her sales were down. I wasn't very happy with my sales either. I still might try it one more year since they treated us so well.

Flip Flop Clock.

My new flip flop clock is now available in my Etsy shop.