MASON JAR SNOWMEN KEY CHAINS

I absolutely love any type of mason jar crafts and snowmen.  

And when a time comes to join mason jars and snowmen together, I give it a try.  

So here's the latest idea I've had.

MASON JAR SNOWMEN KEY CHAINS

I have a ton of these wooden mason jars made up because I make them into key chains. Kinda as my business cards, to give out with purchases of my stained mason jars. 

But this morning I had the idea to make some into snowmen key chains.

You could also do this with the flat, wooden, mason jar gift tags found at Walmart.

Set of 12 for $2.23
Photo from Walmart.com

In this photo, I'd already drilled a hole and screwed my eye hooks down into the top.

The plain eye hooks come in a pack of 20 for .59 cents at our local Ollies.

And now for the first step to painting the snowmen faces.

I used these colors for snowmen:

When it comes to painting snowmen faces, don't over think it.  Just do each eye, nose, mouth all at once and it will come together. 

Now, just take some orange paint and stick on a pointy nose.

Now, take the end of the brush, the pointy tip and dot on some eyes.

Now add some mouths with the same end of the brush.

See, step by step they are beginning to look like snowmen and it isn't as hard as you think.

And little lines for eyebrows.

And now time to add some rosey cheeks and a bit of mixed orange and white to add snow to the nose.

And now it's time to attach the ring holder. I always save old keychains for this.  This time I had a bunch of dolphins that I had saved back from a sale I caught at our Preston Court Days.
I got an entire bag of 50 +/- for $2.00 !!

I used pliers to pry off the ring.

And then just stick it right back on my Mason Jar Snowmen Key Chains.

I think they are really turning out cute.

What about you?

Oh, and if you're wondering how big these are, I forgot to say.

Just the right size for a key chain and I also have a little bit smaller size on hand too.

And to seal them, I hung them up outside, by the hangers with clothespins and gave them a quick spray of clear coat.

And that's it. Now we have Mason Jar Snowmen Key Chains. 

A combination of the two things I love to craft with!

And remember, you can get those flat, wooden mason jar tags from Walmart to do about the same craft!

Set of 12 for $2.23
Photo from Walmart.com

Hope ya' liked this idea.

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa

SNOWMAN LIDS

Hey ya'll,

Here's a super easy snowman lid I made last year and think I forgot to share. I had been seeing these pop up all over Pinterest and I really wanted to try a few on my own. I just looked at them and tried to keep the same basic features. 

This is a great way to use up any bent, dented or extra cooking lids you may have sitting around.
Mine comes from boxes of them I buy at auctions.

I got all these plus the coffee pot and pan for only $8.00 one night!!!

The one I painted here, before, it was just a regular, aluminum style cooking lid in silver.

The first thing I did was to clean it good, let it dry then spray paint it in an Almond base color. I used the Rustoleum brand.

Just ignore my clothespins, I still have to paint tons of them!

Then after it dried for a few hours, I started with the basic face using a permanent marker.

Here are the eyes.

A mouth and a few more features.

Then I came back in with paint and did the nose in Cinnamon orange and the eyes in a baby blue.

I also sponged on some "snow" to the nose after the orange dried. 

 And don't forget to add some rosey cheeks. I used the dry brush technique and just kept adding more till it looked like enough for me.

And to finish it all off, it's hard to see, but I used a can of white spray paint and sprinkled white dots all over everything to give him a snowy look.

 Then to finish him off, I took some pieces of fabric and a jingle bell and hot glued them to the side.

On the back I used some E-6000 glue and a sawtooth hanger in case someone wants to hang him up.

I priced him for $5.99 in my craft booth. 

And here's another one I've been working on.

Here's one way I display some regular lids from time to time that I have for sell.

Happy Crafting ya'll,

~Lisa

DIY PRIMITIVE GINGER BREAD MEN

Hey ya'll!
Here's some cute hand-made gingerbread men that I've been recently making.

I sell most of these online on ebay rather than in my craft booth at the local co-op.
Not sure why more tend to sell online, but they do.
Guessing more crafters out here, like me, online looking for things to make :-)

And in case ya'll wanna give a batch a try, here's how I make'em.

Okay, you'll wanna gather your supplies.
You can either make this out of a self hardening clay (which is ready to go) or salt dough that you'll have to make and bake.

Here's my cinnamon salt dough recipe if ya'll need it.
NOTE: Not needed if you are using a clay that self hardens.

Cinnamon Salt Dough Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• ½ cup water (sometimes you add a bit more)
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil (this makes it a little more flexible, and is optional)
• half cup cinnamon

I mix it all up in a bowl, adding a bit more of water, if needed. It should be firm but still good and flexible.

Knead it for a bit and get it all mixed good. If you want colored dough, you could easily add food coloring or something natural like coffee or tea. 

When it's ready and easy to manage, I take out a candy mold with the gingerbread men shapes. Keep in mind this craft is endless with shape opportunities! Thankfully, I am a collector of candy and cookie molds.

Just press in the amount of  salt dough or clay needed into your shapes, no coating spray needed inside, by the way. It just makes them sticky.

Press firmly, trying to get out all air pockets and wrinkles in your mix. And then easily pop them back out. 

As seen, I've found that the clear plastic candy molds work best. This way you can see it as you are molding them.

If you used self hardening clay, just sit them aside and let them dry for 24 hours then decorate.

Look close, not all of them come out perfect. But that's okay with primitive crafts.

I like some a bit different and older looking.

If you used the salt dough recipe,

Then it's time to stick them in the preheated oven at 300* for about 45 minutes. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It mostly depends on the thickness of the salt dough. The just take them out and let them cool.

Here's how I finished my batch above off after they dried.

I took some apple barrel paint in burnt umber, a very wet paper towel, and dabbed it on the gingerbread man.

The added water gives it an old appearance when it dries.  Take a closer look at what I mean.
Oh, and I had also taken some burgundy red and dabbed on some cute heart buttons down the front.
And two little dots for eyes.

And to seal them, I used some basic, off brand, elmer's glue. I had to cut a slot in my bottle cause my top was glued shut and would not even twist off for nothing. That's why I have duct tape on it below. To seal up my cut. lol.

Put a good amount on it but don't make it too thick, it will gaum up.

Here they are staring to dry. They will appear a lot darker.

But they lighted up as they dry.

And wa'la~ 

Here's a batch of some cute little gingerbread men ready to go for crafting needs or decorations.

They also look cute sitting around in a bowl as bowl fillers with cinnamon sticks and such.

EACH MEASURE approximately: 1.5  inches in height each x 1.5 inches in width each.

And just think how cute these would be as bigger ones! You can even put a hole in them before they dry to use as hanging Christmas ornaments or tag add-ons to spruce up gifts!

Endless ideas for the little Ginger Bread Men!

And when I can keep them in stock, you can find them here online if ya need some.

Hope ya'll liked this little Ginger Bread man craft!

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa