DIY Vintage HYMNAL PAPER CROSS Wreath WITH INSTRUCTIONS

Vintage Hymnal Paper Cone Cross Wreath 

WITH 

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

I recently saw the most beautiful hymnal paper cone cross wreath on Pinterest.  It was a share from an etsy listing so I can't share the image here without permission.  But I can tell you this, it was the most beautiful paper cone wreath I have ever seen.

So I decided to give it a try without any kind of instructions what so ever.  First I had to Google exactly how to make paper cones.  Found it!

Secondly, where do I get old paper hymns? Bam! About three months ago I won an entire flat box full of nothing but old vintage spiritual church hymns for around $4.00.  I had no idea at the time what to do with them, but something in me wanted them! And Now I know why. It's because I was bound and determined to make a Vintage Hymnal Paper Cone Cross Wreath!

Maybe it was just for this very purpose? Who knows?  But I'm super glad that I do have them on hand.  And they are all loose pages already.  As they were used in a church at the piano or organ.

So here goes my try at making a beautiful Hymnal Paper Cone Cross Wreath.

I can't wait any longer, I have to show my finished Vintage Hymnal Paper Cone Cross Wreath first:

It turned out way better than I expected it to!

Here's how I did it:

I got all my vintage sheet music out of the closet. Hey, if you don't have any I'm sure there's somewhere online that you could print off some and then just make copies!

And then  I got a big piece of the styrofoam board.  You know the kind at the Dollar Mart that kids use for school displays.  Well, I happen to have like 100 of these since I bought some sports art by the cases at a wholesale auction.  Some have Tiger Woods and such on the back. But I use them for crafts!


And I just free handed a cross outline on it to use as the base to glue all the paper cones too.  I simply took a small bladed kitchen knife to cut it out because I could not find the exacto knife.

And then cut it out piece by piece like this:

and finally got it all out:

As you can see, it's not perfect in any way shape or form.  But it will do as my base.

Next, I started fiddling with the paper cones.  It's weird but this was the hardest part of the project for me.  Don't laugh but it seriously took me about 20minutes to get the hang of making these.  Here's a tip, you don't have to have them a perfect square like I was trying to do, before rolling them! In fact in the end, when I didn't make them perfectly square, they looked much better just all rolled up in an angle, corner to corner.

YES, that is TIGER WOODS peeping at the camera!

And then, once I started getting the hang of rolling the paper cones, it was starting to go a little bit easier.

This first one was really way too loose, but I put it at the very bottom center as a focal, starting point.

And then just kept adding and adding them.  Oh yea, I stuck them on with high temperature glue sticks.  They held great!

And added some more.....

And added even more.... And finally it was starting to look like something.

and finally it's making sense!  And as you see, to come in towards the middle, I started cutting the paper cones shorter and shorter.  And just holding them up and working them in to where they looked like they would fit.

Okay, shew! After getting the basic wreath made, for some reason mine looks really plain.  So I dug out some Christmas ornaments. I love this door hanger with golds and pine cones so I'm going to tear it apart and use it as decorations on the wreath.

 

As you see above, I hot glued the ropes to the bells way in the middle, as far as I could stick them. Looks pretty good!

And then, up there, see where I stuck the little pine cones in the middle along with the few sprigs of pip berry?  Not too much, but just enough to add a touch of color.

And for the back, I needed a hanger. So I glued on the door hanger circle. It's holding fine.

And here's a full pic of the back:

And wa~la. here it is totally done:

and a few more pics from different angels so you can see more details:

UPDATE:
I WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING AND THIS IS WHAT I SAW:

Isn't that just so beautiful?
Such a pretty way to wake up.
I love it even more now! But I am going to give this first one to my Aunt Marlene.
And then the next one I may keep for myself.

These would also be a great item to make and donate to your church auctions or fundraisers if you have those in your area. I'm sure they would be a hit.

Happy crafting until next time ya'll,
~Lisa

STYROFOAM SNOW BALLS in Rusty Minnow Bucket

Look how cute these little snowballs turned out that I made with simply Epson salt and Elmer's glue! Aren't they adorable.  And they are super easy to.

I took plain styrofoam balls, painted Elmers Glue on them, super thick like,  and then just rolled them around until covered.  Set aside on some wax paper to dry and that's it.

It seriously is one of the easiest crafts I've done.

Here they are up close and frosty:

-More detailed instructions-

1. Gather some Styrofoam balls (look at Walmart in the craft section,) Elmer's glue and a box of Epson salt.

2.  Pour out the Epson salt in a pie pan or something similar.  I use those throw away aluminum pie pans for easy clean up.

3.  Take the Elmer's glue and paint it all around the Styrofoam ball with a good coating.

4. Then, while still wet, roll it all around in the Epson salt.  Make sure to get a good coat on.  And don't worry if you don't think you are getting enough on.  You can always go back and add more easily.

And that is it.  Set it aside on some wax paper to dry!  From time to time you do notice some epson salt breaking off, but it would be an easy fix by just applying a clear coating. But I have just left mine how they are.  I love how the lights sparkle off the salt!

I found an old minnow, rusty bucket with a handle that I sat my fake snowballs in to display.  I added a metal brown star and put the words "Snowballs 5cents" on it with white craft paint.  And to finish it off a sprig of pip berry and some homespun fabric.

These are a hot seller in my Peddlers Mall Booth #555.  
When in a bucket like this, I price them for only $7.99.  But when I put them in a bag in sets of 3, I only put $2.99 on them. 

Happy Crafting and see ya'll next time,

~Lisa

WEDDING ENTRY DOORS

My niece was getting married last week and she had requested for me to make the entry doors, in a country theme, that she comes through as they play "Here Comes the Bride."

I was honored of course.  And being a crafty person by nature I set off to make them a one of a kind, just like her!

And here's what I started with:

She found these at the Peddlers Mall for only $35.00 each. Nothing great, but they had lots of potential. Especially by being white, they saved me tons of time!

I started by just thinking about what is all around you in a country themed wedding.  Grapevine! Yes. 

 

So I used a 15' roll of twiggy grapevine I have from selling it all the time in my Booth#555 (find it here on eBay for only $12.89 for 2 rolls.)

I used a staple gun to attach it to where I wanted it. The bendy shape of the grapevine helps it roll so curvy down the sides super easy. Giving me a great shape!

It was already starting to take shape just with the grapevine.

Then I took some broken pieces of the grapevine and tied them in the upper corners of each, making it like a makeshift mess. lol. But I had a reason for this.  It was going to be the frilly stuff behind the flowers. Just to give it more depth.

Then I needed to incorporate some burlap. Her wedding fabrics were burlap and lace.  So I grabbed what little pieces I had leftover from crafts and made some makeshift burlap bows:

The burlap bows were nothing fancy, just sections of burlap with a wire in the middle to make it appear to be a bow. Easy!

Then I moved on to adding some details flowers. I choose fake flowers that looked like babys breath since it was a country wedding. And I found some paper wedding bells for a little over a dollar each pack at the Dollar Mart! And the small pack has 7 bells in it!

I took the flower bunches and stuck them up in each corner of the door, behind the burlap bow. And then tied on the small paper wedding bell from the center.

Oh yea, It was really starting to come together!

Next, I added on the large paper wedding bell. And this is what really made it start to look like a focal point.

So cute and country!

I had made some letters of their last name out of tobacco sticks and grapevine. 

But after holding them up to the doors, I didn't like how it looked. So I left them out. Maybe they can use them in the wedding some where's else, I thought. The letters were cute though, with the little white paper bells hanging from the center of each.

And just to make sure, I looked again. And I still didn't like the letters on them at all.

So I forgot about the letters and went back to how they were without them:

And that is how I was going to leave them.  She didn't need handles, but I started to add deer antler handles to each one, since her hubby to be was a huge hunter!

For you savy savers following my blog, here's the total cost of making the doors:

Total cost of the doors: (Bride & Groom bought these)  $35.00 + $35.00 = $70.00

Total cost of the bells :  3 packs at $1.39 each = $4.17

Total cost of the flowers: 2 fake bunches at $1.19 each = $2.38

Total cost of grapevine: (I had my own, but if you have to buy a roll) $6.45

------------------------------

$83.00

Isn't that an awesome set of French Country Wedding Doors for only $83.00?

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa

PRIMITIVE SNOWMAN MAGNETS CABOCHON

(Warning Lots of Snowmen Photos!)

I made these Primitive Snowman Magnets:

 

out from these $1.19 party favor button pins:

The party favor buttons can be found at the Dollar Mart for only $1.19 for a pack of 12. Wow!

Just take them apart by pressing them open, the pins on the back twist off with a setting and here they are all apart:

The little plastic cabochon tops tops are usually that price for only them!

And I just began by painting the backs of the Jesus inserts. I did not want to paint over the Jesus picture, lol, I'm just like that.

Then after painting about 24 of these all in antique white, I started to add some eyes:

And then I started to just free hand on some noses and then some mouths on some:

Some of them I took some very very light reddish pink and gave their cheeks some rosey, winter color.

And then I took some magnets, also found in the Dollar Mart, for a $1.19 for a pack of 20! Unbelievable! I bought all they had! And I glued them on the back with my favorite glue ever, E6000. It is found at Wal-Mart.

And then on the fronts I took some tears of homespun fabric, tied little knots in them, and glued them on with E6000 glue also, as little scarves.

And here is a set of them sitting and drying.

They are starting to look super cute!

After they dried, I tried the magnets out on a metal lid. They hold great!

And then I figured on some (not assembled yet) I would go back add some glitter to the faces. To give the feel of maybe frost. I did this with simple craft varnish mixed with a dash of silver glitter. White glitter would have been better, but I was out of the great, tiny stuff:

And here is some with the glitter varnish and some easy print out 3x5 papers from Avery.com to make them look better in the packages:

Some of them I decided to put the Pins back on the back to mix them up. 

Who knows, they may be a cute winter pin to wear!

And the others, I left as magnets. Magnets are my all time favorite thing to make with snowmen!

If you like the Snowman Spoons in the pitcher above, here's where I made them!

I priced these for only .99cents each in my Peddlers Mall Booth #555

I think they will be a great grab as you go item that people can keep or give as a cheap gift.

Happy Crafting

& See ya'll next time.

~Lisa