Bags from Old Sewing Patterns $0

My aunt sent my daughter a little Christmas felt craft kit and it came in this bag. Genius. Zigzagged genius. I cannot proclaim how excited I get when I find other people that don't like to waste stuff.

This would work with any paper. The bag is lighter than text weight, but thicker than the tissue paper patterns these days are printed on. (duh) I felt I should clarify in case someone tries to make a bag with tissue paper.

12 Days of Christmas Ornaments <$5

I have a group of girlfriends and we meet the third Wednesday of every month to craft. We have been doing this for several years. It's like the Friday Night Knitting Club except it's on Wednesdays and we don't knit (although we've discussed learning how). We used to make cards, and then we made mini cards, and then we decided to do a big year-long project. All I know is that I need that one night a month. I think I can safely say craft nights enhance friendships and save marriages.

Anyways, our big year-long project was to create a set of ornaments illustrating the 12 Days of Christmas. I had seen a set in Ballard Designs but wasn't about to pay what they were asking. Chipboard was all the rage, but we're cheap, so I went to the Olive Garden and kindly asked the manager for 750 coasters. He eventually gave them to me (and asked me to never come back to his restaurant) and we used them for the structure of each ornament.

 

We pooled our resources to make each ornament. The backgrounds were scrapbook paper, sheet music, French etchings of cows from Mary's grandma's old books, scans of postage stamps, etc. We just found stuff we could use. Jonna used her Cricut to cut out the flutes and the lords-a-leapin'. We had punches for the turtledoves. We had birdcage stamps and partridge stamps (okay, it's a quail) and Spanish moss and glitter. Turns out that Michelle was a whiz at hot melting bird nests. Jaime worked her digital magic on the numbered side of the ornaments. My mother-in-law even cleaned out her basement and gave me a bag of miniature eggs, which worked perfectly for the six geese-a-layin'.

All we had to buy was the strand of pearls (Walmart), the cheap golden rings (party store), and Mary bought real guinea hen feathers for the three French hens. Mary's mom is French, so she's serious about representing France. I'm a huge European poser, so I appreciate representing France as well.

 

We glued everything right onto the coaster (some did the Xyron, I used Scotch glue sticks because they are my favorite), rolled the edges in Elmer's glue, and then rolled the gluey edges in glitter. Punched a tiny hole up top and tied baker's twine in it. It took the whole year and it was really fun to do.

Twelve coasters stack perfectly in this 4" wide circular tin that was $1 at the craft store. There's even room for 12 hooks on top. I hang mine from our dining room chandelier. They twirl and spin and sparkle and I can't help but smile when I remember all the Wednesday nights that we spent making them.

Texas Roadhouse was not at all stingy with their coasters, which were square. I would have done squares but we already had the circular tins.

20-Point Stars from Old Christmas Cards $0

Supplies needed:

At least 10 old Christmas cards, thicker than cardstock

One piece of letter-sized cardstock

Scrap of string

Glitter puff paint

Small paintbrush

Elmer's Contact Cement

Scoring Blade/Bone Folder/Back of Your Scissor Blade + Ruler

Scissors

Hot Glue Gun

(These are all things I had on hand. Now that I've made ten stars I had to buy new glitter paint. It was $3.)

I got this idea from jennyharada.com and she has a tutorial on her website here.

Gather your old Christmas cards. You can't keep them forever. (I find real cards are becoming scarce since most people send photo cards, so I ask doctors' offices and our mayor for all of their old cards. My sister Suzette even had her mother-in-law send me a huge envelope of them from Florida. It was one of the more exciting days of my life when I opened that envelope.)

Trace the "starpoint" template (available on her website) on the back of your Christmas cards. If the card has something really unique (neat image, embossing, glittered detail, etc) I center the template over it. You want your star to be made from the best parts of every card. Trace 20 starpoints. Score them and cut them out. They will fold into little mini pyramids.

This is important: I have tried every glue under the sun and the ONLY glue that works for me is Elmer's Contact Cement. I found mine at Office Depot. (If you try this and use a different glue, please leave a comment saying what it is!) It works like rubber cement. Paint the flap and paint the inside of the starpoint where the flap will stick. Let both sides dry. Press together. (It is permanent from the second you touch the two sides together, so make sure you are aligned before you press.)

Now you are ready to make the 20-sided inner ball that the pyramids will glue to. I don't know the techincal term for a 20-sided object, but I'm sure all the guys that played Dungeons & Dragons do. Ask one of them.

Print the "starbody" template from jennyharada's website on cardstock, score it, cut it out. Using the contact cement glue a few flaps at a time until your ball is formed. I usually do the center band and finish with the top. You will not see this ball at all, so don't worry if you mangle it or it if looks ugly. If you have to tape the last flap that's okay.

Take your scrap of string, tie the ends in a knot, and tape it to the ball above the knot. (I always place my knot in the middle of a triangle so that it will be hidden inside a pyramid. You just want the end of the string to be at a vertex so it can hang correctly.)

Also, the contact cement is lethal and I have to throw away my paintbrush when I'm all done with a star. So use cheap brushes. Don't be like me and use your Windsor-Newton brush that you got in college and babied for ten years. You'll be sad when you have to throw it away.

Using hot glue, glue one pyramid at a time to the center ball. I squeeze a triangle of hot glue on the starbody and press the pyramid onto it. Make sure you keep your string outstretched and don't accidentally cover it up!

After you have glued on all 20 pyramids "caulk" the seams with glittery puff paint and let dry. The puff paint hides all manner of sins and really finishes the star. I use Elmers' 3D Glitter Paint, available for $6 at Walmart and other office supply stores in a 5-pack of colors. Other "glitter glues" dry flat, not puffy, so they don't act like caulk and hide everything.

Ta-da! I wrap my stars in tissue paper and put them in their own box for storage.

Postage Stamp Cards $0

Rip off stamps from your mail. Have your neighbors do the same. You'll have a ton in no time.

I made these for my Christmas cards a few years ago. It took almost an entire calendar year to get enough stamps to make 150 cards. Use ribbon scraps to make the wreath bow. The knot is no problem for mailing through the USPS, but if you're worried about it you can put a sheet of cardstock over the top of your card to protect everything.

I used the cancelled stamps I bought at the stamp & coin store for these cards, and I inked rubber alphabet stamps to stamp words, initials, important dates, etc, onto the cards.

One year I made valentines with the cancelled stamps. Just glue a bunch of stamps on top of each other until they resemble a heart and sew a vellum square or cut up sheet protector over the top. I don't know why my corner always puckers when I sew paper. Maybe I need to adjust my tension. Who knows? I don't think any of my recipients cared...

Trash Cards $0

I have probably made around 1,000 cards from people's trash in the last five years. It's easy. Just take the wrapping paper out of the garbage can at birthday parties. And take really pretty Christmas wrap. And retail store bags. And maps from trips. And anything else you can think of.

First of all, wrinkled paper can be ironed. Just put a piece of typing paper or brown grocery sack on both sides of your paper and iron it. Easy. Some paper looks fine wrinkled, too, like maps.

I usually embellish my "trash cards" with cancelled stamps. I have two Ziploc bags full of them. I bought a bag of cancelled stamps at the stamp & coin store for a few bucks. You can also use stamps off of your own mail.

Not used to taking stamps off of mail? Rip the corner of the envelope off (the corner that has the stamp) and soak it in a bowl of water for a few minutes. The stamp will peel right off of the envelope. Put the stamp on a paper towel and it will dry in minutes.

A fun way to use remnant tissue paper is with FRINGE SCISSORS. I loved this tissue paper my sister wrapped my Christmas present in. It was too cute to throw away.

Fringe scissors cut several times at once. They are like regular scissors on steroids and super sharp. I feel like Edward Scissorhands when I use them. I like to cut on the fold so the fringes are thicker and then muss them up after they are glued on. I love these scissors so much I think I might try to make my own piñata sometime. Or at least cards that look like they have little piñatas on them. I am always trying to find a reason to use them. Kitchen stores sell them for mincing herbs. I think mincing paper is more fun. Greg bought me mine years ago from Bell'occhio in San Francisco, but now Martha Stewart sells them for $9.

After I make enough "trash cards" I create sets of 8 and box them up. It's nice to have a little something to give away. Greg just went on a business trip and asked me (at midnight) while he was packing if I had any good "girl presents" for a nice lady he works with. She got a box of trash cards and loved them. She told him her grandpa collected stamps and that they reminded her of him.

I have a neat woodblock stamp of a letter "M" that I stamp on the back of every card I make.

I bought these plastic boxes that hold a set of cards at Xpdex for 59 cents. They don't sell them anymore. I will have to find a new vendor online. They are perfect for classing up trash cards!

*But paper isn't free? Yes it is:

A few years ago I walked into the BYU Press Building and asked Doyle (now retired) if he had any cottony, wonderful, thicker-than-cardstock leftovers that I could have. He cut down a BUNCH of leftover paper to 8.5"x5.5" for me. (About 2,000 cards!) All I have to do is score the fold line when I want to make a card. This is the spirit of ReDEUX! BYU couldn't have printed any job on the leftovers I took. They would have gone to waste after months of taking up precious shelf space. I only needed scraps. Win-Win. I am continually amazed what you can get for free if you just ask for it.