THRIFTY LITTLE CRAFT: PINECONE CHRISTMAS TREES

The following Thrifty Little Craft on PineCone Christmas Trees was completed and written by my Dad, Jim Kohn. His "Helper" is my youngest son, who is now 14! They completed this project every year for so many years and I have some beautiful Christmas Decorations that I will treasure for a lifetime!

The best part about it...you can probably round up the supplies you need already in your house or hit the $1 store for variations!

Miniature Christmas Trees Using Pine Cones
Supplies Needed:

Pine Cones, 6” to 8” Cones work well, though you can go bigger if you want. You can purchase Cones or take the kids on a field trip and let them find them theirselves; Coulter Pine Trees produce the larger Cones.

Colored Felt/Cotton Balls, Felt Balls hold together better **think tiny pom poms!

Spray Paint, I used Gold, but Silver or Green look very nice as well

Glitter

Kraft Glue - choose one that will dry sooner rather than later and make sure that it is Non-Toxic

Pipe Cleaners and or strings of small beads. If you have small children stick to the Pipe Cleaners as small beads may be a choking hazard.

Cut-outs or Foam shapes of Candy Canes, Trees, Reindeer or other Christmas items to top off the Pine Cone Tree or to use as decorations on or in your project.

Ready, Set, Go !

A moist cloth should be used to clean the Pine Cones then let dry. Try to use Cones with a flat Bottom as they will stand up better when displayed. Take the Cones outside to Spray Paint, not too heavy, and then sprinkle with glitter before the paints dries. KIDS are real good at putting on glitter - remember, this is “Christmas Crafts for Kids”. Allow plenty of time to dry.

Cover the Dining Room table with plenty of Newspaper to collect lose glitter and you're ready to decorate!

Have the kids glue on the colored balls first - any color anywhere is a good rule of thumb - they can’t go wrong.

Allow a few minutes to dry then add other items such as Christmas cut-outs, Sequins, Ribbons, buttons, yarn - the possibilities are endless.

Pipe Cleaners or Ribbon can be used for Garland by wrapping it nicely in and around the Pine Cone. Attach Pipe Cleaners end to end, using different colors or stick to one color - both ways look good.

If you have a small angel lay it in atop of the tree and glue it on three sides to provide stability. Anything your child would like to see atop the tree will also be the perfect choice, after all this is a Christmas Craft for, yup… KIDS!

If you like this simple DIY craft, be sure to leave a comment! Our "Guest Writer" (my Dad!) would love to hear it!

HAVE FUN! This will be great for the days when school is out and kids are bored!



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DIY FRAMED MONOGRAM ON BURLAP + GIVEAWAY

As we're approaching our first "milestone" for Facebook Fans, I decided it was time for a Giveaway! And of course, it's a Thrifty Little Thing, created by yours truly :D

Maybe you remember the recent project I shared where I created a framed monogram on a burlap background in a unique frame that I hand painted with ChalkPaint and distressed?

Now you can WIN one for yourself - you choose the monogram letter and paint colors!

I will give away 1 Custom Creation when we hit 500 fans on our Facebook page AND to work toward my next goal, another WINNER will be picked when we reach 1000 fans on facebook! That's not such a hard task, if each of you referred just 1 friend to like us, we'd hit 1000 quickly and choose the second winner!

The entry form is below and also on our Facebook Page. The only requirement to enter is to "like" us on Facebook, but I've included bonus entry options for those of you that LOVE Giveaways as much as I do!

And here ya go:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

also HERE if you are unable to see the form.

Winners will be selected by Rafflecopter once each Facebook Fan goal is met. The 1000 fan goal must be met by April 30th, 2013. Thank you all so much for helping to grow Thrifty Little Things on Facebook!



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5 MINUTE DIY SEWING KIT PROJECT: ORGANIZE YOUR SUPPLIES

I've told you before that I do not possess the crafty gene. I have just enough talent to fake something if I have really simple instructions. On that note, let me tell you that the only reason you'll find a needle and thread in my house is so I can do quick fixes on the kids lost buttons or tack a seam back in place. That's the extent of the sewing gene that I posess.

And, of course, when the kids yell for something to be fixed, I have to hunt down that needle and thread and can't ever seem to find it - because honestly, my use of it is so far and few between...

IF by chance there are any of you that are organizationally and/or sewing challenged as I am, then this 5 minute DIY Sewing Kit project is for you. This is also a great project for kids & teens!

All you need is a mason jar & lid, a small scrap of fabric and some sort of stuffing(batten or even cotton balls) and whatever miscellaneous sewing tools you like to keep on hand for those emergency fixes.

Simply cut a perfectly round circle of your fabric - about 2 inches bigger than the circle of your jar lid. Place the top of the lid over the fabric and then stuff the inside to form your "poof". Then attach the solid circular metal lid underneath to hold it in place.

Throw your supplies in and now you'll never have to hunt down that needle & thread again!

Obviously you could make this as formal or cute as you like depending on your fabric and even add some extra edging with a hot glue gun. I used what I had on hand for a quick fix.


It's definately a Thrifty Little Thing :D



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DIY FABRIC COVERED TOPIARIES FROM POSTERBOARD

I've got another NO CRAFT GENE REQUIRED Project for ya! This one might not even cost you a thing!

I hunted around the house for all that I needed to create these DIY Poster board Fabric Topiaries. I used a pair of old candlesticks, an old curtain and some broken costume jewelry and bead garland.

For the base, I used these old candlesticks and to hold the form onto them...yeppers, I hot glued an upside down paper bowl. On my other one, I had a small piece of floral foam that I cut and used.

To make the form for your topiary, simply use a piece of poster board paper that I had on hand for kids projects. You can grab it at your local dollar store - mine has them 2/$1.

Using the long side of the poster board, simply roll your paper until you have the point at the top and the width for the topiary you want. You'll cut down the bottom/uneven portion to leave yours at whatever height you like. I used shipping tape to secure it.

I cut fabric from an old/unused curtain I had hung onto because I loved the damask print. I also made a second one with even more of my leftover fabric from my dining room table re-do.

I then sprayed my posterboard form all over with an all purpose adhesive spray and rolled it onto the fabric. Smooth out any wrinkles and I didn't worry about the back side where the fabric edges meet - noone will ever see that part!

I used scrap edging and ribbons and then some sentimental broken pins, beads and pieces from old jewelry. You can decorate yours with anything you like...my Grandbaby helped me with mine and we had so much fun!

We still have to add some embellishments to the brown/black one, but I had to share that one too!

That's it! This one is very simple to do and beats paying upwards of $40 and much more for similar topiaries in stores!

I LOVE topiaries and the possibilities for styles with this project are limitless! They will make for some great gifts, too!

What do you think? I'm sure you can create some beautiful topiaries to put mine to shame!


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I linked this post up over at DebbieDoos Holiday Knock Off Decor Party

and

DIY SPICE CABINET ORGANIZATION

Have you been "PIN" -spired lately? I think Pinterest is making crafters and DIY'ers of so many that would never have attempted a project otherwise. Who can resist?

I was most recently inspired to organize my spice cabinet. That just doesn't quite sound like the mega job it was, so let me just tell you. I had bottles that had somehow overflown (like Karo syrup) and were literally stuck/glued to the cabinet, on top of spice spills galore and don't let me get started on all of the expiration dates that I hadn't seen *in YEARS* that I had to toss.

So....once that portion of the task was done, I was able to make things pretty in there.

Some on-hand vintage mason jars added to jelly jars from the dollar store and then a quick application of chalkboard sticker labels (They come in so many super cute styles & shapes!) and I thought I was SuperWoman.

What do you think? Less than 10 bucks and 30 minutes....another Thrifty Little Thing to make my life easier :D



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Linking up this post over at Home Stories AtoZ Tutorials & Tips Link Party

FALL LETTER WREATH ALTERNATIVE

I've been on the hunt this past week for a budget friendly wreath for Fall and WOW...I've been blown away by prices - everything from handmade locally to WalMart. So, as usual, I decided I could probably put something together to meet the need and keep from breaking the bank!

I saw a super cute Fall letter wreath on Pinterest, that I thought was a perfect alternative for the front door. But, as I read the instructions I decided I was not crafty enough to attempt and I'm too impatient...I would have to hit the store and purchase modge podge & scrapbooking supplies and, did I mention I'm too impatient when I get an idea in my head?

So...Voila! My latest DIY On The Cheap inspired from a Pinterest Pin: My Fall Letter Wreath Alternative - hanging on my front door within 2 hours of my inspiration :D

Here's what I used -all of which I had on hand, except for the letters, which were about $2 each at Walmart.

Wide Ribbon

Glue Gun

Paint (any kind!)

Tape

Unfinished Wood Letters

Notice that I'm not being specific, because you can really use whatever type ribbon, paint or tape you have on hand. That's why this is DIY On A Budget!

* If your door is exposed to rain, you will want to use an exterior paint or use a spray sealant on your letters.

Paint the letters in your choice of colors and let them dry. Once dry, I chose to free hand polka dots, stripes,etc. - do what you feel inspired & are skilled to do. You could obviously get very formal with that, but I'm just not that picky or free-hand talented!.

Measure your ribbon by hanging on your door to see where it will fall and where you want the letters to fall. Remember to leave enough overlap onto the back of your door to secure with tape. I marked the back of mine as well as the general letter placement on the ribbon with a piece of chalk.

Place your dry, painted letters onto the ribbon and arrange how you want them. Hot glue onto the back of the letters to secure to ribbon. Keep in mind the spots of the letter that touch the ribbon so you don't glue to your table (like I did at first!).

Hang onto your door and use tape on the inside of the door for the main security and then secure as needed under the front of the ribbon. Snip the ends of your ribbon to make them pretty ;)

I tied a separate ribbon and hot glued it to the top because mine looked too plain. You could obviously do all sorts of things to spruce it up and embellish.

That's it!

No major crafting skills required, quick & most of all CHEAP :D


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