Creating Christmas with Lulu Lang

Hello! I am Tracy from Lulu Lang. I am so excited to be Alyssabeth's guest blogger today and share this holiday craft tutorial with you! The craft I am sharing is very special to me and has been part of my family for many years. When my grandfather was alive, he used to make tons of ornaments, decorations and beautiful wreaths out of pinecones which are always proudly displayed around my families' houses especially at Christmas time.

One of the things he loved to create were pinecone angels; his is the gold one. Recreating these angels has been on my list of things to do for a few years now, and now I have finally accomplished my version of Grandpa Lang's pinecone angel. You can collect these items on a nice fall day and save them for when you're ready to make your ornament. It's so easy and very inexpensive to make.

You will need:

• Pinecones at least 3" tall
• Acorns with the tops on
• Dried milkweed pods - If you don't have any of these in your area you can find them online
• Pipe cleaners
• Golf tee
• Ribbon
• Silver or gold spray paint
• Black permanent marker
• Hot glue gun
• Craft glue
• Glitter (optional)

Collect all of your outdoor supplies and make sure they are free from any dirt and bugs. If the milkweed pods are still closed, split them open and clean the seeds and fluff out of them. Leave them to dry for a few days or longer if needed.

Spread out your pinecones, acorns, dried milkweed pods and golf tee on some newspaper and spray with spray paint. You will need to do several coats to make sure you've covered all of the areas.

Once your items have dried (at least 24 hours) you are now ready to start gluing. Using a hot glue gun, glue the acorn to the top of the pinecone. You might need to remove the tip of the pinecone in order to position the head properly.

Cut a pipe cleaner about 6" long, bend it into a 'V' shape and glue it to the core of the pinecone about 3/4 of the way up.

Attach the milkweed pods to the back of the angel for the wings. You will need to be very generous with your glue, especially with the milkweed pods, to make sure everything is secure.

Wrap the ends of the pipe cleaner around your golf tee. I glued my tee to the tip of the pinecone closest to the top so it wouldn't move. Cut another piece of pipe cleaner about 2" long and make a circle for the halo, leaving a little excess length to glue it to the back of the head.

I added a bit of glue and then glittered the top of the acorn and the flat end of the golf tee. You could also add some to the tips of the pinecone or inside the milkweed pods. Draw the eyes onto the acorn using a black permanent marker.

Cut your ribbon to the desired length and using the hot glue gun attach it to the back of your ornament just below where the acorn sits.

What's great about this craft is that it barely costs any money to make. Most of the supplies you can find outdoors and the others you may have lying around your house already. It's easy enough for the kids to help make, and makes a great keepsake for years to come. I have had mine for over 20 years! I know this is one tradition I will be passing on to my children.

You can find my over at my Etsy shop, blog, on Facebook or Twitter.
Thanks so much for letting me join you today, and happy holiday crafting!

Creating Christmas with Diana from The Girl Creative

Hi friends! I’m Diana from The Girl Creative and I’m very excited to be here with you today to share a really easy Christmas project that will relatively cost you pennies. And it’s Pottery Barn inspired! Woo hoo!

Pinecones. Shimmery, sparkly, snow-covered pinecones. You can find them in your yard or even in your neighbor’s yard {or in my case Home Depot!} and with a little bit of paint, glue and glitter, you can transform those dreary brown pinecones into these frosted pretties.

Here’s what you need to complete this project:

•  Pinecones in various sizes
• Spray Paint
• Mod Podge
• Glitter

 The first thing I did was spray paint my pinecones with spray paint in an aqua blue color. I used Krylon brand and the finish was gloss. I gave them a good 2 –3 coats making sure I got in between all of the layers. It’s okay if they are not 100% covered and a little of the original brown color shows through.

  

After they dried (I left them in my garage to dry for a few days. This was very helpful in letting them air out so that they did not smell like spray paint) I took a foam paint brush and went over each pinecone with Mod Podge and then generously covered each one in white glitter. The brand of glitter that I used was Sulyn and I picked it up in Hobby Lobby. It’s super fine in texture (different than regular glitter) and it could easily pass for snow. It was perfect for this project. I shook off the excess glitter and let them dry.

  

 That’s it. Piece of cake, right? I really love how they came out. You can do so many things with them. I used mine to fill a sleigh that I’ve had for years. You can use them as centerpieces for your Christmas table. Add some ribbon and a loop and you have some cool Christmas ornaments. Such an easy {and affordable} project that even your kids can help you with.  What child would not want to jump right in and use glue and glitter? I’m sure they’d love to “help”.

{Just a little side note: everything in the above photo was super cheap and you can totally pull off this look on your mantle or any flat surface in your house. The votives are from the Dollar Tree and came in a pack of 2 for $1. The sparkly silver Christmas trees are from The Christmas Tree Shops – only a few dollars each. The tray under the votives is from Hobby Lobby and was only a few dollars (50% off Christmas decorations).}