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Monday, November 26, 2012

Christmas “JOY”

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Well, this is what the Holidays are about, right? A time of  year when we try and remember all the Joy in our lives and share a little with others. So why not say it in a fabulous way?  Hang it high for all to see!!!!  Sorry, I got carried away!

I picked up these letters from Pat Catan's for about $2 a piece. That also where I got the GLITTERY ribbon.  I found the scrapbook paper at Wal-Mart for 97 cents a pack….can’t beat that!
First I stained the edges of the letters using a dark brown stain.  I let that dry overnight.  Now comes the fun part – the part where I get to Mod Podge…yayyyyy!  I cut the scrap book paper about an inch larger than the letters on all sides, Mod Podged the hell out of the front of the letters and laid the paper down.  Carefully smooth any bubbles out from under the paper taking care not to shift the paper or rip it – that would be BAD.  Again, let that dry overnight, or over three nights, however long it takes for you to get back to it.  Having a 2 1/2 year old I sometimes have projects laying around for weeks before I have a chance to get back to them, but I digress.

Once this is nice and dry, lay the letters (paper side down) on a cutting mat and trim off the excess with an Xacto knife.  Get as close to the wood as you can, but down freak out if there are rough edges because we’ll take care of that.  Once you have all the letters trimmed, take a piece of fine sandpaper and clean up those edges.

Now it’s time to bring the stain back out.  Well, that is if you even bothered to put it away in the first place, which I can’t say I always do.  For this part you can either use a sponge brush or a cheap little paint or artist brush.  Dip your brush of choice into the stain, but do not saturate it.  Now take your brush and blot it onto a folded up paper towel, getting as much stain off as possible.  It’s time to dry brush people!!!! Take your blotted brush and starting from the edges of the letters dry brush the stain toward the middle.  How far into the center you dry brush is completely up to you.  I stopped about a half inch from the edge, but that’s just my preference.  When I was done with my brush I just threw it away because I didn’t want to put the work into cleaning the stain out of it – that why I used a 25 cent sponge brush.

Next I cut my choices of ribbon about 10 inches long.  I gathered one end of the ribbon and stapled it to the back of my wood letters.  Then I tied a double knot in the ribbon, trying to keep the length consistent between all three letters.  For me the same length wasn’t crucial because I plan to stagger them when I hang them.  If you want them to hang the same height that’s going to take some more time and patience on your part – good luck.
When I’m ready to hang all the Christmas decorations, I’ll just throw up some Command hooks and enjoy the JOY of the Season.  I just love this time of year.  Hope you enjoy and try to make some JOY of your own!

HAPPY CRAFTING!!!

Kim

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