DIY Christmas Wreath.

I have been a crafting machine this Christmas season!  The Blogger Stylin' Home Tour totally lit a fire under me and had me churning out projects left and right!  Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it definitely upped my productivity this month.

One of my favorite things I made was my Christmas wreath.  I used my holiday inspiration pretty literally in this project.

I started with a blank wreath form and some wide B&W striped ribbon.

I hot glued my black and white striped ribbon into place, and then tightly wrapped the ribbon around the form until I was back at my starting point.  I cut the ribbon and used another bead of hot glue to secure the end into place.

Then I used two different sized sparkly beads I had in my craft stash to create a cluster on the wrapped form.  These beads were pretty heavy, so I held each in place until the hot glue was 100% dry.

Once the cluster was big enough for my liking, I added some greenery using two small pieces from an artificial pine tree stem.  Then I just cut a sliver of leftover plaid fabric and pulled the loose strings off to give it a little worn, rustic vibe.  I tucked the ends of the plaid fabric behind the mirror on our mantel, using the weight of the mirror to hold the wreath in place.

I really love the combo of black and white stripes and plaid in this wreath.  Plus, it's got a bit of shine to it, and if you've been here for a while, you know I looooove me some shiny stuff!!  This is the third wreath I've made for our mantel {here was the first and second} and I love them more and more each time!

Happy Friday! :):)

Jingle Mingle - DIY Monogram Stocking Ornaments

Anyone a fan of jingle bells?!  I know I am.  They're metallic.  They're shiny.  They make a joyful little noise.  I mean...what's not to love?  You know what else I love?  Coming up with fun Christmas crafts.  So when I was asked to participate in a jingle mingle with these fine ladies {Cuckoo4Design, Shift Ctrl Alt, Nalle's House, Primitive & Proper, Dwellings by Devore, and Bliss at Home}, I knew I couldn't resist!

No joke, after I got the invite for this fun series, I couldn't stop myself from using jingle bells everywhere! They were the perfect DIY addition to my Christmas home tour.

I used some to create cute little wreaths that adorn that back of our bar stools.

I also made a simple mistletoe to hang over our kitchen sink.

I even decorated my gift bags for a super fun ornament exchange night with friends!

We got to wear pj's and eat lots of yummy breakfast food for dinner.  {You need some cooking inspiration...here is who was in charge!  Check her out.  She rocks.}  It was basically a perfectly festive night. ;)

Anywho, I digress....

Back to the jingle bell project that started it all...my DIY monogram stocking ornaments! :)  They were super simple to make, and added a nice touch to our Tar-jay fur stockings.

I started with plain white MDF letters I purchased at Michael's...a "G" for me and a "P" for hubby.

White just wouldn't do it for me, so I busted out my trusty gold spray paint.  Once the letters were dry, it was time to add some ribbon and jingle bells!

First I added a loop of ribbon to the top of the "G", making sure it had enough slack to hang low on the stocking.  I used a thumb tack to secure my ribbon to the back of the MDF letter.

After that, I strung ribbon through the two different types of jingle bells {that I also I picked up from Michael's}.  I tied a knot at the end of each bell and cut the ribbon long enough so I could play around with what length would work best. Once I found out the right arrangement of the bells, I simply used another thumbtack to hold the ribbon in place on the back of the letter and trimmed the excess ribbon.

I repeated the same process for the "P".

Then it was time to hang and enjoy!!  In 10-15 minutes I was able to easily dress up our formerly-bare stockings.

I absolutely love the pop of gold on top of the fur texture!  Would any of you ever tackle this easy DIY?!

Don't forget to mingle on over to Cuckoo4Design, Shift Ctrl Alt, Nalle's House, Primitive & Proper, Dwellings by Devore, and Bliss at Home to see what projects they came up with! :)

Linking up to:

52 Mantels