Craft project--painted glass ornaments

Here's a super easy and super cute Christmas craft project--painted glass ornaments.  I made these a few years ago so there are no pictures of the process, but I'll go through it step-by-step.

For this project, you'll need hollow glass ornaments with removeable tops (found at any craft store), an empty egg carton and several small bottles of acrylic paint in various colors (also found at any craft store). 

1. Remove the ornament top and squeeze in a few drops of paint.
2. Rotate the ornament and put in a few drops of another color of paint.
3. Rotate the ornament once again and put in a few more drops of another color of paint.
4. Being careful not to tip the ornament over so paint runs out, rotate the ornament all around to get the paint to cover the entire interior surface. 
5. Once the inside is covered with swirls of paint, put the ornament upside down in the egg carton so the excess paint can drip out.
6.  Let the ornaments dry for a day or two, then put the tops on. 

That's really all there is to it.  Aren't they gorgeous?  I remember making these as a Girl Scout--shout out to my troop leader, My Own Big Martha!  Hi, Mom!

I think a set of these would make a lovely gift.  And this is a great craft project for kids.

When the Little Guy is older, we'll be making these for all the relatives. Until then, I'll just have to enjoy my own set.  Happy crafting!

Martha Monday--Christmas Menu

Are you hosting Christmas?  I've never hosted Christmas before...until this year.  To plan a menu, I naturally turned to Martha.  She has an entire spread of holiday menu ideas here. 

As a first-time Christmas hostess, I will NOT be making this:

Quite frankly, I'm not even sure what animal this comes from. 

My menu is a bit more down-to-earth:

Turkey breast
Ham
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Scalloped potatoes
Corn bread casserole
Green bean casserole
Glazed carrots OR broccoli/cauliflower
Jello...

...and possibly this for dessert:

It's Martha's chocolate-peppermint cake.  YUM!

What are your plans for Christmas?

Wrapping party

I recently had some friends over for a "wrapping party."  I've done this in holiday seasons past:  we simply get together, eat, laugh, wrap gifts and work on various Christmas projects.  It's a good time.

It's also a great way for me to share my abudance of bows, wrapping paper, ribbon, gift bags, etc. that I stock up on every year after Christmas. 

The Big Guy thinks I have problem.  "Honey," I say, "if loving gift wrap and owning 30 or so rolls is wrong, then I don't want to be right."

To start, I put bows, tape, scissors and gift tags on dining room table.    The buffett held the tissue paper, ribbon and gift bags. 

If you do this, be sure to provide a large variety of gift bag sizes...it's a good thing.

I provided about 25 rolls of paper for my wrapping crew.  We went through several rolls.

I wish I could show you pictures of the happy little elves at work, but I was too busy laughing, talking, eating and wrapping gifts to pick up the camera.  But trust me, we had a fun and productive time.  Special shout-out to Anita for wrapping some gifts for me.  Thanks for a wonderful evening, ladies!

Super easy throw pillows

Readers, meet my Christmas throw pillows.  Aren't they gorgeous?  I just love them.  And I made them.  All by myself.  With my own two hands.

And it might be the easiest craft project I've ever done. 

Seriously. 

You can make these easy throw pillows, too.  Here's the secret:  they're placemats. 

That's right, folks...these pillows were once Crate & Barrel placemats.  I got them on clearance, used a seam ripper to open a corner, and filled them with that pillow stuffing fluff that's found at any fabric store.

These things are a cinch to make.  I probably have 12 or so different pillows for different rooms and seasons that I've made this way.  Try it!

Martha Monday--Christmas Quiz

Martha's latest fun quiz is "Which North Pole Character Are You?"

My result was Mrs. Claus:  Friends and family flock to you because you're cheerful, patient, and always ready with a platter of freshly baked treats to feed the masses. You reside in the North Pole, but your home is always filled with visitors.

I don't know about the cheerful and patient part, but the part about fresh treats and a full house is spot on.  Which reminds me, I need to check out Martha's segment about traditional holiday cookies before I start my Christmas baking blitz.