My first craft tutorial

While I was (shamefully) not blogging, I was in a state of elevation- not mania, nor quite hypomania- all I wanted to do was work on various projects. Lots of projects. Honestly, I'd still be there, but my energy level has decreased dramatically... But that's a story for another day.

For the next few posts, I'd like to elaborate on some of these projects- mostly the ones I actually finished. I'll even teach you how I did them. Yay! Craft blog for a minute!

This first one is a project I do every year. We have decided that every Christmas as a family, we would make our cards, and a  Christmas tree ornament to give to our friends and family for Christmas. No plates of cookies from us (even though I still love getting those...)

In the past, we have done pillow hearts, Christmas trees made from fabric yo-yos, and felt poinsettias. This year was my husband's choice. We found a picture on Pinterest (yes, this is a Pinterest project) of snowflakes made from puzzle pieces. Jake really liked them, and I figured out how to do them.

First, gather supplies. You'll need card stock, glue (two kinds; craft glue and a hot glue gun), a puzzle with pieces that are shaped the same, white spray paint, and thin ribbon.

To start, cut a small circle out of card stock for a "base". Since I had to do 200 of these (we have a lot of friends and neighbors), I bought a paper punch to make the job go faster.

Once I had my circle, I took three of the puzzle pieces and glued them on to the circle- like the picture. For this step, I used the craft glue. The color of the puzzle pieces doesn't matter, since you will be painting over them. Allow that to dry.

Once dry, you "fill in the gaps" with another three puzzle pieces, still using the craft glue. Allow to dry.

Now, it's time to paint. I used krylon spray paint + primer glossy white. The primer is necessary for the paint to actually stick to the glossy surface of the puzzle. I had to use three coats to completely cover the glossiness. But what really gave it the perfect finish was a layer of krylon glitter spray. I used the "Diamond Dust" finish. Perfect- a slightly sparkling snowy texture. I don't think you can really see the finish on these pictures, but trust me- it made all the difference.

Now come the finishing touches. In all the pictures I saw, none had anything in the middle, but I thought a single rhinestone would add the perfect amount of bling to my snowflakes. Here, I used a hot glue gun. I couldn't decide on the size of the rhinestone, so I did some in the smaller size, and some with the slightly larger ones. I think I personally like the bigger ones better, but I think that's a personal preference.

Next, you need to cut the ribbons to size. You want to make sure they are big enough to hang the ornament on the tree. I chose ribbons with some silver metallic woven into it to tie in the bling and the sparkle. Glue one end down on an angle (I used the hot glue gun) so you can cross them in the back. You'll want to keep the ribbon straight as you wrap it around to the other side- you don't want it twisted. When both ends of the ribbon are glued down, take your hot glue gun and add a small dollop over where you crossed your ribbon. This will give it a bit more reinforcement. Here's what it looks like on the back of your ornament:

There! You're done! This is about what your ornament will look like:

More projects to come- hope you had fun. We'll do this again- except for probably not so many pictures. I wasn't quite as thorough with my documentation with other projects. 

Also- fun side note: this was the first blog I've done entirely from my phone. Cool, huh?