Craftastic Monday Link Party

Hey there crafters!  Let's see all those holiday and seasonal projects, DIYs, handmade gifts and of course the yummy festive recipes!!

Last week I shared how to make a fully Decorated Pom Pom Mini Christmas Tree. Super easy for even a non-crafter to create and complete with mini glass ornaments:

We also have a winner for my giveaway for a $25 Gift Certificate to Heavenly Fabric Shop:

~~ Kayla K. ~~

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It's the biggest shopping time of the year!!  Get some FREE promotion for your blog or small business, by heading over to Facebook for the Sew Can Do Craftastic Mixer.  Support small and handmade by visiting a few new places too:
   

Share your blog or handmade/craft-related business or its Facebook page.  A new one posts every Sunday night on the Sew Can Do Facebook page at 5pm EST.

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Now let's see those Craftastic Picks!

The Kittchen showed us how to make some yummy cinnamon roll pancakes:

Satsuma Designs shared this charming clothespin ballerina ornament:

Abbotts At Home created this cute red truck Christmas centerpiece:

Busy Being Jennifer shared how to make these tasty peppermint sugar cubes:

Annemarie's Haakblog gave us a tutorial for making these cute crochet Christmas trees:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

On Twitter: Follow @sewcandoblog

On Pinterest: Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

DIY Decorated Pom Pom Christmas Tree

It's the Christmas season!  Time to get festive with the DIYs.  This year I don't have tons of free time to get elaborate, but it doesn't mean we can't sneak in some handmade goodies for the holiday.  Today's project is an easy one that can be used over and over in new ways: a Decorated Pom Pom Mini Christmas Tree.

I'd seen pom pom trees before, but never any that were actually decorated, so I set out to make one that would have all the elements of a full size tree, but in miniature:

Much more fun than just the usual basic pom poms!

Materials:

- Styrofoam cone
- Green pom poms
- Low temp hot glue & glue gun
- Ball head pins
- Glass bubble ball charms
- Angel flat back/Christmas star button
- Green felt
- Mini wired tinsel

I got my foam cone & pom poms at Hobby Lobby.  Two bags of medium pom poms was just enough for a 12 inch high cone.

Making the tree is pretty simple.  Using low temp hot glue is key to keep it from melting the styrofoam base.  Add a good amount and start adding pom poms along the bottom:

For the next row, nestle the pom poms in between the previous row. They'll be nice and compact to guarantee none of the white base will show.  Repeat all the way to the top.

At the tip add 3 pom poms to finish.  I cut a circle of green felt for the bottom to fully hide the foam and glue it on.  Now the tree is ready to decorate!

You could use buttons or charms or any type, but since I wanted this tree to look like a mini version of the real thing, I used these fabulous glass bubble ball charms from my shop. They look just like real ornaments and add just enough bling. 

I did a mix of the crystal filled and the mini star filled charms.

To attach them, I used green ball headed pins.  These are perfect for making sure the charms stay in place and the green tops blend right in with the tree.  Just poke the pins into the foam.  SO easy!!

I also added an angel flat back as my tree topper:

And swirled some mini tinsel I had in my stash to give it a finishing touch.

Since the pins aren't permanent, it can be a different tree every year.  I did another religious-themed version with some delicate ribbon and these different Virgin Mary charms with Mary & Baby Jesus and a trumpeting angel button from the same set the top:

I also decorated a little bottle brush tree using my mini star filled charms by taking a few earring hooks from my jewelry making supplies to use as ornament hooks.  

The earring hooks make it easy to hang them on this style of tree and have an authentic look.  

I put a Christmas star button to the top & it was a cute addition to my mini trees:

These mini trees are great for table tops, mantles or anywhere that needs a little festive decoration.  A bit of Christmas tree fun for any size space!

December's Here & So Is the Craftastic Monday Link Party!

Happy December crafty friends!  We're officially in Christmas countdown mode.  Advent & Hanukkah have started, so we're full on into the holiday season.  Let's see all those seasonal projects, DIYs, handmade gifts and of course the yummy festive recipes!!

Last week I shared the cozy and easy to sew Funny Dots Cuddle Suit I made for our littlest one:

And my review of the awesome Brightech LED Magnifier Lamp:

My giveaway for a $25 Gift Certificate to Heavenly Fabric Shop is ending soon too!  Lots of great Christmas crafting & gift options to be had, so check them out.  Enter HERE.

~~~~~~~~
It's the biggest shopping time of the year!!  Get some FREE promotion for your blog or small business, by heading over to Facebook for the Sew Can Do Craftastic Mixer.  Support small and handmade by visiting a few new places too:
   

Share your blog or handmade/craft-related business or its Facebook page.  A new one posts every Sunday night on the Sew Can Do Facebook page at 5pm EST.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now let's see those Craftastic Picks!

Anika's DIY Life showed us how to create a beautiful Christmas village with wood scraps.  I just LOVE this! 

Sparkle Living shared this great ornament based Christmas countdown feature.  A fun alternative to the usual Advent calendar:

The Scrap Shoppe created this free Peace on Earth cut file that can be used to make all sorts of great things, like this beautiful felt tote:

White House Crafts gave a DIY tutorial and free template for these fun pom pom reindeer ornaments:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

On Twitter: Follow @sewcandoblog

On Pinterest: Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Crafty Product Review: Brightech LED Magnifier Lamp

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Do you ever have times when you start using something and you cannot understand how you functioned BEFORE you had it?  That's me and today's crafty find: a Brightech LightView Flex LED lamp.

I'd seen a number of lights and magnifiers marketed to sewing enthusiasts in stores & online over the years.  Some were crazy expensive.  I didn't really think I ever needed either one.  I told myself they must be for crafter's who wear bifocals and have to work in dark windowless rooms.  I also haven't had space for some giant floor standing lamp either so I didn't even consider getting one.  

Then Brightech contacted me and asked if I'd be willing to try out one of their magnifier LED lamps.  These last few months my crafting time is usually relegated to late at night thanks to baby.  As a result, the big window next to my sewing desk is useless and the dinky ceiling light in the room & the even dimmer bulb on my sewing machine weren't doing me any favors either.  Something in me said to go for it and I'm really glad I did.  I honestly don't know how I was doing my projects without this light!

This lamp is great because it kicks out some serious brightness even though it's pretty small.  I've literally used it all over my house - my craft room, the basement, dining room table, it works everywhere I need it.

I picked the Brightech LightView Flex LED model. Not only is it really reasonably priced (under $30), but it converts so you can use it anywhere.  It's got a nice weighted base that makes it desktop ready, but you can easily swap that out and attach the included clamp option to clip it onto other surfaces:

The magnifier is pretty good.  It gets 1.75x magnification so see the details, but not make me cross-eyed when I look up or when I'm wearing my nearsighted prescription glasses.  It doesn't get hot either which is key with my kids running around and baby hands looking to grab things.

The bendable neck is SO fantastic.  I can adjust it like crazy to get it exactly where I need a little more light or a closer view.  The base is also a handy place to put my pincushion or a hot drink without worrying about knocking it over:

This lamp has definitely made crafting time better and brighter around here!  Two thumbs up:)

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I reviewed this product from Brightech and am now an affiliate because I enjoy using their items.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For my complete disclosure policy, click here. 

Winter Wear for Baby: The Funny Dots Cuddle Suit

Things got chilly around here pretty quick this year.  We had snow the week before Thanksgiving and the frigid temps look like they're here to stay.  Time to sew the winter wear!  

Our littlest one is 8 months now so ferrying him in & out inside a carrier car seat isn't an easy feat.  Having to carry him sans seat nixes the "toss a blanket over it" easy option, so I needed something that would work better and not cost a fortune either.  So I made this:

I call it a cuddle suit, but bunting, romper, snow suit, or whatever other name it does by, this is my ideal item for this time of year.  Outerwear in snowy climes is tricky with a bigger than newborn baby.  I know because this is my fourth baby in Michigan.  You want to keep them toasty warm, but they HATE being bundled up in something extra puffy.  They loathe most factory made versions.  Babies get squirmy and whiny instantly in most snowsuits because they overheat fast.  This one however is just perfect.

I did a soft interlock outer so it's not heavy and is still breathable:

With a cuddly minky lining to add warmth that keeps the wind out without adding bulk. Strapping him into a car seat or stroller isn't a wrestling match:

The snap front design is genius.  The whole thing opens right up so you can easily lay baby on it and then just snap it up.  No wrangling required with putting it or taking it off on while baby is wearing shoes, which is another plus.

I used the Funny Dots pattern from the Autumn 4/2009 issue of Ottobre Design.  

I'd made it once before when my now 9 year old was just a few months old.  

Of course, I was a sewing newbie back then and stupidly sewed a stretchy velour lining to a quilting cotton outer which was less than ideal.  I couldn't figure out why things wouldn't line up when I was stitching the seams not realizing one fabric had no give and the other was like a rubber band.  Shaking my head at the idea now.  I also was too scared of snaps then too, so I'd used velcro for the front closures which stuck to everything.  PSA: don't do either of those.  

That first version was done in the smallest 50cm size since my daughter was a newborn, but this time I did the largest 74cm for my 8 month old.  Ottobre Design offers generous sizing so I can see this lasting the whole season.  

I kept it inexpensive by using interlock knit for the outer and minky for the lining that I got at JoAnn Stores.  A yard & a half of each was plenty and came in about $18.50 total and I've got enough left of both to make some soft shoes and a few accessories.  The nice thing is that it works with a variety of other fabrics too - fleece, corduroy, even PUL. It's a great sew because there are just 4 pattern pieces.  No set-in sleeves so very beginner friendly.  You'd think it would be more complicated with the placket front, but it's not.

I will say it looked massive until I tried it on my little guy.  I'd been working on it during naps and had this horrible feeling it was going to be miles too big, but putting it on it's totally true to size.  No matter what he wears underneath.  I also like that the sleeves can be cuffed or worn down, so there's some growth room:

We've been using it for weeks now and it's been great.  He likes wearing it and getting him ready to go out the door is so easy.  Despite the early winter weather, we're off to a good and warm start!