A happy accident

The other day when I was trying to put some things together for my giveaway (good till Sunday, Nov. 28) I stumbled upon something by accident.

I originally wanted to make some ornaments out of book pages, but when I started making some, I just didn't like them like I thought I would.

I got out some twine, some book pages, a hole punch, and tried something different.
This was the end result.  Book page garland.

Needless to say, THIS soon became part of the giveaway.  I'll show you how to make it, though.  It's easy, just takes a little time.

First, you'll need a hole punch, scissors, book pages, twine, and some tape (any kind will work.)

Cut some pages, the width of the paper.  Cut as wide as you'd like.  I think mine were about 3/4" thick.

Punch a hole on the end of each strip.

Next, pick one end of your length of twine (cut to desired length of garland...can be any length), and add tape to the end, since you will use this to thread through the holes punched in the pages.

On the other end of your twine length, tie a knot about 3 inches from the end.  This will be where your first paper "bow" will start.

Fold one strip of paper in half so the punched holes line up and thread the taped end of your twine through it.

Add as many of these folded over strips as you'd like, rotating their positions until you have a bow similar to this....

I don't know how many folded over pieces I used, but I just kept adding till it looked full.  The number is up to you.

Before you start another "bow", tie a knot where your bow ended.
Then tie another knot about 6 inches from the bow you just finished, and start another bow.

Repeat until your entire length of twine is filled with bows.

Now you're done. Add it to your tree, and stand back and bask in the brilliance of something so simple and cheap to make.

I'm sharing this homemade craft/gift over at Funky Junk Interior's Saturday Nite Special linky party. (click on the link below to visit.) And Shabby Art boutique.

Good luck with your garland.  Once you make some, you won't want to stop.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

I honestly don't even want to know how many more days till Christmas. 

Not because it's not my favorite holiday, it is, but it's just coming WAY too fast.

The snow we got last night (a mi-nute amount) that actually stuck to the ground was a rude awakening.  The kids, however, were THRILLED! 

Tomorrow is our church's Christmas Bazaar.  It happens every year (I think we're going on 12 now) and this year I'm once again co-chair, which means next year I'll be the top banana.  Or maybe it's monkey!

A couple weeks ago, I showed you one set of ornaments that I made for the donated table.  (Crafts that are made by church members and DONATED, which means, the church gets the money once they are sold...unlike the other vendors who buy spaces and then get their own profits.)

It was just glass ball ornaments I purchased at Wal-Mart, glittered the top of, and stuffed with cut pages from a book I keep exclusively for art projects/crafts.

I had promised the committee I would bring in more ornaments, seeing as how the other night when we set-up at church, the amount on the donated table was VERY LOW....

Last night I got to work, but I wanted to do something I thought would be less time consuming than watching the glitter dry...I don't know if I succeeded or not.

My inspiration was an ornament I had posted about on Wed. that I found on Pinterest.com with no source.

I just added my own spin on it.

First, I cut my pages out of an old book, and got some twine, (sorry the pictures are all dark...I had low lighting in the craft area last night)

and then cut out some of my favorite patterned scrapbook paper with a punch.

I even cut some old playing cards with the punch.  If you're doing this craft, the pages were cut 1/2 inch wide, and I also used some gems and smaller circles to go in the middle.

So, first you take your strips of pages (length is up to you, based on how BIG you want your ornament to be.  Mine were about 12" long) and fold them in half and staple at the bottom.

Next, hot glue all the stapled "curlies" together until you have a circle.  I also then added my twine loop (to hang) between two of the curlies.  Each ornament takes about 12 curlies.

I only made 6 ornaments.  They took longer than I thought.  They are very cute, though, and I plan on making some for my own tree.

You can make these as original as you are!  Whatever you put in the middle of the ornament is up to you.  You could even glitter a piece and stick it on.  All the middles were just hot glued right to the book page center.  It's hanging on the tree, so you won't see the back, and it doesn't look bad if you do.

Maybe we should start a series...50 things to do with book pages!  (not a bad idea...)

Anyway, hope the snow stays away a little longer.  Happy weekend everyone!