Last Minute Christmas Crafts

Is everyone ready for Christmas? Well, if not, don't worry. You still have 9 days left.


As for me, I am finished!! I finished putting up all my Christmas decorations, finished wrapping presents, finished creating my menu, finished baking goodies. Yes, I am DONE! (letting out a sigh of relief). This is the first year this has ever happened too, so please forgive the pride in me. It's really nice to be able to really enjoy these next 9 days without any fuss. Aaaaannnnd, I have some cute Christmas crafts to share.


There is this local women's group I am part of called MOPS. Maybe ya've heard of it. Anyway, for our December meeting, we made these incredibly cute and easy coasters!

We used tile, yes the small tiles you would probably use as a back splash in a kitchen or somewhere, and we stamped them with rubber stamps. First, you have to clean the tile really well and remove any dust with a baby wipe. Then, once it dries, stamp your design using permanent ink. If the design smears or doesn't look right, you can quickly wipe it off with the baby wipe. Just remember to let the tile dry before attempting again. Finally, spray your tile with shellac to protect it from heat and liquids. Simple. Adorable. Perfect gifts!

The two on the left have my daughters names spelled out (blotted out for privacy) and the two on the right will be used as gifts. I even made one for my daughter's teacher. Some women were creating themes with theirs or making individual tiles to give away. I am definitely going to do this again next year and give away as presents! Also, you might want to put some felt or other protection on the bottom of the tile to prevent scratching surfaces.

Another last minute Christmas idea was inspired by these babies I found in my Christmas storage box...

With a $1 vase from Goodwill and presents that needed something extra, I found a use for them:

I found that gorgeous wrapping paper months ago at Goodwill! It was meant to be used for a birthday present, but I think it looks quite "Christmasy" with some jute and those mini ornaments! Again, sorry for the blotting, but had to erase the names on that present. I tied all my presents like that and for what was left, I filled my Goodwill vase with some of my favorite ornaments passed down to me from my Mom.

The vase, along with some poinsettia votive holders, will be our table centerpiece, but those pics will come later.

And finally, I am halfway done with covering our garage windows!

I did the same thing in this project (with instructions), but these windows are so big that I find myself doing a window once every few days.

With the lights off, you can see across the street to my neighbors home (and people can peek into my garage, no doubt). To the right is with the contact paper. Privacy is a splendid thing when you are in the garage loading the washer late at night.

Once again, from the outside looking in...

Please come back tomorrow as I am posting about our annual Bake Day, with the perfect recipe for a Mexican dessert called Biscochos (or Biscoches).

Privacy Windows

I started this blog as a sort of "public record" of all the transformations we are doing in our home. I guess I kind of thought no one would care to read about them. Now, I find it flattering when I receive a phone call from a friend and they are wanting to know where my "bathroom redo pics are." I had no clue some of my friends and acquaintances were following along. Anyhoo.. bathroom pics are coming. I promise! My entire life was thrown upside down last week with a very sick baby that required a trip to the ER. (she's fine now).

When it comes to ideas for decorating or remodeling, I often look at catalogs and magazines and copy what I love. However, a year ago I discovered this lady. Her name is Sarah and she is oh-so-talented! She can copy $100 projects for  less than $20. She is my inspiration for a good chunk of my projects.

Once again, Sarah inspired a project that would fix my less-than-private backyard doors.

We have these gorgeous, country, white doors that were covered up with sheer curtains. Where we live, houses are built practically on top of each other and I was sure our neighbors would be able to see through our sheer curtains as we gathered around the dinner table.

That fence separates me from my neighbors. Can we say peeping Tom?

Not only that, but every time we gathered for dinner, this guy would stare at us the-entire-time.

Cute dog. Bad manners.

So, again, I was inspired with what Sarah did to her pantry doors, and figured this would be the perfect solution for some privacy, without completely blocking out all the light that comes through our doors.

For this project, you will need scissors, contact paper ($5 at Walmart), window cleaner, and a firm (old) card, such as an ID or used gift card.

First, I had to clean paint off from the windows.

With a bit of Windex and a used up JC Penny's gift card, I was able to scrape the paint right off.

If your windows have little spots of paint, clean them as best as possible because this will show through your contact paper.

Next, I measured my windows and cut the contact paper.

Then I trimmed.

And trimmed some more.

This was the most tedious part because none of my windows were the same size (of course). So each window took a good 10 minutes to get it exact. This is why my starting pictures were in the afternoon and the below ones were at night. Fun times.

Once you have the measurement exact, or as close to exact as you can get, spritz window cleaner all over the window pane.

This will allow you some room to move the contact paper around (or completely flip it upside down) if the corners aren't lining up right.



Next, get your firm card (or whatever you choose to use) and push the bubbles out from the contact paper. You will need a paper towel for this since the window cleaner will be dripping out.

This project could have taken 2 hours, tops, but with a very fussy baby, dinner cooking on the stove, and a 9 year old doing homework, this took more time than I care to say. Around 11pm, I called it quits when I reached my halfway point.

Without the contact paper on the right side...

With the contact paper on the left...

Don't you just love that soft glow?! It's so warm and romantic almost. LOVE!

The next morning, when one child was off at school and the other was still sleeping, I was finally able to finish!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Perfect amount of privacy while still letting in the light! And no more cute dog watching us eat! YAY! All this, for $5!

I am linking this to:
Sarah's Before and After Party