When do you start decorating for Christmas? If you are like many people, you start during Thanksgiving break or maybe even mid-November (some of us have an itch to start early because we LOVE Christmas!) Christmas is my favorite holiday to celebrate! So every year, I like to make new decorations for my home and for gifts as well. There are so many fantastic ideas out there on Pinterest and YouTube if you are looking for ideas. There are also some great crafting groups on Facebook. I am going to share with you some of the all-time favorites that I have made for my home for Christmas. All of these projects are fairly simple and don’t require too much time or materials … so if you start now, you can make your home beautiful as well as add a personal touch with these projects this holiday season!

Christmas-Themed Shadowboxes

You can purchase shadowboxes of various sizes and styles from any craft store. My favorite to use is the 8×8 Studio Decor Rope Shadowbox from Michaels. It is a well-made shadowbox and can be used in many ways! Below you can see some of the shadowboxes I have made for my home. For more photos and more information about how to make Christmas shadowboxes, check out this Blog Post by me.

Christmas-Themed Lighted Glass Blocks

Glass blocks are a simple way to add a personal touch and warmth to your home. Glass blocks come in a few different sizes and can be purchased at Hobby Lobby as well as other craft stores and sometimes hardware stores will carry them. I have made many glass blocks, some for my home and some for gifts. Below are a couple of the Christmas-themed glass blocks made by me. The “Dashing Through the Snow” glass block is the most recent. I made it for a giveaway for a holiday party. I sprayed the glass block with frosted glass spray after applying the vinyl design. I used blue lights from Dollar Tree inside and made a bow out of ribbon for the top. To see other lighted glass blocks I have made as well as more information on how to make them, check out this Blog Post written by me.

Candy Cane Yarn Wreath

If you are like me, you like to shop at Dollar Tree for craft supplies. You have to plan ahead and shop as soon as Holiday items are displayed because they will run out! Some items can be purchased from their website, but not all of them. If you happened to grab a few candy cane wire wreath forms and you don’t know what to do with them, here is an idea for you! Use yarn, it makes a beautiful candy cane! Previously I had bought a pumpkin form and made a yarn pumpkin by weaving the chunky yarn. I loved it so much that I wanted to try using the yarn on the candy cane. Because of the shape of the candy cane, I wasn’t able to do the same weaving pattern as the pumpkin and I did use slightly less chunky yarn but nonetheless, the yarn wrapped around the wire form made a beautiful candy cane! It was very easy to make, so much so that I was done in less than an hour! Here are a few photos to show what I used to make the candy cane and how I made it, but I’ll explain below in more detail and show you the finished product!

Supplies needed: wire wreath form, yarn of two colors (I prefer the Yarn Bee brand from Hobby Lobby), decor for your candy cane (I purchased the soft star ornament from Hobby Lobby and made a bow with ribbon I had on hand).

How-To-Make:

• Start with a strand of yarn that is workable and you think will be enough to complete one color section (I wrapped the yarn around my hand about 20 times and cut).
• Secure the yarn to the end of the candy cane with a knot.
• First, you will simply wrap the yarn around the end cap (bottom edge of candy cane) over and over to cover that wire (this will also keep yarn from sliding off).
• Then you will begin to wrap the yarn around the candy cane shape over and around continuously until you finish that section. Make sure to wrap tightly and push down the yarn to keep it fully covered.
• When you finish a section, just tie it off on the backside. You will be able to cover up the knot with the next section of yarn you start. (see the photo of backside below)
• Move on to your next color and repeat process: tie on, wrap around and around, tie off. Continue to complete the entire candy cane.
• Once you finish covering with yarn, add your embellishments such as an ornament and/or bow. See my candy cane below!
  

  

Christmas-Themed Reversed Canvas

Reversed Canvases were all the rage a couple of years ago. I, of course, jumped on the bandwagon and had to make them. They are still one of my favorite projects. I know Michaels now sells blank reversed canvases, but if you want to save money and complete the whole process yourself, just pick up some canvases when they are on sale! I made the two Christmas-themed canvases below for my home. They are fairly easy to make, with little supply and cost. It does help to have a Cricut or other cutting machine, but you could purchase a vinyl or iron-on design as well. For more photos and information about how to make a reversed canvas, check out this Blog Post by me.

Christmas-Themed Floating Frame

Floating frames are just glass frames without a back to them, so you can see right through the glass. You can purchase floating frames from any store that sells frames. I purchase most of mine from Michaels. Below is a photo of one of my most favorite floating frames. They are fairly simple to make but it does help to have a Cricut or other cutting machine so you can design your own vinyl decor to apply. To see more photos and learn how I make my floating frames, check out this Blog Post by me.

Christmas-Themed Hot-Mess Canvas

Hot-Mess canvases are fun and easy to make! You can use any size canvas and you do not have to buy expensive canvases. It is a great project for all-ages and craft-experience levels. The canvas below is one of my favorite Christmas decorations. You can literally use any design you make on your Cricut or vinyl design you buy to create your hot-mess canvas. You can make them big or small and you can use as many colors or as little colors as you want. It’s a personal masterpiece! For more information about Hot-Mess Canvases and step-by-step directions, check out this Blog Post by me.

Christmas-Themed Lighted Canvas

This is one of those projects where I saw something similar on Pinterest and it inspired me to try out this project. It was experimental when I did it, but I love how it came out! It wasn’t that hard to do, didn’t take that long to make, and it was low-cost. I even had a friend that loved it so much, she asked me to make one for her. I have not written a step-by-step blog post about how to make this canvas, but you can search “Lighted Canvas” to find similar projects on Pinterest. Basically, you will need a canvas, any size. Then you will create or buy your vinyl design/wording. The wording will be applied to the canvas, then you will paint over it (one or two coats). Then you will peel up the lettering before the paint is completely dry to reveal the white below. You can paint your canvas first, then do lettering if you’d like as well. Once the paint dried completely, I applied a clear coat for protection. You can also just apply vinyl design to a painted canvas. To attach the lights, you just poke holes where you want the lights then stick them through, one by one and as you go along, secure the lighting cord along the way with tape (no one will see the back). I used battery operated lights, so just set the pack behind the canvas on the shelf where I stand it. 

Glittered-Glass Snowmen

These are so adorable and make a wonderful decoration that you can keep out all winter, not just for Christmas! I have made these for gifts and giveaways and everyone loves them! The process for making them is similar to glittered ornaments if you’ve made those before. The glass bowls can be purchased at Dollar Tree. The cost to make these snowmen is minimal, and you can personalize them however you like! In the photo below you can see the snowman lit and not lit. This is the most recent snowman (woman) that I made for a gift. To learn how to make your own snowman and see more samples, go to this Blog Post by me for more information on how to make these cute snowmen!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and all the ideas I have shared! As I mentioned before, there are so many fun projects you can make for your home for Christmas, so get creative! Below is one more project I just wanted to share as an Honorable Mention on my favorites’ list! These are wood slices you can buy from Michaels or other craft stores. I painted them and added a vinyl design then added a sawtooth hook to the back to hang them on my wall. So easy, so cute, and so much fun! Please comment below if you liked these projects, gave them a try, or have questions! Feel free to share this post as well as my other blog posts. Check me out on Facebook or Pinterest for more ideas and please share your finished Christmas projects with me! Until next time, keep on craftin’!  ~Kristina~