Christmas Crafting Just for Me

 Last week I took some time off from house upkeep and took some time for myself. I've always loved hand-crafting things but admittedly, the more kids I've had, the more I've set my own interests aside to concentrate on motherhood. I know, however, that I'll be a better mommy if I take time to cultivate my own talents too. So I did!

 First, I created these cute winter snowmen scenes. I love snowmen and most of my Christmas decorations consist of them. These snowmen were so easy too! I have a large collection of scrapbook paper that I don't use often. I tend to be somewhat of a paper hoarder. :) Anyway, I've had some mulberry paper for probably ten years and have never used them because I didn't what to use them for. I discovered, however, that they work well for landscape pictures. I used two different kinds for the snow in my scenes, another for the angel wings and one more for the pine garland too.

I didn't have any white design paper so I made my own by taking plain white card stock and rubber stamping small snowflakes in light tan all over it. The result was rustic-looking paper perfect for country snowmen. Self-adhering buttons and various patterned papers complete my cute snow guys. The words are 3-D scrapbook stickers my mom got me last year for Christmas.

I re-purposed some old wooden frames by first painting them with a shiny bronze paint. Then I applied a crackle medium and let it dry. Finally, I painted a top coat of Rockwood Red paint over the top. I love how they turned out!

And we can't forget this snowman can we? I love wooden crafts. Someday, I hope to have my own saw that cuts out wooden shapes so I can create whatever I want. I bought this guy at Hobby Lobby for a whopping 3 bucks! A little craft paint, some sparkle glaze, and lots of love later and he's all done!

Now I have three cute new Christmas decorations, four happier kids, and one happier me!