2 favorite, easy Christmas crafts

Our family loves making snowflakes, especially my husband.  Years ago we made intricate snowflakes to adorn our Christmas tree.  We still use them.  I love that the dark green Christmas tree provides a nice backdrop for the white snowflakes.  

Last year my husband spent hours cutting small snowflakes for our Christmas cards.  I attached them to green and red card stock using spray adhesive.  Simple and inexpensive. 

This year my daughter is interested in making her own.  Our secret: use tissue paper.  Its light-weight feature is perfect for tiny hands and scissors.  

My snowflakes never turn out as impressive as my husbands.  I finally found out why.  There is an art to making the perfect snowflake.  Click here for step by step instructions.  You can't go wrong.  These whimsical art pieces are perfect for decorating this holiday season.

These adorable mini stockings were a cinch to make.  The template comes from Martha Stewart and is easy to follow and takes little time to whip up (there's still time).    Using felt means no lining.  Don't even bother to turn them inside out.  Cut the hem with pinking shears for a cute zig-zag edge.  

I love the versatility of these small beauties.  Martha suggests using them for an advent calendar, which I love (maybe next year).   I've used them on a garland swag, as a gift card holder, to decorate a present, to hold a special treat or note and even as a Christmas tree ornament.

There are hundreds of Christmas craft choices our there....these are 2 of my favorites....because they are easy.  Happy holiday crafting.  

Canvas on Demand Give-away winner

Congratulations to hkhl, (Comment #45) the lucky winner of the 16 x 20" canvas from Canvas on Demand! Email us at citruslist (at) gmail (dot) com with your contact information! Thanks Canvas on Demand!

Canvas on Demand

In my next life I'm coming back as a photographer. Unfortunately, right now I only dabble. But with digital dark rooms and companies like Canvas on Demand, turning my amateur snapshot into a professional work of art is easier than ever. Canvas on Demand is a simple way to upload one of your favorite photos, and 4-5 days later have a unique canvas ready to hang on your wall. What a great way to personalize your space and preserve that "kodak moment."

I was impressed with how fast my canvas arrived, and the quality of the finished product. The canvas comes stretched and ready to hang (we like the gallery wrap the best), and was packaged in it's very own customized container. The website is very user friendly as well.



There are other companies who offer similar services, but Canvas on Demand seems to have the largest selection of sizes, and offers a wide variety of options like image retouching, colorizing, and photo-splitting. Their website even offers services like background replacing if you don't want to show the stack of dirty dishes that also happens to be in the photo.


All canvases are finished with a UV protector so they're supposed to last a lifetime. And this same finish also allows you to hang the canvas in areas that receive a lot of moisture like a bathroom or kitchen. You can see examples of what other people have done with their photos by clicking here.


Who wants to win their own 16" x 20" personal canvas? Enter by commenting on this post no later than Tuesday, October 7, at midnight. Indicate in your comment what photo you would use for your canvas if you win. One lucky winner will be randomly selected, and announced on Citrus, Wednesday October 8, 2008. Shipping to Continental US only. Thank you Canvas on Demand for sponsoring this drawing!

Ork

Shhhh. Don't tell Marc. This will be his Father's Day present this year. We have lived here in NYC for almost a year now and have really fallen in love with the city. Sure, life here is hard at times (especially with kids in tow!) but Manhattan has so much to offer that it makes you forget having to buy that hamburger at McDonald's just to use the restroom.
My kids will also get a kick out of this. They love maps of any kind. It will be fun to teach them about all of the "neighborhoods" of Manhattan- and be able to point to where we were after an outing in the city.
This print is by Ork Posters. Ork also has typographical neighborhood maps of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Boston and Chicago. You are bound to find your favorite city among those offerings. Prices range from 20-27$.
The only downside- the prints come in odd shapes. The Manhattan print is 16"x36" which is not exactly a standard frame size. I just ordered this frame (without the mat) from framesbymail.com, and am crossing my fingers that it works.....it was much less expensive than all of the custom framing quotes I got.