Mylar Snowflakes for Christmas Sparkle!

Not just for Christmas, sparkle is great for all kinds of celebrations! 

I love mylar! You know, the thin sheets of holographic cellophane that you use to put in the top of a gift bag.... there's something about the way it shimmers and sparkles and makes everything look wonderful.  I've always wanted to make some kind of decoration with it for Christmas, but it's waaay too thin.  So how can I make it thicker?

I've used Xyron® cartridges since the mid  90's and love them all, but have done so many fun things with the laminate cartridge.  Sooooo.... maybe I can laminate it!! One hour later, I have dancing snowflakes hanging from a chandelier......

You will need:
Xyron® Creative Station
5" Double-sided laminate cartridge
Cricut® cutting machine (I use my Explore, or Maker)
Mylar gift tissue
Metallic, or nylon thread
Tapestry needle
Adhesive gems

And here's what I did:

1.  Load the cartridge into your Xyron Creative Station.

2.  Unfold the sheets of mylar then separate 2 sheets.  Leave these 2 sheets stuck together.  Cut into smaller pieces along the folds.  Pieces will be about 4" x 9".

3.  Carefully feed the pieces into the machine to laminate.

4.  Trim around the laminated mylar leaving about 1/8" of clear laminate from the edge, so the pieces don't separate, then place on your cutting mat.

5.  Upload snowflake designs into Cricut Design Space, then follow the on-screen instructions to cut. I used the medium cardstock setting, but you may have to adjust the settings depending on the brand of mylar.  Cut one shape to test.

 

 

6.  After cutting, gently peel away the mylar from around the snowflake then, because it has a sharp edge, I use a paint scraper to carefully remove the snowflakes.  Remember you're using 2 layers of mylar.  Now the shape has been cut, you can separate the layers. You will have 2 snowflakes laminated on one side.  Note: you can also laminate one sheet of mylar for a sturdier shape.   

 

7.  I adhered a gem to the center of each snowflake; one on each side then used metallic thread to hang. It's better to use ornament hangers if you want to hang them on branches. Poke a hole first with the tapestry needle.  Mine hang from the light fixture over the table and dance merrily whenever the heat, or air conditioning comes on. (I live in Texas, so we use either one and sometimes both on any given day... )

Don't they look pretty!  Thinking raindrop shapes would look amazing hanging from helium balloons (clouds) for a baby shower too......   aaaaah the possibilities.....

Enjoy!  Merry Christmas y'all.....

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!

How to Make a Bow for Your Christmas Tree

I love Christmas!  The music the decorations, wrapping presents to put under the tree.... it's a magical time of year and I look forward to unpacking each box of decorations and reliving the memories of Christmases past.  My children, now grown with children of their own, will tell you that we made ornaments every year for the tree and purchased many more that reminded us of places we visited.  Wooden ornaments from Germany and lots of glass "Wessley bobs" which remind me of the tree we decorated at home in England. 

A few years ago I started to add bows to the tree, so today I thought I'd share how easy they are to make so you too can take a tree from ordinary to extraordinary.

Making a bow is easy - all you need is wired ribbon, scissors and plastic cable ties. You can buy colored ones at the craft store, but you can also buy packages at the hardware, or even your local grocery store.

Start with a 24" length of ribbon. Cross the tails about 6" up from the ends.

Finger gather the ribbon tails together at the place where they cross, then pull 

the loop down behind and pinch together.

Wrap a plastic cable tie around the center and pull it tight.

 

 

Adjust the loops and trim the ends of the tails at an angle to finish.

 

Poke the plastic tie end between tree branches, or wreath.

It's that easy. You can make bows large or small, it's all the same technique. You can even layer bows of different sizes and colors together.  Wired ribbon is easy to work with. The tails and loops can be arranged perfectly every time!

                                 

There are quite a few family made ornaments on our tree. Over the next week or so I'll be sharing how we made some of them.  Enjoy!  Y'all come back now...........

Yours truly,

Julie :) 

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!