Monday, December 6, 2010

Haul Out the Holly: Day 8 with Craftiness is not Optional

Jess from Craftiness is not Optional is here today to share her holiday tutorial. Here's Jess...


First off, so excited to be guest posting for Gwen and her Haul out the Holly series! (every time I hear that phrase, the song starts playing in my head!) hehe

Isn't this little wreath so festive? Oh but look-what's it made of? Clothespins.


For holding your Christmas cards! cute (and brilliant), no?

Want your own?

You'll need:

wire clothes hanger
yard of ribbon
1 pack of clothespins (I used most of a pack of 50, only $1.50 at Walmart)
green spray paint
pony beads

wire cutter/pliers
glue gun
empty box (diaper boxes work well;)


OK, let's get started!

First, pull the flaps off of the box, and clip all your clothespins like so. Handy, huh?


 Spray 3-4 coats of paint on the clothespins. Make sure to get in between the two parts as best you can, and underneath as well. Let them dry for a day or so.


 Cut the hook off your wire hanger, and shape into a circle. Grab your beads.


 Then, alternating bead and clothespin, slide onto the wire.


 Continue until your wreath is almost full, and the wires overlap about 1.5 inches.


Glue them together with the glue gun-lots o' glue here.


 Cut a piece of ribbon (mine was about 12" long), and tie it around the wire, then trim the ends and glue that to the wires.


Using the rest of your ribbon, tie a bow and glue that on top of your hanger.

 tada!

So cute, festive, and useful! 

Merry crafting!


Isn't this incredible?! I already went out and bought the supplies to make one. Love it! Craftiness is not Optional is one of my favorite blogs. Jess is amazing with a sewing machine and somehow manages to churn out one fantastic project after another. Her Sadie Shirt Sew-Along is my personal favorite sewing project to date. You wouldn't believe all the amazing dresses she has made for her toddler. She has also created an amazing collection of felt/fabric play food tutorials that you really need to check out. Jess, thank you so much for sharing your clothespin wreath tutorial with us today!





Click HERE to see more Haul Out the Holly tutorials!

28 comments:

Andi said...

This is so cool! I love that it can be used to display cards and photos!

KJ@letsgoflyakite said...

Jess, I absolutely love this project. It can have so many applications. You could even do something similar for other holidays - maybe in pastels for Easter.

Naturally Carol said...

This one is great, I love the modern simple look of it and its practicality, thanks for this idea!

Unknown said...

So fantastic! Definitely brilliant, Jess.

Kristin @ Yellow Bliss Road said...

I love this! What a great idea!!

Mommyof2girlz/StephD said...

So so cute, love it and so creative!

***Sharon*** said...

ADORABLE!!! Must do!

Amy @ Increasingly Domestic said...

SO cute with and without cards:) How fun!

Jess@craftiness is not optional said...

thanks all! Especially Gwen for having me here :)

Dave'sWife@{thediaryofdaveswife} said...

This is DARLING! What a clever idea! Thanks for sharing!

Anna said...

lovely lovely! this one looks so fun. thanks for hosting gwen and great job jess! :)

Unknown said...

Love this one. I was thinking though, how about spraying the pins a co-ordinating color and place in a daughters room for pictures of her friends? But, I love the green and how it makes a person happy.

Jessica said...

This is a stroke of genius!!!!!! I am SOOOO excited to make one. Truth be told I never do know what to do with all those Christmas cards.... but now I hope I get lots and lots of them! Thanks Jess :)

Jess@craftiness is not optional said...

Sherree-that would be adorable! Thanks everyone! I can't wait to see if anyone makes these!

Mejia Mamma said...

Was SOOOO happy to see this post, I've been searching the web for a DIY Xmas Card Holder that I really like...So when I found this, I was super anxious to try it out myself...here's mine:

http://mejiamamma.blogspot.com/2010/12/xmas-craftiness.html

Thanks for the inspiration!!
~Calista

Michele said...

I love your craft! My friend made this and had it at her home last week and I thought I could actually make it. Love it! I have put a pic on my blog, http://michellan-michele.blogspot.com/ and, sent a link from mine to yours.

Thank you!

GabbyLicious said...

I LOVE IT!! I will definitely be making this over the weekend! I've always wondered where to put all my xmas cards! So excited!!!

MamaRundle said...

Love this, thanks so much! I had some bamboo clothes pins on hand from another project so i used them without painting (they have a really nice finish already) and instead alternated red and green colored beads and used a red and green ribbon. It's so perfect for holding all of the Christmas cards!

Anonymous said...

I love this! I finally made one for myself. Can't wait for Christmas season so the holiday cards start rolling in.

http://atightsqueeze.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/the-pinterest-challenge/

marla {Family Fresh Cooking} said...

Such a cute and festive idea!

Brenda said...

Does anyone know how to make sure the clothes pins don't spin and how to keep them straight?
Love this craft!

Brenda said...

Does anyone know how to make sure the clothes pins don't spin and how to keep them straight?
Love this craft!

Gwen @ Gwenny Penny said...

@Brenda - Once it's hanging on the wall, the clothespins won't flip around. Just hang it up and flip all the pins so that the clip part is around the outside. They should stay put. I've used mine for the last two years and it hasn't been an issue once it's on the wall :)

Amanda :) said...

I think this is absolutely adorable! I'm flying home for Christmas and I am so making this! Thank you!

Holly @ abakershouse.com said...

What a great idea! I am going to get the materials tomorrow and make this as a class gift for my son's preschool class. We are giving gift cards to the teachers and I asked each child to make a card and we'll add them all to the card wreath along with the gift cards. Thanks!

La Cité des Vents said...

Your wreath is so usefull AND also very lovely. I will print the tutorial and give it to my son's Kindergarten teachers. I'm sure they will love to do one for each class with the children!

Unknown said...

Great idea! Instead of spray painting the clothes pins, i dyed them with diluted rit liquid dye then "enhanced " them with glitter paint to look like snow!

Unknown said...

Fun idea - thank you! I have linked to this post on my latest blog post: http://abusylittlebird.com/10-holiday-crafts-you-can-make/

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts with Thumbnails