The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge #26; Deck the Halls... A Merry Little Christmas

 December has been a whirlwind in this house, so far, and the CHRISTmas season seems pretty 'normal' in so many ways that are comforting; the baking, the decorating, the gift shopping/wrapping. Since I already relied on my ChiefHubby who does nearly all the grocery shopping now, and picks up other items I list for him; my own season has been pretty norm. It's actually pretty comforting in that way. I'd say the lights up on all the homes is probably the biggest change, as it seems to me that more folks are putting up more lights this year than in previous years. Not a bad thing, that. We all need to help 'light the way' for everyone else.

Today began a 'new life' in our house. (If you missed it, CLICK HERE .) And tomorrow is our "CHRISTmas Day" with the older set of Kids and Grands. We have a dinner (it ranges each year from pizza to the full works, with this year being baked ham sandwhiches, chips, baked beans and deviled eggs).We 'do' the CHRISTmas story of the Baby JESUS (by puppet, play, or story book with help of The Bible), then it's opening gifts and having fun together. We're pretty modest and have usually kept a limit of $125 for each kid as they grew up, so with the Grandbabies so little, the same limit is still there. Kids don't need toys care about toys unless they have someone to play with those toys alongside them. In this family: Memaw is the main 'toy', and I admit to having the time of my life with these three babies!!! We'll head up to Minnesota after the 25th to have another celebration with the younger set and Baby Pecan. He was only

a few weeks old last year, so this will be like his "1st Christmas", and I am looking forward to that.     Everything in between will be taken as it comes. This has never been my favorite season, by far. The time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is my favorite with July 4th being the day of the year most looked forward to for myself. I guess I had too few memories of 'good' Christmas seasons in my childhood. But GOD turned all that into great memories in my adulthood. Seeing this time of year through the eyes of the little ones can change even the worst Grinch- TRUTH!!

"Little" is what got me going in the direction of mini items for this Deck the Halls TFJB Challenge . And it made 2 songs stick like mud in my head... Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, & Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas....that second one sets the scene for this set of "littles" in a theme we are to make some kind of seasonal make- that is not a card.

                                                   So let's hit the deck...lol!

I got my start with the Idea Hammer hitting me in the head in the middle

of JoAnn Fabrics (an empty store other than myself and two other ladies during a Dr Appt).

These were on sale half off. 

Tim's Christmas Box Covers matched up with TH Vignette Boxes and lights...

a mix that warns you: FUN!!!

Cutting out my 3 layer idea for the light set layout.

Cardstock (buy it right next to the copy paper at your local WalMart) & Frosted!

Ohhhhh....the retired things I find in my stash!!

They actually match right up with the latest TH releases!

These little TH Vignette Boxes- very easy

to measure and fit materials you want into the box.

Finding some plastics trash made me think of the EXACT feel of those old 

glass ball ornament boxes for real! I knew I'd find a reason for that very flimsy plastic!!

(The plastic for the candle box was stiffer than this.)

Drilling this wood is easy and fast. Done after the Picket Fence wash,

but before the next step. In order to see where the placement should be,

the wiring of the Lights Set needed to be glued inside first, whereas

the candle & lighting was all done last step for the Candle Box.

FINALLY!!! Excited to get my hands on that TH CRACKLE PASTE!!

Yeah; it was either out of stock or not there at all on most shelves and sites I kept an eye on.

Distressing everything for that aged (but new) look.

I'd advise a very much longer wire to start with.

Took me three tries to figure out that those tiny little beads needed a LOT of

wire in order to look their part as well as fit in the places I wanted.

Before the step of adding the lights- I had to know where the beads would be,

so the lights would light BEHIND the colors of the beads.

The effect would be ruined if all you saw was these little light heads popping up everywhere

else but behind the color for the impression that the beads were what was giving off the light.

So careful gluing was done while the box's inside fitting layers were in it as much as could be.

Here's a tip for pips: carefully bend the pips down and cut ONLY THE WIRE ABOVE

as closely to the pips as possible. You'll have each set of pips still snug within the paper wrap.

I wanted to ink them up with TH Alcohol Ink for holly berries.

Using Tim's helpful videos on his Facebook Live- VERY useful tools for the beginners

out there! Hey- I was one of those and still learn new tricks just like any other Crafter.

I took a college course (non-credit) for Floral Arranging and Fresh Flowers- no kidding- 

and that's what helps me with my greenery makes. Tim uses white to fling onto

his recent makes, but I wanted silver- to play on the box's words.

(Read on below.)

                And this is what the boxes look like when finished...

Those Tim candles are an obsession with me!!!

Happy dancing on this TH Crackle Paste- ordered from 

The Funkie Junkie Boutique !!

That lusciously crackled inside!! Not to mention the holly berries- cute!

But what gets me the most?

Tim's Box Covers- especially THIS ONE!

Those who know my love for Americana,

and my Firefighter (retired 2015) ChiefHubby; you get it. 

Here's my laugh on why I chose this to make the candle in- check out the 

sayings on the box. The top side (oops- got the wrong side) of the box says:

"FIRE PROOF CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS"

hehehe

This one was the most agravating thing to put together- only because of the 

wiring/jewel beads. I told my ChiefHubby after 2 takes inside of 2 hours

"I am going to have to type 'DON'T try this at home'!'

which got a laugh from him and a huge RELIEVED sigh from me.

Posting this earlier up above would have given away the final product, but I wanted to show

my original (Take 1) idea to get the jewels set into the plastic.

Using a Craft Knife (Exacto works, too), I cut capital I-shaped cuts and opened each

up to hold the bead inside, with the glue adhesive on the lower deck plastic.

The jewels kept popping out and the Glossy Accents (1st try was hot glue gun)

got all over the place- including on me. Not a happy camper, but unwilling to

give up on my idea, I tried to imagine those old plastic crate holders I hated so much

after Christmas was over...and tried to copy a slip-in kind of holder instead of the slots.

Take 2 really did work better. The hot glue gun helped seal it down enough for the 

GA glue to seal the deal. I wish I'd taken photos of scoring long pieces of the

TH IdeaOlogy Frosted (retired firm filmy/textured plastic sheets)

which I then cut into tiny strips fitted to each place I wanted the jewel beads to sit.

I caught on quickly that you can pretty much shape the wire to how you want for it

all to lay- FIRST- then deal with the beads dangling after, rather than fight the wire as you go.

Mmmmmmm....eye candy!

I have a few more things to make before the actual holiday gets here,

so there'll be one more post (at the least) for a CHRISTmas craft,

and then the New Year rings in for me by being invited as 

GUEST DESIGNER for

The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog

in their first new Challenge of 2021!

The GD spot was from the win off "We Three Kings" Tag gifts which 

were delivered just in the past couple of days.

( CLICK HERE to review)

So I must give a shoutout of THANKS!! to all the folks who have commented

on my Blog, on FB, Instagram, Twitter, and by DM.

I can't help it; I am still always in awe that anyone thinks my stuff is as neat as I want it to be.

I'm very humbled and grateful to so many VERY TALENTED people out there

who shared their own makes and were happy to have folks like myself

follow them along on the journey. It's quite the trip!

Until next time...

Stay SAFE, Wash the HANDS, Wear the MASK,

and

HAPPY CHRISTMAS BLOGGING!!