Hooray for new crafting toys!

I finally got to use a new toy I got for Christmas and I just had to share it!

I was at a crafting store a couple of months ago and saw a demonstration of a heat gun/embosser, so naturally, I just had to have it! 

Here's the one I received, made by the wonderful Martha Stewart.

Now, to use this with stamps you will need a couple more items:

A watermark stamp pad

And some embossing powder.

I also have these handy craft trays used to catch the extra glitter/embosser powder/etc., so it's easier to save the excess and put it back in the bottle.

To use the heat embosser with a stamp, place your stamp in the watermark stamp pad and place on paper. Then, dust the damp area with the embossing powder.

Hold the heat gun a couple of inches from the paper, so the powder will start to melt together. 

The gun worked faster on the second stamp I did. Guess it just needed to warm up!

And voila! Here's the finished product:

It didn't take too long to dry.

Can't wait to use it again! 

What craft toys did you get for Christmas??

DIY Christmas Book Page Wreath

And I'm back after a long hiatus! 

I'm here to share my latest project, a Christmas book page wreath.

This project came about because my friend Rachel King and I were co-hosting our first ever BYO craft night at The New Leaf in Riverton, New Jersey. Rachel and her mom co-own this adorable tea shop.

Here are the supplies you will need:

- 7 and 3/4 inch foam wreath

- approx 30 book pages (notes on that next)

- tape

-stapler

-hot glue gun and a bunch of glue sticks

I used encyclopedia books that I had from all of my wedding crafts. I used about 30 pages of the book and cut off the blank edges, so I was only left with text. Then I cut the pages in half, so I had enough to make 60 cones, although, you'll probably only need around 45-50 for the wreath. If you don't want to use book pages, you just want to make sure the paper you use isn't too thick. I couldn't find double sided Christmas scrapbook paper in the store, so I tried combining 2 pieces to make the wreath, and let's just say it looked awful.

Now, how to make the paper cones:

Hold down the top left corner and fold over the bottom right corner.

Fold the left hand side over and tape down the flap. The bottom will be narrow, almost pointed, compared to the top.

Next, staple the cone about an inch from the bottom, so the bottom is flat when it is glued down.

When you have about 45 cones, we're ready to glue.

First, start gluing like the face of a clock: 12, 3, 6, 9.

Then, go back and fill in the sections, making sure the points of the cones are somewhat level on the outside (don't worry if they're level on the inside).

Once you've gone all the way around one time, you're ready for the second layer. I try to put the cone of the second layer, in between two cones of the first layer, and continue this method onto the third layer.

The wreaths that were made at the class, and for the sample, used 3 layers of cones, but I also made one with 4 layers.

After you have all the layers completed, you're ready to fill in the middle!

For the sample, I made a paper rosette with a picture of Santa in the middle. For the class, we purchased fake poinsettias and other floral arrangements, and regular and mini ball ornaments, so everyone could design the middle of their own wreath.

Here are a couple different options for the design in the middle:

To attach a ribbon to the wreath, I made a "U" shape with the ribbon and attached either side to the back of the wreath with hot glue.

 To give the wreath a finished look in the back, I added an extra book page to cover the hole of the wreath form.

These wreaths were pretty simple to make. Everyone said they had  great time and all of the wreaths turned out great!