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“Natures Finest” Mini-Wreath Ornaments A Nancyfangles Whimsical Creation You can find these mini grapevine wreaths almost anywhere this time of year, and there are so many creative applications they can be used for. I wanted to do a sweet and simple ornament using a bottle brush tree and a few natural embellishments. You can hang them on your tree, from a door knob, in a window, or anywhere you want to add a little touch of rustic Christmas décor to your home… Supplies: A mini Grapevine wreath A small bottle brush tree Some tiny pine-cones A few faux berries A hot glue gun and glue sticks (Always use with caution) Here’s How: Figure out which way you want your wreath to hang. Once you have determined your top and bottom, glue your bottle brush tree to the bottom center. Arrange your pine-cones and glue into place. Glue your berries on as an accent. Add a piece of twine, ribbon string or an ornament hook to the top - back to hang. It’s that easy! You can add a tiny red bow to the bottom of the tree, and/or to the top of the wreath. Add tiny acorns, wooden buttons or a wooden snowflake. Use your imagination and whatever you have on hand or can find in your yard. You’ll want to make a few for you, and some to give as gifts, or use on packages. Happy Holidays! 
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 Caps off! To these Adorable Acorn Adornments
A Nancyfangles Whimsical Creation The temperature and leaves aren't the only things that are falling this time of year. The pitter-patter on your roof top is probably the sound of acorns dropping. While not as colorful as the falling leaves, acorns still have potential to be a pretty part of your fall décor and adornment. This simple DIY project can be used as both: A great way to dress up your outfit whether you’re wearing a comfy sweater, or your favorite denim jacket, or as an ornament for your home or holiday décor. The squirrels can have their nuts and eat them too… All you need are the acorn caps and some decorative beads to create this one of a kind fabulous fall design. I made these using two different techniques. Here’s how you can make some too! Technique #1 No jewelry tools needed! Tools: A hand drill with a small drill bit Supplies: An acorn cap A decorative bead that fits snugly into the cap Clear drying strong hold glue such as E600 A piece of cord or string A clear finish Clean your acorn cap. Carefully drill a hole on either side of the stem. Thread your cording up through the cap and knot at the top. Glue your bead into the cap and allow to dry thoroughly. Coat the cap with a clear drying sealer and allow to dry. Technique #2 Tools: A hand drill with a small drill bit Needle nose pliers Round nose pliers Supplies: An acorn cap A decorative bead that fits snugly into the cap A long head pin A bead cap A jump ring A chain, ribbon or cord Clean your acorn cap. Carefully drill a hole in the center of the cap beside the stem. Thread the head pin up through the bead cap, through the bead, and through the hole in the acorn cap. Tightly wind the remainder of the head pin around the round nose pliers to form into a loop. Be careful not too break the stem off if possible. Add the jump ring through the loop and close. Coat the cap and stem with a clear drying sealer and allow to dry. Thread your chain, ribbon or cord through the jump ring. Enjoy creating your own Acorn Adornments to hang around your neck or on your Christmas tree.  Feels Like Fall – Centerpiece
A Nancyfangles Whimsical Creation It looks like fall may be blessing us a little early this year. Between the cooler evening breezes and the energizing early morning temperatures, even the trees seem to be ready for the Autumn winds to blow. Some of the leaves are already starting to change colors and I have even seen a few fluttering on the breeze like a ballerina, spinning down to the still green grass for one last summertime dance. It won’t be long until pine cones will start to drop and the sound of acorns bouncing off of the roof will take the place of the crickets that lulled us to sleep during the long, hot nights of summer. Soon the harvest moon will light up the evening sky, and the summers harvest will be canned, pickled and preserved to enjoy throughout the long winter ahead. It’s a great time to invite Autumn into your home and start the transition from summer décor to the warm, comfy colors and cozy feelings of fall. This centerpiece started out as a jar full of tiny pine-cones that I sourced at Roots, a local charity shop that I frequent regularly to find bits and bobs to use in my creations. Some fall garlands and a few sprigs of dollar store flowers were added to complete the design. You can display it on a table top, on a mantel, a counter-top or on your desk, as a reminder that fall is truly on her way! Supplies: A Jar – Ball jar, jelly jar, pickle or pasta sauce jar... Jar filler (Pine cones, acorns, small stones…) 3 small sprigs of fall flowers/foliage Fall garland (wired) Tiny pine-cones (or other, for embellishments) Scrabble pieces to spell fall Tools: Hot glue gun and glue (always use with caution) Glue dots Design Directions: Clean your glass jar. Hot glue pieces of the garlands around the rim of the jar. I used a Bittersweet garland and a garland with small pumpkins. Glue on some tiny pine-cones to embellish. Attach the scrabble word FALL to the front of the jar using glue dots. Fill your jar with the filler. Arrange fall flowers/foliage in the jar using the jar filler to hold them in place. Enjoy! Matching Candle – Napkin – Cup Rings You don’t have to stop with your “Feels Like Fall” centerpiece. Surely you have enough supplies to create a few more pieces of matching décor. Even better, this one design can be used in three different applications or maybe more, if you use your imagination! Supplies: A few pieces of left over wired fall garland. A few extra tiny pine-cones. Tools: Hot glue gun and glue (always use with caution) Design Directions: Figure out what diameter circle you will need for your design by wrapping a piece of your garland around the outside of your candle stick, napkin and/or cup - leaving some extra inches to twist together… Cut a couple of pieces of each garland in that same size for each ring. Form the first piece into a circle and wrap the ends around each other to secure. Wrap the rest of the pieces onto the first ring until you get your desired thickness. Hot Glue on some tiny pine cones to finish it off. Repeat for as many rings as desired. You can create an entire table-scape using these few supplies!  Pump-up your Pumpkins
A Nancyfangles Whimsical Creation Take your fall décor to a whole new level by pumping-up your pumpkins! What exactly does that mean? It means that you can get a pumpkin at the dollar store, thrift store or local craft shop and transform it from ordinary to extraordinary! It doesn’t take much to turn a plain pumpkin into a work of art. A little time, a little money and even some common household items will do. Want to re-design a pumpkin to fit your fall décor? Here’s how… Supplies: Thrift shop pumpkins ModPodge or white craft glue Assorted mini doilies Tiny pine-cones A paper lunch bag Rubber stamp and distress ink (or watered down brown paint) Assorted fall embellishments Gold gilding wax A hot glue gun and glue (Always use with Caution) How I did it: *For the velvet pumpkin: The stem was broken, so I started by re-placing the stem with a wooden twig. I snipped out the center of a mini doily and hot glued it around the stem. I continued to hot glue tiny doilies around the pumpkin until I was pleased with the design. I also glued one to the bottom of the pumpkin. I finished it off by gluing a few tiny pine- cones around the stem to add some natural elements. *For the orange pumpkin: This pumpkin was a little beat up, it had a few dents and even a few holes, so I decided to decoupage this one. I found a complimentary decorative napkin and separated the layers so I had just the top layer. I ripped the napkin into workable sections. I covered the pumpkin a section at a time with ModPodge and using saran wrap, I smoothed out the napkin onto the pumpkin. I repeated the process until it was covered, including the bottom. Once it dried I gave it a few more coats of ModPodge to seal it, allowing it to dry between coats. I then hot glued some small pieces of glittery fall foliage and tiny pine-cones around the stem. I finished it off by applying a little gold gilding wax with my finger to give it a little sparkle. I loved the idea of the butterflies as both butterflies and fall are transformational. *For the Patterned pumpkin: This one was a challenge as it started out black and glittery. I started by painting over it to give it an even base to work with. I wanted it to be decorative but to have a nature inspired vibe. Looking around my studio for inspiration I noticed a stash of brown paper lunch bags and knew that was what I wanted to use! I cut the end off of the bag and cut down the seem to make one long piece of paper. Then I scrunched it up, un-scrunched it and scrunched it up again. I went to the kitchen and wet it, wrung out the water and scrunched it again! I ripped it into pieces, layed them out and stamped them with a patterned stamp and distress ink. I LOVED how it looked! I ModPodged the pieces of patterned paper onto the pumpkin, over lapping them a bit. I was sure to form them into the grooves of the pumpkin but still allowing the wrinkles to remain. I sealed it with a few more coats of ModPodge. I Added a few tiny pine-cones and hung a metal leaf around the stem. I sat them atop some candle sticks to elevate them to another level! And there you have it – a trio of transformed, Pumped up Pumpkins, for your fabulous fall festivities! Enjoy “SPRING” Loaded Butterflies A Nancyfangles Whimsical Creation Re-design As a Mixed- Media Artist and Designer I find myself surrounded by inspiration almost everywhere I look. Most of the time that is… And other times, I cannot find a muse no matter how hard I look. That’s when I turn to Pinterest. I may have an idea or a theme in mind, but just need a little kick start of inspiration to get me moving. Such was the case today… I knew I wanted to do something for spring, but what I ended up creating was spring x2. A “Spring”- loaded Butterfly. The original design idea was by Rhubarb and Wren, who’s basic instructions were pretty plain, but also pretty awesome! It was just the spark I needed to ignite my imagination… I hope that I do the same for you. Inspiring you to be Artistic, but to also find your own Creative Magic. Here’s what you’ll need: A Sheet of 12×12 heavy card stock (one sheet makes 4 butterflies) * If you want to paint your design, or color with crayons, markers or colored pencils, use white. Decorative napkins or an additional sheet of decorative scrap book paper, as desired. A spring loaded clothespin (I used wooden and colorful plastic). A small piece of thin jewelry wire. A small bead. white paper glue, Mod Podge, and or glue dots or dashes. E6000 What to do: These instructions are for a scrap book paper butterfly, as I found them to be the easiest to create. Go here to find the butterfly template, or simply create your own… https://tinyurl.com/7e9vjksd Trace your butterfly template onto your thick card stock and cut out. Cut out two (approx.) ½ inch by 2 ½ inch rectangle strips out of your heavy card stock. Lay your card stock butterfly on your decorative scrap book paper (design up) and trace Lay your card stock butterfly on your decorative scrap book paper (design down) and trace Cut both out – do not mix up... Glue the design up copy to the top of your card stock butterfly and the design down copy to the bottom Using glue dots or dashes, adhere the body to the top of the clothespin, head side towards the opening. (I tried glue, but the glue dashes worked much better) Cover your two rectangle strips in the same decorative paper on one side as desired. Fold your wings up (away from the clothespin) where they meet the body. Using glue dots /dashes, glue one of the ends of the strip to the bottom of the clothespin and the other end to the folded wing. repeat on the other side. Bend the small piece of wire in half and curl the ends to form the antennae, glue to top of clip with e6000, allow to dry and glue a bead to the top. Squeeze your clothespin to make your butterfly, fly… Enjoy!  Mixed - Media Scrap Necklace
A Nancyfangles Whimsical Creation Every once in a while I like to go through my collection of scrap papers and see what I can come up with for a design idea. It’s amazing what you can do with pieces of paper that may have been otherwise discarded. When I found a few pieces of cardboard tucked into my stash, a light bulb went off and these necklaces were created as a result… Have some paper scraps lying around your house? Why not give it a try? Supplies: Thick cardboard (or just glue together a couple of thin pieces) Pieces of decorative scrap paper – you can use junk mail, old maps, paper bags… Modpodge A paint brush Scissors E6000 glue (always use in a well ventilated area) Assorted jewelry components to decorate - Beads, charms, buttons, bells, metal filigree/connector Jump ring(s), chain 2 pairs of flat nose pliers A finishing nail and hammer or awl to make the holes Technique: Cut cardboard into desired shape (I chose hearts) Glue bits of paper to your cardboard covering both sides and layering to add texture. Overlap around the sides to cover the cardboard. Allow to dry. Add several coats of Modpodge to each side allowing to totally dry in between coats. Poke a small hole to hang from, and another on the bottom if you wish to hang bead or charms from it. Using E6000, glue a decorative jewelry piece over the hole to hide it (I used small bead caps) be sure not to block the hole. Glue on any jewelry components to decorate, and allow to dry thoroughly. I glued a decorative filigree/connector to the back of one to add some interest and texture. Once jewelry components are dry, add a jump ring into the holes. Add decorative beads/baubles to the bottom as desired. Slide a chain through the hanging ring and wear. Imagine – Create – Enjoy! Vintage Button Ornament and Garland ~ A Nancyfangles Whimsical Creation
When contemplating my next Christmas Creation I was trying to think of something that everyone would already have in their home or could easily find in a thrift shop or craft retailer. Buttons came to mind… I thought I would try threading buttons on wire and then shaping it into an ornament. After figuring out the easiest way to do it, I created a heart to hang on the tree. I loved it so much that I decided to try a garland as well. For the garland I used buttons in shades of white and added pearl beads as an accent. I Love how they turned out and I hope that you do too! Supplies: Wire thin enough to fit through the button holes, I used 24 gauge. A selection of buttons in mixed or similar colors. Wire cutters. Technique: Cut a piece of wire long enough to bend into a shape. Leave about a two inch length of wire on one end and thread the long end up through the bottom of the button and then back out through the front. Pull the wire tightly. Thread the long end up through the next button and pull the button down until it touches the first one. Thread the wire back through the front and out the back of the second button, pulling tightly to keep the buttons close together. Continue this process until you get the desired length. Make sure to save an inch or two on the end. The hardest part is keeping the wire from twisting while pulling it tightly. I also found it easiest to hold the short end closest to me and work out away from myself (hope that makes sense). When you reach the desired length, bend the wire into the shape you desire. If you are forming a heart, tightly twist the two ends together to form the point. Twist another small piece of wire onto your ornament to use as the hanger. You can create shapes, or even letters, be creative and use your imagination… *For the garland I used the same technique but added in some pearl beads, and formed hooks on each end of the wire to hang. ⭐A Star Spangled Banner⭐
I recently recovered some chairs in my home and wanted to do something “fun” so I decided to cover my seats, with the seats from old pairs of jeans. I love how the chairs turned out, and when I was finished I was left with 4 denim legs. Since they were dark, denim blue, I decided I would use them to create something for the Fourth of July. The design really came together when I visited a local thrift shop and found some red felt and fabric star patches. This Star Spangled Banner is one of two patriotic designs I created for your Fourth of July décor… Supplies: Blue Denim fabric Red felt White triangular trim (you can use whatever wide, white lace you have on hand) Star patches (cut outs) Two pieces of red lace Hot glue gun and glue Scissors Cardboard White glue Instructions: Cut a triangle pattern out of cardboard. My triangles are 6 inches long from top to point and 5 inches wide at the top. Trace the triangle pattern onto your fabric and cut out as many as you like. I cut out 13 triangles, 7 red felt and 6 denim and created a 6 foot banner. Fold the lace in half lengthwise (iron) and glue the top of each triangle side by side, to the back of the lace. Fold over the front of the lace and glue to the front of the triangle. Glue on stars. Run a thin line of white glue along the back edges of the denim triangles to keep from fraying. Fold the two pieces of red lace in half to form a loop and glue one to each end of the white lace to hang. Hang and enjoy!  ⭐Old Glory⭐
Denim and lace - fabric flag These fabric flags are a great way to use up scraps of denim fabric and left over pieces of lace or ribbon and they are easy to create. I used different widths of lace in red and white. 7 red and 6 white. I used hot glue to attach the lace to the denim, but you could machine or hand stitch them as well. Let me tell you how… Supplies: One rectangle of denim (approx. 11”x 8”) 4 pieces of red ribbon 32 inches long 3 pieces of red ribbon 48 inches long 3 pieces of white lace 32 inches long 3 pieces of white lace 48 inches long 1 piece of white lace approx. 35 inches long (for hanging) 1 piece of white lace 8 inches long Hot glue gun and glue Fabric star patches or cut out stars (I used 18 because they fit nicely) Directions: Start by folding the denim over the dowel (approx. 3 inches, leaving an 8”x 8” square) and glue it to itself. Fold one of the 32 inch pieces of red lace in half and glue the folded part to the bottom, back of the denim vertically and even with the outside edge. Fold one of the 32 inch pieces of white lace in half and glue beside the red one… Repeat this process until you have the 4 red and 3 white 32 inch pieces glued vertically from the bottom of the denim square. Glue the 8 inch piece of white lace across the bottom of the denim to cover the glued part of the vertical pieces of lace that you just attached. Fold a 48 inch white piece of lace in half to form a loop, loop it back around the dowel and bring the ends through. Pull to tighten. Repeat until you have 3 white and 3 red 48 inch pieces attached. Fold the 35 inch piece of white lace in half and form a loop, tie a knot at the top of the loop to hang it from. Tie one end of the same piece of lace to one side of the dowel and the other end to the other side of the dowel, (be sure it is even on both sides) allow some extra to hang down from the knots. Glue on the stars. Hang and enjoy!    ~ Count Your Blessings ~
Welcoming the New Year 2021 We all know what an unusual year 2020 was, so rather than relive the past year I prefer to look forward to a New Year full of big blessings and pleasant possibilities. When I was trying to figure out what I would make for the new year’s column I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to create, but I knew I wanted it to be something that would help us focus on the good things that the new year has to offer. The surprises that we meet along the way, the blessings we receive and the memories we share. Together with my family we all came up with our own little piece of this creation. A Blessing Box. I hope you will enjoy creating one of your own, that you will use it and that it will help you to realize that no matter how things look there are always blessings to be found in the smallest of gifts, be it a smile, a beautiful bird, a kind word, or an extra hour of sleep. May you have a Happy, Healthy New Year filled with love. Supplies: A coffee can, a shoe box, a cookie tin, any container with a lid Paper, fabric, paint Stencils, stickers, markers A cabinet knob, a large washer, a bolt Instructions: Have Fun- Clean your container and dry thoroughly Cut out paper, fabric or vinyl to cover the labels, or paint the container Cut out the number 2021, stars, rainbows? Make it festive… Attach them to the container Carefully push the screw of the cabinet knob through the top of the lid Bring it through a large washer (to prevent it from pulling back up through the lid) And bolt it on - Anytime something good happens in 2021, jot it down on a piece of paper and put it in the box. But don’t wait until the end of the year to look at them! Any time you’re feeling low or you just need a smile, pick a blessing or two and read them! May your Blessing Overflow this Year ♥ |
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