Pinterest Please

    Now that Christmas is over, I can actually post some of the Pinterest projects I've been working on for gifts (and some not).  You may automatically think that making gifts is less expensive than buying something already made, but it's not always the case.  I tend to throw away or give away things if I no longer have a use for them (yes we had to buy wine so that I could use the bottles, but the wine itself tasted pretty good too) so sometimes my organization works against me.  But I think our gifts turned out great, so here are a few of the things I was frantically working on before heading home...

I found a wood burner in one of my boxes from an auction and it still worked!

     

I saw this idea on Pinterest and fell in love!  I took two wine bottles
and spray painted them white.  Then I used my Silhouette Cameo machine
and an old book to cut out the butterflies and tree.  Lastly I used my
Xyron sticker maker to make the backs sticky to put on the bottles.

I saw some Christmas signs on Etsy (for mayself that I really liked and decided to make my own.
The wood pieces were actually a bit pricey ($20 for both) but I couldn't find them
anywhere else and they were perfect for the project.  I found a guide to making
your own wood stain - I filled a jar with apple cider vinegar and placed a piece of steel wool
into it.  After a week it was ready to use.  Since my two pieces of wood have different colors
in the first place, my final results weren't exactly alike, but I actually like the different colors.

These are the final results!  I used my Silhouette Machine to cut out the words
on a piece of cardstock, then I used it as a stencil and painted in the design.  I thought
about using contact paper for this since the machine can cut contact paper but I was worried
that the stain would come off.  I noticed after painting them that a bit of stain came off where
I place the tape to hold the stencils down so I'm glad I went the cardstock route instead.