I started with some plain glass ball ornaments I bought at Michaels, some plain white paint, and a fine gold sharpie paint pen. The first step is to add some paint to the inside of the ball and swirl it around to make sure the inside is evenly coated. I used a teaspoon to spoon in the paint, but that was rather messy. I might use a turkey baster or something similar if I do this again. Thankfully the dripped paint cleaned off the glass really easily with a damp rag.
I then used an empty egg carton to hold the balls upside down to drain out the extra paint. Once your balls are painted leave them for at least 24 hrs to allow them to dry.
Reattach the balls cap/hanger thingy and you’re ready for the final step. I set up my supplies in front of the TV and did this while watching the Holiday - one of my favourite Christmas movies. All you need to do is draw a pattern on the outside of your glass balls with the paint pen and then wait for the paint to dry. The pen I used was oil based so it took a few minutes to completely dry - be careful when you handle it – you don’t want to smudge your masterpiece.
I decided to use an art-deco inspired scalloped pattern on my balls, but you could draw anything you want. You could also use a couple of different coloured pens to change it up. I debated also using a silver pen, but in the end I liked the gold and white combo, and they worked well with my other white and gold Christmas ornaments from past years.

My Christmas tree for 2013. I replaced some of my painted nutcrackers with the new glass balls.

What do you think? I quite like them, and I'm now imagining all sorts of other pattern and colour combinations to do for next year.

I'm a member of Para Paints blog crew, however this paint was received when I attended Blogpodium. the other supplies were purchased.

Clockwise from top left: Elf, The Holiday, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Home Alone, Love Actually, and The Muppet Christmas Carol

If I had to pick my top movie it would have to be ‘The Holiday’ – I love the story, and I can’t decide if I like Amanda’s or Iris’ house better. They’re both gorgeous in their own way.

Bright Season by Chloe and Fanny

Yeti or Not by Genna Cowsert

I’d heard of Minted.com in the past, but usually for invitations for wedding and kids birthday parties. When I realised they had Christmas cards I assumed they were those cute ones that people send with pictures of their kids. I don’t have any kids, and I couldn’t really fathom the idea of sending a Christmas card with my face on it so I kinda figured I wouldn’t find anything I liked. I was wrong.

Vintage Bulbs by Stacey Meacham

Minted has almost 600 holiday cards to choose from, and while they do offer a lot that can incorporate your favourite photo from the past year, they have a magic search filter, and when you click ‘no photo’ you’re left with 373 different cards to choose from.  A much better selection than the local department store where I usually get my boxed cards.

Retro Whimsical Poster by Gakemi Art+Design

I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but once I realized I could favourite the ones I liked as I scrolled through the available cards it made easier. My first pass left me with 43 favourites and I whittled it down from there. Once I saw all the cards I had ‘favourited’ in one place it was easy to see that I gravitated to a certain ‘look’, however there were a few different styles that also caught my eye. Some of the cards were easy to eliminate, but some were hard.

Merry Glitter Holiday by Lehan Veenker

I figured that in order for these card to be personalized I’d be able to modify the ‘from’ field.What I didn’t realize was that not only could I change the colour of the card and who it was from, but I could also modify all the text, and even the fonts on the cards. How cool is that?

Polar Bear Wishes by Carolyn MacLaren

Anyways,  As you can see I’ve whittled my original 43 favourites to just the six in this post, and they’re a rather eclectic bunch. I’ll take a look at them again in a day or so and make my final pick (although feel free to let me know which ones you like). What about you? Do you send Christmas cards? Have you ever bought personalized cards online, or do you buy the boxed ones like I normally do?
*I have been offered a credit on Minted.com, however all opinions shared in this post are mine.

'One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day. Don’t clear it up too quickly’. – Andy Rooney (1919 – 2011)

I debated what to do with the pompoms – even going so far as to lay them out in ombre graduated colour manner, but in the end I decided to just pile them all in a bowl and go completely random. I used clear plastic beading thread to string the pompoms as I had it on hand, but I regular thread should work just as well. This process is a little long, but I did my stringing while watching some TV.
With the string of pompoms done I turned my attention to what else I should put on my tree. With the colour of the pompoms I decided I should go for something else completely colourless. I debated about making up some salt clay, but when I was in my favourite art supply store I found air-dry clay for $4. I picked up a small snowflake at a local kitchen store for $1.50, and once the dough was rolled out used the cutter to make little snowflakes.
I used a toothpick to add little holes at the top of one of the snowflakes arms for string, and then let them air-dry for two days. Once they were dry I used some of the same string I used last year to make my hanging mirrors to add hanging loops.
Once my decorations were ready it was time to decorate. I decided that the corner of my living room was the best place for my tree, but I unfortunately don’t have a table there, and the thought of putting my diminutive tree on the ground made me sad. Being the resourceful girl I am, I pulled one of my bedside tables for it to sit on (We’ll just ignore the fact that for the next little while one bedside lamp is now sitting on the ground beside my bed).
Once the tree was up (which was really hard – I had to attach the three legs), I first strung the mirror ornaments I made last year.
Next up was my new pompom garland.
And finally my new clay snowflakes. I made 15 snowflakes, but there are only 14 on the tree because I had a clumsy moment. Sigh.
Once I had my tree decorated it was time for a couple of finishing touches. I don’t have a tree skirt so I used a flat white sheet and draped it around the bottom of the tree, and I did pull out two decorations from my collection. I’ve had this Lego Santa for a while, so I felt he deserved to be on display.
I also put out my little nativity scene. I love their faces, and the cow and donkey are adorable.
Here's my tree all decorated.

So there you have it. What do you think? Too simple? Are the pompoms a little childish? Did you decorate a tree this year? Are you like me and you like your tree to look like a tree with a few ornaments, or do you prefer your tree to be completely covered with ornaments?

Some of the marvelous pieces available from Re:Style

Re: Style Studio (Booth Z-19) is run by Andrea Ford. She creates one-of-a-kind furniture pieces with vibrant fabric and colours that are stunning – the picture above doesn’t do the pieces justice.. She also runs reupholstery workshops out of her studio. I’m plotting to attend one in the new year. restylestudiotoronto.com

Tools necklaces from MoonRox Jewelry

MoonRox Jewellery (Booth Y-20) is a line of great jewellery created by Monique Chan. I loved the little tool necklaces shown above. They are $45 each, and perfect for your favourite DIY-er moonrox.ca

James Kennedy 'Continents' steel art

James Kennedy (Booth Y-44) is an artist from Montreal who works with steel, and he is showcasing his ‘Continents’ series at the show. My photo doesn’t do his pieces any justice – they are simply stunning in person. The variation in the colours in the steel makes you forget it's made from cold metal. His 12”x12” pieces are $325, and the large 48’x42”(not shown) are $3400. jameskennedy.ca/

The guys from Pook Tuques

Pook Tuques (Booth U-10) The guys above run Pook Tuques and their booth is worth a visit simply to have them demonstrate the many ways their Pook Tuque can be worn. It’s hilarious (there's a 'Donald' comb-over). You can take a look at the many way the hat can be worn on their website. pook.ca

The lovely animal creations from the Felt Factory. Which one would you pick?

Felt Factory (Booth R-19) is run by Sabine Alpers, and will be at the show just until November 26th, so if you like her felted animal heads you’ll have to go this weekend. If you follow me on Instagram you know I spotted one of her Unicorns last weekend in a store in Picton and fell in love. After seeing her animals at the show I’m now torn between the Unicorn and the Bison (which isn't shown), but they’re all amazing. The animals range in price from $60-$90. feltfactory.com

'There is Softness' by Tammy Shane

Tammy Shane (Booth Q-24) is an artist who will also only be at the show until November 26th. All her paintings are stunning, but the larger pieces are especially lovely. The piece above, entitled ‘There is a Softness’, is 48”x48” and really caught my attention($2820). Tammy Shane on Facebook

Hen painting on Mylar by Sarah Hillock

Sarah Hillock (Booth K-12) is an artist whose booth features large quite realistic oil paintings of cows and other animals. Looking at her work you can’t help but smile – they are marvelous and fun, and quirky in a really great way. sarahhillock.com

The Sweet Truth Candy Company

The Sweet Truth Gourmet Candy Company (Booth G-36) is run by Diane McMillan after she learned to learned to make candy from her grandmother, and her candies are divine. With 7 flavours including Almond Butter Toffee, Sweet Lemon Butter Toffee and Cappuccino Chocolate Toffee and Pecans your taste buds will thank you if you stop by for a taste. The small tins are $8.95 and the large $14.50. sweettruthcandy.com

Christmas Tree by Andrea Ihlefeld via Etsy

On this marvelous Christmas morning I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite Christmas quotes.

I wish you and your family a day filled with love and laughter as you gather to enjoy all that the season brings.

Style at Home - November 2011 - pg 108

I loved one little aspect of the shot, and my plan to not decorate this year went flying out the window. Can you guess what part of the picture above inspired me? Since it's a little hard to tell from my scan here it is again:

Style at Home - Nov 2011 - White Dove

Can you see it? It's the white felt dove Christmas ornament on the top right.

• White felt
• Pearl beads
• Silver tulle
• White craft feathers
• Silver string

What you'll need to make the doves

My Dove Template

I cut out my pattern, and then pinned it to my fabric. I cut out two body shapes, two wing shapes and one bottom shape in the felt, and two wings in the tulle.

My finished dove ornament

• White felt: $0 (I had it on hand from my bookend project)
• Silver tulle: $1
• Silver sting: $1
• Craft Feathers: $1
• Pearl beads: $1
• Total Cost: $4 for 6 dove ornaments

• Small mirrors (I used round ones, but they also had squares and ovals)
• some ribbon or string
• some glue - I used a glue gun
  

All I did was add a little dab of glue on the back of one mirror, stick in both ends of the small piece of string and lastly stick on the second piece of mirror.

Here is what they look like:

Mirror Ornaments

• 2 packages of 15 mirrors: $2
• Small spool of silver ribbon: $1
• Total cost: $3 for 15 ornaments

And here's a close up of my dove:


I feel I have to apologize for the pictures in this post - I'm battling two difficulties - It's now dark here when I leave for work, and when I get home, so there's no opportunity to take pictures in natural light, and probably more importantly I have no photographic ability. Maybe Santa will be good to me and get me lessons;)