Primitive Christmas Ornies Sleigh

Believe it or not, I am not doing a Primitive Christmas tree this year. I've done that for about 5 years now and just wanted to do something different this year. I got a new tree too, since my old one was on its last legs, which definitely helped motivate my decision to shake things up a bit. But I love my Primitive Ornies so much, I just had to find some ways to still use them for Christmas. So I decided to take a small decorative sleigh I have and fill it with some primitive ornies!

Look closely and you'll find a tree ornie, a primitive angel ornie, a snowman peeking thru, a gingerbread ornie, a penguin, a swan, a happy little raggedy, and even some prim candies. I think they're quite happy in their sleigh, enjoying the view out of my kitchen window. And even though they're not on my tree, I still get to enjoy the ornies too. :)

Primitive Christmas Centerpiece

Forgive my absence...I've been busy decking the halls and attempting holiday cheer. It's the first Christmas without my mom. It would be so easy to flip the switch and wallow in my own sorrow, but Mom wouldn't want me to do that. So the holiday cheer switch is on (for now) and I'm getting this house Santa-fied like nobody's business!

First up, my Primitive Christmas Centerpiece. I always have the same basic centerpiece on my dining room table; I just change up how it looks from season to season, or holiday to holiday, as the case may be. I just finished up the Primitive Christmas look for this year.

There are some Christmas greens, poinsettias, fabric stars, white Pip Berries (which I actually found at JoAnn Fabrics the other day!), and one of my Prim Flickers flameless candles in the center. What do you think? I love how it turned out. It definitely makes the table and room look a bit more festive.

More to come!

Gingerbread Wax Melts

Are you looking for a quick and easy hostess gift for someone this holiday season? Or maybe you want a quick project to do up for a craft show? If so, some Primitive Wax Melts are quick and easy and sure to please in either scenario.

Gingerbread Wax Melts are perfect for gift-giving (or selling, as the case may be) this time of year. Just package up several of your favorite gingerbread wax melts in a clear bag, add a bag topper, and voila, you're done!

And to help you get started making some of these, I'm giving you a free Gingerbread Bag Topper image that you can use to make your own bag toppers. Don't you love Primitive Freebies? Just click on the image below to open it, then right-click and save it to your computer.

Note: I've made this a fairly large image so that you can resize it to suit your needs. And you could use also use this as bag topper for Primitive Gingerbread Dough Ornies, or all sorts of things!

Primitive Reindeer Love

I was checking out the EZ Craft Show Online Holiday & Gift Show yesterday and found some wonderful Primitive Christmas decor. I've only made one purchase (so far) but I love these Primitive Reindeer that I found from the Barefoot Horse Candles & Gifts booth.

Aren't they fabulous? I needed some new primitive Christmas decor for my home, so these will be perfect. And I love to buy handmade whenever I can. Be sure to check out the EZ Craft Show and look through all the booths. There are many handmade treasures to be found! Just click on the text link in the first paragraph and it will take you straight there. Go on, get shopping!

Cinnamon Salt Dough Recipe

I love making Dough Ornies, but I wanted to try a new recipe, so I thought I'd try a Cinnamon Salt Dough Recipe. This Primitive Recipe is pretty common, and has lots of variations. I think it's a very flexible recipe that you can't really mess up. I used my own variation to create these Primitive Fall dough ornies to use as Primitive Bowl Fillers.

The Recipe

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Salt
• 1/4 Cup Cinnamon*
• 1-1/2 Cups Water

Mix all the ingredients together and work into a dough. You can add a little extra water if the dough is too dry, or a little extra flour if the dough is too wet. Knead the dough several times. Then you roll it out onto a surface dusted with cinnamon, and to your desired thickness (at least 1/4"). Cut out with cookie cutters of your choice. Bake at 300° for 45-60 minutes, making sure to check them during the last stage of baking so that they don't overcook or burn! The thicker they are, the more baking time they're likely to need. Let them cool completely before you handle them.

After mine were finished I used some diluted craft acrylic paints to kind of give my ornies a wash of color. For the acorns I just did the top half of the ornies so they would look more like acorns. For the leaves I painted the entire shape, using various colors to look like fall leaves. You don't have to dilute the paint if you don't want though, it's up to you. I just didn't want a very dark color on my ornies.

These can be sealed with melted, scented wax, as I do with most of my dough ornies. Or, you could purchase a spray to seal. Krylon makes a clear acrylic spray paint, and they also make a "triple thick clear glaze" you could use.

*A note about the cinnamon: I used a small portion of cinnamon so that my ornies didn't get too dark. If you are planning to make ornies that you DO want to be darker, like for gingerbread men, for example, you can use an entire cup of cinnamon. The more cinnamon you use, the darker the ornies will be. I knew I was going to paint some of mine so I didn't want them too dark. Do yourself a favor though and get your cinnamon at the dollar store, if you have one nearby. It will much more affordable!

Primitive Candle Shade with Pip Berries

This is a Primitive Candle Shade that I had tucked away, leftover from when I sold them in my online store. It's meant to sit over a battery operated votive or other battery operated candle. I decided to jazz mine up a bit so I could use it.

This is kind of similar to my Prim Flickers flameless candles, but of course I made the Prim Flickers myself. This candle shade is basically a hollow candle tube, and it's already grungy'd up so I didn't have to do it. I just added some little extras to it and put it on a Rusty Tin candle plate. I added a battery operated votive to the middle, and so when it's on it looks like a real flickering candle.

Grungy Jar

I decided to try some of my grungy addiction out on a Mason Jar. I just wanted to see how it would look to use some of the textured spray paint I use so often on the jar. So I used some of the spray and got the Mason Jar good and grungy.

First thing to note is that the textured spray paint I used is NOT meant to be used on glass. 

It is an indoor/outdoor paint, but it doesn't say on the can that it can be used on glass. So I just figured I should err on the side of caution and not expect it to hold up...unless I primed it first. So I used an indoor/outdoor spray paint primer on the Mason Jar first, one that clearly states it can be used on glass. Krylon was my primer of choice. So I primed the jar first with a Ruddy Brown color, let it dry, then used my textured spray paint to grungy up the jar. It probably won't last forever, but I'm sure it'll last awhile.

I created a label for the jar with some of my favorite fall Primitive Pumpkin graphics and stuck that to the jar--I added Mod Podge to help it stick. Then I topped it off with a homespun tie. Obviously you can do this to candles in a jar, but you can do it to plain jars too. Put something fun inside--like scented putka pods (mini pumpkins) and use it as a hostess gift or what not. Put some candy corns inside, or some M & M's. It makes a perfect Primitive Gift!