Super Easy Holly Berry Garland

Closeup of Holly Berry Ribbon Garland

I was not in the mood to make holiday pins or napkin holders. But I wanted to do right by the big bag of holly berries my neighbor bequeathed me when she retired from crafting. Finally, recently, I thought of using them to make this easy swag garland for a holiday tree, doorway, mantle, or even gift wrap.

All you need is a roll of wire-edge ribbon and some big ole holly berries from my Etsy shop. You could also use a ruler to check your spacing between clumps. Work at a long table or on the floor, if possible. Try to keep your ribbon flat while you work.

1. Pinch a spot on your ribbon to make a place to wrap the berries. Pleat it a little as you pinch, but don't fold it. Try not to twist the ribbon while you work.

Use 3 stems for 2-3 inch ribbon, more if your ribbon is wider.

2. Next, grab 3 stems (they are double tipped so that's 6 berries) and line them up evenly.

3. Fold the berries in half, right on top of the pinched part. Then grab the stems (not the berries) right under the ribbon, and twist a couple of times. (It's best not to tighten the clumps too much until you're sure about your spacing.)

Pinch the ribbon, fold the stems and twist!

4. Repeat those steps -- pinch the ribbon, fold 3 berry stems, then twist.

Sorry, didn't have a tree to wrap this around. ;-)

Hint: You might want to "fluff" the wire-edge ribbon as you work, especially right next to the berry clumps, and press things flat as you work.

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Altered Plastic Cameo Cabochons for Art and Jewelry

This week I've been restocking my Etsy shop with some of my vintage cameo cabochons. They're not real carved shell cameos, they're plastic imitations, but they're great for vintage style jewelry because they fit into standard cabochon tray settings (30mm x 40mm). However, I never seem to be able to just leave them alone and use them as-is so I thought I would share a couple of my favorite altering techniques.

Vintage acrylic faux-carved coral cabochons, altered with paint and polish.

The cab on the left is the original floral cabochon in green and ivory.

Faux tarnished silver altered art technique

TARNISHED SILVER: The middle cabochon is painted and then highlighted with silver wax finish.

1. First, mush dark brown acrylic paint (the artist quality kind from the tube) over the entire cabochon and use a stiff brush to push it down into all the little nooks and crannies.
2. Before the paint dries completely, gently wipe off only the high areas with a slightly damp cloth, to get an aged look.
3. Let the paint dry completely, then dab on the wax metallic polish (I like Rub n Buff the best).
4. Once the polish dries (I wait until the next day), you can buff it to a satin finish and your cabochon will look like tarnished silver!

Hand painted altered vintage faux coral cabochons

HAND PAINTED: The third cab is painted with two colors of all-surface acrylic craft paint.

1. Use a small brush or dauber to paint a couple of flowers with each of your two colors (here I grabbed baby pink and goldenrod yellow).
2. Then, mix the colors together in different amounts to create new colors and dab them on as well.
3. You can seal these if you like. I'm thinking about adding metallic gold highlights here and there...

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New Vintage Sequins in My Etsy Shop!

Been listing new vintage sequin strands all week, and here we are with 9 new offerings to add to the 70+ colors and styles in my Etsy shop. Click any image to go straight to the listings. (Ask me about designer discounts on 5+ strands -- I can set up a reserved listing for you and you'll save on shipping too.)

Raspberry Wine (Celluloid) 5mm flat

Rainbow Pumpkin Ice Cream 8mm cups

Transparent Yellow Rainbow 6mm cups

Crystal Clear Rainbow 6mm cupped

Pink Lustre 5mm cups

Matte Black 4mm flat

Transparent Green Opal 6mm cups

Petite Gold 5mm cups

White Rainbow 4mm flat