Merry Christmas Everyone! The last few days have been full of family gatherings and memories but today I am sitting at home, relaxing and enjoying some quiet with my fiance for Christmas Day. I realized this week that I never posted Picture Frame Project #7 – so here it is!

I purchased the supplies needed from the local dollar store:

• A small grapevine wreath already decorated with pine cones, pine branches and white berries
• A package of mini Christmas ornaments
• Silver glitter bow
• A silver door hanger

I started by adding some color to the wreath by adding blue Christmas ornaments. I positioned the Christmas ornaments first to make sure I liked the layout. Once I was happy with the placement, I secured them with a hot glue gun.

The wreath had a small hanging loop on it already but I wanted it to hang lower so I used the ribbon from the Christmas ornament package to hang the wreath from the door hanger. Then I hung the frame over the wreath. I glued the silver bow directly to the wreath hanger to hide it.

Christmas is just around the corner and I thought it was time to start looking at ideas for using my picture frame in Christmas decorating projects. My first Christmas project was very simple. I took a selection of Christmas tree ornaments from my storage box, tied a ribbon to each one and hung them at various lengths from the back of the frame. I used a bit of duct tape on the back of the frame to secure the ribbon.

This is a very simple way to add some Christmas decor just about anywhere that you can hang a frame.

Paper Christmas Tree Cones

Type A Decorating

Madigan Made

Crate Paper Blog

The Creativity Exchange

Pinecones Christmas Tree Cones

Country Living

Under the Table and Dreaming

Button Christmas Tree Cones

Shelterness

Ribbon Christmas Tree Cones

Polished to Perfection

Twine Christmas Tree Cones

Lemon Tree Creations

Copper Wire Christmas Tree Cones

Glitter Christmas Tree Cones

The Mason Bunch

Home Trends Magazine

Stick Christmas Tree Cones

Tracy’s Trinkets & Treasures

Christmas Ornament Christmas Tree Cones

Thrifty Craft Girl

Paper Clip Christmas Tree Cones

Paper, Plate and Plane

Push Pin Christmas Tree Cones

Paper, Plate and Plane

Lace Christmas Tree Cones

Where the Grass is Greener

Candy Christmas Tree Cones

Curbly

BHG

Feather Christmas Tree Cones

Marc Atiyolil

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea! The complete instructions available on Instructables shows you how to create a Christmas tree out of cardboard. This would be so much fun for kids – give them some markers, stickers, glitter, etc and let them decorate it themselves! I think kids of all ages would enjoy this!

For my fifth Picture Frame Project I used the frame to hold a Happy Birthday Bunting Banner that I made for my children’s birthday party.  I cut the triangles out of cardstock and then threaded string through small holes I punched in the top corners. The letters are 3D glitter stickers I found at the dollar store. I positioned the banners to hang the way I wanted them and then attached the string to the back with a little bit of duct tape.

This project was really simple and yes – I could have just hung the banner on the wall without the frame and called it a day but I think the frame adds a special touch to it and makes it look a little classier!

Candy Cane Shots from Fancy Napkin

Okay, I realize it’s not a cookie. But it would be a great way to start off the evening don’t you think?

Rolo Stuffed Sugar Cookies from Rachel Schultz

WOW! Yeah – Definitely want to try these!

Peppermint Kiss Sugar Cookies from Over The Big Moon

These look yummy to!

Homemade Peppermint Patties from Blue Eyed Bakers

Can you tell I like chocolate and peppermint?

Snowman Cupcakes from Cupcakes Take The Cake

These are adorable – I bet the kids would love them!

For more of my recipe finds so far – check out my Pinterest Board: Christmas Baking Wish List.

I fell in love with the idea of furniture made from pallets a while back. Pinterest is full of ideas for beds, sofas, tables, coffee tables, outdoor furniture and more all made from repurposed pallets. This particular project takes the “Pallet Coffee Table” idea to a whole new level just by adding foam, fabric and some legs.  Gorgeous!

Last weekend we took the kids camping for the last time before school started and I decided to take the picture frame with as a photo prop. My eldest daughter and I had a blast coming up with ideas for ways to use the frame! Here are two of my favourites:

For the first photo, I propped the frame up in a pile of sand and then laid down on the sand to take a photo of the kids playing at the edge of the water.  For the second photo, my son held the picture frame and I took a picture with the campsite inside the frame. I later edited it so it would be black and white with only the campsite in colour.

I love this idea – it’s a great way to add visual interest and could be a lot of fun for creative scrapbook layouts later on.

In our second picture frame project, we created a wall art piece from a dollar store throw pillow cover. For project #3, I am going to use the other half of the pillow cover to create a ribbon pinboard.

Supplies:

- Picture Frame
- Pillow Cover (Dollarama – $2)
- Ribbon (Dollarama – $1)
- Rhinestone Thumbtacks (Dollarama – $1 for 16)
- Cork Board (Dollarama – 2 12×12 panels for $2)
- Cardboard Box
- Double Sided Tape
- Scissors
- Optional: Hot Glue Gun

Tip: If you can’t find rhinestone thumbtacks you can make your own but attaching rhinestones from the craft store to flat thumbtacks with a hot glue gun)

Step 1: Cardboard
Cut a piece of cardboard to fit into the back of the frame. If you still have the backing that came with the frame, you can use that instead.

Step 2: Cork Board
Cut cork board to fit the cardboard backing. My cardboard as 12×16 and I found 12×12 corkboard panels at Dollorama. I used one full panel and cut a 12×4 section out of the second panel. I attached these to the cardboard with double sided tape.

Step 3: Pillow Cover
I started by cutting the zipper edge of the pillow cover off as close to the zipper as possible. Next I used my scissors to gently loosen and remove the stitches on the remaining three edges and seperate the back and front panels of the pillow cover.

Step 4: Covering the Cork Board
First I played around with the fabric over the corkboard to get a rough idea of how I wanted the pattern to lay. Then I laid the fabric face down on the floor with the cork board face down on top. I used double sided tape to adher the edges of the fabric to the back of the cardboard but you can use a hot glue gun if you want a stronger hold.  First fold the bottom edge of the fabric over the cork/cardboard backing and secure. Next do the top edge – gently pulling to ensure the fabric is straight and smooth. Repeat with the remaining edges.

Step 5: Create The Ribbon Pattern
To create the ribbon pattern I laid out the ribbons in a diagonal pattern and inserted the rhinestone tacks at each intersection to hold them in place. Then I secured the ribbon to the back of the cardboard with tape. Again – you may want to use a hot glue gun. You don’t want to glue/tape under the ribbon on the front of the board – you want to be able to slide photos and cards under the ribbon later on.

Step 6: Framing
I secured the final piece into the frame by taping it to the back so I can remove it for future projects. For a more permanent finish, use your hot glue gun along the inner edge to glue the final piece into the frame.

COST: $6

For those days you just want to make one cookie… 1 tbsp. butter, melted 1 tbsp. white sugar 1 tbsp. brown sugar 3 drops of vanilla pinch of salt 1 egg yolk 1/4 c. flour 2 tbsp. chocolate chips MICROWAVE 40-60 SEC IN A CUP OR BOWL. {single serving} deep dish chocolate chip cookie

 I can’t wait to try this – just have to get some chocolate chips