Creative Way to Give a Gift Card - Confetti Snow Globe

There are always gift cards on people's Christmas lists.  They don't know quite what they want, but they do know where they like to shop.  Gift cards are always nice, but I think they can be a little on the boring side.  It is just a card...similar to giving money.  Everyone wants cash to shop and it's nice to have credit to a store you love, but lets face it, it is not the most exciting gift to open in the world.

My parents used to give my sister and I money for Christmas as one of our gifts, and instead of just putting it in an envelope, they would get $2 bills (very unique) and put them in a big box and wrap it up.  It was GREAT!  We had another gift to open and they were $2 bills!!  Not a lot of people go shopping with those.

Inspired by Christmas traditions, I wanted to spice up gift card giving this year by doing something fun and creative.  I thought of the holiday season and the decorations that were out there...how could I incorporate a gift card with holiday decor?  As I was panning Pinterest for holiday decoration and gift giving ideas I came across a snow globe.  This was perfect! The gift cards are small enough to fit in a jar and it is a fun decoration people can use after they take out the gift card.  

I put my own personal spin on the snow globe and made a CONFETTI SNOW GLOBE (no water).  Check it out!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Jar with screw on lid

Christmas Figurines 

Large Confetti (trees, snowflakes)

Hot Glue Gun

Faux Snow

Gift Card

Step 1:  Lay out all of your Christmas figurines and confetti to get an idea of how you will design your globe.  I put the figurines on the bottom of the jar along with some tree confetti.  I saved the snowflake confetti for the lid to seem as if it were falling down.

Step 2:  Warm up your hot glue gun.

Step 3: Wash out your jar.

Step 4:  Start gluing!  I started with the bottom scene for the jar.  I first glued a MAIN figurine (Snowman, Santa, Elf, etc.) in the middle as the focal point.  Make sure to secure it where you can see it well from the outside.

Step 5:  Start placing other confetti and items around the main figurine (snowman in this case) to build a scene.  I had little presents and confetti trees that I glued around the snowman.

Step 6:  Once the bottom is to your liking, start on the top of the lid.  Flip the lid upside down and start to glue confetti.  I used snowflake confetti and layered them to give the waterfall effect of falling.  Make sure to glue far enough away from the edges of the lid - it still needs to screw on the jar.  

Step 7:  Place the gift car on the lid with the confetti - it will hang down.  Use a small amount of hot glue to secure it to the lid.  This way, the person receiving the gift can simple take off the lid and remove the gift card and still use the Snow Globe.

Step 8:  Pour in some of the artificial snow.  You will not need a lot, just enough to cover the bottom of the jar.  It will act as "SNOW" on the ground around your scene.

Step 9:  Secure the lid onto the jar and enjoy your CONFETTI SNOW GLOBE.  Shake it around and watch the snow fall.

 

 

Who wouldn't enjoy getting a gift card like this!

Giveaway over @ The Shine Project

The Shine Project is hosting a giveaway for one of my Agate Stone Necklaces:

Head on over and enter for your chance to win my Agate Stone Cluster Necklace along with some other great prizes from some very talented women!

Purchase anything from evannesimplyfab store and receive FREE SHIPPING by using the code FABULOUS.  Deal lasts through December 31, 2011.  Don't miss out on your chance to get some great items!

DIY Placemat Pillow

Turn a Placemat...

...Into a Pillow!

Christmas is just around the corner!! Less than a week away people...I can't believe it.  If you are still needing a last minute gift idea or want to spruce up your house for holiday parties, here is a quick and easy tutorial on how to make a holiday pillow!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Placemat

Poly-fil

Seam Ripper

Sewing Machine

Step 1:  I found two cute placemats for $1 each at Dollar General. When getting placemats, make sure they have two pieces of fabric joined by a seam.  

Step 2:  Rip the seam starting at one corner of the placemat and continue to rip half way down the side.  This should be a big enough space to stuff.

Step 3:  Start stuffing the pillow with poly-fil until it is to your liking.

Step 4:  Leave some extra fabric where you ripped the seam for re-sewing.  Pin together the opening and sew.

Step 5: That's it!  Now you have a new holiday pillow.  Wasn't that easy!!

To make both pillows it cost me $6 - $2 for two placemats and $4 for the polyfil from Walmart.  You can't beat that!

Style Board Wish List

I have put together some style boards composed of outfits that I would love to fashion!  Some of the items I have (which are the cheaper versions of what is listed below), some are on my Christmas List, and some are on my future "wish" list.

First up is Comfy Cozy.  This is a great outfit to lounge by the fire on a cold snowy day.

3 1 Phillip Lim knit sweater, $385

Diane von Fürstenberg thick legging, $364

Ugg australia boots, $180

Fossil watch, $115

Christopher Fischer cashmere scarve, $275

Martha Cabled Wrist Warmers, £35

Cable knit beret, £12

Essie Nail Polish – Browns, $8

Next up is Casual Chic.  A great look for lunch with friends or a day out running errands.

CALYPSO ST BARTH long cable knit sweater, $225

Abercrombie Fitch vintage top, $40

Burberry Brit skinny leg jeans, $250

Paige Denim skinny leg jeans, £195

Blowfish bootie boots, $35

Lauren Ralph Lauren embossed handbag, $179

Fossil jewelry, $115

Mimco hardware jewelry, £35

Gurhan yellow gold earrings, £1,115

House of Harlow 1960 gold jewelry, $75

Chan luu jewelry, $195

Essie Lollipop Nail Polish, £9.95

Last but not least, Classy and Fabulous.  I would love to wear this for the holidays or on New Years Eve!  

Zadig Voltaire short sleeve tee, £90

Vince sequin skirt, $345

Jimmy Choo tall shoes, $1,695

Michael Kors leather clutch, $450

Kenneth Jay Lane white pearl necklace, £125

Dara Ettinger red jewelry, $80

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Parfum, $105

Holiday Fleece Ear Warmer

On Monday I had the pleasure of guest posting a holiday tutorial over at The Krutz Corner.  If you weren't able to make it over and check it out don't worry...here it is again for all to enjoy!

HOLIDAY FLEECE EAR WARMER

Materials Needed:

Fleece (1/8 yard)

Two colors of coordinating felt/fabric for the flower

Two Buttons (1 Large and 1 Medium)

Hot Glue Gun

Sewing Machine

Step 1:  Take your piece of fleece fabric and sketch out a headband design using a light colored piece of chalk as shown below:

 Step 2:  Cut out.  Here are the dimensions I used for the headband:

Step 3:  Fold over the edges with 1/2" seam allowance and pin.  Start with the body of the headband and sew first.  

Step 4:  Once the seam allowances for the body are sewn, pin and sew the end seam allowances.

Step 5:  Using the larger button, measure the length to determine how big the hole needs to be on one end of the ear warmer.

Step 6:  Use the same colored light chalk to mark the button hole placement in the center of one end and cut.

Step 7:  Line that up with the other end and mark the button placement.  Using a sewing machine and button footer, sew the button in place.

Step 8:  Make the holiday flower with two different colors of fabric. Take the first color (red) and cut out 4 3" circles.  Cut out 5 3" circles in the other color of fabric (green).  

1 extra just incase

Step 9:  Plug in hot glue gun...you will need it for the formation of the pedals.

Step 10:To make the pedals, take a circle and fold in half.

Step 11: Fold it in half again. Glue in place.

Step 12:  Take one corner and fold it back towards the other corner to form a small triangle.  Glue in place.

Step 13:  Flip it over and do the same with this side.  Glue in place.  You will be left with 1 small triangle.

Step 14:  Repeat steps 10-13 for 4 red circles and 4 green circles.

Step 15:  Take the extra circle (either color) that you created for your base and apply glue.

Step 16:  Lay each pedal down with the point in the center.

Step 17:  Once all pedals have been attached, glue your medium sized button to the center.

Step 18:  Attach the flower to the headband using the glue gun.  Place it to the left side of the headband.

Step 19:  Try it on and enjoy!

Excellent for the cold weather season ahead and a fun accessory to wear!