a holiday project: santa's cup runneth over

I had a difficult time coming up with a holiday gift, crafting project.  In recent years I've always had an idea well in advance... this year I was inspirationaless... and yes, I think I made that word up...

Finally, when a friend and I were at a local holiday sale in mid November, I saw a Santa mug with a vintage-y tree in it and thought that might just be what I do this year!  Of course I couldn't sacrifice any of my own collection, so I headed to etsy to look for a "lot" of miniature Santa mugs for a reasonable price.  The first set was a style I had never seen before, but before I got them ordered they were gone, which was probably for the best since I would have wanted to keep at least one myself and then I would have been short a Santa or let's be honest two...

Now for those of you who are recipients of some of my holiday project creations... you may want to stop right here... I'm just saying... unless you're like me and have a hard time waiting for the surprise that is!!

Fortunately for me and my giftees another set of 7 came up and this time I didn't delay ordering them.  The etsy seller shipped them quickly and I broke out my stash of bottle brush trees to start the project as soon as they came.

After reading about bleaching trees I thought I'd give that a whirl... after just two trees I decided to just go with the original green.  Bleaching trees in my bathtub wasn't turning out to be fun...   Some of my trees were already white/beige which was great and gave me an excuse to give up the bleaching process.  I DID however use silver glitter on all but two... one can never have enough glitter at any time of year.  Sadly, said glitter doesn't show in the pics very well.

Finally came the fun part!  All the bits, bobs, ribbon, and of course, little bitty ornaments!  As you can see some did not fill a Santa cup.  Depending on the recipient some, like this copper jelly/jello mold, have a different theme depending on who the recipient is.  I found this fun wired copper ribbon which was perfect for this trio of smaller trees.

This blue one isn't crooked but for the life of me I couldn't get a straight photo!  This one is meant for someone that has a lot of blue in her decor.  The bottle was a $.50 find at the local antique store and I knew it would be perfect with one of the white/beige trees.  I even filled the bottle with white "snow" before gluing the tree on top.

This one isn't quite done.  I found this little burlap basket and used the largest of my trees which was nice since this tree could then hold larger ornaments.  The finish will be selecting one or both of these ribbons to glue around the little bag to finish off the burlap.

But the best part of this one is the little bit on the top... I peeled this little bit off of a vintage gift tag!  I found a box of them at a local estate sale and although the tags are just gold cardboard these little add ons are fantastic!!  It was hard to part with this one since it didn't have a duplicate like some of the others but it really fit this tree.

These three are still waiting for their finishing touches.  It may be a few days since I need to find some very tiny things, even sequins would work,  to glue on them as these trees are quite a bit smaller... and since I managed to burn myself, and I do mean burn myself as in skin is no longer there, I may be a bit afraid of said glue gun when mixed with tiny items for a while.  But at least you can see the glitter on these three!

Two of the three finished Santa mugs... the third is similar.  These little angels on top came out of my vintage stash of randomness.  Perfect toppers in every way, who doesn't like a traditional angel on top of their tree!

But one of the mugs that just may not make the cut in gift giving is my favorite... I DO have a soft spot for red spotted, spun cotton, mushrooms!  And sugar bells... it doesn't get any better!

Although this little gem is also on my "keeping list"... a cute little bottle I've had forever, filled with silver glitter, tied with a ribbon and adorned with a vintage cameo.  This one may never leave my craft room!

So one severely burned thumb, 4 finished Santa mugs, 2 bottles, a copper jello mold and burlap basket later and I've got most of my handmade gifts done!  How about you?  Finishing up or just starting?

And be sure to check back tomorrow for the next holiday project... it should make you smile!

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Elizabeth & Co

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