Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Christmas Craft: A Tiny Winter Wonderland

Meet Me in Philadelphia meetmeinphiladelphia.blogspot.com
It's that time again, friends--it's Christmas craft time here on Meet Me in Philadelphia!

I love spending the month making projects inspired by the season and sharing them all December long. Today, I'm sharing my first craft: a tiny winter wonderland.

This project started taking shape when I found a papier mache house for $1 while thrifting. Though its dower colors didn't scream "Wonderful Christmastime," its scale worked with bottlebrush trees I had for years, but the trees and little house needed to be brightened up.

(FYI: I found affordable papier mache houses found here and bottlebrush trees here if you're interested in recreating this craft.)
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But what would I do with the house and bottlebrush trees? Display them on a table? No, they'd go in a large-scale glass jar I found secondhand to create a winter wonderland under glass!

I started by bleaching the bottlebrush trees. I filled a small plastic tub with hot water and a few caps full of bleach and let the trees soak for a few hours. Slowly the green color and faux snow melted away and I was left with cream-colored trees.
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I took craft paint I had (Martha Stewart's paint in gray wolf and mother of pearl) to lighten up my papier mache house. The roofline also got a sprinkling of glitter for extra winter sparkle.

While the paint on the house and the bleached trees dried, I had a revelation. Epsom salt! Yes, epsom salt. I had a carton of it in our bathroom and it would make perfect look-alike for snow. Also, the salt was rigid enough to hold the house and trees in place inside the glass jar.
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Inside the jar went the painted house and bleached trees! The large glass jar was the perfect spot to capture the winter wonderland feel on a miniature scale. I just love it paired with the limed desk and gold leafed mirror in our living room.
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Completed, this tiny winter wonderland has me smiling and (strangely enough) looking forward to the first snow of the season. What do you think?

18 comments:

  1. It's adorable Ashley and love that it's all happy together in the jar. Surprisingly enough, I was doing a little crafting over the weekend myself. Maybe I'll actually get a post up about it. I also like those tiny little pine cones - so cute. I splurged a little bit and got the miniature nativity set that Pottery Barn was selling this season. I had a gift card and a coupon so I made light of the purchase.

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    1. The pinecones are actually foraged from our backyard! I'm excited to see your craft post!!

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  2. Really, really adorable! Love the neutral version much better!

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  3. These are darling!!! Looks so lovely on your limed desk.

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  4. Love what you did with these old items. Very resourceful and creative!!!

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  5. How did you know that bleach would work on those trees...genius.

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    1. A little birdie named 'Pinterest' told me to try bleach! Worked like a charm!

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  6. I love this. I just got some little houses at Hobby Lobby for the girls to decorate. I'd like to think ours will turn out as beautiful as yours...but I have a feeling they will be a bit crazier. :) And that jar is fab btw.

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    1. Adding little girls to the mix would make it crazier--but definitely more fun! The jar was a secondhand find! I think it was, like, $25...not bad, huh?

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  7. I absolutely love that idea!! Dont hate me I might have to do one for myself!! LOVE it!

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  8. What a cute idea. You styled it so pretty! If I have enough time- I would love to make one of these too.

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    1. Thanks so much, Tracy!! I loved playing around with the styling here--not my strong suit but always fun to practice for pretty pics.

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  9. Ashley, love it!! It is so charming and I am so impressed you bleached the trees!!
    xo Sissy

    PS you asked about the color I used in Bill's den and it is Gentleman's Gray, just like your room!! I had Benjamin Moore match some grass cloth wallpaper and that is the color they came up with. I am going to included your room when I post the whole room!!

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    1. So glad you like the project, Sissy! Thank you for your kind words. And isn't Gentleman's Gray fantastic? I'm happy to know I'm not the only one who loves it.

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  10. Ashley, this is so adorable!! I love the simplicity and beauty of it. I love it so much that I wouldn't mind retreating in your little jar and living in your papier mache house! :)

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  11. Gorgeous, Ashley! I don't have a lot of time to tackle projects, but this one is so worth it. And easy, too. I really love it! xo

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I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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