For Christmas in July, I thought I’d share how I made my wine bottle Christmas tree. It’s a quick craft (well, it takes me less time now that I have done a few) and is a great way to have a tree out during this time of the year without having to dig one out from the attic or wherever you store your holiday decorations.
Supplies:
- Green Wine bottle
- 651 Vinyl: White for tree and various colors for ornaments, and gold for star
- Wine bottle lights (multi-color)
The first step is finding the perfect wine bottle. I have been known to choose a wine based on the color and shape of the bottle. Sometimes it’s been good tasting wine, other times not so much because of course one of the steps is emptying the bottle and I do that by drinking it. This shape is perfect for the project as it’s the right size for the Christmas tree decal, a lovely shade of green for a tree, and it’s wide enough for the lights to settle into bottle.
The next step is finding a Christmas tree design. I use an SVG that is available on Design Space. The design I picked is easy to weed, place on the bottle, and has enough space between the branches to add some ornaments (which are also on Design Space).
Now that I have all the pieces cut, I use transfer tape to get the tree from the backing sheet onto the bottle. For the star and ornaments, I just peel those off the backing sheet and place them on the bottle without using transfer tape. This works because of how small the pieces are. The decal size for the tree is 4 inches wide by 6 inches long, and the ornaments were 1 inch long (based on the tallest one as the design is with three), and the star was 1 1/2 inches long.
For those not familar with using vinyl, weeding is when the area of the vinyl that isn’t needed for the design is pulled away from the backing sheet. After that, transfer tape is placed on the design, and you rub the transfer tape down so the vinyl sticks to the tape. Most of the time, crafters will use a vinyl scraper tool to rub over the design and make it stick to the tape.
Now that decal is on the trasfer tape, I place the top of the tree onto the bottle and keep the remainder off the decal off the bottle by curling the tape up. I smooth/press the decal onto the bottle and work my way down, pressing and peeling the decal from the tape one set of branches at a time. One time I tried going from the bottom to the top to place the decal and found it didn’t work as well for me and the vinyl crinkled a bit when I was applying it. It’s also helpful with curved designs to make cuts on the tape (without cutting the design) so the tape can “bend/curve” more easily over a round surface. Once your tree is on the bottle, decorate it however you like or just leave it unadorned.
Last step is placing the wine bottle lights into the tree. You can use a solid color but I prefer multi-colored lights. The hardest part of the lights can be unwrapping them as they are usually wrapped pretty tight in the box they come in. When I’m putting the lights into the bottle, sometimes I’ll bunch some of the wire together so the lights are closer together. I also use the wooden handle of a skewer to arrange the lights in the bottle if I don’t like how they’ve “settled”. Just be careful not to poke the wire with anything sharp. Then I place the top on the bottle and turn on the switch. A lighted Christmas tree!
Week 1-2: A matching scarf and messy bun hat for my younger daughter. The messy bun hat I used a pattern, and the scarf I made using the double crochet stitch.
Week 3: A messy bun hat for my oldest. She saw a picture I posted of her sister’s hat on Facebook and wanted one. I used the same pattern as the one for her sister but this time I used the front and back post stitch for the brim.
Week 4-6: I’ve been crocheting a little over a year and I hadn’t made myself anything yet. I crocheted blankets, mermaid tail blanket, scarfs, a cozy for a Beta fish tank, but nothing for me. I wanted to use a Caron Cake and on the sleeve of one of the Cakes was a pattern for this scarf. The completed scarf is 70 inches long so I broke it down into steps as I wouldn’t be able to complete it in one week. I love the fringe!
Week 7: When I was crocheting my scarf, my favorite little guy saw it and asked if I’d make him a blue and green one. Of course! I used a scarf knitting loom, and stepped way out of my comfort zone by creating my pattern. I love how it turned out.
Week 8: Deco Wreath. I’ve always wanted to make a Deco Mesh wreath and as this 2017 is my year of crafting I decided to give it a try. It also helped that the day I was at AC Moore the supplies for the wreaths were 50% 0ff. I like how the spring wreath turned out and I have supplies to make a Frozen inspired wreath.
Week 9: I’m donating a basket filled with goodies for a prize at the crop I’m attending and I sewed a Cricut dust cover to add to it. I went with a Mardi Gras theme as it matches the cover of my book Masked to Death as it’s also included in the basket. I’ve sewed some Cricut/Cameo dust covers before but this was the first time I sewed on an embellishment–sequined ribbon.
Week 10: This week was a very crafty week for me. I attended a three-day scrapbook retreat so I completed some layouts, and the night before the crop I took a painting class with my oldest. We had a wonderful time and I’m hoping we can make time to go to another one. I dubbed my masterpiece Tinkerbell in Paris.
Since my mystery series is set in the world of tole/decorative painting, I periodically get questions on what that is and how to get started. I’m not an expert, but I have been taking classes, attending conventions and working on projects for over two decades. Along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two.
Jax and I have some things in common—we are both glass beadmakers and are women of a certain age. But in most other ways we are different—for instance, Jax is fictional and I am not. Jax’s beads are made with bright colors and happy patterns. My beads, on the other hand, are fairly somber in color and look like they are old—like relics from an archeological dig or flotsam that has washed ashore. Jax is a relative newbie to the world of beads. Me? I’ve been creating lampworked beads for nearly 25 years.
A lot of the beads I make look like small masks or stylized faces. I have several books about African masks that I like to look at for inspiration as well as a collection of masks from around the world. The faces I create are both human and animal forms. Typically, the eyes on the masks are closed. The closed eyes give these beads a peaceful feeling, and these days we can all use a little peace and tranquility in our lives.
The Self-Rescue Princess 