Christmas Nativity Scene Yard Art

 

Christmas Nativity Scene Yard Art

 

For today's blog post, I asked my daughter if she would share how she made the Christmas Nativity Scene that she made for me.

My mom wanted a nativity scene for her yard and had mentioned it to me a couple of times. Her birthday was coming up and I approached my brothers and step-dad about getting the materials to make this for her as a gift from all of us. They all were happy to be a part of the project and purchased the items needed so I could do the work. The project was fairly easy to make since I only needed the outline of the figures and it is painted all white. My mom said it is probably the best gift we have given her. 

This project was done with one sheet of ¾ inch exterior grade plywood, a jigsaw with scrolling blades, sandpaper to sand off any splinters, Elmer's wood filler for any holes in the edges, white exterior house paint, ½ inch metal conduit with brackets, yard stick, pencil, carbon paper, large sheets of paper for drawing the pattern, nails and 100 count white lights.

I found a simple clip art picture of a nativity scene and drew the outline of the figures on large sheets of paper. I used a yard stick and pencil to draw the stable with the star directly onto the plywood and then cut it out with the jigsaw and painted both sides and the edges with three coats of white paint. I then painted one side of the remaining pieces of plywood with white paint and then used carbon paper and a pencil to transfer the outlined figures of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and the donkey onto the painted plywood. I then cut those pieces out and painted the back and edges.

After the paint dried I attached metal brackets to the back, 2 each spaced evenly and cut the metal conduit to the height I needed allowing an extra 6 inches to hammer into the ground. I then attached a strand of 100 white Christmas lights with white cord by placing nails in the points of the star and wrapping the lights. 

Recycle a Tomato Cage into a Mesh Christmas Tree

 

Since Christmas is a month away, here is how I recycled a tomato cage from the garden into a mesh Christmas tree. This is what I used to make a tomato cage Christmas tree.

1- Tomato Cage ( I used the taller cage.)

1- Green and Black Spray Paint for the cage and planter

1-100 Clear Christmas LED Cool Lights with green cord

 

1- Green Craft Wire cut into small twist tie lengths with Wire Cutters

1- 21"x10yd roll Metallic Emerald Green Deco Mesh

1- Large Plant Container

1- E6000 glue  

 

First, I cleaned and straightened a tomato cage, then I spray painted it green. Turning the cage upside down, I bent the tines at the top in and down to create a pointed tree top making the sharp edges blunt leaving a hole in the top. You’ll need this later to attach the mesh to the top.

 

Next, I used 100 LED cool clear lights for lighting up the tree under the mesh. Beginning at the bottom I attached the string of lights with wire, leaving enough of the cord free to plug into an extension cord.  I attached the string of lights with wire as I circled the stand to the top. The end or the plug can be used to attach a star that should fit in the top after the mesh is attached.

 

Next, I unrolled the mesh and curled in the sides of mesh bringing them toward each other to create a bubble or puff.  With the wire, I attached the gathered end of the mesh to the top of the stand tucking it in at the top and began circling and filling in around the stand the same way that I attached the lights puffing out the sections between attaching the wire.  After attaching mesh, I worked around the tree puffing and pulling the mesh to conceal any wire and lights.
 

Finally, I spray painted a large plant container black and put enough weight in it to keep it from tipping with the weight of the tree.  I used a few bricks.  I attached the bottom of the tree to the top of the planter. I used E6000 glue to attach the wire to the planter.

The mesh Christmas tree is ready to decorate or just leave it like it is! I left mine without decorations and only the lights for my front porch. 

For my next tree, I want to make a white mesh tree with multi-colored lights on white cord.

Below is a great link for more directions and where I bought the mesh.

http://blog.mardigrasoutlet.com/2011/11/deco-mesh-christmas-tree-made-with.html 

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed day!

How to Make a Burlap Cross from a Burlap Bag

 

This was a project I did with my granddaughter.

 

 

To make our Burlap Bag Crosses we used the following materials.

 

1. Burlap Bags

2.  Scissors

3. Paint

4. E6000 Glue or Hot Glue

5.  Cardboard

6. Plastic grocery bags

7.  Wire to hang

8. Ribbons to decorate

9. Iron to smooth burlap to paint

 

 

 

I found burlap bags at Tractor Supply for $1.97 each.

I cut each bag to make a cross. I left the seam in the top middle and on both sides of the cross and basically cut two squares at the top corners and two rectangles at the bottom corners where the bag opens.

 

 

 I ironed the cross to make it easier to paint and inserted a piece of cardboard to keep the paint from seeping through to the back side. We painted words like Faith, Hope, Love, Grace, or an initial in the center and painted dots or circles. My granddaughter also used cookie cutters to trace around to make Christmas shapes. We used exterior paint since the crosses may have to hang outside on the front door.  

 

 

 

 

After the paint dried we removed the cardboard and used E600 glue  or hot glue to glue the sides of the cross leaving the bottom open to stuff.

 

 

We used plastic grocery bags to stuff our crosses. Once they were stuffed, we glued the bottoms closed. 

 

 

We added a wire hook to hang it and glued ribbons to the top front corner. And it is a burlap cross door hanger!

 

 



Five Ballerinas Yard Art Display

Five Ballerinas Yard Art Display

  

This is a guest post by Tina Lang.  

This was such a fun project.

It was done for Mississippi Dance Company in Crystal Springs, MS http://www.mississippidancecompany.com/index.html to be placed among the many scenes in the Crystal Springs, MS Chautaugua Christmas Display http://crystalspringsmiss.com/.

I used the following materials.

2 sheets of ½ inch exterior grade plywood with one good side

Kiltz2 primer

Brown exterior paint

Elmer's wood filler

Sandpaper

Jigsaw with wood blades

Large sheets of paper for drawing the pattern

Apple Barrel craft paints

Various paint brushes

Carbon paper to transfer the pattern to the wood

Pencil

Fine point permanent black sharpie

Krylon Crystal Clear interior/exterior spray paint

½ inch metal electrical conduit cut at 4ft with brackets and screws.

I was given a clipart picture of five precious little ballerinas and asked if I could make them into yard art figures. The needed materials were purchased and I began by painting the good side of the plywood with Kiltz2 primer and then the back side with a brown exterior paint.

 

While the paint was drying I laid out my large sheets of white paper and drew each figure at 4ft tall. I then took the patterns along with a sheet of carbon paper and pencil and transferred the pattern to the primed side of the plywood.

 

The next step was to cut out the designs with a jigsaw. After cutting, I sanded the edges to remove any splinters, filled any holes with wood filler then used a black sharpie to trace over the remaining pencil lines.

Painting with the craft paints was the best part. I used specific colors but lightened or darkened them by mixing together so each ballerina would be a little different. After the paint dried I traced back over the lines previous drawn with the sharpie to outline the drawing.

The final step was to spray the Krylon Crystal Clear paint over the craft paints as a sealer so they can be displayed outside. Then I installed two brackets on the back about 2ft apart for the pipe to slide through which will be hammered 6-8 inches into the ground to display the figures.

Thank you! Leave a comment and subscribe. Hope you enjoyed this project!

 

Restoring a Metal Lawn Chair

Restoring a Metal Chair

 

I found a rusty old metal chair and wanted to restore it. This is my story.

 

First I cleaned it with some bleach water. I used a wire brush and dry cloth to wipe it down. I replaced a few bolts and nuts that needed to be replaced but was careful to retain what was left of the integrity of the chair.

Next I used Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer that I found at Walmart for $4.97. I coated the entire chair with two coats. It's a flat black color.

 

I let that dry a few days and then spray painted it with two more coats of Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Spray, American Red.

 

Once the paint had cured or really after several weeks, I applied Turtle Wax Paste Wax. I found a small can with applicator at Walmart. Now we will just have to give the old chair the test of time. 

 

Here is the before picture.

 

 

What do you think?