Chrismas Spiders Available for Sale Again!

Yay, my handmade Christmas spiders have sold online!  Whew.  But what I didn't realize was that when one spider sells from a listing with the option to choose from five different spiders, the entire listing disappears - not just the sold spider.  There is still so much to learn about Etsy!  If you clicked over to my Etsy shop to buy one, only to see the "sorry, this listing is sold," my apologies!

I've got three fresh sets of spider listings up - including some you didn't see last time.

Click here for blues, greens, and purples
Click here for pinks and reds
Click here for gold and jewel hues

Unfortunately, I discovered that Canadian shipping - even a packet - is astronomical.  I shipped a spider for $13 when I had only charged $5 for shipping (oops), so I'm not sure any Canadian friends will be buying any more.  (But they ship free with another purchase - even another spider!).  Happily, shipping in the U.S. is what I expected it to be (a bargain, comparatively!) and with handy dandy priority ship (1-3 business days), there's still plenty of time to get one before Christmas!  Take a peek at my new listings if you missed out the first time around, and be sure to let me know if you're on the hunt for a certain colour combo and I can let you know what else I have.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased something from my Etsy shop - especially my handmade Christmas spiders!  Next year I know I need to get them listed earlier - and list MORE.  But I'm feeling encouraged, so I'll be adding more handmade goodies to the shop in the new year...fun, fun!

P.S. If you're new and wondering what the heck a Christmas spider is, check out this post for the sweet story about why every tree needs a spider (and there's a DIY tutorial there too, if you're so inclined). 

Shop Update and Spider News

The Etsy shop I run with my Mom and Grandma has been chugging along, and I'm so thrilled that we made some great sales in our first month of being open again:

Some of my favorites were out the door first!  Every time I packaged something up I thought, "maybe I should have kept this?"  Our spendy new furnace has made it much easier to part with treasures, though...

In addition to the shop, I've held two Instagram sales.  For the first sale, a vintage hodge podge with enteraining goodies, I listed about 25 things and sold 10.  For the second sale, I listed just over 30 items (mostly Pyrex, some Fire King and Hazel Atlas) and sold nearly everything.  The women at the post office fought over who had to help me with my truckload of packages (1-2-3 not it!).  I've been so surprised by the underground economy of vintage selling/trading on Instagram - it's like the Wild Wild West over there.  It's nice, though, because you get to know sellers personally.  I've even bought/traded some vintage Pyrex that way.  But I do love Etsy.  I like being able to list lots of photos and pen supremely lengthy descriptions.  You might have guessed that I'm a bit chatty!  Plus, I downloaded the Etsy app onto my phone and I hear a little "Cha-CHING" when I sell something.

I recently added some new listings to the shop and thought I'd give you a peek.  I like to make jobs more difficult than they need to be, so I've continued to try to list items in colour groupings.  It looks so good that way that I can't stop.  Behold my reds and greens:

Those green anchor hocking tumblers gleam like emerald!  I love those, but I think the mint condition red polka dot Fire King grease jar is my favorite.  The vintage medical jars are really neat and I'd love to see them in a vintage-inspired bathroom.  The red and white coffee set has the word "coffee" written in a bunch of different language, from Finnish to Spanish, French and German.  And no winter is complete without a fondue pot ;) - I saved the most incredible fondue recipe as a sweet surprise for the purchaser.

I also added some vintage jewellery, including some rhinestone stunners, a sweet pair of 14k gold half moon studs, and a really striking pair of enamel earrings in mint, gold, and black.  Perfect for holiday parties.

Finally, some exciting news (get ready to pat me on the head!): I've added three listings, each with bunches of my handmade Christmas spiders.  See them here, here, and here. 

UPDATE: This listings above sold, but I've got three new listings, with five choices in each:
Click here for blues, greens, and purples
Click here for pinks and reds
Click here for gold and jewel hues

I've been meaning to list them on Etsy for years (I want to say 2011...), but I always sell out locally.  This year I started making them very early and set aside some for the shop.  I can't custom make them for Etsy buyers at this time, but for YOU folks I will happily make one in a certain colour(s), or snag one from my local inventory.  If you want one and don't see one that's perfect, just let me know (in the comments here, through Etsy convos, or feel free to email dans.le.townhouse@gmail.com) and I can send photos of more options. I can also use your zip or postal code to see if the shipping to you would be less expensive than the estimate - I offer this to anyone, for any listing.

Even if I don't sell a single one on Etsy (weep), I'm feeling really good because I've finally fulfilled a four year old goal.  I've been working on getting stuff done (as you might have gleaned).  No excuses, no more delays, and no distractions. 

Truthfully, it was a pleasure making extra spiders this year.  It was so relaxing to hunker down on cold days and just create - and not feel guilty about doing it (like I should be cleaning or doing laundry).  I also love a good excuse to binge watch Gilmore Girls (for the millionth time, but it's on Netflix now and who can resist?).  The process is kind of adorable.  I make the bodies first, so I have a big batch of these weird looking guys:



Then I bead the legs and they still look like little octopi until the legs gets formed and shaped into spider legs.

Hubby actually shapes most of them for me - he is eerily skilled at forming the legs.  Mine always look a little frightened and/or squashed, but his look so elegant.

I can't help myself, the photo below is just perfect for this: "get 'em before they're gone..."  

That's my shop update!! Take a peek at our Minden Shop here if you're curious.  Thanks so much for your encouragement and support.  I know some of you have even bought things, recently and over the years, and that's just so kind of you.  Thank you!  I never expect a purchase from readers, but it's really touching when I'm able to send a vintage treasure to someone I know here. 

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How to Build a Scandinavian-Inspired DIY Plywood Christmas Tree

Looking for an alternative to the traditional, evergreen Christmas tree?  Here's a tutorial for making a simple, Scandinavian-inspired plywood tree, which can be displayed in even the smallest spaces!  Or, make a mini version for a credenza or entryway and display some treasured ornaments!

Before I get into the nitty gritty, I should confess that there are some things I wish I could change about this DIY holiday project.  In my mind, I originally envisioned a more simplified tree (like a cookie-cutter shape - really simple), but on a whim I decided for a little more realism.  The top was looking good and I got cocky.  Then it started to get windy (I was working outside) and this giant sheet of plywood acted like a sail.  I was flailing.  I started to rush and then the tree got a bit thick in the middle and then I tried to thin it out but made it look a little wibbly-wobbly.

I still think the idea is cute but, if I'm being honest, I don't love my wonky tree.  So if you're going to make one, I suggest a simpler shape. 

It was simple enough to make: I grabbed a full sheet of plywood (any size will do), lightly sanded it smooth to the touch and then sketched out approximately where the tree silhouette would be so I could decide where I'd like the pegs.  The pegs are just a length of wood dowel that we chopped into 3" lengths.  We lightly sanded the rough edges smooth and affixed them each with wood glue before doing any staining or painting.

Once the glue dried, I stained the plywood white and then painted the tree in black acrylic paint - painting the wood dowels too, so they blend in.  With everything dry, I just propped it against the fireplace.  One tip: don't choose really thin plywood if you're going to make a larger version because the plywood can warp.

When I was a kid, I think my advent calendar filled with chocolates might have been my favorite part of Christmas, so I started to think that with more pegs and numbered cloth sacks filled with goodies, this could be a sweet advent calendar too.  

On the subject of faux tress, I've gotten a few questions about the sparkly trees in the background of some of my photos.  They are flocked trees (4 foot and 6 foot heights) from Canadian Tire and they come pre-wired with lights.  They come apart for easy storage and transport, which is convenient.

I think that they looked best unadorned, but I did try hanging some ornaments on them too and they work nicely to display just a few special ones. 

Click the link to see more DIY Christmas decorating ideas, in collaboration with Canadian Tire.

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DIY LED "Celebrate" Plywood Sign

I'm so excited that I can finally begin sharing the DIY holiday projects I worked on with Canadian Tire!  Even though I haven't celebrated Christmas in many years, getting free rein to create some creative DIY holiday ideas was an opportunity I couldn't turn down.  Over the years, some folks who also don't celebrate Christmas have thanked me, not only for sharing my thoughts, but also for not filling their inboxes with Christmas-themed blog posts.  So I thought long and hard about this opportunity but ultimately I said yes because the Canadian Tire team didn't necessarily want full-on "Christmas" from contributors; they wanted fresh ideas and encouraged creative, personal (even a little off-beat) projects.  I think that my Christmas-celebrating readers will enjoy (finally) seeing a few holiday-themed posts from me, but for those who don't celebrate Christmas, you'll be relieved that a lot of my projects are really just wintry and party-friendly (and, most importantly, still 100% me).  I've always loved the glittery parts of the holidays (evidenced by the fact that I've made and sold Christmas ornaments for many years so this was an incredibly fun and nostalgic experience for me. 

Check out the fabulous group of Canadian bloggers involved: Jillian Harris (Jillian Harris Design), Sarah Gunn (Yummy Mummy Club), Kerri Roche (A Pop of Pretty), and Jo-Anna Rooney (A Pretty Life in the Suburbs).

Let's get to my first project DIY holiday project: an LED plywood sign that spells out the word "celebrate":



I'd spotted light up signs floating around the web, and really wanted to try one for myself.  I love how it turned out and I especially like that it's versatile and could be used for any festivity.  I could have used the words "Be Cool" (my second choice) and just kept it up for winter parties (or in my office as a helpful reminder).  See how un-Christmassy my Christmas projects are?  I promise I'm the same old me (just with a ton of glitter stuck in the seams of my hardwood floors).

LED Sign Supplies:

• One package of LED flexible mesh tube lights (if you don't have a Canadian Tire store, these ones I find online could work)
• 3/4" Plywood
• Finishing nails
• Hammer
• Drill
• 3/8" spade drill bit and 1/2" spade drill bit
• Staples and staple gun
• Printer, paper, scissors
• Grey stain (optional)
• Sandpaper (optional)

How to Make an LED Sign:

I used a piece of plywood left over from another project that was already the perfect size - you can cut this sign to any size.  I lightly sanded the surface smooth and applied a coat of grey stain.  I used the grey leftover from the credenza hack, and I like that it hides the finishing nails and staples a bit.  Alternatively, you could wait until the nails that will hold the tubing are in place and then prime/spray paint everything to make the nails nearly invisible. 

While the stain dried, I printed "Celebrate" in a large, loopy font (one letter per page), cut it out, and arranged the text on the plywood.  A cursive font makes this project much easier.  When I was happy with the placement (and checked that the word was level and didn't slope down to one side like my writing does), I taped it in place.

Keeping the paper in place, I hammered in some nails along the edges of the letters and started roughly placing the LED tube lighting.  It's so soft and so bendable that this was an easy task.  When there were enough nails to hold everything, I ripped up the paper - and a bunch of little pieces were left.  Oops.  I then removed the nails, removed the paper and quickly found the holes for the nails again.  I thought my method was a much more genius idea than tracing (no evidence left behind!) but I clearly didn't think it through all the way.  It took a few extra minutes this way, but still worked.

To thread the tubing to the back, and also to make the "t," we drilled small holes using the spade bits:

It was actually Hubby's idea to make a border, because we had so much left over tubing.  We shaped a wiggly, ric-rac inspired border (loose, relaxed shapes are much easier to create) that we held in place with staples.  The lights are battery operated and all of the extra tubing and the small battery pack were affixed to the back (but slightly to the side so it's easy to reach it to turn on/off the lights).    

It's really hard to photograph the sign lit up, but it looks so good at night!  Even during the day, it's easy to make out the lettering because I chose teal tubing which has a high enough contrast against the light grey.  You can mix up and personalize this project so easily and if you get bored of it, it's easy to remove and re-purpose the lights, and turn the plywood into something else.  I think I get bonus points for a holiday DIY that can quickly disassemble and morph into something else...

Thanks for letting me share!  This post was sponsored by Canadian Tire.  

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