Fiskars Craft

New Year’s Eve: Kid Style

• Designer: Mindy Miller

• Difficulty Rating: Beginner

One of my favorite childhood memories is staying up late to ring in the new year.

It seemed so grown up and exciting!

This year you can help the new generation make those memories even more special by hosting a family friendly party. With simple and colorful decorations, dressed-up games, and fun accessories, you can’t go wrong.
 
First, set the stage with bright colors and a little sparkle. Tulle pom poms are easy to make and cost-effective. They can be either hanging or table-top decorations.

To make the pom poms, start with two yards of tulle (add more tulle for larger or fuller pom poms). Using Fiskars scissors, cut down the fold of the fabric. After doing so, there will be two pieces of tulle the same size – one on top of the other.

With the layers of fabric together, fold the fabric back and forth – accordion style. For larger pom poms, made the folds wider.

Once folded, keeps the folds on the top and bottom edges. Gather the fabric (open edges) from each side and tie tightly in the center.

Cut the folded edges apart with Fiskars scissors. Then pull all the layers apart to create a full pom pom. Add self-adhesive jewels to the tulle for a bit of sparkle.

A party wouldn’t be a party without costumes, right? Buy glittery top hats at a party supply store and add handcrafted accents.

Cut a 12 inch long strip of paper (width can vary) with the Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Trimmer (12"). Using the paper trimmer or Fiskars scissors, make even vertical cuts the length of the paper (do not cut the strip all the way through; leave approximately a quarter of an inch uncut along the top of the paper). Roll the paper up from one side to the other. Open the cut ends and then tuck the paper roll behind the ribbon band added to the party hat.

Keep the party going with a dressed-up game. Try Bingo with punched shape markers. Simply punch stars and moons from pre-glittered paper using the Starry Night Lever Punch and Medium Twinkle Twinkle Squeeze Punch.

And before you ring in the new year, don’t forget to commemorate the past year in a time capsule. Buy a clear jar and add a band of patterned paper inside the jar. Embellish the paper with Diamond Edge Border Punch and back it another band of contrasting paper before placing it inside. Then let the party goers each add pictures, notes, and other items that represent the year.

Tools used:

Razor-edge Softgrip® Scissors (8")

• Quickview

Micro-Tip® Scissors (No. 5)

• Quickview

Diamond Edge Border Punch

• Quickview

SureCut™ Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (12")

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This is just another one of the fabulous projects that can be found over at Fiskars.com

New Year's Eve planning

Well I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas.....I sure have.....I'm now working most days at The Blue Lotus Watergarden so have only had a little time to surf the net tonight...and found this fabulous article over at http://www2.fiskars.com/Crafting/Projects/Holiday/New-Years/New-Years-Eve-Party#.UNwv3e935Hk by Lead Fiskateer Tania Willis.....and thought I'd share with you all here......it's such a fun idea if you are planning something fun for New Year's Eve. I'm not sure what we are doing yet. Do you have any plans?

 

xoxo

Lyn

Here's what Tania had to say..............

Ringing in the New Year for my family is generally a small, casual affair and doesn’t usually get a whole lot of attention when it comes to party décor. Although, this year, our celebration will have a little more fancy added to it thanks to some inspiration during my last shopping trip.

Last time I was out at the Dollar Tree I spotted these cute little individual serving-sized bottled of Sparkling Red Grape Juice that resembled a fancy wine bottle and thought it would be perfect to dress them up a bit to make our celebration at home feel a little more special for my kids.

I’ve put together some other quick and easy ideas for your holiday celebrating! These ideas work for a New Year’s Eve celebration, but they are also suitable for any celebration whether it be a birthday, anniversary or wedding. Of course, each of these ideas uses some of my favorite Fiskars tools in very simple ways – simple because I want you to spend all your time celebrating this holiday, not slaving over your decorations.

It’s quite traditional to wish everyone to be healthy, wealthy and wise in the coming year and I wanted to put my own spin on wishing my family well by gifting them with words of motivation and affirmation inside of a paper fortune cookie party favor.

They are quite simple to make and only need a few supplies.

First decide upon your ‘fortunes’ and print them in your word processing program. You’ll want your phrases to stretch no longer than 4.5” long and no more than a few typed lines tall. You can google ‘fortune cookie sayings’ if you need help with wording your fortune.

Then, you’ll gather patterned papers and cut a 4.5” circle for each fortune using the Ultra ShapeXpress along with the smallest circle from the Super-Sized Circle Set.

Gently fold circle in half, creasing ONLY 1” in the middle. Open circle and add a glue dot approximately ¼” away from the crease on both sides of the crease. Then pinch the circle in half in the opposite direction of the crease, but DO NOT crease.

Instead, grab the opposing points with your thumb and middle finger, while pushing inward on the crease with your pointer finger. Once the crease starts caving move your pointer finger and tuck the thumb and pointer finger in between the paper to pinch the glue dots together. Slide fortune into cookie. Once you get the hang of this process you can tuck the fortune in the cookie before collapsing the paper to form the cookie shape.

There are many other small ways in which you can put a little fun and sparkle into the occasion. For this next idea, I’ve just customized a standard bag of plain white confetti by adding small pops of color and sparkle to the mix. This is done with just a little hand exercise squeezing the ¼” hand-held circle punch! The punch collects all the little confetti dots as you punch controlling the mess as you go. You’ll be surprise at what a small amount you’ll need to punch to breathe life into the plain white confetti. (Pssst…if you can’t find plain confetti at your discount store, then raid the 2-hole and 3-hole punches at the office. They work beautifully!)

Then, to ‘ring in the new year’, I added jingle bells as a functional embellishment just tied around the top of the tube.

To decorate the ‘fancy’ kid-friendly wine bottles, I simply covered the labels by layering patterned paper, with cardstock and sparkle paper, then finished it off with some ribbons. To add a little more dimension and visual interest, I ran the turquoise cardstock through the paper crimper first. The only thing you’ll have to remember when doing this is to use a stronger adhesive when adhering the crimped paper.

A party wouldn’t be a party without and invitation, now would it!? These invitations were made super simple by using the Ultra ShapeXpress along with the Uppercase Letter ShapeTemplate Set. Cutting the letters with a template ensures that each one is exactly the same and saves tons of time if you are duplicating the design over and over.

Lastly, since it’s a party celebrating the arrival of a new year, you’ll want to play off the ‘2012’ in your décor as much as possible. A ’12 sticker placed on cardstock, then punched using a squeeze punch makes the perfect little embellishment to hang from the neck of a wine bottle, the stem of your wine glass or even as a topper on your tube of confetti.

However it is that you decide to celebrate the New Year, just know that the Fiskars family wishes you a very safe, happy and memorable New Year.

Tools used:

Letter 1 Shape Template (8 1/2" x 11")

• Quickview

Ultra ShapeXpress™ Shape Cutter

• Quickview

1/4" Circle Hand Punch

• Quickview

Round ’n Round Squeeze Punch (Medium)

• Quickview

SureCut™ Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (12")

 

A Year of Memories: New Year’s Eve Picture Tree

Designer: Mindy Miller

Difficulty rating: Beginner

As you get ready for the new year, relive the best moments of the last twelve months with a memory tree. This easy-to-make project will not only serve as decoration, but also as a great conversation starter.

Get started by gathering your favorite photos from the past year. Look for photos that will work well with the scale of the Fiskars XX-Large Tag Lever Punch. Then select colorful ribbons, solid cardstock and sparkly paper.

Spray paint a branch and let the paint dry. Once dry, insert the end in a piece of foam and place it in the bottom of a vase or other container. Weight the foam base down with pebbles. For greater stability, add plaster or floral foam inside the container around the foam base and branch. Then add a decorative accent, such as piece of fabric, to cover the stabilizer.

Decorating your tree is as easy as punching tags and adding ribbon hangers. Using the XX-Large Tag Lever Punch, punch equal numbers of pictures and cardstock pieces.

Glue the cardstock tag on the back of the picture tag. Then use a Fiskars Circle Hand Punch to create a hole in the top of the tag. You may wish to journal information about the picture on the back side.

Double a length of ribbon and thread it through the hole. Thread from the front to the back with the looped end facing away from you.

Pull the ends of the ribbon through the loop and tighten.

Tie another knot mid-way along the length of the ribbon to create ribbon tails. Hang the tags on the branches of your tree.

Then add glittery stars to the ends of the branches. Punch the stars from pre-glittered paper using the Fiskars X-Large Star Lever Punch.

Place an adhesive dot on the end the branch and place a punched star shape on each side to create a tree that sparkles from all angles.

 

For further craty projects make sure you drop by http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting

New Year’s Eve: Kid Style

Designer: Mindy Miller

Difficulty rating: Beginner

One of my favorite childhood memories is staying up late to ring in the new year. It seemed so grown up and exciting!

This year you can help the new generation make those memories even more special by hosting a family friendly party. With simple and colorful decorations, dressed-up games, and fun accessories, you can’t go wrong.

First, set the stage with bright colors and a little sparkle. Tulle pom poms are easy to make and cost-effective. They can be either hanging or table-top decorations.

To make the pom poms, start with two yards of tulle (add more tulle for larger or fuller pom poms). Using Fiskars scissors, cut down the fold of the fabric. After doing so, there will be two pieces of tulle the same size – one on top of the other.

With the layers of fabric together, fold the fabric back and forth – accordion style. For larger pom poms, made the folds wider.

Once folded, keeps the folds on the top and bottom edges. Gather the fabric (open edges) from each side and tie tightly in the center.

Cut the folded edges apart with Fiskars scissors. Then pull all the layers apart to create a full pom pom. Add self-adhesive jewels to the tulle for a bit of sparkle.

A party wouldn’t be a party without costumes, right? Buy glittery top hats at a party supply store and add handcrafted accents.

Cut a 12 inch long strip of paper (width can vary) with the Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Trimmer (12"). Using the paper trimmer or Fiskars scissors, make even vertical cuts the length of the paper (do not cut the strip all the way through; leave approximately a quarter of an inch uncut along the top of the paper). Roll the paper up from one side to the other. Open the cut ends and then tuck the paper roll behind the ribbon band added to the party hat.

Keep the party going with a dressed-up game. Try Bingo with punched shape markers. Simply punch stars and moons from pre-glittered paper using the Starry Night Lever Punch and Medium Twinkle Twinkle Squeeze Punch.

And before you ring in the new year, don’t forget to commemorate the past year in a time capsule. Buy a clear jar and add a band of patterned paper inside the jar. Embellish the paper with Diamond Edge Border Punch and back it another band of contrasting paper before placing it inside. Then let the party goers each add pictures, notes, and other items that represent the year.

New Year’s Eve: Kid Style

Designer: Mindy Miller

Difficulty rating: Beginner

One of my favorite childhood memories is staying up late to ring in the new year. It seemed so grown up and exciting!

This year you can help the new generation make those memories even more special by hosting a family friendly party. With simple and colorful decorations, dressed-up games, and fun accessories, you can’t go wrong.

First, set the stage with bright colors and a little sparkle. Tulle pom poms are easy to make and cost-effective. They can be either hanging or table-top decorations.

To make the pom poms, start with two yards of tulle (add more tulle for larger or fuller pom poms). Using Fiskars scissors, cut down the fold of the fabric. After doing so, there will be two pieces of tulle the same size – one on top of the other.

With the layers of fabric together, fold the fabric back and forth – accordion style. For larger pom poms, made the folds wider.

Once folded, keeps the folds on the top and bottom edges. Gather the fabric (open edges) from each side and tie tightly in the center.

Cut the folded edges apart with Fiskars scissors. Then pull all the layers apart to create a full pom pom. Add self-adhesive jewels to the tulle for a bit of sparkle.

A party wouldn’t be a party without costumes, right? Buy glittery top hats at a party supply store and add handcrafted accents.

Cut a 12 inch long strip of paper (width can vary) with the Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Trimmer (12"). Using the paper trimmer or Fiskars scissors, make even vertical cuts the length of the paper (do not cut the strip all the way through; leave approximately a quarter of an inch uncut along the top of the paper). Roll the paper up from one side to the other. Open the cut ends and then tuck the paper roll behind the ribbon band added to the party hat.

Keep the party going with a dressed-up game. Try Bingo with punched shape markers. Simply punch stars and moons from pre-glittered paper using the Starry Night Lever Punch and Medium Twinkle Twinkle Squeeze Punch.

And before you ring in the new year, don’t forget to commemorate the past year in a time capsule. Buy a clear jar and add a band of patterned paper inside the jar. Embellish the paper with Diamond Edge Border Punch and back it another band of contrasting paper before placing it inside. Then let the party goers each add pictures, notes, and other items that represent the year.

New Year’s Eve: Kid Style

Designer: Mindy Miller

Difficulty rating: Beginner

One of my favorite childhood memories is staying up late to ring in the new year. It seemed so grown up and exciting!

This year you can help the new generation make those memories even more special by hosting a family friendly party. With simple and colorful decorations, dressed-up games, and fun accessories, you can’t go wrong.

First, set the stage with bright colors and a little sparkle. Tulle pom poms are easy to make and cost-effective. They can be either hanging or table-top decorations.

To make the pom poms, start with two yards of tulle (add more tulle for larger or fuller pom poms). Using Fiskars scissors, cut down the fold of the fabric. After doing so, there will be two pieces of tulle the same size – one on top of the other.

With the layers of fabric together, fold the fabric back and forth – accordion style. For larger pom poms, made the folds wider.

Once folded, keeps the folds on the top and bottom edges. Gather the fabric (open edges) from each side and tie tightly in the center.

Cut the folded edges apart with Fiskars scissors. Then pull all the layers apart to create a full pom pom. Add self-adhesive jewels to the tulle for a bit of sparkle.

A party wouldn’t be a party without costumes, right? Buy glittery top hats at a party supply store and add handcrafted accents.

Cut a 12 inch long strip of paper (width can vary) with the Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Trimmer (12"). Using the paper trimmer or Fiskars scissors, make even vertical cuts the length of the paper (do not cut the strip all the way through; leave approximately a quarter of an inch uncut along the top of the paper). Roll the paper up from one side to the other. Open the cut ends and then tuck the paper roll behind the ribbon band added to the party hat.

Keep the party going with a dressed-up game. Try Bingo with punched shape markers. Simply punch stars and moons from pre-glittered paper using the Starry Night Lever Punch and Medium Twinkle Twinkle Squeeze Punch.

And before you ring in the new year, don’t forget to commemorate the past year in a time capsule. Buy a clear jar and add a band of patterned paper inside the jar. Embellish the paper with Diamond Edge Border Punch and back it another band of contrasting paper before placing it inside. Then let the party goers each add pictures, notes, and other items that represent the year.

For more crafty inspiration for NEW YEAR'S EVE and all year long....make sure you pop over to

                           http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting