Let It Snow

Whitewashed Snow Village

Mini church, building, trees, silvertone tray from Dollar Tree

Although the “official” colors of Christmas are red and green, sometimes a snowy palette of white and ivory can set a more serene, wintry and magical mood.

I bought these colorful little painted Christmas village buildings at the dollar store (Dollar Tree) and gave them a simple cream finish a la spray paint. It accents the surprising nice little details on the buildings and hides their charming but sometimes less than stellar paint jobs, after all they were a dollar.

This isn’t a new idea, but so simple and fun, I thought I’d share my version. 
Check it out on the delightful blog Romantic Home's
 Show and Tell Friday
http://romantichome.blogspot.com

You'll need:

mini buildings

spray paint

clear or white glitter

greens, trees, ornaments, odds and ends

plates or cake stands (optional)
*They also look adorable on a fireplace mantel, shelf or window sill

I spray painted the buildings alternating the white  and ivory gloss colors I had on hand in my arsenal of spray cans. I found the white alone looked a bit chalky and “hospitally” and adding a spritz of the ivory softened the shade a bit.

Once dry, I “painted” glue onto larger areas like the roofs and squeezed fine lines of glue from the bottle around windows and trim. While glue is still wet I gave them a generous sprinkle of icy glitter and let dry thoroughly.

I also hit up the Dollar Tree for little bottlebrush trees (2/$1- by far the best price I found), snowflakes, and greens and dug up some of last years décor.

Now you get to channel your inner urban planner and create your town wherever you like! I experimented with different sized cake stands from my collection of sale and flea market finds and glass domes to create different scenes.

on a cake tier with greens

add mini white ornaments

I tried a sepia tone for ambiance 

layered small cake stand on larger

under glass

DIY INDOOR SNOWBALL FIGHT

When Mother Nature isn’t cooperating or if you live in a warm climate, an indoor snowball fight is a fun, and warmer, alternative to the real thing.

Snowball Supplies

These were all purchased from the Dollar Tree but similar items can be found at craft supply stores

Styrofoam balls

1 package “faux” snow (in sheets)

Basket or containers (mine were 2 for $1 yay an extra)

Assorted snowflakes

Peppermint sticks (optional for energy)

also: hot glue gun or white glue, scissors, ribbon, tags

*You’ll have a lot of these supplies left over to use for other crafty projects

(I love the delicate, shimmery snowflakes and always pick up a few sets (6 per set) to top wrapped gifts, tie around cookie jars or add to greens)

Then on to decorating: I chose a blue and white general “wintery” theme to match the basket but you could use traditional “holiday” colors as well.

 I designed this label on the computer (as you can see I’m not a poet) but you can be creative and come up with whatever suits your fancy. I wove ribbon through the basket and simply tied on the label.

These are fun for kids or kids at heart, tuck in a gift card or $ and it makes a whimsical gift. Makes a friendly fun indoor target game too (wreaths and chargers Dollar Tree- reuse them later!)

Helpful Hints:

If you use a hot glue gun use caution (I have a love/hate relationship with the things) White glue also works but is just a little trickier as it dries more slowly.

Like the real thing, each snowball will be unique and a little less than a perfect. I like to thinks this adds to their natural “character”.

Of course PennyWise doesn’t condone violence so be careful tossing these about and although they are only Styrofoam and cotton snow, adults should always supervise. In other words, we’re not responsible for any injuries or broken Ming vases.