A Holiday Tutorial: For The Smell Of It!

My Art Spark Friends and I are hosting a week of Special Holiday Tutorials!  I am the second of six participating in this event.

Like many of you, I own a lovely artificial Christmas tree. I greatly appreciate that it is easy to assemble and comes with little twinkle lights already strung on every branch.  Although I enjoy the convenience, there are a few negatives to using fake.  One of the qualities I miss in bringing a live evergreen into my home is the glorious smell!  There is something truly heavenly about having the aroma of pine wafting gently through the air.   

So today, I am excited to share this Holiday Tutorial with you, as a way to add that sweet tree scent or perhaps the scent of your choice, bringing back that lush fragrance coupled with a touch of decorative beauty to those, oh so wonderful, artificial trees.

Cut a piece of your favorite material.  

*I used a 6.5"H x 7.5"W fine woven linen fabric.

Using white acrylic for the background, roughly paint the fabric. Do not worry about creating a solid surface.

Once the fabric is dry, use a mechanical pencil to sketch some holly berries, leaves and a branch on top of the white background.

Paint the holly branch sketch with various colors of acrylic paint. Remember to add highlights and shadows to make the subject look more three-dimensional.

Once the fabric is dry, fold right sides together and stitch two sides, leaving one side open. Turn the stitched fabric inside out, to create a pocket. 

 Fill the stitched pocket with pine shavings, seasonal potpourri, or the scent of your choice. 

*I used lavendar buds from Apifera Farms.  It is the most fragrant and very long-lasting!!! 

Once the painted fabric pocket is filled with your scent of choice. Stitch the top closed.

Finally, stitch a decorative ribbon to the top, hang on the tree, and enjoy that wonderful smell!

Be Sure to Stop by these sites for More Holiday-Inspired Projects and Tutorial Joy!

Tuesday, Dec. 4th- Lyric Kinard - Snowflake Pinwheel Ornaments

Wednesday, Dec. 5th- Tracie Lyn Huskamp - For The Smell Of It! Ornaments

Thursday, Dec. 6th - Judy Perez - Speculatius St. Nicolas Cookies

Friday, Dec. 7th- Jill Berry - Mini Book Ornament

Saturday, Dec. 8th- Traci Bunkers - Star Garland

Sunday, Dec. 9th- Lisa Engelbrecht - Easy Gilded Letters for Cards

And I invite you to visit often because through the month of December I am devoting this blog to all tutorial posts. Some will be new ideas and others are favorites I have shared previously.  The Christmas holiday is a wonderful time for being creative.  My hope is that these projects will inspire some seasonal festive fun!