Christmas Fish Bowl Mantle Lantern

Hello fellow Flocksters! It's me, Kathleen, with a new project idea for the holidays. I try to think of simple, quick project ideas that look very detailed, but aren't, since I'm sure that many of you, like myself, have busy lives. It's not easy to fit all those crafty  projects into everyday life while trying to juggle getting kids ready for school, work, homework, being a taxi service, and anything else life has to throw at you. This was pretty simple, once I decided what I wanted to do, and it can be changed for other holidays and events very easily. Personally I thought I was pretty creative on this one! I can't wait for my guests to see him on my mantle for the holidays !

 After I got my shop on at Flamingo Scraps, I headed to our local Dollar Tree for glass vases, a candle holder, and some battery operated tea lights. The marbles are from a previous fish tank, and the gems in the vase with the light are from my Flamingo Scraps Warehouse Grab Box - Embellishments, and I believe they are a mix from Prima and Maya Road. The red trim on the bottom is Maya Road Tu Tu Tulle in cherry red  and the cream colored satin scalloped trim is also from Maya Road. I used the green gingham fabric tape from my warehouse box to cover the side of the tea light, as well as the top of the fish bowl, just below the brass tape along the upper rim. Be sure to check out the other fab trims that will work equally as well from Maya Road and Websters Pages.

Before I put the fish in, I set up the bottom vase with white marbles and green stones, since I knew I was going to use a red fish in keeping with the Christmas colors. I decorated some Prima Christmas wood icons to fill in the front as I thought it looked a bit empty,other than the marbles. Contact Suzanne for those little bits of yumminess, as well as the latest Tim Holtz pens and paints I used to color them with.I pulled some bling from my stash to decorate the tree.  I used ATG tape, 1/4", to adhere the tulle trim, and did two layers of it for a fuller look, then the mini organza cream roses that I dyed green. The ATG allows me to remove the trim at a later date if I want to decorate Mr. Fish III's tank for another holiday. My grandson, who insists on naming my car, refuses to give our fish any other name. Maybe he'll change his name when he sees this one!

. The Cosmo Cricket mini mobile and show toppers are the greatest thing since indoor plumbing! They come in green or white with different style tops. Don't like green or white? Get white and paint it another color. It's just that darned easy. So many little goodies you can hang from them. The pearl drop decor and crystal gems on the bottom are once again from "THE BOX" so click the link!! I'm telling ya, if you haven''t gotten one of these boxes you're really missing out! The pearl and bling trim is from my ever growing stash. I'm pretty sure I'll ordering more of this satin trim. It's pretty awesome.

The adorable little trees are Fancy Pants Tiny Bottle Brush Trees-Traditional and are also available in Retro colors as well. There are six in a pack so you can get more than one project from them

This is my finished project. Mr. 3, as I am now calling him, seems quite happy with his new home. Pretty sure it beats the heck out of that tiny plastic container he was in at the store! Now, if I can just keep him out of reach and sight of the huntress, Lulu, our youngest cat.

Well that's it for now faithful flock followers. Remember...." BOX" !  Make a scrapper in your life happy for Christmas or a birthday. You can create a beautiful gift basket, or two, out of one of these. You can get a combo (embellies & paper), paper only, or just embellies. It's a win win for sure.

HAVE A SCRAP-TASTIC DAY !!
KATHLEEN