Crafty Christmas Countdown: 18

 I had, among my craft supplies, one of those small Fingerlings monkeys in a bright shade of magenta. I decided she's much happier with candy cane stripes.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 19

 It's puppet time, friends! This is a fairly simple one. Start with a small stuffed animal.

Cut a slit in the bottom of the animal and remove some stuffing. In the case of this dinosaur I had enough room for a couple of fingers.

Next find a box that your animal will fit in with enough room to move around but not so big that there's a lot of extra space. You want a box with a lid or top flap. Cut or collapse the bottom of the box. Then wrap the box like a present, leaving the top able to open. Glue a tube of fabric, like the leg of a sock or part of a shirt sleeve, between the bottom of the box and the opening in your animal. Now you have a little toy that can pop out of a present.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 20

 Our local dollar store had these tree toppers among their offerings this year.

While it was a bit rough, something about the design spoke to me and I knew I could improve it. I started by removing the extra twine, keeping the loops around the star tips. The fabric was loose, so I glued it down as I went. It looked much better at that point but was still missing something. I wanted to add some sparkly black wire trim but it was out of stock when I was at the store. So instead I added a thin line of glue all the way around that I coated with black glitter.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 21

 I have several dozen of these wooden ornament blanks, so I'm always trying to think of ways to decorate them. These faux stained glass designs may be some of my favorites. I colored these entirely with colored pencils instead of my typical acrylic paints.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 22

 I bought this reindeer a year ago, intending to give it as a gift. But after I got it home I kept looking at it, feeling like there was something wrong. It finally struck me - it has no ears. That immediately disqualified it as a gift, as far as I was concerned. I tucked it away, hoping I would come up with a use for it.

This year I came up with a plan. I felt very strongly that it needed ears to look right, so I took the back off of it and cut ear shapes. I lined the ears with some scrap knit fabric. Then I had a face that looked cute but it needed a purpose. Luckily I had some little plain tote bags hanging around that the face fit on perfectly.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 23

 Our dollar store has a wide selection of these little plastic buildings . For dollar decor the general look is decent. They're just a little rough around the edges. I picked out this lighthouse for an upgrade.

 

A fresh coat of paint and a pipe cleaner wreath does a lot to improve it, I think.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 24

December snuck up on me this year, so I'm starting my crafty countdown with an easy one this year. I bought this little Jurassic World figure at the dollar store.

While it is appealing on it's own, with a hook, paint, glitter, and fabric bits it makes an excellent ornament for my tree.