Make your home glisten with sparkling new holiday craft ideas

(ARA) - Time to deck the halls, don that holiday spirit and prepare your home for festivities.

But do your tightened purse strings have you saying "bah humbug?" Luckily, creating exquisite holiday decor can be fun and cost-effective when you do it yourself. Here are a few amazing holiday craft ideas that are simple and sensational.

Glittered holiday pinecones
Create a beautiful centerpiece with items that you might find in your backyard - all in less than an hour. Here's what you'll need: pinecones, Krylon Primer and Krylon Glitter Blast glitter spray, fishing line and a drop cloth.

Make sure that the pinecones are clean from dirt and dust, then tie fishing line around the stem of the pinecone. Hang them from above so that all surfaces are accessible with the drop cloth underneath. Next, simply spray a coat of primer and let dry and then spray with your favorite glitter color of Glitter Blast. Soon, you'll have pretty pinecones ready to spruce up any table.

Colorful cones
Decorate your home with a festive holiday cone. Let your imagination run wild with these cheerful creations. Here's what you may need: various sized foam cones, Glitter Blast glitter spray, scrapbook papers, self-adhesive foam sheet, sequins and pins, ribbon, paste and acrylic jewels.

To start, thoroughly spray the cones with your favorite colors of Glitter Blast and allow to completely dry. Then, follow these guidelines to create three unique versions.

Polka dot cone. Punch out a variety of sizes and colors of circles from scrapbook papers and foam sheets and attach in random patterns to the cone using the paste. Start with larger-sized circles and gradually adhere smaller sizes on top. Finally, pin on 1-inch glitter sequins.

Ribbon cone. Spiral ribbon around cone, anchoring in place with craft glue and craft pins. Cut small snips in the edges so ribbon will lay flat. Glue and pin sequin trim in between the ribbon spirals.

Beaded cone. Using straight pins, pin sequins at random all over the cone. Then use paste to attach flat-backed acrylic jewels in and around the sequins.

To complete the look of each uniquely designed holiday cone, make a hole in the very top of the cone with a pencil point. Press the neck of a small tree ornament into the hole and secure with a drop of glue. Now you have three beautiful and original cones for a creative and colorful arrangement.

Original ornaments
You may have had sticker shock the last time you shopped for holiday ornaments - but luckily with some inspiration from renowned crafter and author, Mark Montano, you can update your tree for almost free when you design your own. Here's what you'll need: eight wooden clothespins, cardboard, scissors, glue, spray paint, large rhinestones, hot glue gun and glue sticks, fishing wire and loose glitter or Glitter Blast glitter spray.

To start, take the clothespins apart and arrange the wood pieces in a starburst pattern with the fat ends of the pieces touching in the center and the skinny ends forming the points. Cut out two 2 1/2 inch cardboard circles. Glue a cardboard circle in the center of the clothespins and let it dry. Flip your starburst over, glue the other cardboard circle in the center and let it dry. Next, spray paint the entire ornament in a color of your choice. Cover the cardboard and about half an inch of the surrounding clothespins with glue and sprinkle glitter on top - or use Glitter Blast glitter spray. Flip the starburst over and repeat. When dry, use hot glue to adhere a rhinestone in the center of both sides. For the hanger, fold a 10-inch piece of fishing wire in half and hot glue the ends to one of the clothespins. Once dry, hang on your tree and enjoy.

For more holiday craft ideas from Krylon, visit www.yourholidaystyle.com; for craft ideas from Mark Montano, visit http://markmontanoblogs.blogspot.com/.