Your cart is currently empty!
Tag: Christmas
-
Christmas in September? Well, sure!
I spent entirely too much time on Pinterest. I’ll just put that information out there. It’s probably not news to most people. Anyhoo. Lately I’ve been looking at Christmas crafts and posting them to my Christmas ideas section in the “diy craft make” board.
Photo credit: Pinterest.com These recycled jewelry trees caught my eye. Between projects last week, I began gathering up old jewelry and other items that I could put onto a tree. Silly me, I thought I had enough items just sitting around. Maybe if I made a four inch tree!
I generally go big. So of course I my first attempt was out of reach. Worse, I sort of threw everything in. By everything I mean all of it. Wow, what a mess. So much. That taught me a lesson in restraint. Ha! I peeled it off so quickly that I forgot to take a photo. Trust me, it was a fail.
This photo and ones that follow are simply different sections of the same piece. But I’m a determined chick, so once everything was back in its original condition–goodness, I’d put a lot of hot glue–I organized. Some things were just not going to work. Some colors were clashing with every other color. Some gawky items were too big! Talk about gawky. (Gawky is a Southern word for over the top tacky.)
So starting over, I reevaluated my options. In the end, I pared down the pieces to metals and pearls. Then I pared down the size of the tree. (Maybe I should have measured.) Of course, now I really didn’t have enough stuff, so I started digging through old buttons. I have many, as it turns out. In all states, colors and conditions. Add few beads and I began again.
I love this piece! From the beginning I thought I’d use my old silver sugar bowl as a stand. I cleaned it up, sort of. I left most of the tarnish on the legss and more ornate parts, which gives it a beautiful contrast of shiny against the dull parts. In the end paring down my choices really makes it work.
It’s a good thing that I can “eyeball a thing” because I didn’t consider measuring. Nevertheless, it’s a perfect fit–tight enough that I don’t have to glue the two pieces together, so cleaning will be much easier and I can change the base. How’s that for eyeballing a thing? (I like that phrase!)
-
(2016) Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Christmas Lights
We spent this weekend in Natchitoches at the Lights Festival. Natchitoches bills itself as “The City of Lights,” which has been celebrated since 1926.
One of my fondest memories is of my sisters and me playing and rolling down the hill in front of the lake. I also remember picking stickers out of my clothing, which adds to the humor.
Now one of my sisters lives on the lake just beyond that hill, and she is loving enough to invite us (the whole crazy family) to her house for the first weekend of December, which happens to be the festival weekend. That means lights, parades, fireworks, a craft fair, boat flotilla, and of course, Santa.
And Christmas quilts to go along with the scenes because, believe me, this weekend was cold and wet (and unbelieveably rainy) so anyone out there would have wished for an extra-warm, heavy quilt. The rain was so heavy that the parade was canceled for the first time since 1959.
Though not quilts, these are adorable and certainly would be something that you’d likely see in one of the many boutiques along Front Street.
Here’s hoping you’re getting into the Christmas spirit and enjoying the Advent season. We have not begun decorating, but that’s okay, I prefer to spend time with family. Perhaps next weekend the stuff will come down and someone will put it all together.
-
Pin It Weekly #337
I discovered charcuterie boards via Pinterest a while back and have been considering creating a board. Richard and Adam made a few to put in my Griffin’s booth, so there’s even more interest. At the first book signing my beautiful friend Shera had a charcuterie board to rival any Pinterest photo I’ve seen. And so, more and more I’ve been needing to start a board. I will in a minute.
First I want to tell you this: I decided to feature a few Pinterest followers (it’s been so long since I’ve done that. Sorry.) The very first person on the now very long list is Marlene Pauman and guess what is on the top of her boards! Charcuterie boards. How perfect? Let’s do it!
A Christmas tree! 
Jeab Chawiwan has the cutest pincushions. I just couldn’t resist. Yes, I pinned half of them. Aren’t you going to?
Joyce McCracken has some really sweet Christmas diy ideas. We’re quickly running out of time, so here are a few to pull together in those moments you are able to sneak in.
I hope your last week of Advent is wonderful and blessed and filled with Jesus’ love.
-
How to Make an Elf Christmas Stocking
In blue satin and silver lame’ Elf Stockings are great fun to make and kids love them. You can make small (unquilted) ones to use as ornaments or large, quilted ones to hang on the mantel. Either way, you’ll enjoy this fun project. Directions here explain how to make a large stocking. Skip the quilting and reduce the size if you want to make smaller ones.
Getting Started: You’ll need a piece of fabric that is 20 x 34 inches; backing fabric 24 x 38; and batting 24 x 38. Narrow ribbon to match. Craft bell.
Make a quilt sandwich by layering the backing fabric, wrong side up; batting; and top piece, right side up. Quilt as desired. For the blue stocking I made loops across the entire top. For the red, I quilted large circular swirls. I like the idea of quilting in Christmas words or family names.
After the quilting is done, make a paper pattern I just sort of eye-balled it based on a regular stocking but added the curl above the toe section. I wanted my stocking to be big enough to hang on the mantel, so I made it just large enough to fit on the fabric I’d quilted. Keep in mind that you need a front and a back plus two pieces for the cuff. Alternatively, you can cut the stocking longer and eliminate the cuff.
Tip: When you’re ready to cut the curve of the toe, cut around the outside first, then cut from the top of the curve to the vamp or ankle part in a straight line. After the entire stocking is cut out, you can go back and cut the inside of the curve. It’s much easier this way, trust me.
Let’s get sewing! Important Tip: to help turn the toe right side out after stitching, I cut a coordinating piece of ribbon about four inches long, folded it in half, and tucked it into the toe of the stocking. Leave the two ends sticking out so that the ribbon forms a loop inside the stocking and you can see the ribbon while you stitch. This ribbon will also hold your bell after the stocking is turned.
Begin stitching the stocking starting at the top on the foot front side. You will have to stitch slowly around the curve of the toe making sure to catch the ribbon pieces. Continue to stitch about two inches past the ribbon, backstitch and stop. The backstitching creates an extra seam around the part of the stocking where you will pull and tug to turn the stocking. I backstitch for about 10 stitches to make sure that the stitches in the point hold. Then continue stitching to the
Now make your second seam from the top of the stocking along the back, around the heal, and past the toe–again catch the ribbon. Continue past the ribbon about two inches, backstitch and stop. It may seem that you have lots of stitching around the toe area. You’ll need that to make sure nothing comes loose when you turn the stocking.
Turn the stocking right side out. It will take some creative pulling and pushing. Alternating between the two, pull on the ribbon loop that is inside the stocking and push the stocking from the inside–I use a slim dowel rod or the back of a knitting needle. Work slowly and methodically, it takes time and patience.
Once you’ve got the point and the stocking completely turned, you’re ready to add the cuff. First, stitch the cuff, right sides together, down the two shorter side seams to form a circle. Turn the cuff right side out and add binding to one edge as you would normally bind a quilt. I used a contrasting binding cut on straight of grain.
Now attach the cuff to the stocking. Both parts should be turned right side out. Insert the cuff into the stocking so that the right side of the cuff is against the wrong side of the stocking. Pin. Cut a piece of ribbon approximately five inches long. Form a ribbon loop for hanging and slip it between the cuff and stocking so that the loop is facing into the stocking and the ends of the ribbon will be caught in the seam. Pin in place. Stitch all the way around the raw edges. Turn the cuff to the outside and fold down.
In red gingham check with white cuff trim. Your stocking is ready for the little elves in your family! If you want to monogram the stocking, do that before you begin sewing. It’s much easier to work on a flat, quilted surface than inside a tight stocking.
-
How to Make a Christmas Gift Basket
Do you find that it’s difficult to buy just the right gift for someone? Or maybe you have some ideas in mind, but none are quite enough? One way to consolidate all of your ideas is to build a gift basket for the person. I like themes, so I try to stay within a themed idea, but certainly you can make a jambalaya (a mixture a many different things) of a basket. Pick up some things that will go into the gift and let’s get started.
What you’ll need:
- clear plastic gift wrap–buy a package of two or more
- container–basket, bowl, platter, even a beautiful piece of crystal from an estate sale
- filler–colored paper, newspaper, shredded paper (like Easter grass), tissue, etc. I like to recycle gift wrapping paper for this. Shred or crush paper
- twist tie and ribbon
- card or name tag
- items for the basket
For this post I’ll show how I put together a fruit basket, but the theory is the same no matter what items go into the gift.
Gather everything close at hand and begin by putting the paper into the bottom of the basket.
I put enough paper to fill the basket almost to the very top. 
Start with one large item, placed at the back of the basket. Then add fruit on either side of the large item. I especially like the sweet/salty mix of chips or pretzels with the fruit–in this case the Zapps chips, a Louisiana product. Just be careful when making your choice. Sugar-free cookies or candy with fruit make a great gift for a diabetic. Fruit with caramel dip and peanut butter (or Nutella) make a good basket for a family with children. How about fruit and cheese with a bottle of wine for newlyweds? You get the idea.
Spread the plastic bag on a large surface so that you can open and flatten the bottom of the bag. Roll the top edges out so that they will be out of the way. Gently put the basket in the center of the bag and unroll the sides until the bag is completely open. Tuck the corners in and tape down if necessary. Add or move items around as needed to distribute evenly, including colors, textures, shapes, etc.
Now gather the top of the bag well above the basket and gently push out most of the air. Use the twist tie to hold in place. Add a large ribbon and card. You now have a beautiful gift basket ready for giving.
Gift basket ideas:
- baking goods with measuring cups and spoons in a mixing bowl for bakers
- bath products and candles for a young teen
- gardening hand tools and packets of seeds in a watering bucket for a gardener
- car cleaning kits in a galvanized bucket for new drivers
- variety of small toys for 3+ children
- homemade goodies in a vintage crystal bowl for anyone (wrap foods individually in Saran wrap and pick up a bowl at your favorite antique or flea market)
