DIY Advent Calendar Roundup

Tomorrow is the first day of December - can you believe it?!  If you're on top of things, you are already prepared to start your holiday countdown with an advent calendar but  just in case you're still in need of ideas, here's a roundup of some fun advent calendars you can DIY before it's too late!

Advent Calendar Pillow

Santa Christmas Printable

Advent Wall Chart

Mantel Calendar



Clay Tag Advent Calendar

Pretty fun ideas, right?  I had an idea to make a new advent calendar this year but decided instead to be lazy just use my pillow again (see first link) --- next year though, it's on.  I better get started soon so it's finished in time for next Christmas...

Christmas Décor–Is yours all put away?

While it seems that everyone else has already moved Christmas aside to wipe the proverbial slate clean and get ready to ring in the new year, I’m still enjoying the warm glow of twinkle lights from my Christmas trees,  my stockings are still hung on the mantle, and I’m in no rush to pack it all away.

I tend to leave my trees up until after Epiphany each year, but truth be told, I’m never in a hurry to take it all down.  Some of it is due to sheer exhaustion from the holiday season (this year’s battle with flu didn’t help) but mostly it’s just because I love it.  I love sitting in a dark house with only the light of the trees as I drink my morning coffee.  I love the shimmer of glitter that seems to be everywhere… it’s a magical time of year and I want to enjoy the magic as long as possible.

I’m sharing a final glimpse into my Christmas Décor today… in case you missed it, here’s my Christmas Dining Room and my Neutral Christmas Tree.

This is our largest tree, the one that is in our office/multi-purpose room.  It’s decorated with mostly blue and white ornaments that I purchased years ago and I’ve added different handmade ornaments over the years, trying to fill in all of the gaps.  You can see my book page tree topper found a home as an ornament as well.  I love adding in natural burlap where I can so there is a tree topper made of burlap mesh ribbon and some burlap bows as well.

What would a tree be without pretty packaging, right?  When I ran out of boxes this year, I decided to use tea towels as gift wrap.  It’s almost like two gifts in one, and I love that.  And although I certainly did not need any more holiday gift wrap, I couldn’t resist this printed kraft paper wrap from Target.  I used burlap and sisal rope as my holiday ribbon this year and loved the look.

Here’s a glimpse of the living room from the office.  The christmas décor in here is limited pretty much to the tree and the mantle.  I’d really like some more christmas pillow covers for next year but I’m waiting for some great sales – those babies are expensive considering you can only use them for a month or so! I*sigh* I could always make some more, like my Ballard Knockoff Advent Pillow… I’ve got a eleven sewing months to work on that.

Here’s the neutral christmas tree again… I had a strand of lights go out on this tree on Christmas morning and it made all the lights go out! Grrr.  I had flashbacks to when I was a kid and we had to check every. single. bulb. to see which one was burnt out when this happened.  That was not gonna happen here, let me tell ya.  Good riddance, no good strand of lights!

Lastly, here’s our mantle, mismatched stockings and all.  I used a faux garland (because Home Depot sold out of their real ones – boo!) with some burlap ribbon and our “U” stocking holders.  My sister gave these to my husband and I long before we ever had kids and I think it’s crazy that she gave us just the right amount for our family… Hubby’s stocking is the good/naughty one, Lil Sis’ is the high heel sparkle boot cause that’s just so her, mine is the handmade linen stocking, and Big Sis’ is the mermaid cause she loves to swim.  Mismatched in appearances only as they match our personalities to a tee.  And in case you’re wondering about the little sock in the middle, our elf on the shelf decided she needed a stocking as well… hee.

So that’s it, the last of my Christmas posts for this year.  I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as could be and that you have many blessings in the upcoming year!!

If you still have your Christmas decorations up, say it proud and let me know!!  Leave a link so I can stop by to see!

Christmas Tour–My Dining Room

Happy Wednesday friends!  I hope this week is being good to you.  We are holding down the infirmary over here with two kiddos who have succumbed to the flu… no fun, especially right before Christmas break.

All that fun aside… how about a little peek into my dining room?  I’ve been seeing all these great Christmas home tours in the blogosphere so I thought I’d share a glimpse into my humble abode, all dressed up for the holiday season.  Come on in!

My home does not have a formal dining room, so this dining area gets a ton of traffic and I had to keep the décor kid-friendly.  Here, my Christmas apron is tied onto one of my dining chairs – makes a fun little chair skirt, right?

One of my favorite things in this room is this Christmas tree.  Every year since my husband and I have been married, my mother-in-law has given us a Christmas ornament.  Once the girls were born, she began giving us photo ornaments of them each year.  This tree is covered with not only those special keepsakes, but also ornaments that my children have made over the years (I’m a sucker for anything with a photo or hand/footprint) so it’s a fun walk down memory lane every year when we decorate.

Here it is next to my White and Aqua Hutch.  Normally I’m not a big red for Christmas kinda gal, but with the white and blue, it works.

On top is a great find from my trip to Round Top this year.  It’s a vintage window with a Saint Nick needlepoint trimmed with vintage lace and placed on a beadboard background.  Here’s a better look:

Isn’t it great?  This was the only item I purchased at the Antiques Fair other than an old caster wheel; there were so many things I saw that I could loved but could live without.  This was not one of them.  It had me at hello.

The table decorations are simply some antlers in my dough bowl and my girls’ gingerbread houses.  We eat most meals at this table, so there can’t be a lot of fuss going on.

Lastly, here is our Christmas Card holder, inspired by this idea from Shanty 2 Chic.  I made this sign for the Christmas craft show I did a few weeks ago and forgot it at home that weekend (way to go Rhonda).  When I saw the Shanty girls christmas card holder, I knew I could do the same with this sign by wrapping twine around it and hanging the cards.  It works great (and has been enjoyed by our little elf too – see previous pic!).

One last pic – my youngest wanted to pose for mama by the card holder, pre flu invasion.  My girls are the whole reason I decorate my home – to give them wonderful memories of the holiday season.

So that’s it – hope you enjoyed it!  I have a few more peeks in store for you provided we can evict the flu bug around here.  Have a great rest of the week!

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{Tutorial} Book Page Star Tree Topper

Hey hey friends!  I’m back today to show you how to make the Book Page Star Tree Topper that I showed you earlier this week on my Neutral Christmas Tree:

This is a simple project that is easy to make with items you have on hand, and yet it makes such an impact.  I continue to be enamored with projects made from time-yellowed pages, no matter how many of them I see.  Book page wreaths, book page walls, book page garlands… love.

To make this tree topper, you’ll need:

• Book pages (preferable vintage)
• Hot glue
• Lace ribbon trim
• Burlap scrap
• Cardboard circle (I used the end of a ribbon spool)

Instructions:

1.  Start out by tearing your book pages.  You’ll need five full-size pages and ten half pages (tear in half).  My book is a vintage nursing book so I had fun reading about care of the patient in the 1930s while I made this.

2.  With the full size pages, form your paper cones by folding corner from the shorter edge towards the center of the page, wrap opposite corner over and hot glue in place.

   

3.  Next, you’ll make your smaller cones with your half-pages in the same mani manner (Lordy I need my nails done.).

Here’s a comparison of the two sizes of paper cones, just for reference.

4.  Now it’s time to make your star.  Using hot glue, secure your large book page cones to your cardboard circle in a star formation.  Crimp the ends of your cone prior to gluing to make a flatter center.

5.  Using your smaller cones, you’ll fill in the gaps between the star points to create a starburst effect.  I used two cones between the top/bottom points and three between the sides.

When you’re finished, your star will look like this:

6.  Now we’ll just do some finishing.  Cut a circle from your burlap scrap and hot glue to cover the back of your cardboard.

7.  Using your lace ribbon trim, hot glue around the circle in the center to cover the ends of your book page cones.  I pleated mine as I went and secured with hot glue.

8.  You’re almost done… the final step is to make a loop from the ribbon trim.  this is to slide over the branch on your treetop to keep your topper in place.  I glued mine higher towards the top of the star to help it sit straighter.

9.  You’re finished!  Place your topper on your tree and enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone… make it home.made.!

 

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Neutral Christmas Tree

I really love Christmas, and I really enjoy decorating our home each year, especially the trees.  The tree in our living room was gifted to me from my sister a few years ago, along with two boxes of lights and ornaments… pretty awesome, right?  I however, couldn’t help myself at the Hobby Lobby Black Friday sale and some new ornaments somehow found their way into my basket and the idea for this Neutral Christmas Tree was born.

I had the burlap ribbon in my stash (leftover from Halloween I believe) and decided to use it for a garland.  Burlap makes such a great garland because its open weave allows the light from the Christmas tree to filter through it; it’s so beautiful at night.  You can see that I just randomly twisted the burlap as I wrapped it around the tree.

See how the light shines through the burlap?!  And while we’re on the subject of lights… I confess that I am spoiled with pre-lit trees and putting the lights on this thing was a miserable task, especially when half of a string of lights goes out just as you’re plugging in the next strand.

Argh.

I digress.

I know you’re all dying to know about this tree skirt, right?  You’re going to laugh because it’s one of my painting drop cloths arranged just so to look like a tree skirt.  I actually placed it under the tree as I was “fluffing” because the needles were falling everywhere but in the end I sorta liked it and decided to leave it there.  And let me tell you – this is a used dropcloth complete with paint and stain splatters… I contemplated going out and buying a new drop cloth to make a ruffled tree skirt a la Miss Mustard Seed, but to be honest I just don’t have the time for that right now.  I’m making do with this makeshift tree skirt instead!  The little splash of grey chevron is some leftover fabric from a bulletin board project; I just wrapped it around to cover the tree stand.

As for ornaments, I used what I had on hand other than the new white and pewter glass ornaments that inspired this tree in the first place.

I added some of my handmade clay tags and gingerbread men, as well as some chalkboard and glass glitter ornaments.

I added some of my Embroidery Hoop Nativity Ornaments and a twinkling of crocheted stars.

And next comes my favorite part… the Book Page Star tree topper.

This is one of those ideas that was in my head and luckily worked out just as I had envisioned.  It’s perfect for this tree and perfect for me.  I may have had to catch my breath when I placed it on top – a beautiful ending to a day of decorating.

Not one to disappoint, I will be sharing all the deets soon on how to make one of these for yourself so stick around.  I should have the tutorial up within the week.

And one last shot… the leaning mirror by the tree is sort of a happy accident.  I didn’t feel like relocating it so it stayed and it just so happens to hide the cord and reflect the tree and lights into my living room.  Magic.

Are you decorating with color this year or are you sticking to neutrals like me?

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{Tutorial} Embroidery Hoop Nativity Ornament

Happy Monday to ya!  Is it starting to look a lot like Christmas in your home lately?  It is in mine, and it’s starting to feel like Christmas too with the frigid weather we had over the weekend… I’m excited today to share a tutorial with you for a quick, easy homemade ornament that is a great reminder of the true meaning of Christmas: the Embroidery Hoop Nativity Ornament.

What You’ll Need:

White Muslin fabric

Embroidery hoop (mine is 4 inches)

Archival Ink

Nativity Stamp (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)

Instructions:

1.  Load your stamp with ink, being sure to coat thoroughly.

2.  Stamp onto section of fabric, holding in place for good ink transfer.  Make sure you leave enough of a border to fit the hoop.  (Don’t worry if your fabric is wrinkled – the hoop will take care of that.)

3.  Measure fabric around stamped image and cut out, leaving a couple of inches of fabric to pull through hoop.

4.  Place fabric into hoop and pull for a taut fit, then tighten bracket. (See?  No more wrinkles!)

5.  Trim excess fabric, add ornament hanger and that’s it!  (Someone send the manucure police over, please.)

You can hang these on your tree or place on your mantel, wherever you need a reminder that the Christ child is what we are celebrating.  I used a six inch hoop and stamped a favorite piece of scripture at the bottom.

Such a great message that helps me focus on the real reason for the season.

This ornament is hanging on my living room tree, which I’ll share in full later this week.  I’ve made some changes to it since last year and I’m really enjoying it – can’t wait to show you.

Here’s to the beginning of a great week!

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6-7

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