Merry Christmas! I firmly believe that today should be full of smiles and laughter, so here’s my gift to all my readers. Whether you have cats or not, this is pretty funny.
May your tree stay in one piece and may your holiday be bright!
c.b. 2011
Tag Archive: Christmas
Dear Santa,
I don’t want much this year. Life is good. I’m happy and my loved ones are safe and cared for. Everything else is just icing on an otherwise very good cake. Presents are fun on Christmas, but they are usually forgotten by the next Christmas. Memories, however, tend to stick around a while longer. Come Christmas Eve the best gifts I could receive would be laughter in my home from every member of my family and a moment that reminds me what I love about each person. With life moving forward and constantly changing, who knows how many more Christmases we will have together before someone passes on or moves away. The time we have is precious and does my heart good. My wants are few, but here’s my list of Christmas wishes:
- Mom, I’m waiting for you to feed one of my dogs when you think I’m not looking.
- Sister, I’m hoping you find the Christmas pickle as you do every single year.
- Dan, I’m curious of what pearl of wisdom you’ll dispense.
- Husband, I’m anxious to hear you call Bingo numbers and cook an amazing dinner.
- Grandpa, I can’t wait to sit you down in front of the TV with a good movie.
- Grandma, you probably won’t remember, but I pray you will.
- Dad and Sophie, I’m always thinking of you and hope one day you’ll be able to come to our party.
- Jan and Jerry, you really don’t have to bring any food, (but you probably will anyway).
- Mike, you seemed to have fun last year and I hope you do again.
- Baxter, I’m sure your tail will “break” again from wagging too much.
- Winston, I’m sorry for dressing you in a Santa suit, again. You hate it, but you still do it for your mother.
- Peanut and Bunny, we love you but cats do not belong at a party with Bingo balls and game pieces.
- As for me, I hope I don’t eat all the fudge again.
Christmas Tree - 2011
May the evening be merry, the food delicious, and the memories unforgettable.
c.b.
p.s. A Pink & Pretty Barbie would be nice, too. I know you wish I’d grow up and let her go, but she’s the one that got away. I’m still waiting . . .
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers. May the joy of the season find its way to all of you.
c.b. 2011
While its easy enough to buy gift tags at just about any store, I enjoy making them by hand for a more personal touch on the presents I give. After making Christmas cards, (see Christmas Cards Already!), I always have extra paper left over, so I put those scraps to good use by making gift tags. They are a snap to create and super cute!
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Supplies:
- Tag template
- circle punch
- standard hole puncher
- Christmas paper scraps
- ribbon
- scissors/paper slicer
- double-stick tape
Basic supplies for gift tags
I use a basic tag template to keep things nice and easy. A triangle top is a quick cut and almost impossible to screw up, which is especially handy when making a large number. Simply trace the pattern on any piece paper where it’ll fit and then cut them all out. From there it’s all about decorating with remaining scraps. My stack of Christmas paper had sheets that were divided into smaller designs, so I cut them out and stuck them on my tags with a little double-stick tape.
A quick hole punch at the top, clears the way for a ribbon tie. Again, I usually use left-over ribbon from card-making or last year’s gifts (yes, I’m one of those people that saves ribbon, usable wrapping paper, and bags). Before tying the ribbon, use a large circle punch to create a little “ornament” out of scrap paper. Punch a little hole near the edge of the circle and thread it onto the ribbon. Last, but not least, tie a knot to secure the ends.
This is a great project for when cookies are baking and there’s nothing to do but wait!
Happy Holidays!
c.b. 2011
Every once in while I get the urge to sew and there’s no telling what I might create. I learned how to stitch when I was around seven years old and I still look forward to threading a needle when inspiration strikes. This year, a project I’ve wanted to do for a few years finally couldn’t stand sitting on my creative shelf any longer, so I made the time to get it done. In the 2008 issue of Holiday Crafts magazine (from the lovely people at Better Homes and Gardens), a pattern for a pear tree appliqué project was featured and my muse went crazy. It was a cute idea, but there were about a million things I wanted to change about the fabric and layout. All I needed was three years to work out all the details, (at least that’s what I tell myself to justify such ridiculous procrastination).
Now, I should point out that I rarely complete a project that follows the pattern perfectly. I always change, add, subtract, or combine some detail or another. Patterns are simply inspiration and I never let them create boundaries.
For my pear tree, I replaced all the fabric with wool felt to give it more rustic, folk art feel. My favorite type of wool felt is a 70/30 blend because it’s sturdy and comes in rich shades of color. I’m not a fan of floral prints, nor did I like the color scheme of the finished pattern project, so I replaced the colors with deeper reds, greens, and golds. The floral foo-foo ended up getting replaced with a woven wool plaid. As a result of the change in color scheme, I also had to rework all the thread choices as well. This sounds like a lot of work (and it is), but the result was worth all the trouble. While my finished piece has little resemblance to the inspiration, I love how it turned out:
One change I made to this project was the addition of leaves on the branches of the tree. It seemed only fitting seeing as I live in a place where there is no snow at Christmas and the trees remain green all year round. Plus, the leaves added some color and detail to a background that seemed a little bland. I pulled the leaf pattern from another shelved project and I’m thrilled the proportion turned out to be exactly right.
The outer border is another major change and I’m not sorry I did it! A few years ago, I found three yards of wool plaid fabric at a thrift store for $2. What a buy! The colors really compliment the pears and it packs a little punch of much needed blue. I also added corner pieces on the border that include more pears. This was done to break up the plaid and I think it ties the whole piece together. Inside each pear is a varnished wooden button straight from Northern Wisconsin. This little detail pays homage to my roots as the Northwoods hold a special place in my heart.
Each pear is hand stitched with an image and text relating to the Christmas carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” When I decided to make everything out of felt, I immediately hit a snag when I realized I couldn’t easily transfer the images from the pattern to the felt – it’s too thick! Thank goodness for my other little hobby of counted cross-stitch, where I learned a handy technique involving Waste Fabric. This fabric is a lot like aida cloth, but with less bulk. When layered over the top of any fabric, it’s easy to place a pattern wherever it needs to go and stitch right on the grid. Then, like magic it comes apart when the strings are pulled! Once the waste fabric is totally removed, the stitched pattern remains behind!
All the edges, (including around the outside border) are finished with a blanket stitch as opposed to the pattern sanctioned whip stitch. What can I say? I like the look of a blanket stitch!
With the Twelve Days of Christmas rapidly approaching, I can’t wait to hang my pear tree on the wall. To count down the days to December 25th, I’m going flip all the pears to the reverse and turn them over as each day passes. I see this as my personal spin on the always fun advent calendar.
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c.b. 2011
At precisely 6:45 p.m. on November 12, 2011, the Christmas season officially arrived in my home. I heard the Hershey kisses bells ring in the season with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and I broke out into a huge grin. I love this commercial!! It’s so cute! I look forward to it every year and I fully intend on seeing it at least fifty times before Christmas actually comes.
The timing couldn’t have been better. Earlier that day, I did my first round of Christmas shopping. I’m keeping things pretty simple this year as I do most years. I love the holidays, but hate the hoopla so I tend to buy a few small gifts for those I love. Like most things in my life, the gifts I give have to mean something or it feels like a lost cause. I’d rather spend $10 on a gift that speaks personally to someone than spend $100 on something that will be obsolete in five minutes.
My husband and I always host the family Christmas party at our house on Christmas Eve. After the bells sang, we started planning the games and food. It’s tradition to play Christmas Bingo combined with a gift swap, open Christmas poppers, and hide the Christmas pickle, but this year we decided to add holiday Mad Libs. For food, I’m going to make fudge and Hershey kisses peanut butter blossoms (of course!) and my husband is going to make a couple batches of Shepherd’s pie for everyone. He’s been perfecting his recipe all year! It’s far from a traditional feast, but we like to break the rules.
Starting next week, the Christmas playlist on my iPod is going to get overhauled with new music. Yes, I’m one of those people that loves Christmas music, but I am careful not to annoy other people with it. Ah, the miracle of personal music players! I can’t wait for Burl Ives, Josh Groban, and Narada to wrap me in holiday bliss.
I don’t need a mall, sales, or shiny wrapping paper to get me in the mood. Just some ringing chocolate bells and the warmth of the season fills me with cheer.
When do you embrace the holidays? (Or are you a Grinch? That’s okay, too!)
c.b. 2011
