Countdown to Christmas

It's coming... It's getting closer... Soon we'll all be celebrating!

Starting tomorrow, visit Zunky Chic daily for the Countdown to Christmas! I'll be sharing matchboxes from my swap at A Swap for All Seasons in addition to the projects I've been working on for Christmas. I hope you'll stop by and check it out!

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you have Happy Thanksgiving, filled with family and friends, peaceful thoughts, and of course turkey!

I have some wonderful neighbors and friends that I wanted to share the harvest spirit with. I bought delicious smelling Slatkin & Co candles and added a "thankful" tag to each.

I started with a coffee-stained tag and added a scrap of fall-hued paper. I added some stitching down one side.

I stitched a ribbon ruffle and added it to the bottom with a silk leaf. I added the shiny copper sentiments and then tied the tag onto the candle with a ribbon.

The leaves are really falling today, but I guess it's better than watching snow. Here's a look at what my crepe myrtles are doing right now:

NOEL Banner

I received a banner kit from Dede Warren. It was very easy to put together, and now I have another vintage style decoration for my Christmas house.

Victorian Christmas

I've been busy making Christmas ornaments. Here is one that I love and I'm hoping to make more for every holiday. I got this idea from the super-talented Ann-Denise Anderson.

I punched a pile of circles from vintage sheet music and folded them into tiny cones. Then I glittered each cone and adhered it to a chipboard base.

I glued vintage style tinsel to the photo and then adhered a satin ribbon that I stitched into a ruffle.



I embellished the focal point a little more, added a gathering of tulle to the back, and glued on a wide ribbon for hanging. I can't wait to get this one hung up with my decorations!

Fun with Lily Munchkin

Last weekend, I went up to NJ to visit my family. I got to play all weekend with my adorable niece Lily. I call her Lily Munchkin and she often corrects me that she is "just Lily." Here are some pics of our fun times together.

Unfortunately, most of my photos look like this:

She won't stay still long enough for a photo and often refuses to look at you and smile.

We went to the park where she played on all the rides and ran around the baseball field for a while. It's amazing how much energy she packs into that tiny body.

I wanted her to pose for a photo here, but she wasn't having it.

She loves to play outside and wanted to ride "her bike," which is actually my old tricycle.

A rare, calm moment. Believe me, it lasted only a second. I was lucky to get the photo!

She made me a Christmas ornament to hang on my tree. Isn't she already a wonderful artist?! Imagine how good she'll be at 4! :)

I'll get to see her again for Christmas, and it can't come fast enough!

Winter Birds

I got the idea for these sheet music bird nests from the current Somerset Holidays and Celebrations issue. My nests are a little "looser" and feature sparkly winter birds and their little sparkly eggs. After all, what kind of eggs would you expect a sparkly bird to lay?

I started with a 2" circle that I covered with sheet music. Then I cut strips of sheet music and curled it by wrapping it on a pen or paint brush.

I glued the curls around the perimeter of the 2" circle, leaving a hollow area in the middle. This is where I placed crinkled bag filler to hold the bird.

I used plain craft eggs and rolled them in glue and glitter (what a mess!). I tried putting embossing powder on some and heating it. That was a little less messy, but didn't coat the eggs and thickly as I would like. 

I have several more of these birds that I'll use on other projects. For now, they need a safe home to rest in while they wait on their eggs to hatch.

Christmas Tags

I made a pile of sparkly Christmas tags. I may use them instead of cards this year. I spent a small fortune on postage last year because each card had to be weighed and posted individually - I definitely learned my lesson that flatter is better! Here are just a few of the tags I made.

I started with manilla shipping tags and coffee stained them. Then I stamped a script background on the tag and adhered an old Christmas image. These images are from old Christmas cards and postcards.

I added glitter around each of the images for a sparkle of "snow." The glitter is still falling off, so hopefully there will be some left when these reach their recipients!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. I am fortunate enough to be spending it with her in NJ. Here is the card I made for her special day.

I used some festive patterned paper scraps and a die cut swirl and journaling spot for all the patterns. I added vintage crochet trim, flowers, and Cosmo Cricket alphas.

Here is a closeup of some of the details.

I also made this altered bread board to hang in her kitchen.

I used Webster's Pages papers, a page from an old cookbook, vintage doily and crochet trim, and little silverware what-nots. I cut out the images and layered them pop-dots for added dimension.

I tied on some matching ribbon and she's ready to be displayed.

Christmas Wreath

We've been using the same Christmas wreath on our front door for the last nine Christmases. This year, I wanted something new. I started with a plain wreath from Hobby Lobby and bought some pine picks to vary the color and shape of the needles. Then I wired on various sparkly red Christmas flowers.

I made a large bow using beautiful embroidered green fabric ribbon with some red organza intertwined. I bought the sparkly green bells last year at a Christmas decoration warehouse. Now that it's done, it seems to special to put on the front door because I know it will get all dirty. This one might be the "indoor" version, if I can manage to make another wreath for the front door!

Blue Christmas

My friends over at The Scrappy Tree are hosting a challenge in honor of World Pneumonia Day. The challenge: create something using only the color blue. I made this little tag using beautiful blue cardstock and a new stamp from Unity Stamp Company.

I used blue ink to stamp the image and applied irradescent embossing powder. I stitched a blue seam binding ruffle and adhered it along with a punched snowflake. I added blue bling and eyelash trim to finish it off.

There's still time to enter the challenge, so head over to The Scrappy Tree and check it out!

Looks Like Christmas

The Halloween decorations are all packed up (sitting on the kitchen counter) and I'm making Christmas ornaments, tags, and decor. Here is a little hanging I made to kick off the season. I started with a 5x5 canvas and covered it with vintage sheet music. I printed the lovely image and started layering it with various trims and embellishments. Many of the items were received from swaps I've participated in over the last few months.

I topped it off with a sheet music fan and antique mercury glass button. I wrapped the edge with velvet ribbon and tied on an antique lace hanger.

Birthday Cards

I have another round of birthdays coming up, so I made a few cards to get ready. Because most of these cards are going to be mailed, I tried to make them as flat as possible. I made all these cards with paper from the Die Cuts with a View Mariposa stack, GCD Studios Homespun Chic collection, and other paper scraps and embellishments.

On this card, I added Webster's Pages alphas and a sparkly chipboard embellishment.

On this card, I stitched a border on the patterned paper and cut a frame from another pattern. The crown and wings are a rub on. I made the title on my Dymo label maker. The transparency that tops it all was a little too large for my card, so I just cut it down, allowing one of the butterflies to fly off the top.

This easy card uses a sweet patterned paper from the Homespun Chic collection. I stitched a simple border on the paper and added Webster's Pages alphas.

Lastly, on this card I used some of my sewing machine's specialty stitches on the flower stems. I added vintage crochet trim at the top and a few punched butterflies. The title is a combination of Cosmo Cricket alphas and a Crafty Secrets stamp. 

Swankified

We visited husband's family over the weekend and went trick or treating with the kids. On the drive back from Houston, we stopped in Waco so I could visit this amazing store:

Bloom and Bee Swanky is a feast for the eyes. So many beautiful pieces of furniture, accessories, vintage jewelry - it was just my style! I did bring a few little treasures home with me. Here are some pics of what didn't fit in the car.

The greeting at the door:

Little assemblages throughout the store:

This cabinet would look AMAZING in my house. This image looks like it came right out of a Pottery Barn or Anthropologie catalog.

More loveliness:

Beautiful furniture and bedding:

 Love these natural arrangements:

We spent an hour browsing through the store, and then had to be on our way. They are in the process of completely making over the shop for Christmas, debuting November 11. I'm hoping to stop back when we head back to Houston sometime next month!