Quilted Christmas Tree Skirt (Inspiration)

It's four days after Christmas, and I know that the Blogging M.O. is to start talking about New Year's, but every Christmas has the same effect on me:  I start thinking about NEXT Christmas.  Somehow, sitting amidst flying wrapping paper, children 'ooh-ing' and 'ahh-ing', family singing carols, and dogs jumping into piles of ripped paper, I can much more easily think of the perfect gift.

I'm always more ambitious in my planning when Christmas is so far away, probably because I think I have so much time ahead of me to finish getting ready (like, a year.)  This year, a particularly brilliant idea occurred to me as we sat around my mother-in-law's tree and I gazed at the old quilt wrapped around the tree base:  "She needs a tree skirt!"

At the first inconspicuous opportunity, I brought up the idea to my sister-in-law, who also quilts, and we agreed to make that our present to her next year.  Since she raised two boys, it's particularly fun to give her girly gifts, as they seem more special coming from her daughters-in-law. We intend to make her tree skirt extra-special by quilting a family tree onto it with all of our names (and room for more, of course.)  (gosh, I hope she still hasn't found my blog.) :)

Anyways.   I Googled combinations of words like "quilted family tree," "family tree Christmas tree skirt," etc, etc., and I found some amazing ideas.  Thought I'd share some of my favorites.  Opinions, please????

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Patchwork Pottery (I think...)

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There are aspects of all of these that I really liked, but I believe my favorite may be the last one.  I'm a sucker for curly-cues.  :)

Have a safe and wonderful New Year!!

~ Sarah


PS -- Don't forget to leave opinions!!

A Magical Hallway

Everyone knows that feeling... you walk into a room that makes your eyes light up, your breath catch, and childhood come flooding back, even for a brief moment.  Two nights ago, we went to the Dietrich Theater (a/k/a the Wyoming County Cultural Center) for their annual gift to the community, a free showing of "It's a Wonderful Life."  And as we walked in... just look at what we saw!



A spectacular display of lights, ribbons, and ornaments!

 

It's impossible to get the magical feeling from a photograph, but perhaps you can tell a little.  It was a very simple idea... ornaments dangling from ribbons tied to strands of Christmas light.  Absolutely delightful!

Of course, the movie was magical, too... as always.  I never fail to cry at the very end.  :-)

May you experience something magical this Christmas, too!

~ Sarah

Cupcake Liners - Beyond the Muffin Tray

Pinsomnia: the inability to sleep because you keep hitting 'see more pins' one more time.

I can't seem to stop pinning!  I caught myself under the covers last night (so the light from my phone wouldn't wake Jayson and Remi), scrolling and continually hitting 'repin'.  It was 2 a.m... and yes, the dark circles under my eyes are frightening people.  God bless my coffee cup.  But I'm not just doing it for me (so I keep telling myself); I am pinning to give YOU ideas, too, my LwYH readers. <3 <3

I'm completely taken with the cupcake liner movement... it's amazing what you can do with these darling little things.  There are some resourceful and creative people out there!  I thought I'd share some of my absolute faves with you.  As always, I'll include my source where possible. 

I think that these pom poms are incredible.  I don't think they'd take that much time, either!  I included two pictures of color schemes I particularly liked. 

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This is cute for a cake-decorating party (wish I'd thought of it when I did mine over the summer!!)

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 For those of you who like a bit of danger with every party...

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 And finally, since it's Christmas....

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What cupcake liner ideas have you found?  (I haven't represented them all by any means... again, just the ones I personally liked.)

~ Sarah

Pretty Paper Ornaments

Gosh, does it feel good to be working on craft projects again!  I thought I'd get started on Christmas decorations, since, well, the Christmas season begins next Friday.  (Is it just me, or did it sneak up on us this year??)

I loved this idea - I came up with it myself but I'm certain I'm not the only person who's ever done something like this.  But, for the record, I didn't see ornaments like this and duplicate them -- they actually came from my own mind.  ;)

What you will need:

1. Cardstock in various colors that match (and closely match) your theme
2. Big hole punch (mine is 2")
3. Glue (like Elmer's, or paper glue, etc)
4. thin ribbon
5. a really good movie (optional)
6. cup of tea (also optional)

Begin by punching out quite a few circles of your selected cardstock.  Fold every circle in half with the pattern inside.

Start gluing your circles together.  I didn't make any two the same, at least on purpose, so they looked like a mismatched, colorful little band of 3-D circles.  I was exceptionally pleased with them.

Cut your ribbon into strips (something like 10" long) - I did some longer, some shorter.  Fold them in half, and tie a basic knot at the ribbon ends, forming a loop.

The ornaments should have a natural gap in the center of the circles (see photos above), which the ribbon slides through comfortably. 

And you're done!!  Before I knew it, I had made almost 20 of them, but unfortunately I had the colors wrong for the person I was making them for (it wasn't purple - it was gold.  Durn it.)  So this turned out to be a test run.  A very successful test run, I might add.  Hopefully by the time I do the real ornaments, my new phone will be here and the pictures will be much better.  ;)

Happy Monday!

~ Sarah

Party Dresses

Have you missed me??  I've missed all of you... truly!!  I've been battling a mysterious illness that has entirely confounded my doctor, but on the bright side, all of my clothes are suddenly very big.  :) 

And speaking of clothes, I've been pinning a lot of dresses on Pinterest lately.  I have several big events coming up soon that I plan to splurge and dress up for, including a couple of Christmas parties.  I thought I'd share the dresses I like, since I haven't been doing any projects while sitting in my pajamas watching hundreds of movies.  (Though I will be shortly... I have deadlines coming.)

As with all things on Pinterest, sometimes you can find the original post, and sometimes, you can't.  As before, I'll provide the source where possible, and if you happen to know where an un-sourced photograph comes from, please let me know!

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I noticed after I pinned them that they're all roughly the same shape, length, style, etc... I must have one particular fashion on the brain this year.  Which ones do you like?

 

Back (for real!) very soon!  <3

~ Sarah

A Pinterest Autumn

Pinterest - the virtual Pinboard.  By a show of hands, who has experienced Pinterest, and the unexpected addiction that comes with it?  It's really a nifty idea, but I have found that my work productivity dropped significantly since I received my Pinterest invitation, and my craft/d-i-y project list grew exponentially.  Truly, though, it's very convenient to collect links in one place, and I've recommended it to my clients with weddings coming up.  This way they can save pictures of things that inspire them, which helps me to plan an event around their tastes.  Fabulous.

I haven't been working on projects lately, though my list is growing.  I'm in the middle of a couple of months off from event-planning, which has been beautiful.  I've been systematically cleaning my house, and finished (yes, finished!) the laundry last weekend.  But who really blogs about laundry and cleaning?  {I'm only doing so to explain my bloggy absence.}  So in lieu of another d-i-y post (recipe, craft or otherwise) I thought I'd walk you through one of my virtual pinboards (named Fallishness.)  I'll site the original source where I can, but Pinterest doesn't always take you back where it came from, and sometimes the links are re-posts to begin with, and no source is sited.  If you happen to know the original post for any of these, please share, because I would so love to credit the rightful owner.

Let's start with table decorations.  How simple and delightful are these apple candle holders?  Such a perfect little Autumny touch.

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And speaking of apples, how about a whole bowl of apples turned centerpiece?  My husband wouldn't hesitate to pick one off the pile as he walked by, and that would be just fine with a decoration like this.  Who says practical can't also be beautiful? 

Anything with hurricane lamps is ok in my book!  I love these colors:

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I fell in love with this simple project.  Mason jars wrapped in twine, spray painted, then tied with a bow and illuminated with tea lights.  Stunning!

Can I just tell you that I already have the paper purchased for this project?  The world's cutest pumpkins, ladies and gentlemen.

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It's dangerous for me to concentrate on fall food too much, however, I loved this pumpkin made from two bundts put together.  On my pinboard, I called this a Pumpkindt.

A few unique pumpkin decorating ideas:

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I can't help assuming that this is a home further South than mine, as our wood burner is already in action.

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And finally, some glittery pumpkins.  

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So how do you decorate for Autumn?

~ Sarah