Buckets of Christmas Ideas

Wreaths MY Daughter Made

2011-11-29T21:47:00.000-08:00

Just have to share with you some of our daughters lovely wreaths - she graduated in Floral Design and has worked for numerous places (including The Grand in SLC) designing wreaths, centerpieces, etc. If you saw my Fall candlescaping on our mantle - Shay is the one who did it. Here are a couple of her wreaths she sells on Etsy. She will be adding more in the next day or so. Her shop is called "Goldieshine Design"

A Perfect Gift

2011-11-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

This is an idea for those people who are really hard to buy for. I am not associated with Walgreens in anyway - but they have a great photo book program. I have made several. Go to Walgreens.com, set up an account, hit the photo button and all the prompts are there to make books. You make them on your computer, order them and they are at your home in 4-5 days. If you watch they have specials with discounts on their photo books.

This year we had our entire family home at Halloween and I was able to have a photographer come and take pix of our grandchildren. I am using these pix for several gifts. I am making some canvas picutres, a book for my husband, a book for my in-laws of their gr- grandchildren. I am making some 5x7 books for each of the kids to have pix of themselves with their cousins.

These are pix of a book I did for my husband last year of our family reunion. He loves it and looks at it often, it is on one of the shelves displayed like a nik nak - he did that, it wasn't me. He loves it

I am Finally Decorating! Santa Collection

2011-11-28T16:18:00.000-08:00

LInking up Today With
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Between U and Me
Crafty Scrappy and Happy
Thrifty Decorating
Fireflies and Jelly Beans
No MInimalist Here

I am normally decorated by now but we have had so much going on - it just hasn't worked. I decorated the Master Bedroom and one of the guest rooms last week and Saturday brought all the boxes up for the rest of the rooms in the house. I decided I would try and do a couple of rooms a day so I can do the other things I need to get done this week. I should be done by the end of the week....I love decorating, I love the lights and the ambience it all brings. YIPPEE! I will post pix as I decorate.

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This is part of the Santa Collection - I wish it looked as good in the pix as it does in person. There are all kinds of Santa's here - homemade, store bought, some out of TP tubes, some crocheted, some are wood, some are fabric. . I used to have the spread out through the house but the collection had grown so much I decided to give it a place of it's own.

There are over 50 Santa's in my little collection - each one near and dear to me.
The little Santa with a bobble on the top is from a round dowel my dad used to put in custom closets. One of our daughters took it and made a Santa from it - isn't it adorable!

My Frugal Santa Gift
I made this Santa out of tin cans one year for Christmas from my friends - it was a very frugal year and I had to get creative! All you do is cover the can with fabric, Cut and curl muslim scraps for the beard. I made a hat out of a square of fabric and painted on the face with flesh paint and used the end of the brush for the eyes and then dabbed on his cheeks...they really turned out cute! Always when I see it a reminder of being helped by Heavenly Father when I really needed some help.

This Santa is from Russia - one of our girls was on a mission there for our church brought it home.

It is a stacking Santa.

This Santa is one that my mom had. It is from the 50's. When I was a teen I thought it was a little funny. When My mom and dad died it was one of the first things I wanted to have.
This Santa was made by a friend - it is a card holder - Love it!

This is a box from another friend. I am so blessed to have such sweet friends.

Like I said there are over 50 Santa's in our collection, these are just a few of them, I love pulling them out each year. I think of the circumstances around each Santa and am filled with gratitude and love.

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The JOY on the shelf is a project I did with my mom 25 years ago - it is the only thing I have ever oil painted. It was the project that let me know I didn't have the patience to be an oil painter artist! I love it however, when I pull it out. Reminds me of the afternoon I spent with my mom so long ago

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This is our main bathroom, or at least a little corner of it. Out the window you can see the snow that fell today - it is lovely! This room is full of all the bear decor we have that has come our way over the years.

Ok more pix to come as I decorate tonight!

A Few Christmas Hair Bows

2011-11-28T16:15:00.001-08:00

Linking Up With

Sew Can Do!

Sew Much Ado!

Blue Cricket Design
Someday Crafts
Pink Saturday
Shabby Nest
Homemaker in Heels
Answer Is Chocolate

I have two little granddaughters and I have suddenly been thrust into the hair bow world! There are so many fun ones. I have been a little hesitant to do this but the cluster type hair bows pulled me in.
Oue daughter Kalea and I made a bunch - we found fabric, ribbon, embelishments etc and started making yo-yo;s, rosettes, flairs, any thing we could do and then started putting them together.

(Thanks to my darling Model - Esti)

These are felt and so showy when they are on.

2011 Ornie Exchange!

2011-11-28T16:14:00.001-08:00

The 2011 Ornie Exchange is underway. I have received nearly all of them and can't wait to post pictures. I will be taking pix later tonight and putting them on here.

Christmas is Coming Fast! What I am doing this week.

2011-10-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yikes! I am looking at my calendar and realizing that 11 weeks from today is Christmas! I have been out in the garden harvesting, canning, and enjoying the lovely weather we have had. Once it snows here, it is cold until April so I love being out in the Fall. That being said it is time to get really serious here!

I love Christmas - all the planning and prepping are Christmas aren't they! We get to do things for the people in our lives that we love. I think that is why Christmas is so delightful - we get to serve others, think of the things they would love and present our love to them in presents. I love that!

What I am doing this week: Finding a couple gift for our kids.

Starting next week I will show some of the projects I am working on. I still have a little canning to finish up this week.

Christmas 2011 - Time To Start Your Lists!

2011-08-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!
Christmas 2011 is in about 18 weeks. I have started making my lists and already checking them twice!
My challenge to you the reader is to start your basic lists for gifts, activities, and decorations.
I have 18 people in our family that I need to do gifts for. If I do one per week - I can get it taken care of easily by Christmas. I also want to to stockings and we have matching pajama's. Planning like this makes it easy and fun to do Christmas economically and stress free.
Thanks for stopping by - I will post some ideas in September.
Have a great August!
Paula

See you in Fall 2011!

2011-01-10T19:25:00.000-08:00

It is always a little sad to close down my Christmas Blog for the year - I love Christmas and love it when it is Christmas Time. I still have up our decorations - probably will leave them up during January. We have long dark nights and the lights are so cheery and help to sooth the winter darkness. I wanted to share two things with you as I wish you a wonderful 2011.

I had a bunch of stockings left over from when the kids were little, from service projects, from gifts, and the stocking from when I was little. I had exactly 24 of of them. I made numbers and made a clothesline on our stairs to the basement and turned them into an countdown putting up one each day from Dec. 1-14. I love them!

We have a little forgotten corner in our basement landing. It is the end of a little hall that leads to a bathroom and the storage area's. But it is a cute little corner. I had a couple of Christmas things left and my goal this year was to use everything and what didn't get used was given to someone who could use it. I had our five year old grandson with me when I went downstairs to get something. He looked at the corner and said, "Oh Grandma Mimmi Sugar Ball Miss ( I don't know why he callse me all these names but I love it!) Everyplace is so Christmasy Cute!" All of the work and hassel of decorating our house for Christmas is worth it. He knows I love Christmas - he knows I love the reason for Christmas is the birth of a precious baby in a manger in Bethlehem that changed my life when I accepted Him as my Savior, he knows and he is five and it is all worth it. Here is the corner.

Thanks for keeping me company this Christmas Season!

Please stop by my Valentine's blog and other holiday blogs through the year.

See you in about 10 months!

Paula

Gifts for Friends

2010-12-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hooking up with Craftomaniac Monday, Making the World Cuter and Skip to My Lou, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday's, All Things Merry and Brite - Show and Tell Wednesday - links in my side bar.

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I found this wonderful idea on Creations from My Heart I thought they were so unique and beautiful that I thought I would do it for my friends. Here is a step by step of how to do it.

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I filled up the cans half way with leftover batting and then in the top half I put the cut the floral foam and stuffed it in. Then I added the pine - cheap way to do this is to buy a garland and cut it up. I put about 6 pieces around the back and side.

I bought a bunch of poinsettias at a garage sale for 25 cents and used them in these cans. I put 3 per can.

Then I added the embellishments. I cut up some floral picks, some wire stars and circled some metallic pipe cleaners and put them all in. I added the ribbon to the can and the back to hang it and this is what I it looks like all finished.

Here it is wrapped in cellophane and ready to give to my special friends.

I also added a thought that said. "These Christmas cans are like our friendship - bound together with love." I added instructions to hang them over any door knob.

Here is a picture of the white ones I did.

I made these pot pourrie jars for our neighbors and other friends.
I saved salsa jars and then added cute labels and decorated the top with all my odd's and ends Christmas greenery. I added a few drops of pine, cinamon and cloves and they smell heavenly!
The next picture shows it wrapped in cellophane ready to be delivered. Recipes for the pot pourie at the end of this post.

13 Simmering Pot Recipes

This is a lovely way to make your home smell warm and inviting. Just fill a pot with water, add your favorite ingredients and simmer all day. This also helps humidify the home a bit.
The recipes below are just guidelines, you can use different amounts and mix up ingredients as you like. Experiment to find your favorite smells.
Save: orange, lemon and lime peels, apple skins (dry them out first before storing in a container)
Frugal idea: For apple juice, cranberry juice, herbs and spices that are outdated, don’’t throw out––just add to your simmering pot. You can refrigerate your simmering recipe and reuse daily for up to one week. Just keep adding water as needed.
Directions: Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the ingredients from your favorite recipe, boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat down to simmer all day. Top up water as needed.
Caution: Set your timer for 30 minutes so you remember to top up with water. You don’’t want the pot burning dry. Do not leave the house with this left heating on the stove.
Simmering Pot Potpourri Recipes
Recipe #1 -Cinnamon sticks Apple peels Orange rinds Whole cloves
Recipe #2 - Apple juice Cinnamon sticksWhole cloves
Recipe #3 Vanilla (a few drops)Orange peels
Recipe #4 - Christmas Potpourri Simmering Pot 3 sprigs evergreen or handful pine needles 2 cinnamon sticks 2 TBS whole cloves 2 bay leaves 2 pieces orange rind 2 pieces lemon rind
Recipe #5 - 2 TBS whole cloves 2 cinnamon sticks5 star anise1 orange peel
Recipe #6 - Whole cloves1 tsp nutmeg
Recipe #7 - Peel from a whole orange Whole cloves2 Cinnamon sticks
Recipe #8 - 5 bay leaves 1 TBS whole cloves 2 sticks cinnamon
Recipe #9 - Peel from 1 lemon Peel from 1 orange 2 bay leaves 3 cinnamon sticks 2 TBS whole cloves
Recipe #10 - 1/8 cup cloves 1/8 cup allspice 2 cinnamon sticks
Recipe #11 - 6 whole cloves1 cinnamon stick 1 tsp vanilla
Recipe #12 - 1 cup dried lavender1 tsp anise 1 TBS nutmeg 1 TBS whole cloves1 Cinnamon stick
Recipe #13 - 2 sticks cinnamon Peel from one lemon Fresh rosemary Whole cloves

For the Oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take a piece of tinfoil (a few inches wide), pour a teaspoon of vanilla on top and place the foil in the oven. Turn off oven and prop the door open a bit. Fill a loaf pan with water and your favorite recipe from above. Set in oven on high heat until it starts filling your home with lovely smells. Turn off oven, then prop the door open.

A crock of simmering potpourri spices
Put this mixture into an earthenware or painted crock. 1/3 cup simmered in a saucepan of water will scent the house with the deliciously spicy aromas associated with the holidays 4 oranges 4 tangerines 4 lemons 24 3 inch cinnamon sticks broken into 1 inch lengths1/4 cup whole cloves 1/4 cup juniper berries 2 tsp nutmeg Remove the peeling from the fruits with a vegetable peeler and place on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in a 200F oven for 10 minutes, then turn off and leave overnight. (in a turned off gas oven overnight or until dried). Combine all the ingredients in an airtight container. Makes about 1 1/2 cups .An Edible Christmas 1992 Irena Chalmers

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Gift Pot Pourri - 1 jar5 min 5 min prep 2 to 4 Tbsp. Whole cloves (or leave them out if you wish) 2 to 4 cinnamon sticks 4 bay leaves1/2 orange, sliced 1/2 lemon, sliced Add orange and lemon slices to dry mixture of spices. Put in a small sauce pan with 4 cups of water. Simmer on low to release the fragrance.

TO GIVE AS A GIFT: put ingredients in a decorative jar .Add enough water to fill jar. Add a few drops of red food coloring. Close securely and give with a small gift tag explaining how to use it. Store in refrigerator when not in use, to prevent molding. Can be simmered over and over again!

My Darling Grandchildren's Ornies

2010-12-12T22:10:00.000-08:00

Linking up today with Show and Tell Monday, Making the World Cuter and Skip To My Lou, Blue Cricket, All Things Heart and Home.......

Links in my side bar

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Last Friday our oldest grandson (5) said to me - "Mimi Sugar Ball" ( I don't know why he calls me all those names - but since he does the other kids do to) anyway he said, "Mimi Sugar Ball, will you make me an ornament that says, Grandma Mimi Sugar Ball loves Wyatt?"

So I did - and thought while I was at it I would make one for all of them - 5 little boys and 2 little girls - all but Wyatt are under 2.

I have been determined to not spend money this year and use the resources in our home.

It has been a challenge - but so good for creativity!

Each of these ornies have buttons and fabric on them that was their great grandmother's.

Today I am grateful for our Super Seven!
(Soon to be our Exciting Eight)

Have a nice week!

PInk Vintage Ornaments

2010-12-11T09:09:00.000-08:00

Linking up With Common Ground and Pink Saturday today!
Links in my sidebar.

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I have lots of ornies of my grandmothers all pre and post WW11 (1940's & 50's) I love putting up this vintage tree each year in their honor. Here are some of the pink ornies on that tree.

My sweet husband came home th eother day with this beautiful bouquet of a dozen roses -

just had to share it too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy your week this week - all part of the Christmas season!

Grandchildren's Forrest

2010-12-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

Linking up also with No Minimalist Here - links in my side bar

This is my Grandchildren's Forrest for our Super Seven!

We have seven grandchildren and each of them have a tree. On their tree's are the things they like. Wyatt loves helicopters so there are a bunch of matchbox helicopters on his tree along with his ornaments from each year that we have made. Gabe loves balls, Teague loves books, Tate loves stuffed bears, Talia is 5 months old and our princess, Esti is 4 months old and an angel.

This tree shown is Cody's tree and he loves cars. The rest of the ornaments are explained in the pictures.

This is 2010 ornie and used for the topper this year. It is a time capsule of sorts - the inserts in the top are little things about Cody right now at his 2 1/2 year old self.

This is the ornament from last year and last years topper. It is now an ornament on his tree.

This is the ornament from 2008 when he was just a baby.

These are a few things we have made together....top left snowman hand print, top right a spider - which he loves, bottom left an eye spy ball, bottom right are a few of the car ornies on the tree. He loves cars.

This is our entire forrest -they and their parents live far away so this is a little piece of them here with us at Christmas.
p.s. we are expecting #8 in May - another tree next year!
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Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoy your entire Christmas Season!
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p.s. my entire blog is Christmas - this is the link to see the entire thing: http://bucketideasforchristmas.blogspot.com/

Crazy for Christmas Cloches!

2010-12-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

Linking up with Strolling Through Life Cloche Party! Thanks for stopping by.

Permanent link in my side bar.

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My uncle carved this darling Santa for me - so he is in a cloche - a place of honor!

This angel is made from an old flour sack that belonged to my great grandmother. She is lovely inside this cloche.

Cloche over a Nativity Bell from Italy

Another nativity under a cloche

This nativity was a gift

Love how anything glass can become a cloche! Here is a vase full of leftover bulbs with lights - it is stunning.

Bowl filled with poinsettias

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I realized my hutch is the ultimate cloche!

Pictures include a few treasures you can see through the windows.

Stacking Tray

2010-12-09T06:07:00.000-08:00

Linking to Trendy Thursday, Show and Tell Friday, Deck the Halls, Common Ground, and

Feathered Nest

Permanent links in my side bar

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Just wanted to share my Christmas Stacking Tray. This has been so fun to do at each season through the year. It is all made with left over bulbs and other things I have had around that have needed to be put in the flow and used! Each tray is a glass tray that I picked up from garage sales with sundae cups between each to give the height and placed on a mirror. Thanks for stopping by - have a great week.

Vintage Tree is Up!

2010-12-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

Linking up with Craftomaniac, Skip To My Lou, Making the World Cuter Tuesday, Show and Tell Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design, All Things Heart and Home, Trendy Thursday....

Links in my sidebar

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I have a bunch of WW11 vintage ornies of my grandmothers and mom's so I decorate a live tree with ice scicles and everything in honor of these wonderful people. I am just finishing it now...it looks like the Christmas Tree's when I was little and always fills me with gratitude for these amazing people who came before me....here are a few pictures:

Have a great week - hope you enjoy everyday during this wonderful season!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ornament Exchange 2010

2010-12-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Linking up with Show and Tell Friday, Deck the Halls, Strut Your Stuff Thursday, Trendy Treehouse, Craftomaniac (links in my side bar)

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I am part of an Ornament Exchange that we do each November. There are 30-40 ladies who participate with us from all ove rthe United States. Here are a few of the ornaments from this year:

Lots more ornie ideas - look just below the header picture at the section for Ornaments.

Thanks for stopping by.

Today I am thankful for blogs - so fun to visit each of you and take a peek into your homes and share ideas.

Ornament Ideas from All Over Blog Land

2010-11-23T05:45:00.000-08:00

I love ornament Ideas! If you look at the bar just below the picture at the top you will see a link to see lots more ornaments! I will be adding more to this post as I find ideas around blog land.
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Over at A Journey of a Thousand Miles......she has a tutorial for making these darling photo ornies with pix and scrap paper.

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A little differnet idea check out the complete tutorial over at Just Another Day in Paradise for these wonderlful photo block ornies - love them!
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Wow These Vintage CD Ornies are beautiful! Check out the tutptorial over at The Lindy Cottage Hill....

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What a fun ornament for pictures - tutorial over at In My Own Style.

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Love these beautiful ornies - clcik here for a tutoral over at Beatiful Haven.

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House on Ashwell Lane is featuring this darling ornies with a tutorial - clecck here to see how she did this!

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Love these DIY Mercury Ornies - Check out the Tutorial over at Finding My Aloha!
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Adorable Ornies with Tutorial over at Pocket Full of Pink
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Ooh love this heart ornie lots of ways to make this ornie over at Deck the Halls

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What a fun ornie made from scrapbook paper - check it out over at Crafters Anonymous
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Isn't this beautiful click here for a full tutorial on how to make it hourself.

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I LOVE THIS IDEA! I am going to make it with my Super Seven! I will show you the results when I am done, meanwhile, click on this link to see a great tutorial over at "Cleverly Inspired Blog.

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Cute! Loves these from scrabble tiles - check it out at Decor on a Dollar!

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Food Gift Ideas from Around Blog Land

2010-11-23T05:41:00.000-08:00

I will add more to this post as I come across more great blogger gift ideas!

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WOW! Love this gift presentation over at Studio Birget Kerr - she has instructions on how to make Pomegranet Molasses - what a unique gift! (Click Here)

Love these Hot Choclate Jars over at She's Kind of Craft - she even has the gift tags there for you to use. Fun!!

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All kinds of Food Gift Ideas over at Simply Sweet Home

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What a great idea a Smores Kit - check out all the details over at Today's Fabulous Find.

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This fun little gift has all the instructions over at Life in Rehab - click here for full instructions.

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Oooh looks so yummy - complete tutorial over at Ladybug and Lizard check it out!

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She has some great cookie gift and party ideas over at Morre Minutes - check it out!

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Clever gift idea that can be used all year long! Check it out on A Creative Momma.

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This is over at Stuff By Ash - She has a tutorial for Poor Man's Cupcake - did a great job didn't she!
Love these bags for food gifts - where the tag is also a gift over at A Bit Tattered

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Love these paint cans filled with gifts over at Clean and Scentsible Click here to see the details

Full instructions for this fun gift and presentation - click here!

Step by Step To Decorating Our Mantle

2010-11-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

Linking up this week with Cuisine Kathleen, Link in my side bar.
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I thought I would share with you how I have decorated my mantle. This mantle is a bunch of leftover things all put together on a garland. I was going to change it this year - but I really like it - so next year I will change it up again.

The first step is to put the lights up. I have tried to do this with the greenery and it never did look right. I put it up and then added the garland and twisted the garland around the lights. It worked much better. I also used 100 count lights on both the mantle and the bottom part. The 50 count lights weren't enough light.

I added a nail to both sides of the mantle to hook the lights so they are stable and also to hook the garland. It gives it much stability. I decor the mantle with each holiday so the nails really help.

I wanted this to be a really nice thick garland (which is pricey) so I bought the really cheap stuff and doubled it. Then I wrapped it around the lights to cover the cords.

The next step is to add the ribbon. As I undid the roll I twisted it and twisted it around the garland so it would intersperse with the garland.

I had some leftover plastic snowflake garland and added it into the garland as well. You cant even see it but it add's a great reflection of the lights.

Now comes the fun part!
Next step was to add some broken ice branches and scatter them all through it and add some leftover white poinsetta's in clusters in the corners.

Next I added a bunch of ornaments I had, silver stars and balls, ice scicles, snowflakes, boutineers from weddings, etc. The fun thing about this kind of a garland set up is you can tuck things on top, in the back as well as in the front. It all adds to the overall look. I also added a strip of netting to the lights on the mantle to soften them

Here is the finished look! I still need to add some do-dad's to the mantle as soon as I get them unpacked.

It is lovely with the lights at night as well.

Thanks for stopping by - hopefully I will have time to post a few more things tomorrow.

. Have a great week!

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Today I am grateful for a nice warm house - this is what was outside this afternoon as I decorated - a full blown Idaho blizzard!

Gift Ideas from All Over Blog Land

2010-11-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

I found these at Katie's Nesting Spot - click here for details - they are adorable!

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Also had to share these from over at A Journey of a Thousand Miles...... also with tutorial

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What a fun idea for teachers or neighbor'sts - Check out all the details at "From My Front Porch To Yours"

Another great neighbor idea from Today's Fabulous Finds - complete with tutorial

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What a fast and fun idea with tutorial over at Thrifty and Fabulous

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What a Fun Countdown Idea for kids! Check out the tutorial over at Brandy's Crafts.

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Instructions at My Serendipity - Cute Lotion Bottles for Christmas!

Cute Hand Sanitizer Snowman - Instructions at Crafts and Scrap

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I was going to send this link to my girl's but decided I wanted to do it for them - she has a complete toutorial and ideas over at While He Was Napping - thanks for the idea!

ABC Book for Church

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Isnt' this crayon apron adorable - check out the how to's on SHe's kind of Crafty

All Kinds of Hair Bow Ideas over at Vintage Wannabee

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This bow is beautiful - all kinds of ideas over at Attempting Aloha

T-Shirt Quilt - Instructions at Measuring My Live in Love

Awesome! Pop-Up Hallelujah Chorus at Macy

2010-11-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

These are both so great - please take a minute to watch them - very inspiring and worth the time to watch.

Mob Chorus at Ontario Mall - this is Amazing!

Awesome! Pop-Up Hallelujah Chorus at Macy

What I Have Done This Week for Christmas - Wrapping Paper

2010-10-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

I know this is a silly thing to add here - but I think because we all deal with it, I am going to make a post about it.

I have wanted a Wrapping Paper Center for a while now.. I found an old 5 drawer dresser and turned it into my storage area for wrapping paper. It is so perfct! This is what the drawers hold.

Drawer 1 - This drawer has all the tissue paper in a plastic bedspread cover. It is zipped shut so it doesn't get smashed or wrinkled. The other side has all the cellophane wrap and bags.
Drawer 2 - This drawer is 2/3 filler, shred, paper shred etc. Each kind is in a zip loc bag. The other side has a small shoe box that has the tape, scissorsm stickers, etc/
Drawer 3 - This drawer is filled with flat wrapping paper and rolls of wrapping paper - they fit int he drawers perfectly! WOO HOO
Drawer 4 - Ths drawer is filled with bags. There is a small shoe box on one side that has all the small bags, the other side holds all the big bags.
Drawer 5 - This drawer holds all the ribbon. A shoe box holds all the loose bows. Another shoe box holds all the loose ribbon. In the middle are all the big spools of ribbon.

I tried to take a picture - but they aren't too exciting - I think you can really imagine it in your head just as well. Now when I get more paper, bags and bows I have a place to put it and I can even wrap on top of the dresser!

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Nov 2, 2010 - Just found this great article on wrapping --- http://www.housewifebliss.com/2010/10/21/the-art-of-wrapping-presents/

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Look at these fun packages at http://www.diydish.com/

http://love%20this%20wrapping%20from%20beneath%20my%20heart%20-%20click%20here%20for%20details./

Lots of ideas here! Check it out.

Love these Gift Tags! Lots of Ideas here.

Chirstmas Around BlogLand 2010

2010-09-27T02:53:00.001-07:00

I love all the ideas I find around blogland - this post is going to house those adorable ideas!

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Love these adorable Vintage Prints with tutorial over at Karie Chic Creations!

Vintage Pollyanna has a tutorial for this adorable wreath!

This adorable ornament along with other ideas is over at One SImple Country Girl.

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This banner is over at "sassy Sites" along with how to's! (Click here) So Fun!

Click here for a link back to Yuletide Seasongs for a tutorial on how to make this darling house.

What Have I Done This Week for Christmas - Bling Boxes

2010-09-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

I am amazed that we are already at the 100 day mark before Christmas! I love all the preparations for this wonderful holiday and what we celebrate. I love taking the time for gifts for my family and friends. We have about 14 weeks until the big day and I try and divide gift getting into weeks because with our married children and grandchildren it makes it much more managable.

This past week I finished the "Bling Boxes" for our kids and their spouses. These have been so fun to work on. I will post a picture when I get them all wrapped up

Quilted Ornament Balls

2010-08-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

Linking up this week with
Craftomaniac
Skip to My Lou Make it Cuter Monday
Links in my Side Bar
Show and Tell Wednesday
Trendy Treehouse,

Show and Tell Wednesday

Show and Tell Friday/

Deck the Halls

I am working on Quilted Balls - they are a great movie project. It takes about one movie to make one ball - so not to bad - they look awesome. I made my first one on the way to St George, Utah when our daughter had a baby. I have made about one a week since then - shows how many movies I watch! I have 6 done - I need to do about 12 more. Instructions on how to do these are at: http://www.make-stuff.com/projects/quiltball.html

A Few More Pages in My Christmas Traditions Altered Book

2010-08-10T17:27:00.001-07:00

Linking up this week with

Trendy Treehouse,

Show and Tell Wednesday

Show and Tell Friday/

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We are having a family reunion next week with our annual "Girl's Night" and "Boys Night" The girls are making these altered books. I wanted to get a head start so I can help everyone there get a good start. The next few posts tell about the pages I have done so far.

I get excited every night to work for a few minutes on my Christmas Altered Book!

Here are a few more pages that are done.

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This is page 2 of the Santa page. On the left side are all the little traditions and legends about Santa, things like stockings, north pole, reindeer, etc. On the right the envelope holds the Santa history and tradition information.

This is the Christmas Tree Tradition page.
This is the music and caroling page, when you lift the card the information about Christmas music is there.

This is the beginning point of the next page I am working on. On the left side will be traditions of various ancestors. On the right side will be a wonderful talk given by Ezra Taft Benson called, "Keeping Christ in Christmas."

That is all for now! I will update as I make more progress through this magical book.
Thanks for stopping by!

Altered Book - Another Step - The First Page!

2010-08-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

The theme for my book is Christmas Traditions
I decided what pages I wanted to do.
They include:
Ancestor Tribute
Christmas Tree's
Decorations
Santa Claus
Gifts
Our traditions
Nativity
Etc.
I have 18 pages I am doing. I decided a rough draft of each page set up so I can get started.
I gathered all my supplies.
I used an accordian file and gave a file to each page and put teh stuff that goes with each page in the proper space.

This will be the page that holds all the Santa traditions
First Page I did was a horizontal ripped pocket page.
I took the section had had marked for my second Santa page and ripped 10 pieces (see the lower green) then the next 10 and ripped a little higher (see burgandy) then 10 more pieces ripped higher until I had 5 pockets.
Then I used Elmer's Glue and glued each page together (Use a brush to get it even)
Then I painted each section, let it dry then glued the outside edges to make pockets.
I haven't made the stuff that goes in the pockets yet.
Here is all the stuff gathered for the Santa Intro page.
Here is the finished Santa Page.
Next installment will be finished version of all 4 Santa pages.
Thanks for stopping by!

Altered Book---->First Post 2010!

2010-08-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO MY BLOG FOR CHRISTMAS 2010!

We are having a girl's night at our family reunion in a coup;le of weeks. We are starting on an altered book for Christmas. The theme we are using is Christmas traditions
These are the steps we have followed so far.
1 - Pick a theme
2 - Choose an appropriate book to re-purpose
3 - Decide on pages you want to do
4 - Find thoughts, stories to go on specific pages
5 - Divide your book into the amount of pages you want to do and paper clip them
6 - Map each page with post a notes
7 - Decide on layout themes for each page
8 - Gather supplies and put in accordian folder, zip loc's etc for each page.
9 - Start gluing, ripping, punching, painting, sewing etc each page.

Page paper clipped and ready to go:
This shows the beginning of the mapping out of pages - use post a notes.
Next step is to glue pages - use Elmer's glue. Pour out on page, then use a brush to smooth it out. I will show when we start decorating.

Christmas Morning Service 2009

2010-01-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

I felt like I needed to add this one last post to our Chrismtas 2009 as I close this blog until next year.

Every year since our kids were small - Youngest was about 2 and the oldest about 10 - we started doing a Christmas morning service project. Our kids were getting to caught up in the wrong meaning of Christmas. We decided the best thing we could in addition to the other service we did was to focus on someone else on Chrismtas morning. After the service is completed, then we come back and open presents. It has been one of the best things ever!

One year we took pamper packages to all the single ladies in our ward area. One year we went and shoveled all the elderly's driveway's in our ward area. One year we made candy wreaths and delivered them to people who needed a lift. Another year we delivered something for breakfast. Last year it was blizzarding, we shoveled several driveways of people in our are who had been ill. Every year we think about it and decide on a service. The picture is from this year. This year we presented filled up stockings and delivered them on the doors of a retirement home. We had to be really quiet because these people can hear everything!

This is pretty early in the morning sometimes so we have to be quiet. A couple of times we slept in a bit so we had to be really sneaky. We all have such a great time and laughing is a big part of our activity, but he have never been caught yet - close but not yet.

I felt I needed to share this with you, maybe it can help someone else's family who needs a boost. It was such a great thing to teach our kids and as they have grown older and we have added more to our family, it is a great bonding experience.

See you next fall - I am already excited about some of the projects I have planned.

Closing Down for 2009 - See you in early September 2010

2010-01-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

It is time to say good bye for another Christmas season.

This year was a little hectic because of sickness at our house. I didn't get everything done like I had planned and my blog showed that - I am sorry!

I already have plans for Christmas 2010 and I am excited to share that with you early next fall.

For now here is a note I sent someone who asked me about my storage system for my Christmas decorations:

I took a class that suggested having an inventory of your Christmas things so when you are planning etc you know what you have.
So after a lot f thought I figured out one that works for me.
When I put things away last year I incorporated it and this is the year I am seeing the results.
This is how I did it - you can take from it what works for you.

I have about 20 tree's so I have containers for those tree's.
They are assigned a nuimber
1 - White tree
2 - Woodland Tree
3 - Peppermint Tree etc.

Then each room was given a number
100 - Living Room
200 - Kitchen
300 - Dining etc
Some of those rooms have more boxes so I added 01, 02, 03 etc to the number
101, 102, 103 etc.
I know that every 100 numbered box is for the living room.

When I started decorating I pulled out the 700 numbers because those are for the master bedroom and left all the other containers alone....it was amazing!

The reason I went with the "100's" system is it allows me to add containers for each room if needs be. I started out just numbering them and for example I had a box 9 for the living room and when I added soemthing number 21 would also be for the living room and it was still pretty chaotic.

I also have a main list on the computer and made a copy to put in my my Notebook.
It sounds like a bit of work, but it is so worth it!

Have a great year! I will see you in about September of 2010!
Paula

Welcome!

2009-12-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our Home!

For everyone on the "Nester Tour" my whole blog is Christmas and it won't let me link my whole blog up, so please click this link and you can start at the begining and see all the posts. Buckets of Christmas Ideas

Last year I gave you a full home tour.(You can scroll down to see it.) I change things around every year, but since I already did a tour, I decided I want to walk you through the creation of some of my tree's. Every tree post has some type of hint or idea to decorate.

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This is the first tree you see when you walk in the front door. This tree is amazing! Evryone should have a tree like this - I change it around every year and it looks totally different. This year it has red balls and a red sheer window curtain for the tree skirt. It is beautiful and perfect for the spirit of Christmas!

Dated Ornie Arch

2009-12-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

This isn't a tree, but it can count for one!

There are hundreds of ornaments on it. We have been married 35 years and there are several ornaments for every year we have been married. The years we moved there is a mailbox with a new address. The year we had a baby there are that child's baby shoes. The years our children's went on missions are trinkets from that country. The years we added new people in our family from weddings are ornies that represent them. The years we had grandchildren are teddy bears. Each year has an ornament that represents that year. Vacation ornaments. The year my parents died and grandmother died are ornaments from their tree's. An ornament in tribute of 9-11, the dedication of the Nauvoo temple, and other significant events that are a par to of our family history.

Here is a picture of our dated arch:

My New Blue Tree in the Library

2009-12-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

This Tree's Hint - Fil in a sparse tree with anything that goes with the color or theme.
I found some blue ornies at a garage sale this summer and the mood has been with me since, I had to create a blue tree.

Topper

I don't have a topper yet - I have been sick and it has been subzero, so I haven't been able to go and get ribbon to make something, like I said I don't have much blue!

Filler

I had some creative twist that is that old irridescent kind that a friend gave me, leftover from a wedding. I stuffed it in the middle of this tree. The effect is breathtaking! I tried to get a good picture to show you.

Ornaments

I don't have alot of blue ornaments, particularly this color of blue, so I made a few birds, snowflakes, glitter balls and gathered some old craft items that were the right color and started creating.

A friend of mine gave me this nativity ornament last year and it has a bit of a blue tint - it is perfect!

Tree Skirt

The Tree skirt is just blue net - I had just the right shade leftover from one of our daughters weddings.

Treasures of the Heart in the Library

2009-12-13T16:17:00.000-08:00

This Tree's Hint - You can decorate a tree with ANYTHING!!!!!

I really did some deep cleaning this past summer and I found a bunch of cute little things our children have given me over the years. They are tucked in boxes and never seen, so I thought I could make a tree out of them! WOO HOO! I love it. I still have a few more things to go through and will find some more treasures, but meanwhile let me show you, "Treasures of my Heart"

This is a picture of the hearts I made to help pull it all together. When I got things hung up it seems disconnected. I added these hearts and some gold balls and it tied it all together! Just the trick for it. I have stuffed animals all over the interior of this. Cute little things my kids have made me or given me. They are perfect filler and like a little secret you can look and see.

All kinds of cups and boxes and handprints are on this tree.

These are stuffed animals my children have given me. The board on the front is one that our daughter painted for me with all kinds of melted crayons - such treasures!

The Woodland Tree in the Library

2009-12-13T16:09:00.001-08:00

This Tree's Hint - Use Garland to decorate a tree. This tree has 5 garlands and very few ornies and it is totally fun!

This is a fun tree! It is mostly decorated with garland. It takes about 10 minutes to set up. The ornaments are all the woodsy type ornaments we have. There are tin stars, tree's and deer, flannel penny ornies and finished up with sparkly red balls. It is a fun tree - oh I think I already said that!

TOPPER
The top is a twig star with flannel ribbon. Things are sticking out all over the place - I love this kind of stuff!

ORNAMENTS

There is a twig garland, a berry garland, a stick garland, a bead garland and a flannel ribbon garland

Vintage Tree

2009-12-13T16:07:00.000-08:00

This Tree's Hint - If you do an era tree - study out the time period to duplicate it. I used a fake tree for several years and it just didn't quite look right, when I added a real tree and ice scicles it became resplendant!

I have tried to do this tree as original as possible. I love this tree. It is like a blast from my childhood! I have any toys from our childhood as part of the skirt. There are ice scicles, bubble lights and a live tree. It sparkles more than any other tree in the house! I didn't use the old lights however because of their fire hazard. It smells and looks wonderful! All the ornies are from 50's and back. The oldest I have is a tin star that dates about 1910.

Every ornament on this tree is amazing - here are a few that were my grandmothers. The elf is from my childhood.Here are the tin star ornaments.

I love all the shapes of the vintage ornaments....there are a few birds too! All my grandmother's.

A few of the toys that make up the tree skirt - with a splash of cotton batting - all tree's in the 50's had this!

Our Santa Tree

2009-12-13T15:22:00.000-08:00

Linking Up With Deck the Halls -

(Link in the side bar)

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This Tree's Hint - Scroll down to filler section.
When I started getting too many ornaments to put on one tree, I split the tree's up. The Santa Tree used to be anything that was Red, White and Green. Over the years as our collection has grown, it now has it's own tree. It is a favorite. It is in our Kitchen/Family/Dining ARea in one corner with the Vintage Tree in the other corner.

Topper

The topper is a stuffed animal, a bow and some funky picks. I love it!

Filler

All kinds of stuff fit here and there in this tree, there is a little candy house that has become tradition, words like Happy, Believe, etc. I also had a bunch of poinsetta's that had fallen off their stems and so they are stuck deep inside this tree. You can't see them, but their color add's a full look to the tree. If your tree's look sparse, stick something in the middle of them. Anything works, I have used net, sheers, sheets, pillowcases, stuffed animals, anything. You can make any tree look beautiful and the filler is a HUGE part of that.

Ornaments

Very few of the ornaments on this tree are the same. Many are homemade, things we have made over the years for Family Home Evening. Lots are gifts, some are from the ornament exchange I am a part of.

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Tree Skirt

This has a standard skirt, but I added all the stuffed animals, tin cans and wooden painted pieces I did years ago to be a part of the skirt. I also hung all the little things around the outside of the tree that are wall hangings.

My Grand Children's Forrest!

2009-12-13T14:29:00.000-08:00

This Tree's Hint - I buy objects that each child loves and after Christmas they go into my toy closet. It is a great way to get new toys and have fun at Christmas at the same time.

My friend Melody told me about doing a grandchildren's forrest and I loved the idea so much I did one too. Here is my version of our forrest which grows every year!

(We jut found out we have a grandchild due in July -I will be adding another tree next year!)

TOPPER

Each year I make a different topper which has our darling grandson's photo's on it.

This year I made star's. Here they are:

Wyatt age 4

Cody age 22 months - (Pix coming from Walgreen's tomorrow!) I wanted this space ready for it when I get it. This is how the ornie looks pre pix.

Gabe - 14 months

Teague - 4 months

Tate - 4 months

TREE THEME

The theme I use for each of them is what they are interested in that particular year. Wyatt loves helicopter's and jets this year. Last year it was trains. I bought matchbox helicopters and made them into ornies. It also has his last few years photo ornaments on it and a couple of other treasures - a spider ornament we made, a candy train ornament we made last year. But it is mainly helicopters and jets.

Cody loves cars and trucks, all sizes and shapes. His tree this year is full of matchbox cars. At the end of Christmas they will be added to the matchbox car collection that he loves to play with. His ornament from last year is also on it. Gabe is 14 months and loves teddy bears. His tree is full of all kinds and sizes of small teddy bears.
Teague and Tate were born one week apart in August, so their tree's are exactly the same, filled with blue rattles and baby bottles.

Last Year Toppers
These are the toppers I made for last year. They are photo ornaments made on CD's. This year they made great ornaments. I also made balls with their handprints and snowmen made out of them. If you scroll down my blog you will see them.

PICTURE BOOK
This year I made a picture book. It is a paper bag book with all kinds of nooks and crany's. It is a grandchildren's christmas picture book. It begins with the year Wyatt was born with a picture of our family on one side and the grandchildren that year on the other. The year is on each page. There are also pockets that hold other christmas pictures for that year. I want our grandchildren to feel very loved and part of our family. Inside Page

My Ancestor Tree

2009-12-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

This Tree Hint - The topper on this tree is a variety of objects. A toy doll, a family picture, ribbon bows and metallic stars. You can use anything for a topper. Choose something that goes along with the theme and have fun with it!

This is one of my all time favorite trees to set up and to see during the Christmas Season.
It rotates so every side is filled with assorted treasures.

I wanted to do a tree for a tribute to our ancestors. I searched the internet for ideas and found several trees that had photo's of familiy members. I had quite a few photo's of ancestors back about 6 generations. Then I remembered that I had several boxes filled with trinkets that were never seen by anyone and I decided that I would make those into ornaments. The common color theme of these items was pink and green. I went to the craft store and the colors and mood were perfect for a shabby chic. I bought scrapbook paper, sheer ribbon, silver ribbon, pink and silver glitter. It was perfect!

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For our grandmothers I made a big heart ornie and put young and old pictures on them with a piece of their jewelry, a hanky, and a short list of there talents and dolled them up a bit.

My other Grandmother For my grandfathers I made them rectangle, added a young and old pix and a small item I have of theirs as well as a little about them.
I did glass balls with the photo's printed on velum and then put in the balls. They were ok but didn't have quite the zip I wanted. Some were also hard to see. I printed out another copy of the photo's and made shabby chic ornaments out of them. I did mine on pink and my husbands on blue with names , so our kids could see who went with who. These ornies are easier to see, but the glass balls add a charm to the tree.

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This is my great grandmother - both a young and an older picture of her. (Born 1861) My great grandfather picture in the glass ball.
The following are random items I used for other ornaments.
Train and fire truck we used to play with at my grandmothers farm when I was little. Salt Shaker
My grandmother's candles were one of those items.

The price tag at the top of them reads 10 cents.My mom's temple shoes
My grandmother's jello tins
My dad loved tobasco sauce. When I cleaned out their fridge after their deaths, I coudn't part with this silly bottle. I am so glad I kept it.
It is truly a treasure for me and a great memory of him.
A pink poodle from Santa when I was little in my stocking.
A necklace of my mom's
My grandmother was blind when she died. She would get scraps of fabric, cut them into long strips and braid rugs out of them. All of the sewing was by hand because she could feel what she was doing. I got a bag of fabric strips that had been braided but never sewn into a rug. I took it apart and made these nettie dolls out of them and gave them to my children and nieces.
Paper doll from my mom's. I added tulle and ribbon to chic her up a bit. There are 3 of these that are perched in the branches. They are about 18 inches tall.
I had a bunch of my mom's jewelry. I put necklaces in glass balls, but still had pins and earings left. I covered a styro wreath shape with silver ribbon and added the jewelry to it, it is lovely. I also did this with my dad's cufflinks and tie tacks.

Necklace in a ball (I did about 12 of these)

My grandparents letter opener. I remember watching them use this when I was little.

Hot pad crocheted by one of my grandmothers.

I had about 40 hankies that belonged to my grandmothers, my husbands grandmothers and my mom. I made alot of them into hanky ornaments, covering glass balls.

I put some into a basket and tucked them in the tree.

Made some into angel ornaments and some into ornaments themselves.

I had a sheet of my grandmothers. I cut it up and made a variety of shapes and sizes of heart ornaments. I also used the scraps to cover glass balls for mod podge ornaments. Part of it is also being used as the tree skirt.

Hair curlers from the early 1900's

A train from my dad's train set.

My grandfathers glasses

My grandmothers soap dish

A rose from my grandmothers wedding dress

My mom's purse she used when she went on dates with my dad. I remember laying on her bed and playing with it while she would get ready to go someplace special. My dad's scriptures he had with him in the Korean War.

Yo-yo chains made from my grandmothers slip with some pink glitter added.

My mom's shoes

Glass box filled with flowers from my mom's casket. Glass ball with flowers from my dad's.

Glass angel, belonged to my husbands grandmother.

My dad's heart bracelet in a glass ball.

Cookie jar belonging to my grandma - tucked inside the tree.

Wire bench made from spam can by my grandfather.

There are many other ornies on this tree, a puzzle box my dad brought from korea, glass cups, pixie dolls, other knick knacks, grandparents address book. my dad's war medals, etc.

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The Tree
I found the tree at a yard sale for $10.00. The lights didn't work so I had to cut them off and restring them. When I put it all together I discoverd it was a rotating tree - perfect! It is 7 1/2 feet tall and is just the right thing for this theme.
The Filler

When I got the tree all together, there were still bare spots. So I cut up some pink net and white tulle into strips. Put them together and stuffed them in the bare area's. It was perfect! The lights shine through and give it a soft glow.

The Topper

The topper was another challenge. I had a dolll also in this box of things tucked away, a bride doll that Santa gave me when I was five. She need a new veil, so I added a long wispy one made from white tulle and tucked her in the top. On the other side is a current family portrait of my husband and I and our family. Below that are family pictures of my famiy and his. His parents are still alive so I don't have alot of items from his family ancestors. But we do have a lot of their pictures.

We have Mayflower and pioneer ancestors. There are ornaments also with a tribute to them, their list of names and pictures if I have them.

I also made a geneology chart so when our children look at all the items and pictures with the names on them, they can see where each person fits in relation to them. I want our children to know what an amazing heritage they have.

Here is the finished tree

Picture side of tree

Tree's not on tour - White Tree, Peppermint Tree, Angel Tree, Teddy Bear Tree, Hall of Snowmen Tree, Burgandy and Lime and Nativity Tree. They are part of last year's tour and you can see them there. if your scroll down to see last years post. Thank you for stopping by!

It is Cookie Week!

2009-12-06T20:24:00.001-08:00

This week I will be sharing links and all kinds of fun things to do with cookies.

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These are some of our favorite cookies that we made at Christmas. The recipe is from the Taste of Home Magazine. it was the first year it came out that this recipe was in there, so we have made it for years. PinWheel Cookie Recipe

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This cookie is at the BHG website along with a bunch of other chocolate cookie ideas.
Click Here

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Oreo Truffles
Not sure of the source of this - if you know please let me know.
They look yummy!

Ingredients
1 18-oz. Pkg. Chocolate sandwich cookies with white filling, finely crushed
1 8-oz. Pkg. Cream cheese, softened
1 lb. White baking chocolate, melted
Directions
1. In large bowl combine crushed cookies and cream cheese. Beat with mixer on low speed until well blended. Form 1-inch balls by hand. Dip balls in white chocolate; place on baking sheet covered with waxed paper. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. To store, cover and refrigerate. Makes 50 truffles.
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Fun Reindeer Cookies!

Fun Cookies to make with the little people in my life! The instructions for these are at:
http://christmasupnorth.blogspot.com/2009/06/reindeer-cookies.html

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This link is to download a cookie recipe book
http://www.we-energies.com/recipes/

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An Ornament A Day Through November!

2009-11-26T09:40:00.001-08:00

I love ornaments! They have heritage and fun and tradition all over them. I love giving them away. I love it when I pull mine out and remember someone who gave me one. I love making them! I wish my old ones could talk and tell me stories of their Christmas' past.

November 18 - November 30 Ornies

2009-11-26T09:05:00.001-08:00

These are more ornament ideas from the Ornament Exchange that I host every year. Such talented and clever ladies!

These were all made with Vintage Christmas Cards. Made by Tammy from Canada.

These were balls wrapped in sparkly tulle - the picture doesn't do them justice, they really are quite beautiful. Made by Della.

This is a piece of toilet paper roll, cut into 1/3's and painted, then glittered. I am going to add a bow to this one for my shabby chic tree.

This little guy is a ball that has been covered with snow and then his features and hat added. He is adorable!

This clever snowflake is made with popscicle sticks and decorated with buttons. Very fun! Made by Laurie.

This ornie is made with 10 painted puzzle pieces ( 9 green - 1 brown) So cute! Made by me! (Sent as a gift and I had to make some with my grandson!)

This remarkable star is made with scrapbook paper - folded in a special way. It is amazing! Made by Laura.

This darling mitten has beads and a snowflake attached. It is really elegant. Made by Jaden in Idaho.

This lolipop is made with strips of felt rolled up to look like a lollipop - some people are so clever! Made by Larissa in Idaho.

This lollipop is all crocheted. I don't know how people think of all these things! Very cute.

Thsi is a nativity, counted cross stitched on a tiny stocking - very intricate and amazing. Made by Kerry in Wisconsin.

This ball has a crochet collar. It is beautiful! Made by Gayle in Utah.

This clay pot is adorable - I can't wait to put him on our Santa Tree! I think I would like to make some of these with my grandson, I think he would love it!

This is a paper clip made into an angle - so amazing! She will be perfect on my angel tree! By Cindy in Georgia.

This is a putz house made out of an old Christmas Card. Amazing! Made by Rhonda.

November 11-17

2009-11-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

I am part of an ornament exchange with people from all over the United States and Canada. This exchange is the reason I wanted to do an ornament a day post through November.

These are a few of the ornaments - I don't want to put pictures of all of them or it will give it away for those in the exchange. I will post more after the exchange is over.

This adorable tree is from Maranda in Georgia. You can't see the glitter, but it is a bright and cheery ornament.

This is a matchbox with music paper and snow on it. It is adorable! It is from Carol in Canada.

This is from Mary in Texas. It is made from 3 triangles of fabric sewn together and made to look like a tree. It is so clever and a fun ornament!

This is from Keri in Wisconsin. It is a counted cross stitch stocking, her work is flawless.

This is from Ann in Utah. It is an inch and a half block of wood with different pictures on each side and a hanging bead cluster at the botton. It is enchanting!

This is a felt mouse with a candy cane tail - I think he is adorable. It was made by Cindy in Georgia.

This quilted looking ball was made by Cindy in Texas. It is beatiful! I can't wait to get this on my Santa tree.

November 10 - Circle Ornaments

2009-11-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

These ornaments are circles that have 3 sides folded in and glued together and I love them! I have found 3 versions of the same ornament. This first one looks like it is made out of scrapbook paper or could be made out of cards. Cute in a vase or on a tree. This version is from the Bo Bunny Site and is made from scrapbook paper with a little bobble on the end and cute ribbon to hang it up.

This version is from BHG and photo's have been added.

I am making mine from scrap book paper and making them smaller to fit on a shorter tree. They are fun!

November 9 - Ice Scicles

2009-11-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

Aren't these darling ornies! I love them. I don't know where their source is, if these belong to you, please let me know!

November 8 - Felt Star

2009-11-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Sunday and I might not make it on here to post anything so it is going on today.

Felt is so fun to work with! This is actually a pattern from an advent set, but it makes a great ornament. It is also on my peppermint tree. I just found out it is from Jenny over at http://allsorts.typepad.com . All I did was cut out a star, blanket stitch around the edge with red and add a button to the middle, fast, fun, a great movie project!

November 7 - Crochet Doilies

2009-11-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

I did not actually make this doily. My grandmother did. It is lbeautiful. I had quite a few pieces of her work and I got them all out winter and added them by color to whatever holiday they matched and am displaying them all through the year. This little doily makes a lovely ornament. She died in 1967ish and it was made long before that, so it is very vintage!

November 6 - Mod Podge Ornies

2009-11-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

Mod Podging is one of the greatest things to do! It is so relaxing and you can create to your hearts content! This ornie is mod podged with red and white Christmas fabric and goes on my peppermint tree.

Last year I also mod podged some ornies with pieces of an old sheet of my grandmothers that was from the 40's for my ancestor tree. That sheet had tiny pink roses the balls are enchanting!

This year I am mod podging some glass balls in bright red, yellow and teal for a New Mexico tree.

Materials needed: Glass or old balls, fabric cut into small pieces with straight or zig-zag scissors, tissue paper or scrapbook paper scraps, mod podge.

Instructions - dip your material in the mod podge and let the mod podging fun begin! Cover your balls with the fabric or paper, let dry and add a bow if you want, you are done!

P.S. - I hooked my balls on a clothes hanger and let them dry overnight.

November 5 - A Few Snowman Gift Ornies

2009-11-05T05:56:00.000-08:00

I babysit my grandsons one day a week and today is that day! I decided on those days through November, I will show some ornaments that have been gifts to me.

This is from my friend Rhonda. This is an ornament made with a tile and a snowman rub on. It has a pearl border with a white satin ribbon for the top to hang it with. It also haswite ribbons hanging from the lower point of the tile square. The back is covered with felt.
This is from my friend Ann. He is made from felt with a black balnket stich around the edge. He has 3 buttons sewn on along with a button heart.. He has a fabric scarf that is about 1/2 inch wide, french knot mouth, pom nose and googley eyes. His hat is also made from felt with a sprig of holly and a gold sparkly pipe cleaner for embellishment.

This is also from my friend Ann. It is a quilted sewn square. The snomwn is a print from fabric. A bell is sews on the bottom corner.

This is from my friend Dana. He is a wooden painted ornie with a wire hanger that also has stars painted and glued on.

November 4 - Grandchildren's Tree Ornies

2009-11-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

I added 2 tree's to my "Grandchildren Forest" this year. We had 2 babies born in August, so we get 2 new tree's. These are some ornies I am working on for those tree's. Pix posted as soon as camera card is replaced.

November 3 - Button Snowman

2009-11-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

Our darling daughter made these for the same exchange I am in. They are cute snowmen made from a stack of white, black and red buttons...aren't they so cute!

You need 15 white button in gradual sizes, 1 red button, 4 black buttons - one big, 3 the same size. You also need 1/2 black pipe cleaner and orange foam for the nose.

String the buttons in gradual sizes to make the snowman shape on the black pipe cleaner. Add a foam triangle for the nose near the top. Then add big black button, red button for hat ribbon then the last 3 buttons for the top of the hat. Fold the remaining pipcleaner to a loop to hang it with.

November 2 - Bird Ornaments

2009-11-05T05:31:00.000-08:00

Today I made Bird Ornies out of scrapbook paper for an exchange I am in. They turned out so great! I want to make a whole tree with these ornies!

You need two kinds of paper, chipboard, glitter, and ribbon.

I used a clip art program and found a bird body I liked.

Trace your body pattern onto chipboard and trace it on one of the papers too. Glue them to the chip board and then cut a slit in the middle of the bird about 1/2 down from the top of the back of the bird body.

Punch holes along the edge and cut the edge with fancy scissors. Then accordian fold the 6 inch square paper and stick it through the slit for wings.

Then I added ribbon, glitter, etc to embellish - I always feel like I am about in the 2nd grade when I glitter - I love it!

Here are a couple of the finished ones:

Did Someone Say Christmas? Christmas 2009 ------> Tree Plan's

2009-08-31T06:48:00.001-07:00

I am getting all excited when I think about Chirstmas coming up in, I think it is 114 days! WOO HOO. That means decorating starts really soon.

1 - I am adding 2 of course to my grandchildren's forrest.

2 - This year while deep cleaning I found all kinds of treasures that our children have made me over the years and decided to make a tree using them for ornaments, it will be my "Treasures of the Heart" tree. Hearts will be the main shape and base ornaments, I have lights from Valentines that will work great on it and then trim all the objects with hearts and put them on heart shapes. I already found a tree at a garage sale for this, so I am ready to rock and roll!

3 - I would like to add several international tree's for the places each of our children served their missions, but this year it will all be on one tree to make my international tree, still thinking about a name.

Did Someone Say Christmas? Christmas 2009 ------> I Need Wreaths!

2009-08-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

It is time to start thinking about Christmas Decorations for this year. I have been evaluating my Christmas decor from last year and I have notes to myself that I need more wreaths. My plans are to add one to each door.

Last year I also had a bunch of Santa's that were tiny and I didn't know what to do with them so I decided to put them in a wreath and I love it! It hangs on our bathroom door. You can see the Santa tree from that spot and it ties it all together. I found a cute little sign that says "Santa's Wish List" that just finished it.

Here are a few of the pictures. My darling daugher made me these to use. Right now this one goes in the next to the Woodland Tree. It is a woodland wreath. It has birds on it and so does the Woodland Tree.

This is a poinsetta wreath that she also made. I put it in the entry room. The colors are perfect for in there.

My darling daughter is a custom designer and creates wonderful wreaths of all sizes and themes.

***Storage Tip - I hang the wreaths on hangers to store them. When I pull them out there are all fluffy and ready to hang up.

Christmas 2008---------> Welcome to our Home!

2008-12-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

It has been snowing for 5 days, so it is all snowy and beautiful.

You don't need to knock!

Just come right in.

This is our LR from the entry way as you walk in the front door. Straight ahead is the piano and LR tree's. to your right is the entry which leads into the other part of the house. If you look to the top of the picture - you can see the mistletoe!

Please come in and share a cup of hot chocolate with us. You actually have a choice you can add peppermint, caramel syrup or rasberry and a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make a yummy treat to share. Lots of cookies are here on our treat table. (More deatils on that and other family fun for Christmas added daily for the next week on http://bucketideasforgrandmas.blogspot.com/

You can see the tree tour of my friends tree's at the bottom of the blog. There are garland ideas too. So happy you are here!

Piano & Nativities

2008-12-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

This is the piano at night. Our white natvity is in the middle with the stacking plate centerpiece on the left and a jar full of ornies and miniature nativity on the right.
I have a nativity collection and that collection is scattered all over the house. This is 2 of them.

Stacking Tray Centerpiece

Filled with all the leftover white decor things.

Tiny nativity under a bell

Nativity from Isreal Made From Olive Wood

Nativities from Granada (aunt) , Bolivia (dd#1) , Mexico (f&m inlaw) and a friend in Wisconsin

Nativities from Russia (dd #2), New Mexico (son) , Lithuania(dd #3) , Costa Rica (dd#2) , glass (dd#1), the Salt Lake Airport (dd#1) and my dad. The carved one my dad put a down payment on in Sept of 1992. He passed away in March 1993. The man who made the nativity called me in September of 1993 and asked if I wanted the nativity my dad had made a payment on. He knew my dad had died and knew my dad had planned to give that to me for Christmas. Of course I did! It is a special piece that I dearly love.

Corn Husk Nativity

Classic Beautiful Nativity

Nativity in Entry Area by front door from DD #2 (

Jim Shore Nativity above computer

Nativity in Bathroom - my husband bought for me when we were first married and very poor!

I love this little nativity.

NAtivity from DD #4 - I love it!

Mantle Living Room

2008-12-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

This is the mantle in our living room. It is the first thing you see. I did it with quite a few less candles than last year, (see picture at top of blog.) We have stockings we hang when it is Christmas Eve. We live in Idaho and so we do build fires which aren't stocking friendly.

Close up picture

Hearth Jars

Filled with left over clear and silver ornaments, crocheted snowflakes, metallic shred, silver stars, pearls, silver ribbon, tulle and snow.

Our White Tree

2008-12-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

This is the same tree from about the same angle that is in the picture at the first of the blog. Isn't it amazing how different it looks with different colors on it? During the Day
This is at night - you really can't see it in the pictures but this tree is spectacular!Topper - bows with ting tings Close up of nativity ornament

Close up of snowman ornament

Close up of huge snowflakes, that are all over in the tree.

Close up of Angel. This is a tree topper, but the tree is too tall, so I tucked her in the branches

Front Window

2008-12-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

This is the front window ledge. The tree you can see is the Ancestor Tree (see post below to see the detail of that tree.) Front angle a little closer up of candles.

Entry Area & Bath

2008-12-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

This is the entry area from the front door. You can either to into the Living Room or back into the dining area, or down the hall to other rooms

This is my grandchildren's forrets. This is new for me this year. We have had 2 grandchildren born since March. I found 3 - 3 foot tinsle tree's this summer that I am using for it. As we get more grandchildren I will have to find more tree's and a bigger space!Our oldest grandson's tree's is filled with his favorite things, trains, spiders, helicopters, etc.

Our next grandson is teddy bears because he loves to cuddle and he is 9 months old.

Our youngest grandson is 6 weeks so we have pictures of him.

I got a handprint of each of their hands (see October #2 post in archives) for their tree's and made a CD scrapbook picture ornie for the topper (see September Ornament Corner post.) It is a darling forrest!

An old pair of ice skates at the end of the banister.

Wreath on Bathroom Door

Matches the Santa Collection you can see from this point in the house. I had a bunch of odd's and end Santa's and so I decided to put them all together on a wreath, kind of like the I Spy tree that is right next to this door. (See post below)

If you look at the picture above you can see our bathroom - not sure when they built this house that they put a bathroom door so you can see in from the front door. Anyway it is cute on Christmas to see the fun stuff. The picture below is the bathroom decor you see when you first walk in the room.

Shelf above the towels filled with fun things our kids have made or given me - I love these things. Just below this is a green tinsel tree.

Bear Wreath our youngest daughters made several years ago. Everything in the bathroom is bears so it fits in there. I love these things my kids have made in years past.

This is the shelf above the potty. It is squishy in this spot so hard to get a good picture!

Dining Area

2008-12-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is our dining area. I am standing in the kitchen to take this picture. Sterling our rotwiler and Sushi our mut are in the picture. It was really cold outside this morning and I feel so bad when they are out in that. You can see the Santa picture. To your right is the Santa Collection. the china hutch, the Vintage Tree and shelves with all kinds of fun stuff. To the left almost behind me is the hall to the entry area. (See detailed pictures of Santa tree in post below.)
Santa shelf above couch.

China Hutch with my mom's dishes

Vintage Tree - I have ornaments from 1910 to 1950's on this tree.

It reminds me of when I was little. I love this tree!

TopperArch into entry area

Dated Ornament Arch

2008-12-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

Ornament Arch
This pictures shows an arch with a bunch of ornies on it. I have ornaments dating back to before we were married. I used to keep them on a separate Christmas Tree. There were so many of them they were hard to find and I just didn't like it. We have an arch into our living room and I started hanging them on there. They start on the lower right edge, go up and around and down the left side. Now we have started putting them on the other side as well. The ornaments we have made as a family are on the year we made them, each year we had a baby, there is a pair of their shoes hanging, each move has a new mailbox and ornies from vacations and other things we have done. It is like a walk down memory lane when I put them up and it is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas.

Baby shoes and a mailbox because we moved into a new house. More baby shoes and other ornies You can see the 911 flag in this shot This is the year my parents and grandmother died - there are a few of their ornaments.

Master Bedroom

2008-12-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

Pix from our room

Bay Window - see detailed pictures of Angel Tree in post below.

Sweet Shoppe Corner

2008-12-10T18:08:00.000-08:00

Looking into the kitchen

Gingerbread Garland

Santa Hot Pad Holder

Sweet Shoppe Corner

Close Up Corner

Burgandy and Lime Tree

2008-12-10T17:21:00.000-08:00

Lime and Burgandy Tree lit taken with flash. These are the same decorations that are on the tree that is the picture with the blog. The picture doesn't do it justice but it is a beautiful tree.

Tree lit taken without a flash.

Angel Topper

Various Ornaments in Tree

Big star stuffed in the branches

Nativity Tree and Woodland Tree

2008-12-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

Nativity Tree

I had a bunch of little nativities and not enough shelves to put them in so I made a tree. I had an extr 6 foot tree and it worked great!

Nativity Topper

There are several sets I turned into ornies and clustered them on the tree. Others are just one piece nativities so I tucked them in the branches.

Mary and Joseph Mop Dolls

Wooden Nativity at the bottom, our kids played with and not grandkids love to arrange.

Woodland Tree

This is the woodland tree. It has all the reindeer, rusty tin, and other woodland ornaments on it. It started because our son in law is an avid hunter, fisherman, and outdoorsman. Our duaghter and he were married at Christmas time and we made a tree for the presents they received to go under. The tree was in his honor. It has been fun to add new things to it each year. It is on a 6 foot tree right now. One of these years we may have to upgrade to a bigger tree.

Topper is a flannel bow on a twig star.

Close up of left side.

Close up of right side. There is a little log cabin tucked in the branches.

Hall of Snowmen

2008-12-10T16:23:00.000-08:00

Here is the "Hall of Snowmen."
It is on the basement landing. All of the snowmen decor we have is in our Hall.

These are the three alpine tree's that hold all of the snowmen.

Back wall

Bottom of Hall
Other wall in the Hall

Angel Tree In Our Room

2008-11-24T18:45:00.001-08:00

Angel Tree in Our Room.

It is a tall skinny tree so it doesn't take up too much room.

Tree Topper
Close up Of Ornaments
Other Side Close Up

Little angel tucked in. These are angels I made for myslef and out daughters out of an old flour sack that was my Maternal Grandmother's

Santa Tree

2008-11-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

This tree is in our dining/family room area. I have a bunch of Santa's, Santa tins, Santa dolls, etc. because I have my mom's stuff, gifts and finding some I love turned it into a huge collection. I put some on the shelf above the couch and put the rest on the tree, in the tree and under the tree. Before the display seemed almost like I was at a store and I didn't like that. When I added this tree and incorporated the signs etc into it, it made the Santa's fun again. Close up view of some of the ornaments.

Little Santa house tucked in the branches.

I like to tuck something vintage inside the branches, kind of like a little secret.

I was talking to a friend, Susan and she tucks fairies in all of her tree's too.

This is the symbolism of Santa and what he means.

This is the tree skirt from one side.
This Santa is one of our favorite Santa's. When I get him out the kids are so excited to see him again...they say this tree isn't finished until this Silly Sitty Santa is out and either in the tree or sitting close, he is a big part of our Christmas Celebration!

Peppermint Tree

2008-11-17T22:23:00.001-08:00

Linking up with Show and Tell Friday, Deck the Halls, Frou Frou and Punkin Seeds -
links in my side bar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peppermint tree at night. Window garland and all the foo foo added.

This is my peppermint tree. It is so cheery! . It was a little sparse at the bottom so I added some red and white trivets and hot pads inside the middle and it worked! I put a bunch of red and white ornies on this. There is a little pillow that was my aunts from a wreath she made that is tucked in. My old Barbie doll with a red dress, sits on the limbs. I had some red glass tear drop ornaments that I added at the end and it pulled it all together. I love it!

This is the tree topper. I had a couple of candy cane ornament gifts and

they were just perfect to add here.

One side close up.

Other side close up.
Bottom with stuffed animals and other red and white decor.

This shows the red felt advent calendar at the bottom of the bay window.
Perfect to go with the Peppermint Tree!

Advent Envelopes from http://tinyurl.com/2ejyvq

My Ancestor Tree

2008-11-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

My Ancestor Tree is done! Actually I need a picture of our family, but we have had new babies and son in laws added so we are doing a current one at Thanksgiving and will add it then.
(Fall leaves still up - the rest of the room isn't decorated yet.)
This tree revolves so every side is packed with things. Our daughter was here the other night and sat in there for a long time and said, "Everytime the tree goes around I see something new!" It is beautiful, the picture really doesn't do it justice...not sure how to fix that.

This is the tree topper. On the other side of the doll is where our family pix will be hung.

My Maternal Grandmother's Glasses

2008-11-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

Dried Flower Petal Ornament

2008-11-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

These were the roses that were on the floral spray on my mom's casket. I had them in an arrangment that was falling apart. I put them inside glass ornies for my ancestory tree and they are stuning!

Mom Hankie Ornament

2008-11-04T09:09:00.001-08:00

I just finished my first hankie ornament. It was a little tricky because I didn't know what I was doing. This hanky was my mom's. There is a small tag and picture on the back you can't see that identifies it. It is beautiful. I tied it with pastel teal lace, shaggy yarn and see through ribbon. Then added silver ribbon and pearl netting to it. WOO HOO. I am excited to do the rest of the hankies of my grandmothers and my husbands grandmothers. I have 12 in all.

Beginning on Ancestor Photo's

2008-10-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

One of the new tree's I am doing this year is an Ancestor Tree. I explained it in an earlier post. I started on the ornies for it. I am doing all the great grandparents and back right now. These are some of the pictures from my paternal grandmother's family. Several of these go back 6 generations! I am doing the tree in pale pastels. I put the pictures first on plain pastel cardstok and they didn't look very good at all! I then mounted them on a pastel print and then after adding the names, glittered them with white glitter and used a sheer white ribbon for the ornie hanger. They are working perfectly! I had several pictures of a family group, so I made a photo cube for them. The pictures don't do them justice I am sorry to say. Oh and pardon my studio - it is busy right now!

Handprint Ornies

2008-10-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

We made these darling handprint ornies this week. The handprints are my darling little grandson boys. These will go on their tree in my grandchildren's forrest.

Heart Shape Shabby Chic Ornament

2008-10-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

This is my grandmother. The earings on the ornie are hers. She was a great gardener, so the flowers represent that. My grandparents ornaments will all be heart shaped and little bigger, so I can add an item I have tat belonged to them to the ornament.

Star Shabby Chic Photo Ornament

2008-10-19T05:40:00.001-07:00

This is a star ornament idea I got from my friend Storm - (see blog link to the left) It is a picture of my Great Grandma Rapp. She was beautiful. My great grandparents pictures will all be on square shapes - I was experimenting with this one.

What Am I Dong This Week to Get Ready for Christmas?

2008-10-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

Today I am starting on my heirloom ornies for my heirloom tree.
It will probably take me all week, I have Super Saturday on Saturday and projects that need to be fnished for that too.

So far this is what I have planned:
--Chipboard ornies
--Star shape for our children and family
--Hearts for our parents - big enough to add war medals and other things like that with a pix. I am adding a little bag to some made out of a see through scarf my mom had from hawaii that has holes in it but will work for this!
--Multi Hearts (kind of made up) for our siblings and their families, so a family group is all on one ornie.
--Squares for grandparents & back. -- When I was looking for pix I found a disc that my uncle sent me just before his death that I didn't know i had that had copies of pictures from 5 generations back. Made me cry when I met these people for the first time. I feel teary even thing about it now and being able to introduce them to my family.
--Put handkerchiefs over glass balls with ribbons that were grandmothers.
--I got my mom's jewelry ready to put in glass balls, Kind of an eye spy thing.
--Little trinkets and things that were my parents and grandparents that I am making into ornies.
--I found 2 pairs of shoes in whie and pink that were my mom's I am going to add ribbons too.
--I have some glass cups and other things also to add.

I am doing it all in shabby chick and pastel colors on a flocked white tree that roates. (My garage sale $15.00 find! WOO HOO!)
I am doing a tree skirt with vintage items, not sure how I am going to arrange it yet.

Eye Spy Tree

2008-09-24T06:50:00.001-07:00

I Spy Tree

Made using all the stuff in my junk drawer.

Key Book

Try to find what is in here!
Cheerios in a spoon

We are doing it for one of our Super Saturday classes. I actually made this last year.My friend Storm featured this on her blog last year.

EYE SPY INSTRUCTIONS
I bought a 24 inch styro cone and cleaned out my junk drawer, the bottom of toy boxes and shelves etc. Then I started gluing things on the cone with hot glue. It was quite fun!I started at the bottom and worked up, then I added things and layered some.I had a lamp turner oner that was from an old lamp of my mom's that I added to the top so I could hook the little book of what is on the tree to it. Then I sprayed it all red, made the key book and it was finished!A few ideas:Plastic spoon with cheerios in it, a sucker, keys, toys, jewelry, screws, toy pieces, toothbursh, mini anything, etc.

Photo Cube

2008-09-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

This is a project I did for our Super Saturday - it is also a Christmas Gift for my aunt. I don't think she knows what blogs are, so I am not to worried she will see it. Fun to make!

PHOTO CUBE INSTRUCTIONS
Supplies Needed:4 x4 inch block, 2 - 1/2 sheets scrapbook paper, ribbon to match paper, stick glue4 pictures converted to sepia colorInstructions:Sand block if needed .Paint all corners with brown paint (if doing sepia.) Cut paper to fit on each side of block and glue on. Glue on the full sheets to those sides. Decide what size pictures you want on each side block. Tie ribbon around block.I did 2 full photo's and 2 cut photo's.I made frames for my cut photo's and added them.I used the clip art program on my computer and typed out 2 words, enlarged them to about 75 and printed them out on colored cardstock. Glue them on. Done!

Ornament Corner for Super Saturday

2008-09-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

These are the ornaments we are doing for our "Ornament Corner" for Super Saturday in October.

We have been focusing on frugal Christmas ideas so these are all

"Altered Art" the new recycled buzz word!

Instructions are at the bottom of the blog following pictures.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fancy CD Ornament

This is made with a CD as the base, a pick and ribbon
This will probably go on the Angel Tree in our room.

FANCY CD ORNIE INSTRUCTIONS
Supplies:1 cd, ribbon, pickDirections:1 - Tie bow2 -Hot glue Bow to about 1/2 inch from top of cd.3 - Hot glue pick under the middle of the bow.

Multi Star Ornie

This was so fun, I felt like a little kid again creating a picture with glitter!

This will be on the Nativity Tree

MULTI STAR ORNAMENT
Supplies - Chipboard, Glitter, Glue - Elmer's, Stick glue, Christmas Card, Picture or Scrapbook paper with picture. Instructions: I used a star pattern from my Print Artist Program and made it 4 sizes. Cut out picture that will fit three stars. Glue them to chipboard. Make a solid bead of glue all around the edge of pictures. Add glitter, let dry. Add ribbon. Glue stars together.

Penny Ornaments

Made with felt and embroidery floss.

Actually I ran out of floss so I used 4 threads of white thread.
These are for the woodland tree.

Lightbulb Snowman
This is made using a lightbulb, paint, fabric scraps and twigs.

Cute huh!
I will put him on my snowman tree. I think I will make a few more. They are easy and fast.

SNOWMAN LIGHTBULB INSTRUCTIONS
Supplies: Light bulbs, white paint, orange paint, snow paint, twigs, fabric sraps, toothpick or orange foam scrap, 2 black beads for eyes. Instructions1 – Clean your bulb with rubbing alcohol and cotton ball.2 – Paint ball white – may take 2 coats. Then paint with snow effects paint. (I used an upside down styro cup and poked a hole in the bottom to dry bulb.3 – Paint the end of a tooth pick orange or cut a tiny piece of orange foam for nose.4 – Make a scarf out of a 9 inch x ½ inch fabric scrap and clip the ends in for fringe5 - Make a muff with a 2x 1 ½ square. Hot glue edge to make a tube.6 - Make a hat with a 4 inch by 4 in square. Hot glue along one edge to make tube.7 – Place at on bulb and tie around top to give it shape.8 – Add face with bead eyes and hot glue orange nose.9 – Glue twigs around neck area and hot glue muff to ends.10 – Add scarf – you are done!

My daughter and I made 25 of these for an exchange and it took us about 2 hours.

CD Snowman

This is made using an old CD and a Christmas Card

He will probably live on my snowman tree too!

CD SNOWMAN INSTRUCTIONS
Supplies:1 CD's, 1 Christmas Card, Snow and glue glitter or Glitter SnowDirections:1 - Glue two CDs together so that their shiny sides are out. If your CD has both sides shiny, then use only 1 CD.2 - Cut the snowman out in circle shape using CD for pattern.3 - Glue to CD. I used the back of the card because it was patterned to cover the back of the project. If you don’t have a back you can use scrapbook paper or glue another CD to the back.4 - Put snow along edges of the CD. Just bap it on here and there to make it resemble snow. Add glitter if your snow isn’t glittery. That’s it!

Paper Star
This was made by my friend Sharon from Texas.

I got it from a swap we were in together.

It is made using 4 kinds of scrapbook paper, glue, ribbon and 2 buttons.

This will be on the burgandy and lime tree.

Photo CD
This is a mini scrapbook page put on a CD.
It would have been cute to get some train buttons to embellish this with,
but we were going for frugal, use what you have in your house.

This will be on "my boy's" tree in the grandchild forrest. The theme is trains this year.

PHOTO CD ORNIE INSTRUCTIONS
Supplies:1 cd, scrapbook paper, pictures, embellishmentsDrections:1 - Trace Cd onto scrapbook paper and cut 2 circles2 - Glue ribbon to top of CD.3 - Glue paper onto CD.4 - Arrange pictures and glue onto CD5 - Add embellishments

Spool Snowman
These were made using 3 different sizes of spools.

They will go on my snowman tree

SPOOL SNOWMAN INSTRUCTIONS
Supplies: 3 spools, 1/4" fabric strip, White paint, buttons or paint, 1/4 inch bell, paint brushDirections:1 - Paint spools.2 -While they are drying, rip 1/4" piece of fabric 18" long.3 - String bell onto fabric strip and tiein the middle. Put both pieces of fabric through first spool, tie a knot, repeat with next 2 spools.4 - Paint on eyes and and mouth. Cut a sliver of foam for nose and glue on.

Cookie Sheet Advent

2008-09-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

These are a kick to make! This is one of the projects we are making for our Super Saturday. Instructions listed below following pictures

Peppermint Tree Ornies

2008-09-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

One of the tree's I am doing this year is a peppermint tree.

These are some of the ornaments I have made so far.

The balls are mod podged scraps in red and white on clear glass balls.

The ornament stars are made from felt.

I got the original idea from:

http://allsorts.%20typepad.com/%20allsorts/%202007/11/advent-%20calendar.%20html

Felt Envelope Advent

2008-09-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

My current movie project is an advent calendar from the following website. http://allsorts.%20typepad.com/%20allsorts/%202007/11/advent-%20calendar.%20html

I still need to add the fabric between the envelopes and the string to tie it closed. I also made my envelope pointed instead of curved. I will take a picture when I am all done. It is really a cute project.

My Own Christmas Blog!

2008-09-10T03:12:00.001-07:00

I love Christmas.
I started a holiday blog and was going to all the holidays together. After seeing other's Christmas blogs, I decided to separate it and create a Christmas blog, so here we go!