Category Archives: For the Holidays

A Felt Christmas

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Merry Christmas Eve!! My parents gave me an old Christmas tree they had to use in my house in Birmingham, but when school let out, I brought it home to decorate my wing of the house (aka the basement).

So with a blank slate, I naturally pulled out some felt.

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I freehanded each piece. I wish I could give you a template, but the project began on a whim, thinking I could use them as gift tags. Quickly, one or two ordaments turned into twenty.

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To add additional decorations to the tree, I created a very simple paper garland to wrap the tree in. I purchased some Christmas scrapbooking paper and used a punch to make all of the circles.

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Using a sewing machine creates a very easy process. Simply slipping each circle under the sewing foot as the machine feeds it through. Once you get the rhythm, you’ll have 6-feet of garland before you know it.

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The final step (and the best step) is taking everything you have made and adding it to the tree.

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And there you have it. A tree so simple, you could create it the day before!

From my family to yours – I wish you a very crafty Christmas!!

The little things

My life is a whirlwind of crazy. With working at my internship, planning events for Samford, finishing the yearbook and oh yeah, doing homework and going to class, I spend the amount of free time I have sleeping. Multiple times already I had felt like I had reached my breaking point, but then the clouds parted, the sun came out and I spent some time crafting. Easter provided that time for me. Dying Easter Eggs is one of my favorite things. It’s just an added perk that it only take 30 minutes to accomplish.

I do have a few projects in the works, and the moment they are finished I’ll make sure to document the results. Thanks of being patient with me. I promise to post more soon. In the meantime, happy spring!

Oh Christmas Tree

Since my family adopted the fake Christmas tree that adores our living room, I searched to find a way to sneak a real one back in the house.  I found this one at Home Depot and decided to stick with an all-natural theme. My mom had some leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving, so a cranberry garland was created.

   

The garland was super easy to make. Using a basic needle and thread, I sewed each cranberry on, simply tying a knot at the end.

 

The Colors of Fall (and Felt)

With Christmas only days away, I realize how late this post is. (But better late than never, I like to say) For Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to change up our family’s traditional table setting with a new table runner. And of course, the material of choice was felt.

I printed off different leaf templates and used them as stencils to cut the felt leaves. I stuck with five colors (brown, light green, dark green, yellow and dark red). I then cut a long rectangle out of white muslin – the base of the table runner. I used black embroidery thread to attach the leaves to the muslin by sewing the views of the leaves.

Once all the leaves were attached, I cut another rectangle of fabric and sewed the two pieces together (placing right sides together and sewing with a 1/2 inch allowance). The finished product is simply adorable, and it looked great on our Thanksgiving table.

Extra note: At each plate setting, I cut out more leaves on cardboard paper and wrote Bible verses on each. The napkins were tied together with the same ribbon I used in the table runner complimented by a nice sprig of rosemary.

Quilted American Flag

Weeks after making a quilt, I can’t help but want to make another one. And with leftover fabric from my patriotic napkins, I decided to make a small, yet very festive, decorative quilt.

Sorry, but I didn’t take any pictures as I made the flag since the project started out on a whim. But shoot, didn’t it turn out pretty adorable! (I love the embroidery detail. It really makes it look more hand-quilted, though it is definitely machine-quilted!)

  

Once I finished the flag, I dug up an abandoned canvas, grabbed a stapler and mounted it!

  

Which brings me to the finished product…

 

For a patriotic picnic

With the 4th of July only days away, I wanted to make something “festive,” but I knew I didn’t have enough time to make something big/time consuming. So the idea of napkins seemed simple and easy to make – and trust me, it was! The idea of making the pinwheel design had been floating around my head ever since I made an quilt, and I managed to find this video that made it so easy to make!

  

I started by cutting out 13.5 inch squares from both fabrics. Then I arranged both squares with the right sides facing in and sewed a continuous seam (with a 1/4 inch seam allowance) along all 4 sides.

  

Next, I cut 2 diagonal lines. This created 4 squares with perfect half triangles. I then arranged it into the pinwheel design.

  

Next I sewed together the squares 2 at a time. Then the final 2 rectangles (making sure the center seams were aligned).

      With the top side done, I cut out a back piece from a navy blue fabric. Like before, I created a seam around all the edges, leaving about an inch so I could flip the fabric right side out.

As the final touch, I sewed a seam along the edgse of the finished napkin, securing everything in place.

And with that, it’s done. I made 6 napkins in about 2 hours – again, SO EASY!

 

 

My American Flag

 

With the 4th of July just around the corner, I thought I would pull this project out of the archives for those of you who are still looking for something to make before the holiday weekend.

I made this last fall after finding the knitting pattern in a Debbie Bliss book. It still remains to be one of my favorite knitting projects to date!

The project is super simple (provided you use Debbie Bliss’ pattern – I cannot remember the name of the book where I found it, but I do know it’s from one of her newest books).

   

Once you finish your knitting, I simply cut a piece of blue felt – same size as the flag – and whipped stitched it in place. I purchased the wood stick from a craft store and inserted it before whip stitching the felt piece in place.

This is super easy to make, and I managed to finish it in one night. So you still have plenty of time to whip it up before the big day!

 

For your Sweetheart: A Valentine’s Garland

I simply adore Valentine’s Day! Not for the romantic element, but for the fact that it is socially acceptable to go over the top with heart-inspired decorations. This project is the first dorm room project of the spring semester, and I am completely obsessed with it!

I gathered my supplies – red, pink and white fleece squares (I know, I’m usually all about felt, but I thought the fleece had softer colors), embroidery floss, some leftover quilt backing and a heart stencil I cut out myself.

The whole thing is pretty simple. I first cut out the backing using the paper stencil I made. Then using the backing, I cut out the fleece, making the hearts slightly larger.

Once the hearts were cut out, I used the floss to embroider on the cute saying one would find in a Sweetheart candy box. I stuck to the more classic sayings. Though I did find one on google images that said “Tweet Me,” I held back and stuck with the ones I could remember from my childhood. “U R GR8” might be my favorite!

After that, I placed the backing inside the hearts. I chose to use yarn as my string that would holds the garland together, and once everything was in place, I pinned it all together.

And as you can see, the sewing machine was pulled out to stitch it all in place. The final result is simply adorable, and adds an element of cuteness that our common room needed.

A Fishing-Inspired Christmas

Christmas gifts for my fisherman dad – fisherman ornaments!

And if you’re like my family and leave your Christmas tree up until Epiphany, this is a simple craft that you can add to the tree before the Christmas season is over. The bobbers were super easy. I simply bought a pack of traditional bobbers for 50 cents, and I attached a thicker ribbon using the hook that attaches onto the fishing line.

The fishing lure was easy too. But to be better safe than sorry (especially after my dad got a hook stuck in his thumb), the points of the hooks need to be removed. Then I just added a ribbon – and I picked a lure that (was cheap) and had a loop at the top so it hung straight.

Merry Christmas!

My projects are about to be taken to a whole new level after today. After years of dreaming, I finally own a working sewing machine! I have been given old machines, and though I love the sentimental value, they just haven’t worked. So to get one that is brand new… well, I’m loving it!

And if that gift wasn’t good enough, the best present was the free tutorial given freely by my wonderful grandmother.

Oh, and can we talk about my first white Christmas EVER! The backyard is a blanket of snow, so basically, I probably won’t be getting any projects started tomorrow. I’m thinking snow day!