Christmas Tree Skirt

Last year my Christmas tree skirt of many years fell apart. I had always wanted to make one so decided this was the time. I searched for a pattern and chose this Holly Jolly Christmas Tree Skirt on Craftsy. I used Moda's Merriment fabric and did a little more mixing of the fabrics than the pattern called for. It took most of the year but here it is finished.

A closer look at the print

I went with a plain green on the back and a variegated green thread for the quilting.

I cant wait to use this skirt this year!

Bisque Ornaments

In the days before Christmas I started painting a set of Bisque Christmas Ornaments I had ordered from Mary Maxim along with our other craft kits. These ornaments use a metallic paint which give them a very nice finish. Several coats of paint are required to get the effect to look right. It was a nice relaxing project that we were able to add to the tree when they dried.

Snowmen Ornaments

This weekend it was craft time with Katie again. She chose to make these bead snowman ornaments.

The kits came with the standard beads and pipe cleaners. Katie put the beads on on and I used hot glue after each bead. The last step was to tie the ribbon scarf around the neck.

 These guys are already hanging on the tree and look adorable.

Getting Christmas Started

It may be Thanksgiving but after a long day of cooking the was right to start with some Christmas crafts. A few months ago Katie, my Mom and I picked out some Christmas crafts from Mary Maxim. Tonight we started with a simple ornament, here is the package.

It contained silver pipe cleaners and beads. We were quickly able to set it up and Katie followed the graphic to put the beads in the correct order. 

We did run out of pipe cleaners so I substituted a yellow from from our craft supplies.

Cute and easy to make, what more can you ask for!

More Christmas

Christmas craft making has continued around here. The photo quality is a little poor as most pictures are taken late at night but the general idea comes across.

Katie gets Turtle magazine which always has good games, activities and more in it. She usually finds a craft or food project she wants to try. Her most recent issue was all about the holidays. She found a craft project she has really been wanting to do, basically it is a tree made from craft sticks.

Here is the finished product:

We also made some bell necklaces.

Foam reindeer ornaments.

Bell snowmen. These were a few weeks work, wooden balls have to be painted, hats have to be cut and sewn, etc... Some of their faces are a little odd looking but I never claimed to be a painter, I still think they came out cute.

A felt, sequin and bead snowflake.

A foam Christmas cookie ornament.

Paper ball ornament.

Foam garland.

Paper chain garland.

Christmas Crafting

We have been getting into the Christmas Spirit, lacking a sewing machine has forced us to move to other types of projects.

One ornament project was ribbon lollipops. These came from OTC craft kits and came in three colors. They involved rolling felt and ribbon in a spiral for the top part.

My Mom has been working with Katie on decorating pine cones she collected from her yard. They have while snow (paint) and glitter

A kit I purchased at Jo-Anns made these ball ornaments that Katie decorated.

In a craft book I found a Borax Snowflake idea. I had borax and just needed to get pipe cleaners. They form over night and we have made several rounds of them. Here is one of the first ones.

After looking at some of the many ideas online I got a little more creative with the design and we also added food coloring to give them a slight blue tint.

Finally, I completed this felt wreath. It is made from a variety of shades of green felt squares. The squares are folded and cut then strung on a heavy wire. Next I put together the felt flowers and glued them along with some decorative buttons and now have a completed wreath.

Fantasy Fudge

Back in the day the Kraft Marshmallow Creme jar had a recipe for Fantasy Fudge on the back of the jar. A few years ago Kraft changed the recipe and there has been an outcry for the original ever since. Of course the original recipe is on the Internet and can be seen here. This is the fudge I make every Christmas, usually two batches, one with nuts and one without. I decided to start with the nut fudge this morning. Its a good thing I have my bar stool type sitting apparatus since standing to stir this was just not going to happen.

First the sugar, evaporated milk and butter/margarine are mixed.



Over medium heat, stirring constantly the mixture is brought to a rolling boil for four minutes, still stirring constantly.



After four minutes remove the pan from the heat and add the marshmallow creme and chocolate chips.



Next add the nuts (if you want them) and vanilla.



The fudge is them poured into a pan. The recipe says to use a 9 inch square pan but I have always used a 9x13. I also grease the pan rather than lining it with foil. For this step I had to have Mike come and assist since I have apparently lost the ability to hold up a pan and get the contents out, not that he minded since one of his roles is official taster and he got to walk away with the spoon afterwards (his other role is dishwasher, thank goodness). Here is the fudge in the pan cooling.



Later this evening or tomorrow I will make a pan of plain fudge.

Mini Christmas tree

I knew I wasn't going to be able to do my normal Christmas decorating this year due to our impending arrival. I have been thinking about what to do and on a trip to Target today I came up with this. Its a live tree (which hopefully I wont kill) with just some lights and glass ornaments. It helps make the apartment a little festive!

Latest Project

It has been awhile since I posted any crafts, this is because I have been working on a massive one for about the last month and a half. Lets take a look...


Here is is with walls and starting to decorate, can you tell what it is going to be yet?


Another shot of the decorating process, the wall are done and these here in the front are for the ground.


Hey look at that there is snow on the ground and more sparkle on it. There in the front is the beginning of the roof.


The roof is ready to decorate! Are you ready to see the end result?


Here it is, a little gingerbread house with removable roof.


A look at the side.

And now the back.

I finished this project tonight and boy are my fingers tired. It was a kit that was fabric, thread, sequins and beads. I had to cut cardboard for the structure and cut all the fabric out. Everything was sewn by my little hands with a needle and thread. There are still a few accessories that can be added, but I think I am ready to put this project aside for now! Next up something big that will involve a sewing machine!!