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Winter Projects ~
Christmas and Thanksgiving
January 20, 2012
January is here, and instead of feeling more wintry and cozy, it has felt warm and springlike. I would love one good snow, but I'll take the sunshine any day!
Here are a couple projects I worked on over the past month or so FYI (For your inspiration ♥).
Piano Bench Makeover
This is a piano bench from Jordan’s Grandmother. I loved the wood, not the fabric so much. I approach projects involving staples with a bit more fear and trepidation, so naturally this one took a little longer to complete. Half the battle is just starting. I love picking and buying the fabric (easier to do with toddlers running around), then actually digging in. I was a bit in a rush to finish it one night, so I could have tightened the edges up a bit, but I felt good to just have it done.
The method was basically:
1. Unscrewing the top from the base
2. Laying a piece of cotton batting down, covered by the new fabric
3. Stapling the new fabric at the corners with a heavy duty stapler (right over the old fabric. I didn't want to take it all off. Was easier that way :).
4. After folding the corners over, I finished by stapling all the sides down.
5. I realized I had covered the screw holes with the fabric, so I figured out where they were and took an exacto knife to cut out a little square over the screw holes. That's what you call live'n and learn'n.
Before
After
Christmas Table Centerpiece
A dear friend gave me a bunch of votive holders she sound at a yard sale for $3. I love multiples of things. I think anything in multiples is more artistic...maybe that's why I have two boys. And seeing as things always look more visually pleasing in odd numbers, 3 pictures on a wall, etc, I'm thinking if the Lord blesses us with another child, I might just want it to be another boy. Three little boys hugging and smiling could be even cuter then two ;). Anyway, I thought it would look good if a bunch of candles were lined up for a centerpiece and this is what I came up with:
1. I took a long piece of wood leftover from the house construction and covered it with fabric. The fabric is tucked in the back and pinned inconspicuously.
2. I don't think I had a piece long enough to cover the length of the price, so I put two pieces of fabric together and just tucked the ends under in the middle.
3. I forgot to get a real good picture of the finished project. This picture will have to work. It grinds against my perfection gears, because I ran out of time to place more cedar clippings in the back of the bowls supporting the long piece of wood, so it looks unfinished. Always good to include a picture like this for vanity sake ;).
It looks very dramatic in real life, though it could be a potential fire hazard!
Christmas Wrapping
Pinterest inspired a couple different wrapping ideas I experimented with for Christmas.
This was my inspiration photo:
Danielle's gift:
Jordan said this one ended up looking more like something brought to a French spring birthday party, then for a festive Christmas party, but that's o.k. It was fun and pretty ~
I used scraps of muslin wound into flowers and glued with a hot glue gun onto a base. The beads came from a broken necklace from Jordan's Grandmother. Her memory keeps living on!
I searched high and low for french script to print out via this inspirational picture from pinterest:
I found this image for $1 and bought it from this etsy shop (click for link). I am so happy to have this image. I can imagine many uses for it!
Kalea's Gift:
This was my pinterest inspiration. You can see how to make the little flowers here. (click for link)
Kalea's Christmas gift:
I picked up some nice fluffy pink flannel at Joann's a couple months back, and settled on making it into a nightgown for Kalea with a matching doll dress:
This is the pattern I used. I made the nightgown option with the long sleeves from the robe :). (Link: http://www.simplicity.com/p-2591-childgirl-sleepwear.aspx)
Headbands
When I was making the flowers for the gift, I cut out so many strips of muslin and had so much fun making them, I didn't want to stop. So, I turned some into headbands for some dear little friends of mine, using velvet ribbon as the band, and adding some tulle and feathers. I loved the vintage 40's feel they had.
In progress
All packed up and ready to send out with love ♥
The meaning of Christmas:
The fact that God came and dwelt with us, that the Son, humbled himself, came to earth, and saved us from our sins is beyond full comprehension! It is the true and genuine reason for Christmas. The only lasting joy that can not be taken away, even when all the presents are unwrapped and life moves on, is the gift of salvation that Christ gave us when he came to earth, died for our sins, and rose again.
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
Thanksgiving Tablescape
I'm back tracking a little, but I wanted to include a few pictures from Thanksgiving as well.
I really wanted some gourds for a table centerpiece, but didn't want to buy them :). When someone brought extras to church from their garden, I had to smile, and thank God for little answers to heart's desires.
Nothing like clipping dead grass from the yard for a sweeping centerpiece!
Bunting I made for a friend's birthday party, left up for Thanksgiving:
Thanksgiving pillows
I made these pillows using iron on transfer paper. I found the image of the pilgrims praying at the first thanksgiving on etsy. And, the image for Psalm 100 from this blog (link: http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/thankful-tree-psalm-100-download-and.html). It was a free download.
We sing Psalm 100 every year "Pilgrim style". We learned it from the Ainsworth Psalter, the same way the Pilgrims would have sung it. That chapter is so quintessential for Thanksgiving! The Lord is good! Bless His name!
"Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations."
Spring is coming!
Here in MO, we have had a very mild winter. We've had two light dustings of snow, which felt cozy while it lasted. Now we are having days sometimes in the 60's! That warmth and spring feeling stirs my heart and puts a pep in my bare foot step! I'm dreaming about the garden. I think I like the planning part the best. I started some cilantro and basil seeds in a pot inside a couple months ago to tied me over till Spring, and they actually did quite nice! These little grasshoppers ate 2 of the basil plants on the outside :(. How to bugs do it? I mean it's winter! In the house! How did they find my precious little basil plants?
The two remaining basil plants:
~ Papa and Mama Basil ~
Cilantro
Window Pals
That's all for now! Thanks for stopping by & viewing a little bit of the creative side of my life ♥
