Week Fifty: Christmas Card Pegs

It seems that Christmas is thoroughly here, you only have to go into the madness that is shopping centres at this time of year to know. As I only have three weeks of my quilling challenge to go, it's good to get a few quilled items in.


This was supposed to be next week's project, but I must do a bit more planning for what I was intending this week. Instead we've got an incredibly easy, simple and cute idea to help display your Christmas cards:

Christmas card pegs are such a nice way to display cards without them clogging up space on your sideboards or bookshelves. I've always thought they were adorable and nifty, and when I saw a pack of tiny wooden ones I realised how easy it would be to make little sets of quilled card pegs!

I have nine designs here, twenty pegs in all, but others that could be added would be tiny snowflakes, reindeer, candy canes, santa's face, elves, Christmas lights, letters to make them spell out 'Merry Christmas' or some other holiday message, etc. I could go on all day with ideas for these, they're just so quick and easy and cute. They were each topped off with Crystalina glitter glue and given a quick spray with Crystal Clear Acrylic.

I love the little angels...

...and the mistletoe is pretty cute....

and this shooting star is quite dazzling too. As I do with my usual snowflakes I added some glitter glue here and there to add that extra Christmas magic.

Super adorable right? Yes. Here's proof that despite their tiny size they can hold up a card, though these are all blanks as I don't have any Christmas cards immediately on hand just yet. If they were larger than the average size there's a chance you'd need two, but they held these up without any sign of difficulty.

Next week I'll hopefully have worked out what would have been on this week, but if not I'll push it to my final week of the quilling challenge! I've got so many other projects to work on after these three though that it'll probably seem like I've barely stopped at all.

If there's anything I've learned from doing this year long challenge apart from new quilling techniques and an overall improved ability, it's that this is a really good way to establish a blog, a following and help you decide if your craft of choice is for you. And quilling is for me, I love it, so that's good. Though I now have a massive supply of stuff to go and sell at a market, and no market actually planned yet! Hmm.


xnata.

Christmas 2012: Baby-Proof Beach Theme!

I am the Mummy of a clever, mischievous toddler. And a small house.

For a moment, I considered skipping decorating for Christmas at all, but that was too sad. He deserves a magical Christmas every year of his life.

Plus, this year one side of our family will be having the Christmas gathering here, so we really couldn't skip decorations or a tree. So I have started planning...

First, how do we avoid the whole tree getting knocked over or falling on top of baby? Well, we don't have room for my prefered method of putting a play pen around it, so I'm using my own unique method. There is this weird banister thingy in our house, and the tree will be tethered to this. Problem one solved.

Next, I would be sad (not to mention panicked, stressed and possibly bleeding or being bled on!) if any of my glass ornaments broke. It's just a hazard I'm not willing to risk. So, how can I do christmas without my ornaments, and without spending lots of money on new ones?

As I was stewing on this, inspiration came from a random place - my new tablecloth.

I'd bought a matching table runner for the table on the patio, and some other knick-knacks to match. I loved the colour scheme so much I decided this would be the colours of alterna-Christmas.

Looking at those colours made me think of the beach. Theme found! That way, the majority of decorations are made from free things like shells and driftwood. That certainly fits my budget!

Note how this tiny collection that I already had includes pieces that look like angel wings? It's all coming together...

But, I don't want sand in or near my house. No thank you, so how could I incorporate the colour of sand without it? Hessian/Burlap!

Before I knew it, I'd come up with these hessian/burlap and lace placemats. Aren't they simple yet puuurrrdy?! And the best part - so easy to make, and they work out to cost about $1.20 each, if that :) so making 20 is no big deal!

I'm attempting to make it so that no two placemats are decorated the same.

I'll be using the hessian/burlap and lace and other ribbons and such within my colour scheme to make ornaments for the tree (though some lace will simply be tyed to the tree in bows), all of which I will share with you as I make them. There'll be quilled ornaments again too! I also have plans for lots of paper pom-poms, a paper lantern or two, our usual fairy lights, and a lighthouse :) I've pinned a million pinterest things too, and hopefully I'll find time to do a couple of those ideas too. Still trying to dream up a way to have old fashioned beach huts somewhere in the theme (not life-sized of course!).

Lovely candle holders and pretty smelling tealights will also be on the tables.

I am looking forward to doing some beach combing for shells and driftwood, but I feel weird about using real starfish, because it makes me sad to think people might collect and kill living starfish and seahorses just so I can decorate my table : / so I'm seeking a way to make them instead. Where there's a will there's a way!

I'm only about half way through my placemats, but I'm so glad I thought of it and could do it now, 'cause I really wouldn't have time in December!

Stay tuned for more Beach Christmas decoration prettiness :)


xnata.

It's Christmas in July!

That's right, the theme of our special market day on the 18th of July is Christmas in July! Yay!

I love Christmas, it is such a joyous occasion, but we here in Australia don't get to enjoy a traditional Christmas in July, all rugged up in beanies and scarves, making snowmen, eating cookies and milk by the fire. Here in Queensland it's even worse, because it doesn't snow here at all! But someone, I don't know who, invented Christmas in July just so that we can enjoy Christmas from the perspective of those on the other side of the hemisphere. So no koalas in christmas hats or santa wearing thongs and boardshorts this month!

At our special Christmas in July market stall I'll be displaying the cards about the cold Christmas only. Here's just three of the ones I've made so far:

We have a dapper little snowman in scarf, top hat and two types of cane. His little carrot nose really does stick out like a carrot!

Then there's the fully decorated Christmas tree, complete with tinsel, coloured baubles, and star. Very festive.

And finally, the favourite of the Christmas collection thus far, a wintery Christmas scene. The fire is going, there's snow falling outside the window, and the lights and Christmas tree stand out in this warming scene. There's gifts under the tree and cookies and milk on the fireplace's mantle. Looks like a great place to be doesn't it?

So there you go, Christmas in July is our special event! There'll be more like this and plenty of my non-Christmas stuff there too. Come down in your scarf and hat and buy some Christmassy goodies, and keep them to enjoy in December!

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

xnata

(signoff - Let it snow by Dean Martin)

Merry Christmas!

Joy of joys, I'm ready for Christmas!

The tree is trimmed

All of the presents are bought and wrapped

All of my decorations are up (don't have enough for the whole house yet but I'm taking my time in building up my collection, and yes I am very particular, my one of a kind obsession is strong)

Now let me introduce you to the new addition to our decorations, our new nativity scene!

Husband is adding each little figurine as is (roughly) Biblically accurate

So far we have our shepard, a donkey, a cow and a little sheep waiting in our manger. I'll upload photos as our manger fills up. But isn't it lovely? I bought it down at the Old Petrie Town Markets.

I'm so looking forward to the next week or so, especially considering I'll have my lovely husband on holidays until 5th of January, so I am sure we'll...end up doing lots of housework.

Merry Christmas to one and all.