Monday, December 17, 2018

Christmas Table


Last year was my first Christmas in my new house and I was super excited to host Christmas lunch for my family!

My overall Christmas theme was black and white and stars - so I carried that into the table setting.  I made my own place mats with black and white card stock and gold metallic paper stars and put each person's name on the place mat.  I kept the centerpiece simple - greenery, pine cones and a mason jar with a white candle.  I found star napkins at Target and I bought black disposable salad plates.





 When I'm hosting - I like to think about all the senses.  I wanted a Christmas scent, so I had these things simmering on the stove and I had Handel's Messiah playing.




To add whimsy (and because I've always thought these would be fun to try, since reading about them in the Harry Potter series) I bought some Christmas crackers at this adorable shop in town: Love of Character.  They each had a toy, a joke and a gold paper crown.





For the menu, I had salad, ham and potato casserole, rolls and my mom brought a chocolate creme pie dessert.










Monday, December 10, 2018

Christmas Cookies for Santa - Quiet Book



For this Project you'll need:
1 sheet of the following colors: dark blue, medium green, light brown, medium brown, yellow, white, red, light green
needle and thread
scissors
sewing machine
velcro
embellishments
















Monday, December 3, 2018

How to Flock a Christmas Tree


Each year I've gotten in the habit of coming up with a new look and theme for my Christmas tree.  You can see last year's Farmhouse Black and White Plaid tree here and 2016's O Holy Night/Plaid theme here and if you scroll through the whole post 2015's chalkboard/red theme here.

This year my theme inspiration is snow, white, peaceful, candlelight, "All is calm, All is bright". 

So I started researching how to add snow to my tree.  I owe a debt of gratitude to bloggers I found that tried different methods and discovered if you buy a spray snow can in the store, it will end up looking like spray paint.  My research led me to SnoFlock, which I bought on Amazon - it looks like this and you can buy it here.  I bought the 2 lb. bag and that was perfect (my tree is about 5-6 feet tall and pretty full).



For this Project You'll Need:
a tree (as far as I know, it works on real or artificial)
SnoFlock
a spray bottle full of water
the instructions tell you to use a sifter, but I'll explain below that it's not necessary
a face mask
a throwaway glove (optional)

Something about it seems scary or overwhelming, but it's not - you can do it!  I started with a live tree.  Everything says to do it outside.  Luckily it was nice enough on Black Friday that I was able to do that.  I put the tree in its stand and put it on my patio.  I started with a small amount on a test branch.


 I loved how it looked but it felt like it would take forever.

I also wasn't sure how well the 2 lb bag would cover the tree, so I tried to use it conservatively at the beginning.


I was in a race with the sunset (and dinner plans) so I got braver and early on I quit using the sifter - that really would have taken forever.  I used one hand to pull a handful of snow dust out of the bag and then had the spray bottle in the other hand.  You have to spray the branches before dropping the snow on; then spray the powder as you're dropping it; then spray the top of it.  All this adheres the powder to the tree.  When I got braver, I started grabbing big handfuls out of the bag.  Using your hand really adds precision, you can add snow or build up snow exactly where you want it.


I was loving it - it was turning out exactly how I wanted.  I felt like I was in a snowy Colorado ski lodge!



I thought it was very realistic looking!


I pulled it in through the sliding glass doors and getting it settled some powder fell out but not too much.  I think from start to finish it took me about 2 hours.  

Then I added lights and candle lights and was so happy with it, I considered not even adding decorations.

But I ended up loving the decorations once they were on!  The big white puff balls you see I found in the Target Dollar Spot (for $5 per set) and they were play snowballs for kids.  I used a needle and strung them on fishing line to create a garland.

I'm very happy with it - it's snowy and magical!





Monday, November 26, 2018

Cyber Monday

Happy Cyber Monday!  I made a list of 5 things I use personally and can definitely recommend

1. Remote Control for Plug Ins - I LOVE these for my Christmas lights, but the rest of the year, I use them for lamps!



2. Small Glass Pyrex Dishes - I love glass storage so much more than plastic. I use this size for leftovers - especially leftover pico de gallo or guacamole.  And I use them in the fridge when I have 2 TBSP of butter left from a stick.



3. Roku - I have a roku tv, but I've bought my parents a stand-alone roku - it opens up a great world of watching Netflix on your tv!



4. Katie Daisy Calendar - I love this artist's style and have her 2018 calendar and have loved flipping the page every month to see a new quote and blend of colors.



5. Aveda Style Prep - this is the stuff you put in your hair before blow drying and it makes such a difference.  I have thick, coarse, wavy hair naturally, and most days I plan to straighten my hair and this is the best start to making my hair smooth and shiny.



Comment below - if you could recommend five products, what would they be?

Monday, November 12, 2018

Noah's Ark and Rainbow Quiet Book Pages



The Noah's Ark page was one of the easiest to make - I used Microsoft Word to make a simple pattern for myself.  (I set the page size to 9x9) and then created this pattern with shapes.

For This Project You'll Need:
blue or gray felt - sky
blue felt - water
dark brown felt - middle piece
black felt - for the inside
light brown felt for the boat/roof pieces/ramp pieces - I found this textured felt at JoAnn Fabric
scissors
sewing machine
animals - see below

Sewing steps:
FIRST - sew on the ocean piece (to the sky/background piece) - I sewed around the edge first and then sewed a few wavy lines in the middle and I love that it adds dimension and looks like waves

SECOND - Sew the dark brown middle piece
THIRD - sew the black piece (this will be what shows when the ramp is open)
FOURTH - add the boat and roof pieces - on the boat top, I sewed about an inch down and two inches on each side. to make a pocket where the animals could stand and left the middle open)
FIFTH - sew the ramp, just across the bottom (you cold add felt or a snap, but I just left it plain, felt sticks to each other fairly well)




I had planned to create little, intricate plush or finger puppet animals, but I was feeling the need to simplify where I could, so when I found these felt animal stickers at Michaels, I thought they were perfect.

I wanted to create a rainbow page opposite the Noah's Ark page, since it's part of the story - I decided to make it multi purpose - a zipper to practice and a pouch to store the animals.  I cut strips of felt to make the rainbow and sewed each to an 8x8 background, then sewed that to a 9x9 page background.





Planning to make your own Quiet Book - get started with a felt assortment: