On the Fifth Day of Christmas

Hooray! More finished projects today.

Merry Christmas, Snowball Fight Art Print
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A couple of packages and the bulk of the Christmas cards were mailed off this afternoon, and then it was on to the next thing. A request from my husband: something warm for his feet.

Microwavable insoles! Since he was home all day, if he figured out what I was doing, he did not let on. I tried to sneak one of his shoes out of the closet and over to my work area, and traced it on four layers of flannel. I sewed all around the pair of "feet," leaving a space for the "filling". Then I mixed some dried lentils from the pantry with two drops of lavender essential oil. I filled a bit of the insole, then sewed it off, filled the next section, sewed it off, and then the last and sewed it shut. Each one can be heated and put in his slippers. I doubt he would want to walk on them, but whenever he is working at his desk he can heat them up and keep his feet warm.

At My Heart's at Home told me of a site where there were some beautiful bookmarks, so I did print some out for stocking stuffers. I would have punched a hole in the top and put a ribbon through, but I managed to stretch my dwindling pile of card stock by printing these double-sided. Clever me! And I got the other side upside down. So I decided not to do a ribbon, but leave them as they are. 

A very handy tool for putting Contact paper on things is this roller (is it called a brayer?) that I got from a rubber stamping store for a project long ago. It helps get things smooth.

The other project I finished (all but the frames) today was something I started early this summer: silhouettes. My grandmother once did our silhouette the old-fashioned way (shadow tracing) and I thought that it could be even easier to do nowadays with the computer.

First I got a side photo...
Then my Photoshop-handy husband found the edges for me (I think it was the magic wand tool?). Once that is done, you can fill in the profile or the background with whatever color you wish, as seen below:

I thought I was being so thrifty to print things and do something that required no money, but the thirsty little printer tells me that I am running out of ink! So it is thrifty if you forget about the cost of ink! These can also be matted and framed and will look quite nice.

It saves ink to just take the plain lines of the silhouette, and print on a colored piece of card stock or paper. Then cut around the silhouette and paste on black paper.

I read a post about using cloth for gift wrap, which I found interesting. It is so nice to have quality wrapping paper and fantastic package toppings, but they are only there for a moment of glory before getting ripped up and thrown away. I tend to rescue bows and things from the trash pile to re-use, if they are in good shape. This year, I found that the rolls of wrapping paper at the dollar store came in different lengths. If you look carefully, you can find a 50 foot roll for your dollar.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

Merry Christmas Giclee Print Buy at AllPosters.com

It snowed Sunday night. It stayed all day yesterday and today. The weather announcer on the radio said "highs 32 degrees" which I found amusing, as that is freezing. Wow, it will warm up to freezing today! The weather report this morning from our local forecaster Miss Staley, is "Tomorrow more snow.. today crystal clear and sunny with SNAPdragon cold!" (Just in case you are wondering, you are looking at a loaded tree branch here.)

I get happy when it snows! It is interesting to me how excited snow makes people. Folks call each other to talk about the snow in their yard. And bloggers all over the world will announce the first snowfall in their area on the Internet.

I like to see the cars slow way down on our road. Usually they are roaring around the corner at 55 mph. Now they go by so carefully and quietly. I wonder if that was what it was like to live out here in the really olden days, when automobiles were first out, or when the horses and wagons went by.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon sorting scraps and ironing them, folding them, and containing them in their box. It seemed like an awful waste of time when I had so much to do, but the scraps were spilling out of their box and running all over the place-- every time I turned around they were on the floor, on the chair, on the table, and lest they should end up in the kitchen crawling into my pot of soup, I had to take control. At least now it will be faster for me to use them in my crafting.

(A tip for Seamstresses: Before putting those scraps away after you have cut your pattern out of the material, make sure to trim them. One big scrap connected to another big scrap by a string of material makes for a big tangled mess! I am a scrap saver, and I tend to save every little bit, just in case I will make a charm quilt someday.)

When I finally got to my Christmas card project, I had a good start with them, but soon weariness and the late hour overcame me, and I had to stop, and begin again this morning. May I complain here a moment? Yes? No? I cannot hear you. Well, I have to say, making cards is a tiresome mess! That does not sound very nice, does it? But it seems like there is so much to get out to make a card (if you are putting several elements on it) and if I am going to go to all the trouble to find all the stuff and bring it out of the storage area, I may as well do two dozen cards instead of one. And the card crafting area is the dining room table, with the leaf in it, and would you believe those bits of paper take up nearly the whole surface! I did find delight and pleasure in these cards, it was just the huge quantity that got to me. I found this project hard to finish. But they are finally made! Now I want to keep them. And of course, I need two dozen more than I made.

I did something different this time. Usually I would glue and glitter a card, but this time, I stitched them. Stitching cards is sew much fun! I had a dull needle in the machine already, and the sewing machine seems to like paper better than fabric as it behaved itself very well! The other different thing I did was to use some glitter paper that came in a big pad at Walmart. It really sets off the cards and there no loose glitter mess.

Here you see the card that I would usually make and send off:

And above you see the card with the stitching!

I used a lot of the "heirloom" style stitches on my sewing machine, and changed thread color often for the different cards I made. I did make the mistake of sewing one card shut! I thought about sending it to someone to see if they found it amusing that I had sewed a card shut, but decided against it. I also did a card that had a thicker embroidery-type stitch on it, and it perforated it so finely that the card started to fall apart! I wondered how they would hold up or if they would be "punch out" cards, but the others did fine.

You notice I hardly did any of them the same. That is why my brain is so tired tonight. It would have been faster to do an assembly line method, but my goal is to use up as much of my stash as I can, so I was using little bits of this and that. At least I can say no two are alike! Next time, if I do not start earlier on cards, I may splurge and go and buy some store-bought.

I use the leftover tinier bits of paper to make gift tags. These are about 2-4 inches long:

Then I threw the rest of the paper scraps away. Yes, any more tiny scraps I just threw away. I thought I should tell you all that lest you are under the impression that I am insane! No, I did not make confetti out of them.

If I can get those cards in the mail tomorrow, they may arrive before Christmas to most of the States. I need to get up early in the morning to address cards and package up some things, then it is off to the post office.

I used to complain about the post office, and their high postage stamp rates, but this year I am going to proclaim that I am very thankful for the United States Postal Service. What a service they provide. They bring my mail to me every day! And in this weather too!

On the Second Day of Christmas...

To Friends and Relatives who have been forewarned:

No,

not even a little peek. 

Christmas Tree
Art Print
Tayler, Albert...
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Besides doing the usual everyday things, today I wrapped presents, made gift labels/cards for them, and was able to send one package off in the mail. I spent a little energy trying to ignore the fact that I have not sent a single Christmas card. And then it was off to my idea book. 

I made these little fabric buckets (a miniature of this one) that unfortunately do not stand up quite right. I will use interfacing if I make more. I was hoping that by making them smaller that it would not matter if I used stiff heavy material or not. I did not plan on filling them with a dozen oranges or anything like that! The littlest one does stand quite nicely, but now I am wondering what they would be used for?? I thought it was a great idea at first, but now that I hold them in my hand I cannot think what someone would put in them. Cotton balls? Hair accessories? It is late at night, I am tired,  and I am wondering if it is worth spending a day sewing more? I can just see people's faces: "Oh, how wonderful! How cute! What in the world am I supposed to do with this?"

I'll feel more optimistic tomorrow:)
For your holiday pleasure, try some of the holiday radio stations at Pandora.

You can customize what you want to listen to. I enjoyed listening to the "Classical Christmas" part as I sewed. 

Our movie reviewer Miss DePoint recommends to readers the film, "The Little Minister" with Helen Mirren (part of the BBC "Play of the Month"). It is quite funny! I was personally really impressed with the acting. 

On the First Day of Christmas

STOP!!!

Are you supposed to be here?


If you received an email from me today telling you NOT to look at my blog until after Christmas, then you must click out now.


I mean that.


Don't go any further.


Are they gone?


Okay then! To the rest of you: Welcome to my Christmas Countdown! This is where you can share my experiences in the panic of the season. I am always one to put things off until the last minute- I cannot seem to get motivated until absolutely necessary- and boy howdy am I am trouble!

Couple Christmas Shopping
Art Print
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Fortunately for my husband's wallet, I dislike elbowing my way through the Christmas shopping crowds very much. As a matter of fact, before I was married I decided to avoid shopping as much as possible in December.
The best way to avoid the crowds (and save money!) is to stay home and sew. But that option combined with my last minute habits puts me in quite a quandary. So I spent an afternoon looking through the most excellent site, Sew Mama Sew (it is on the sidebar) and printing out marvelous ideas to put in my gift idea notebook. To keep me going, I told myself I was only allowed to blog when I got a project done:) And I hope to inspire someone who may be on here late at night looking for some easy last minute ideas!
Everyone should try this pretty wallet for the tea-lovers on your gift list. Do not be daunted by the length of the instructions, it is incredibly easy to make! Here are a few I did for the ladies on my list who enjoy tea, and share my fondness for Victorian looking things. Also, one for a "country girl at heart". I just used scraps, it only takes four 5"x7" pieces!

Tea Wallets

A pretty cabin tea wallet.