Don't trash those Christmas cards!

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards!  I especially love the ones with photos of the family - it's so fun to see families grow and change throughout the years.

So of course I have trouble throwing them away after Christmas.  They're pictures!  Memories!

Instead, I found a way that I can keep them around.  Make little books!

I took a regular three-hole punch, and centered two of the holes on the long side of the card.  Punch!

Then I corralled all the cards onto one-inch book rings (Staples had them in pretty colors, which I couldn't pass up).

I used my Silhouette to cut a cute cover out of some scrapbooking cardstock, so we'd be able to remember which year they came from.

And that was it!  All the punching and organizing took about 15 minutes.  The book rings were 12 for $4.39, so my grand total came to about 75 cents per year.  Next Christmas, I'll display these in a basket somewhere so people can look through them.

You might also be interested in these posts:

Christmas Card Display
Wine cork fire starters
Christmas Cocktails

Bonnie Projects

Wine cork fire starters

This the gift was the quickest and most budget-friendly yet!

Every time we drink a bottle of wine, I toss the wine cork into a bowl, promising Tommy that one day I'll find something to do with them.  Now I finally did!  My grandmother was doing this at Thanksgiving, not sure where she got the idea from, sorry!

All you do is stuff a container with wine corks (I used a mason jar for added cuteness), and top it off with rubbing alcohol.  My one-quart mason jar, stuffed with corks, used about 16 oz. of alcohol.

To make it pretty, I tied a ribbon and label to the top of the jar.

aren't the corks pretty in there?

I gifted this to my in-laws, who have a wood-burning fireplace.  All they have to do is light one or two below their fire, and it should start right up!

It took me about five minutes to make this, and most of that was getting the bow pretty enough to photograph.  The only thing I bought was the alcohol for $2, and I only used half of it.  Cute gift for $1 and five minutes of time?  Awesome!!!  And the in-laws liked it, too!

**Be sure to practice fire safety and keep this away from the fire!


You might also be interested in these posts:

Ticket stub collection frame
Lanterns filled with ornaments
Upcycled sweater pillow

Bonnie Projects

Christmas Craft: Scottie Dog from a charm pack

This craft was one of the I-must-have-that things I got at the Houston Quilt Festival.  He's made from two Moda Aspen Frost Mini Charm Packs.

When I bought the charm packs, the instructions came free.

I layed out my squares so the colors and patterns looked nice and random.

Then I sewed them into strips (turns out vertical strips work better than horizontal), and sewed the strips together.

Whoops!  Redo!

I attached the two sides with a strip of red fabric.  The fabric got all wonky the first time and I had to take it apart and redo it.  Lots of pins helped the second time around.

I finished his look with a velvet ribbon and a button eye!

Isn't he cute on our sofa?

You might also be interested in these posts:

Holiday Card Holder
Christmas Cocktails
No-sew Glitter Tutu

Bonnie Projects

Gift Idea: Easy Ticket Stub Frame

Last year I made a ticket stub frame for my husband out of an IKEA frame.  This year, I found an even easier way to do it!

Michael's sells a 12"x12" top-loading shadow box (they market it for collecting wine corks).  It's also perfect for tickets, and comes pre-made with a slot at the top!  Being 12"x12", a piece of scrapbook paper perfectly fills the background.  And it was 40% off, so of course I bought it.

I got a piece of black and white scrapbook paper, as well as another piece of a polka dot crimson paper with a velvety texture.

I ran the crimson paper through my Silhouette to cut out the logo.  I'm not an Alabama fan, but I sure do know a few!!! 

Then all I had to do was place the letter on the black and white paper, and load it all into the shadow box.

This project cost $22 ($20 for the shadowbox and $2 for the pretty paper), and took less than half an hour.  Most of that time was designing and sizing the "A" in the Silhouette software.



You might also be interested in these posts:

Frame a Ticket Stub Collection IKEA Hack
Holiday Monogram Wreath

Bonnie Projects

Upcycled Cashmere Scarves

Well, it would seem that the New Year brought the flu to our house.  Tommy and I spent most of last week bundled up on the sofa watching 24, and definitely not doing anything productive, like fun projects.  That same week, I sent my camera with my sister-in-law on her honeymoon, so I couldn't even share my photos of the bouquets I made for her wedding!  Never fear, there are plenty of posts coming soon.

This is a guest post by my Mom, Janet.  She also guest wrote a series last fall about how she made my wedding dress.  I definitely got my love of projects from her!  She does a lot of sewing projects, but she's done her fair share of house projects over the years, too.

I got inspiration for this project from a lovely scarf a friend of mine had on.  It was made from several strips of wool sweaters sewn together and had a swirl of wool roving felted onto it.

I shopped for several months for nice wool sweaters at the thrift stores.  I looked for 100% wool, especially falling in love with the cashmere ones.  Stains or holes weren't a problem, because I could cut around them!  I collected up with 7 sweaters before it got too close to Christmas and I needed to get sewing.  Some had attractive hems, which I tried to incorporate (see the red one).

Once I got them home, I machine washed and dried all the sweaters so they ‘did’ whatever they were going to do (shrink, pill, run).  This way, they'll at least be hand-washable in the future, saving the owners from dry cleaning bills.

I cut the sweaters apart at the side seams then sliced them into long strips.  

 

I mixed and matched the strips to get cute combinations of colors and textures.

I used my serger to sew everything back together.  I set the serger for a short stitch length and a wide stitch width, and used two spools of wooly nylon serger thread and one spool of regular thread in the needle (my machine uses three spools of thread at once).  For painless thread changes, tie off each thread to the color you have in the serger, and gently pull it through.

First I sewed the strips end-to-end, aiming for a total length of 60"-70".  It looked a lot cuter when I sewed them together at angles, and also made the scarves drape nicer.

Then I sewed the strips together lengthwise.  Once each seam was started, I gently pulled the fabric lengthwise, creating tension along the edge I was stitching. This helped to ruffle the seam allowance, or as they call it in the manual, “lettuce edge”.  However, be very careful not to stress the needle and break it or the thread! 

I managed to turn the 7 sweaters into 10 scarves.  The very last scarf was compiled from all the scraps, and liked it the best!  Have fun with it!

This was an easy, fun way to upcycle high-quality sweaters into beautiful scarves.  The project took most of an afternoon, but I did make nice gifts for all my favorite gals!

Thanks Mom!!!

Our Christmas Tree

One thing that's been fun about marriage is combining traditions from each of our families.  Tommy's family reads "The Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve.  Mine has a very special Christmas Tree.

For every important occasion, like a birth or marriage, graduation, trip, or even the hobby of the year, we get an ornament for the tree.  When we decorate the tree, we talk about the stories behind every ornament, and get to share and relive our fondest memories.

Here are a few special ones this year:

My first Christmas

My fifth Christmas

The beach where we got engaged (this one was a gift last Christmas)

Commemorating our Southern trips and wedding last year (also a gift)

A silly one, but this one is from the time I got hired for a night to work on a shrimp boat

No, they don't really match each other or have a theme, but they all come together to create a fond group of memories.  I'm looking forward to adding plenty more with my husband!

Christmas Card Holder

You've heard the saying, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade"?  This is a lemonade kind of project!

While cleaning for a party a few months ago, a bathroom mirror fell off the wall and shattered.  I rescued the frame from the trash and stashed it away for a future project.  When we needed a place to put Christmas cards, it came out from hiding!

The antique bronze finish didn't mesh well with our decor, but a few coats of spray paint can fix that!  I sprayed one coat of primer and two coats of chrome silver.

one coat of primer

I let it dry for a full day, then used a staple gun to attach ribbons across the back.  I had three different small pieces of ribbon that were the perfect size!

I finished it up by adding all the wonderful cards we've been getting!

Rescued from the trash, this frame now showcases notes from our loved ones.  Don't you love lemonade?

DIY no-sew glitter tutu

My husband and I have been deeply saddened by the events of last week at Sandy Hook Elementary.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and community of Newtown.

This tragedy has made me think a lot about the children in my life, especially my young cousins.  They're really cool girls, and I wanted to do something special for them.  I had some awesome glitter tulle in my craft room, so I made them a glittery tutu to play dress-up!

The tutorial has most of the instructions, but I'll add a few along the way.

Materials:

• 1.5 yards ribbon
• 3 yards tulle (or more to make it even puffier)

After this, cut each long piece in half, so they measure half the width of the tulle x 6"

 I'll be sure to add a photo once they get it in the mail!!!  I wore it around the house to make sure it fluttered properly, but a photo of me in a glittery tutu just isn't the kind of thing that needs to be online!


{Did you notice the pile of glitter on the floor once I was done?  How about my tacky Christmas glitter nail polish?


I'm observing a blogger day of silence tomorrow, but I'll be back later this week.

Christmas Cocktails

I'm not sure what makes Santa jolly, but taste-testing these yummy holiday shots and martinis sure got me in good spirits.

Grasshoppers taste like thin mints (Girl Scout cookies in alcohol form?  Yes, please!), and Washington Apples taste like, well, apples (duh).  Both are delicious, and you'll be the hit of your next holiday party.

Obviously I didn't make up these recipes (like I did the Holiday Sangria), but I tested them out for our upcoming parties, and I hope you're as inspired as I've been!  And of course, they're Christmas colors.

Grasshopper Shot:

• 1/2 ounce of green Creme de Menthe
• 1/2 ounce Creme de Cacao (colorless if possible)
• 1/2 ounce fat free half and half
• Shake over ice, strain into a shot glass
• Garnish with chocolate shavings (optional)

Washington Apple Shot:

• 1/2 ounce Crown Royal
• 1/2 ounce Sour Apple Pucker
• 1/2 ounce cranberry juice
• Shake over ice, strain into a shot glass
• Garnish with cinnamon sugar or and apple slice (optional)

Grasshopper Martini:

• 3/4 ounce green Creme de Menthe
• 3/4 ounce Creme de Cacao
• 3 ounces milk
• To make it fancy, swirl the martini glass with chocolate syrup (optional)
• Shake over ice, strain into a martini glass
• Garnish with chopped Andes mints or chocolate shavings (optional)

Washington Apple Martini:

• 3/4 ounce Crown Royal
• 3/4 ounce Sour Apple Pucker
• 3 ounces cranberry juice
• To be extra fancy, rim the martini glass with cinnamon sugar (optional)
• Shake over ice, strain into a martini glass 
• Garnish with an apple slice(optional)

Please remember to always use a designated driver, and stay within your limits!  You might ruin all the fun otherwise.

Tell me these don't look delicious!!!