frugal festive food gift

The past few years my husband, our household chef, has whipped up multiple batches of a delicious chai tea mix. We give it as thank you gifts to various service people: the mail lady, the newspaper delivery people, our family hair stylist, the staff at our branch library, our pastors, our dentist, our pediatrician, and so on. I think my favorite was the time we gave jars to the women who were preparing our Christmas morning breakfast at the hotel we were staying at over the holidays. They were so pleased to have a gift. No matter how many jars he makes I find more people to gift them too!

I was getting them ready to go when I realized how very fabulously frugal this gift was. Since I just entered November budget data I can confidently say that the jars cost about a dollar each in grocery costs. And the packaging costs me next to nothing.

The glass jars with cheery red lids are from my favorite peanut butter of which I consume quite a bit. Some people start their day with coffee; I start mine with peanut butter toast.

The tags are punched out from old greeting cards. The punch was a gift to me and I am quite pleased to have it. I imagine I will get years of use out of it.

And, I will confess, I even bought the curling ribbon at a thrift store years ago. Hee.

it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

In the past I have piled tree-buying, tree-decorating, and house-decorating into one mega day-long event. This year I spaced it out and dragged up a box at a time and found the whole process to be much more pleasurable. So no more 10-hour decorating marathons for me. A bit at a time is the way to go!

My mantel is super simple and very different from what I have done in Christmases past. Well, the garlands (green and pinecone) and the white lights are standard. But the other pieces, not so much.

I left the narrow white window up from my autumn mantel. I painted it with a fresh coat of white intending to use it as a photo frame in the basement. But the narrow size makes it such a great supporting partner on the mantel (unlike the more square one which works better as the centerpiece – see it here with a wreath) that I might just keep it around as a flexible pieces.

The rusty star and the hunk of driftwood I dragged in from outdoors. The star usually goes on my garden gate and the driftwood spent the summer propped up underneath the pergola. I actually have a vision for the piece of driftwood as inspired by this blog post. Now, will I get to it before Christmas rolls around? Maybe… maybe not!

The photo above shows the top of the shelf in our main floor bathroom. It is a fun and unexpected spot to add some decorations. The little Santa bells are a "new" vintage treasure passed on to me by my always-cleaning grandmother.

And in this photo you can see the vase of driftwood that was featured in this autumn mantel design. I added one of the oak leaf branches from the mantel along with a sprig of fake red berries and it was instantly repurposed. And I must say, my jars of beads and buttons sorted by color prove to be perennially useful in decorating.

Happy holiday decorating to you!

A fantastic felt tree trio!

I snagged these lovelies on clearance at Art of the Table, one of my favorite little shops in here Grand Rapids. I had a gift certificate from my birthday burning a hole in my pocket and so I picked out a new tablecloth and this tree trio.

They were each topped with the cutest white star. I even traded one at the last minute when the clerk helpfully pointed out that the star was loose on one I had chosen. And then one day I saw the stars laying upon the shelf next to the trees. Neatly plucked off courtesy of a busy and ambitious 20-month-old. Oh well!

I am imagining a whole forest of course. Topping the before-mentioned table. Or clustering in various corners of the house. And I want to try so many color combinations. You know me and color. Perhaps a craft for next Thanksgiving? I haven't looked for any online tutorials but they seem fairly simple in construction.

Christmas gift crafted: chalkboard ornaments!

I found this idea on Whip Up from a guest post by blogger Curly Birds over a year ago. I was originally aiming for the little people shapes as shown. And I had the thought to throw in pets too – little dogs and cats. But then I could not find the flat wooden people and decided to go with flat round discs instead, which made things simpler anyway.

Each one is painted with chalkboard paint and served double-duty this season as gift tags! Every family also got a box of colored chalk along with their individual ornaments to inspire future creativity.

My 4-year-old daughter helped me paint them this past Septembert. My only regret was that we did not paint them on a better surface – perhaps wax paper. Our generous application of paint made little puddles that ended up sticking to the newspaper. When everything was dry, we'd have little shreds of newspaper to pick off! The ornaments were unfinished so they soaked up the paint. I think we did 2 coats on each side.

I am hoping to keep up a similar craft in the future that can involve my little ones. I like the idea of them experience the joy of creating and giving and not just receiving.

Sewn stocking craft-astrophe!

I will fess up here: Last year my poor youngest child did not have a homemade Christmas stocking. She was a baby. She didn't mind. I did mind but ran out of time.

I had all the supplies and a whole entire year to complete the stocking. What do you think I was doing on December 23, a mere two days before Christmas? Well, yes, I was sewing a stocking.

The challenge was that the first two stockings were sewn by a friend with a pattern I no longer own. The second was sewn by my mother-in-law with a different pattern that I only bought because one of the stockings had a similar twirling toe. After I read through the directions it was clear to me she really hadn't followed those. So I was on to a construction challenge!

I was so very proud of myself for figuring out how to put it all together so that when you flipped it right side out the little hook was in the correct spot and the cuff showed nicely inside and out and the seams were hidden. I held it up to admire. Then I held up my older daughter's stocking, the one I had been referencing for the construction and was struck with my shocking error.

The stocking of daughter two was nearly twice as wide and undeniably twice as long and I had not noticed until this very moment!

How is this possible? How did I not sense its extraordinary length as a sewed my afternoon away? How could I not have seen how large it was compared to the sample I had right there with me?!

After laughing until I cried I despaired of my craft failure. Then my dear husband suggested that since the goal was a homemade stocking that I had indeed succeeded. He doesn't even want me to replace it with a right-sized stocking and instead wants it to go down in family history as an annual joke!

Christmas gifts from the kitchen: chai tea mix

I hope you had a lovely Christmas, dear readers!

My husband had the brilliant idea of gifting jars of chai tea mix last year and we have continued the "tradition" this year. We like to give these small, simple gifts to those who take care of us all year round: our mail carrier, the newspaper delivery family, our pastors, our teachers, and so on. It is a sweet and simple thank you.

Last year we bought some beautiful canning jars. We spent just as much on the jars as we did on ingredients. This year we saved and sterilized the glass jars from my peanut butter addiction, which conveniently have a red lid. Not only were we doing some earth-friendly upcycling, but people did end up with a little bit more chai tea. I am sure they are not complaining!

I stamped the tags at a Pinterest party, where we were experimenting with various crafts and recipes found on the famous website. The original idea was to use the base from celery to stamp roses. The snowflakes on these tags were stamped with a slice of okra. I made the tags themselves from a red paper bag from a store. I already had the glittery stars on wire, which worked especially nice because it could be twisted firmly around the neck of the jar (no ribbon slipping here!).

a few of my favorite things

On top of a shelf in the bathroom you'll find a few of my favorite things:

Evergreens.
I enthused about them a few weeks ago. A simple and inexpensive item to incorporate into your seasonal decor.

Milk glass.
I really like the look and feel of those little bumps! In my experience, milk glass is abundant and inexpensive at antique stores. Think multiples on the mantle like I did here, especially if your house has white trim like mine.

Bright red against blue.
A color combination that seems to come up in my house again and again!

Little birdies.
Also – I love and adore the art of Genine, who also shares my adoration of our feathered friends. Check out her blog too if you have not before. I am quite sure I have mentioned her before on this blog.

Reused Christmas cards.
A clustered group sharing the red bird theme. As I have written about before, saving and reusing favorite cards is another easy-on-the-earth, easy-on-the-budget way to decorate.

in honor of crafters past: a garage sale find

Although I could be wrong, this nativity scene strikes me as homemade. I found it at a garage sale way off the beaten path up north. What good luck to happen upon something so unique! I perched it on a shelf next to our own family portrait.

here an evergreen, there an evergreen, everywhere an evergreen

Another little trick I have for filling my house with Christmas is to make full use of any and all available evergreen branches. Mine are leftovers from the wreath making process and scraps trimmed from our fresh tree. If you are lucky enough to have evergreens right in your yard, well, get out there with the clippers!

I like to arrange them in various vases and jars and tuck them in available corners.

This year I also had a fresh batch of pretty pine cones collected from the parking lot of a nearby elementary school. Seriously, can I go anywhere without seeing art or art supplies right before my very eyes? Combined with some branches and a piece of bark from an autumn walk and you get a very artful, minimal arrangement.

Even a small sprig can add a little holiday flair to a year-round item.

ornaments = window adornments

I spent a full 8-hour day – no joke – decorating my house for Christmas so you better believe I've got more blog posts to write about it!

One of my favorite things to do with Christmas tree ornaments is hang them in other, unexpected places like doorknobs, cabinet handles, and in windows. I use two tree ornaments in the narrow windows flanking my fireplace. This year I hung a star in the bathroom.

Then I took my favorite felt ornament by the artist Jenn Schaub of Pulled Print Press and hung it above the kitchen sink. My teal glass, an antique jar, and a freebie postcard from when I ordered a gift through Raw Art Letterpress keeps the blue theme going. There is also a repeat of hearts in the ornament, the snowman print, the pink play-doh, and the red glass. And let us not forget the minimalist nativity, a very inspirational craft from my sister-in-law's family. It too coordinates in shaded of red and blue.

A lovely little scene if I do say so myself!

Mirror, mirror, on the table

Let me show you something that did not work the way I expected it to. Since I am so in love with the mirror above my mantel (as seen here in full Halloween glory) I was inspired to leave it up for Christmas. After crafting my evergreen wreaths (check out this great post where I explain how I do it) I wanted to incorporate the small one above my mantel, like I usually do.

So I dug up some fun ribbons from the basement, tied it to the top, artfully wove the ends of the ribbons through the mirror's frame, stood back, and was, well, disappointed.

I left it up overnight before finally admitting the next day I really did not like it. Here's the problem, folks. The mirror and the wreath are pretty much the same size. So they are competing with each other in a seriously not flattering way. This could work better if the wreath was bigger, framing the full size of the mirror instead of laying on top it. Conversely, this could also work if the wreath was smaller – a miniature adorning the top or a few evergreen branches tucked into the mirror's frame.

In the end, I took down the mirror and laid it on the dining room table, which had become my temporary landing ground for decorations in transition. At the end of the day when I was clearing off the table, spreading out my Christmas tablecloth, and deciding on decorations I realized I really liked the look of the mirror right where it was. Add a glass bowl of antique ornaments and the last of my evergreen branches and the house was complete. Tah-dah!

Felt ornaments for kids of all ages!

For the second time, I prepared a Thanksgiving craft for our family gathering (anyone remember ornamental balls?). I was inspired by the book Holiday Crafting and Baking with Kids: Gifts, Sweets, and Treats for the Whole Family. Of course, our actual intention was to get the grown-ups crafting too!

Because this involves cutting felt with fabric scissors it is not the best craft for the littles. However, one of my nephews who is only 3 years old was happy to arrange scraps and even glued them himself. The 4-year-olds had mixed interest. The older kids actually really enjoyed it. On the second day of crafting, we even saw some out-of-the-box formats – large rectangles, fringe, tassels, and, eventually fake moustaches!

The premise is very simple – take a felt circle, cut out various felt shapes, and glue them on. The instructions suggest using a hole punch to create a spot to thread the ribbon through. We found it easier to just pinch the fabric and make a small snip with the scissors. The sparkly, fancy, beaded ribbons were a hit embellishment option.

 

Christmas card inspiration

My favorites from the Met Museums's catalog:

The colorful, free illustrations by Andy Warhol (he's more than soup cans!), the elegant ornamentation of Aubrey Beardsley's angels, and the adorable partridge by Eyvind Earle.

I won't be buying traditional cards this year because I'll be doing photo cards but if I were to buy some they might look like these. And I am very inspired by those angels. One of these days I am going to get back to doing some linocutting and that style seems to lend itself to that medium.

sweet treats

Last year I participated in a cookie exchange and gave away adorable little boxes of the type of seasonal delights that one only bothers to make this time of year. This year I wasn't so much in the mood for cookie making and tried to think of an alternative. My husband, chef of the house, suggested chai tea mix. Since that is something I love to indulge my sweet tooth with during our cold winters, I thought this was a splendid idea!

He very efficiently got his part – making a zillion batches of the mix – done the very next weekend, which was still in November. So I have no one to blame but myself for completing this project at the very last minute!

To add a festive touch to the jars, I traced a circle of scrap fabric to place over the lids. I was going to glue it down but found holding a finger on top of the fabric while screwing the ring in place was all that was necessary. My favorite fabric was the fleece. It didn't wrinkle and puffed up nicely. A very cozy look. That would be my recommendation.

I also designed a tag on the computer (the graphic designer in me couldn't help myself). I used a star-shaped paper punch and a bit of ribbon. I discovered tying it to the ring instead of looping it around the jar was more secure and used less ribbon. Perfect!

We've been having fun giving them to friends and to the people who help make our lives run smoothly. I like to honor people who provide us with services – the cashier who greets us by name every Friday at the grocery store, our mail delivery lady, the young men who deliver our newspaper, the employees who pick up our garbage and recycling, our favorite librarians, and even our doctor and dentist.

first real snow of the season

We had our first real snowfall mid-December but it didn't last long. Here's hoping we enjoyed a white Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

finishing touches

Motivated by a couple of meals I was hosting, I had to finish my decorating and clear off the dining room table. As a general rule, your house tends to look more festive without half empty decoration bins all over the place.

In years past, I have displayed these sparkly curlicues and red berries in a vase. This year I was just going to toss them back in the closet when my eyes landed upon my fern. Why not? I jazzed it right up. Who says evergreens have all the fun at Christmastime?

I topped my table with this new-to-me antique glass dish and filled it with antique bulbs, limiting the colors to red and silver. I love the way the circles in the design of the glass and the ornaments echo each other. Perfect!

decorating with Christmas cards

Dear readers, I have been dealing with what my husband has been referring to as my "Christmas train wreck." As in all those crazy tasks and crafts and such that I happily assumed would be easy to check off my list piling up into a wreck! I think I am going to have to do my Christmas cards in August next year or something. I definitely don't have it all under control this time around! Hence, the lack of attention to this blog. I've had some stuff cooking though so you can look forward to some posts this week.

I know decorating with greeting cards is a topic I have covered on this blog before but I can't help but show you what I artfully arranged this year. I think being a graphic designer and a fan of art in general makes me especially attuned to the cards I love. So I keep them from year to year for displaying and use in crafting.

This year, I have several themed areas in the living room. For example, I have a red snowman plate (so appropriate near my red couch!). He's friendly and cheerful so I arranged some equally fun snowman-themed cards near him.

I grouped these two bright, graphic cards near a family photo. (Here's a great tutorial from Maker Mama for making those paper balls if you are so inspired!)

What belongs with the book Mary: Images of the Holy Mother? Cards featuring depictions of Mary of course!

This year I tried my largest nativity set on my white shelves instead of on a table. I actually think it's a nice (safe!) spot for it. The pieces spread across several shelves. I filled in the edges with appropriate Christmas card art. Above, a gathering of stars and angels.

a seasonal mantel

I was wandering my favorite blogs when I saw this entry on a beautiful and creative driftwood Christmas tree from Paint Cut Paste. I saw that cool old wood panel propped up on the mantel and was kind of jealous. "I want a distressed cupboard door" was a thought that actually crossed my mind! Then I remembered my stack of old paned windows. And then I was struck with a Christmas mantel vision!

First step: Prepping the window.
They were already painted white but some spots sported avacado of another decade and other spots were bare wood. I was mildly concerned that there might be some lead-based paint peeking out so I decided to paint the whole thing with a nice thick coat of white paint. I was kind of impatient to get the vision underway so I painted one side, flipped it over, balanced it on old flowerpots, and painted the other side and the edges.

Second step: Perfecting the window
Lucky for me, my husband peeled off the tape and scraped off any "oops" spots with a razor blade. I didn't ask him to do this, he just did. He's nice like that.

Third step: Hang the wreath
All I did was take a single piece of ribbon and staple gun it to the back of the window frame. I think a thicker ribbon might be nicer but I did not already have the classic Christmas red in that width.

Final step: Tah-dah!
I especially like how the pinecone swag matches the browns in the wreath details. Lovely!

PS I just updated my "favorites" section with all the craft blogs I am currently subscribed too. Take a peek. Maybe you'll find a new favorite of your own!

old wreath given new life

This old autumn-themed grapevine wreath was easily upcycled into something fresh. I just stripped off the flowers and leaves (they were glued on) and snipped the wires holding on the corn. The vines offered easy places to tuck in evergreen branches and holly. I didn't even have to use wire or glue myself, which will make it all the easier to use this base again.

Let this be inspiration for an old wreath that might be hiding in your basement or garage!

I hung it outside on the garden gate. Now just picture a light coating of snow frosting it…

fresh and fancy

Thanksgiving is when I like to kick off my holiday decorating by clipping evergreen branches for a session of wreath-making. My Grandma Helen first started me on this tradition. That and a community ed class on wreath-making I took as a teenager. Yes, I was that kind of teenager – arranging dried flowers along with a bunch of ladies at least twice my age. Sometimes I have to laugh at myself.

Anyway, it has become my own personal tradition to make a Christmas wreath with fresh greens. I posted more of a step-by-step process last year for those who are interested. A nice wire base, green floral wire, layers of greens (Christmas tree leftovers put to good use!), and patience are all it takes.

I created 3 wreaths this year. A small one for a decorating vision I have for the mantel. A large one for the front door. And I upcycled a autumn-themed grapevine wreath for my garden gate.

The "before:" metal bases, old autumn grapevine wreath, floral wire, wire cutters, and a tool for trimming all the greenery.

My 3-year-old daughter joins me for some "arting" (as she calls it).

An in-progress photo taken by said daughter. Now she's my co-blogger!

The small wreath. I added fall treasures at the base to serve as the bow. There are dried alliums and bee balm, twisting seed pods, and dried fern babies. I am loving the texture. This wreath will be indoors so I know these more fragile elements will survive the season.

The large wreath for my front door. I used what was left of the Arborvitae branches (I love them for the contrast of shapes since they don't really have needles) with the holly to accent the bottom. There are spruce branches as the first layer and then some softer, longer-needled evergreens on top of that.