Christmas Stockings and Family Traditions

Every year on December 6th my family celebrates a tradition passed down through our German heritage.  We hang our stockings on the fireplace and St. Nick comes to fill them with fruits, nuts, candy, and small trinkets.  The original tradition has children place a boot or shoe outside their door, but in America we seem to have combined it with the Christmas tradition of a stocking on the mantel.

~ These are all stockings I’ve made over the years. ~

The first one I made for my husband before we were married.  He loves hiking and the outdoors so of course he got a hiking boot stocking.


For mine I took my love of quilting and made a crazy quilt stocking.  I also added bells to mine to make sure no one would snitch my chocolate!!  heh heh..


When my son was born I wanted to make him a cowboy boot stocking.  I didn’t have a pattern and was a bit discouraged about making my own until my Nov/Dec 2006 edition of Country Woman magazine came and, Voila!  There on page 16 was the perfect pattern.  And just in time.  Here’s my version.


I took my love of all things Victorian and turned some of my favorite fabrics into a Victorian boot for sister #1.  I love this one so much I almost made another for myself.


And just in time for Saint Nick to come today, I finished the stocking for my 9 month old.  It’s her first Christmas so I had to come up with another “boot” idea and find/make a pattern.  She got a pretty ice skate stocking with hand embroidery and  snowflakes.


This year, I also told my kids that this is when St. Nick comes to make sure they are being good and to pick up their Christmas wish list letters.  You wouldn’t believe how good my 4 year old is being on account of Santa watching.  :o)

Why December 6th you ask?  It’s the feast day of Saint Nicholas, the true Santa Claus.
I can’t wait to see what he brings us!
Rebecca


Celebrating at the following parties:
Tools are for Women Too!
Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party
DIY Showoff Project Parade
Making the World Cuter Mondays
The Girl Creative
Between Naps on the Porch Met Monday

More Pumpkin Decor

 

It’s definitely starting to look like fall around here.  Today I had the windows open all day and you know I love that!  LOL!

I’m sure you’re like me and have been reading all the fall decor blogs out there.  And you may have had it up to here with pumpkins by now, so I’ll make this quick and painless.  
Here’s one more you haven’t seen.  Did I mention that Autumn is my favorite season for decorating?  I think this is my fourth post about fall decor. :o)



I made this cutie out of elongated oval fabric pieces sewn together.  Then a little “knob” for the stem with a fake leaf and bow for another quickie decor piece.

Happy Halloween!
Rebecca

Fall Decor Fillers

I’m so excited autumn is here and the cooler weather is starting to hit.  While spring is actually my favorite season, fall is my favorite season for decorating.  I usually have my fall decorations up by early to mid-August, but really got behind this year.

If you’re looking for some cute but cheap fillers for your jars, bowls, and baskets, try some of these ideas.
Most of the fillers I used are natural things I found on our farm (I’m sure you could find stuff on the sides of roads or in your yard.  I did make these little vine balls out of covered wire.  I bought it for a different project, so I consider it free for this one.  :)  Just pretend you’re making a yarn ball and wrap until it is as big as you want it.  Simple!




Here I have them mixed with nuts in a thrift store jar.  In the other jar are some dried lemon eucalyptus leaves from a tree I used to have.  When it died I saved the leaves and use them for decorating.  After many years they still have a nice fragrance and a great autumn color.



I cut tall pampas grass for the pitcher.  I went outside looking for something to give the table height and remembered these beauties on the far fence-line.  I swear there was an unidentified animal rustling in the plant when I went to cut them. *Shivers at the thought that it may have been a snake*



The bowl has a layer of cheap potpourri with large pine cones, cinnamon sticks, and decorative apples on top.  The apples were from wally-world, but years ago.  I don’t know if they still carry them.



Using the Pottery Barn catalog for inspiration, I tried to fill under the table with a few more things.  I didn’t have any large pieces like I would have preferred to use, but I also didn’t want to go spend $$$ to replicate the look.

Clustered on one side is a few fall harvest decorations I got from Hobby Lobby last year during the 70% off after-season sale.



On the other side is an old picnic basket that’s been in the family for years.


 
Doesn’t this weather make you want to go have a picnic?

Rebecca

Joining the fun at:

Painted Toadstool

Today I managed to get all three of my little ones to nap at the same time.  So I got to sit down at their craft table to do a craft of my own.  

I love the look of the red toadstools with white spots and have wanted one for outdoor decor in my garden.  You know, the ones where the fairies live in the children’s stories.  But I couldn’t find any I loved - in the right size - at the right price. 

Instead I found this online and bought some craft paint.


I used Jo-Ann Craft Essentials Gloss Acrylic Paint in “Bright Red” and “White”.  They are durable for outdoor and indoor use.



Ooh I’m all tipsy, excited. I’m loving how this looks.  **drumming fingers on the table… waiting impatiently for the red paint to dry**  Oops, maybe I should go take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer while I wait.  BRB

*            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *

K, I’m back.  Yep today is cloth diaper washing day.  Then after that it’s wash the potty trainer’s sheets for the second time this week.  But hey, gotta love being a mom!

So here it is with the white dots painted on.


And in it’s new home in my herb bed.


I’m so in love with how this turned out!  And I can’t believe how easy it was.  Mu-ahh!

Rebecca

You can find this party girl at:






 

Little Girl’s Room Wall Art and Reveal

Okay, so now that I’ve finished the painting, trimming, stenciling, and curtains in my little girl room,  I’ll show you some simple wall decor I did.  Then, I’ll do a quick room reveal from start to finish.  I love the peacefulness of the lavender colors in this room.  To be honest, some days when the little ones are napping, I go sit in there and just enjoy the serenity.

On the walls I wanted to put verses from Proverbs 31 to  inspire my daughters to be kind, loving and God-centered women.  But when I priced custom vinyl lettering… OUCH!  I could MAYBE afford one, but not all eight that I wanted to do.

Here’s my creative and much MUCH cheaper solution.  For under $15 I purchased a package of 10 clear, full sheet labels from Amazon.

                




They work in an inkjet printer, so I picked my favorite font,  Pavane, and designed my verses to fit on an 8.5 X 11 inch paper which I then cut out.  Here’s the end result.





I ended up printing 7 of them.  The last one I printed on Sew-In Computer Printer Fabric that I got at Jo-Ann’s a while back.


 




With a coupon, it was less then a dollar per fabric sheet.  Then I sewed the fabric sheet into a pillow.

 


And now to reveal the room redo from start to finish…. Drum roll please…

Original Wall Color 
 

Lavender Paint in Two Tones shown here

 

Chair Rail Added shown here



Stenciling Completed shown here




Curtains Sewn & Hung shown here




And last, the completed room:  Bible versus on the wall. Furniture moved back in place (I would LOVE new furniture, but alas, that’s not in the budget);  My favorite quilt and pillows on the bed (I made these years ago).  When my little one is ready to come out of the crib, we’ll put rails on the bed and move her in.  Until then, Grandma and Grandpa still have a place to sleep.   :o)



Hope you enjoyed it.  Have a great day!

Rebecca

Joining the party at:





 

Thrifting at a NEW Thrift Store!!

 
I’m so excited!!!  Today I found a NEW thrift store.  Okay, it’s actually not new, but I didn’t know it was there so it’s NEW to ME!!!  This is especially exciting to me because I was having to drive 20+ miles to get to the nearest thrift stores and this one is hidden away in the little town closest to where I live… only about 5 miles from me!!   This is also especially good because being in a small town the selection is better (less shoppers finding the good stuff first) AND the prices are way better!!

In fact, I had given up on shopping at the nearest Goodwill.  I regularly found things there were priced about the same as if the item was brand new.  And with discount coupons to places like Hob Lob or Jo-Ann, the Goodwill store was actually MORE expensive!  HUH?!?!

So when I found this “NEW” thrift store today that supports Disabled American Veterans, I was psyched.  It’s HUGE!  HUGE, I tell you!!!!  And the prices are awesome!  Take for example these two great jars I got.

(Oooohh, check out the spooky shadows on the wall.  I need to work on my camera skills.)

The one with the cork stopper was $0.90.  YEP 90 cents!  The other one was $1.91.  It’s hard to tell in the pic, but they are both about 12 inches tall.

Also got these great frames.  The 11 x 14 I will need for the new baby’s birth announcement.  It matches the ones I have for the older siblings.  This was $0.70.  The bigger frame is 24 x 25 and has a heavy duty hanger on the back.  I plan to use it for a cork board, memo board, chalkboard, or some combination of these.


Also got this great clay pot for under 2 bucks!  It’s a big eight inch one. Woohoo!! 



The possibilities are endless.  I may paint it and put tools in it.  Or add a little chalkboard paint to it and plant herbs in it like these from DIY Network’s site…

 
The last great things I found were these pretty little cups and saucers for a couple dollars.   I love the blue pears with the leaves.



I’ve been looking for some I like so I can make the cute little bird feeders that I’ve seen all over the place.  Like this one from Ehow.


So now I have lots of materials to continue my crafting fun.  If only I could buy time and energy at a thrift store, I’d be set!!

Rebecca