Merry Christmas!!!

Well I had certainly intended to share so much more with you this December.  Holiday traditions, decorations, and gift ideas, for example.  But, alas, this blog is an outlet just for me. My family come first.  So I spent the season very busy with the kids, family, and a little crafting.

I also found some time to do a little shopping at an antique store.  That’s where I found this beauty!  Merry Christmas to me from my mom and daddy.  :)
    

I decorated her for Christmas as soon as she got in the door.   I used ornament balls from the dollar store and the thrift store under the cake dome.  The doily underneath was made by my late Aunt Martha.   The tiny crochet stitches are so intricate and beautiful.

The Christmas dishes I inherited from my sister when she no longer wanted them.  Yes, there is a salad plate missing.


And some tatted and crocheted snowflake ornaments.  My mother is an avid tatter and made me a bunch of these.  I did the round crocheted ones.



I love having another area to decorate for the holidays, but my favorite part of the bakers rack is the chicken wire mesh doors.  Perfect place to store my home canned goods.



I wish all of you a very blessed Christmas.  I pray the peace of the Christ child will fill you and your families in the coming year.

Rebecca

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