Subject: Christmas Stockings

Melissa -

As with our other Christmas decorations, for our stockings I once again drew inspiration from the Secrets from a Stylist holiday special, especially this picture:

I love how these stockings still look like stockings when they're hung over a mantel, but they're not the faux fur-lined numbers I had growing up. However, I did want something that had more traditional Christmas colors in it (like, red) and I did not have a ton of time to spend on creating stockings from scratch (or the patience really).

At Target I found stockings in the $1 section that I thought would be good to work with - and hello, you cannot beat the price! So even if I only use them a few times, I don't have that much invested in them. I went ahead and bought four so I would have all that I would need (and matching!) for Christmas next year. Next I went to Joann Fabrics and checked out their flannel selection. Not great, but I did re-find some flannel that I have been loving from afar for awhile but had no projects designated for it...until now. I kind of liked the idea of each stocking having different flannel trim on it, but given the limited selection I decided to make them all the same. Finally, I printed off some letters from Word to use as stencils. Here are my supplies:

I created little foot and heel patches by tracing the end of the stocking on to paper and cutting it out to make a pattern. Next I started on the letters. After I cut them out from computer paper, I then traced them onto a file folder and cut them out again, because I felt like the thicker paper would work better for tracing onto the actual fabric. It was a little more time-intensive, but I think the results were worth it. To adhere, I used fabric glue (because why sew???) and I love the results!
Right? Here is a close-up:

I think they look really interesting but not mass-produced, which is totally what I was going for. I also kind of like that the flannel isn't a traditional red-and-green theme, but still has red in it to make it work with the red stocking. I also liked how Emily didn't use traditional stocking hangers over the mantel but instead strung them up using gold chain from the hardware store. I did not have any gold chain so I used some twine. Maybe next year I will come up with something even more creative...we'll see! But for now, I am just glad I can mark stockings off my list.

And yes, I bought enough fabric to personalize next year's addition!

Season's greetings!
Kara

Subject: A Very Homemade Holiday

Melissa -

Oh my gosh - I have so enjoyed watching your master bath's transformation! I cannot wait to see the finished project. What are you doing for fixtures (light, faucets, mirrors, etc.)? I'm sure your choices will be flawless, but the suspense is killing me!

Over in the Casa de Lass, I have been busy at work getting ready for Christmas and breathing new life into my childhood relics. Would you believe this is the first year we have ever put up a Christmas tree? This will be our sixth Christmas as a married couple - and no tree! Mostly it's because we have always been gone on Christmas day, so it seemed silly to put one up when we wouldn't even be here on the actual day to enjoy it. But this year everyone is coming to us, so we decided to get into the Christmas spirit. Of course, having never decorated a tree (or our house, really), we were essentially starting from scratch.

For some reason, Christmas decorations stress me out. First, I feel like I have a hard enough time with decorating my house for the other 11 months of the year, so focusing on decorating for just one holiday has always seemed daunting. I would rather spend my money and energy on decorations I can use year-round, you know? Plus I don't know what to do with all the decorations once Christmas is over. My house is not brimming with extra storage, so I hated the idea of having to find a place to store decorations. And lastly, so many of the decorations out there are just ugly and super-commercial, which is not at all appealing. So instead I decided to make all our decorations.

First up: ornaments. I wanted everything to have a homemade vibe and give off a feeling of warmth...so what better than yarn??? I was inspired by Secrets from a Stylist's holiday special and found 4-packs of Styrofoam balls for $1 at the Dollar General and then found some cheap yarn at Joann Fabrics. Here are my materials before:

And the finished product, after:


There are 40 total. I actually got really fast at it towards the end, but I was so happy when I was done!

Next, I needed to figure out what to do about a tree topper. I didn't want to do a typical star or angel, so I decided to brand the tree as our own, like any true Southerner. I found a chipboard M at Hobby Lobby on sale for, like, 75 cents and then went and looked at the holiday floral section. Here is what I was working with:


And the after:

I really like the look of it! I hot glued each of the berries and then topped it with the crystals to add some flair. I mean, it's not perfect, but I think it's fun and different. I glued yarn across the two points of the M to hang it on the top branch and it is resting on some lower branches for added support.

Here is a shot of the whole tree:

I used some burlap as my tree skirt and added a little bit of sparkle to the tree with some silver bells (and now that song is in my head...).

The whole thing achieves what I was going for and nothing is breakable (great for curious little fingers)! Tomorrow I'll show you our stockings!

Bye bye,

Kara

Subject: Pesach Part 2

As promised, here are some more shots from Monday's seder. 

The menu included the following:

-Matzos

-Chopped liver:  I know this kind of sounds gross, but it's amazing.  Prepared by Mom using Grandma's recipe

-Gefilte fish:  Hubby's fav

-Charoset:  I think you might love this one.  Here's the recipe I used.

-Brisket (Known as pot roast to some) and Potatoes:  Prepared by yours truly using Grandma's recipe  (Pictured above)

-Greenbeans with garlic and lemon:  This recipe by the Neely's is YUM and easy to make.

-Chocolate Passover Cookies:  Thank you Martha Stewart!

-Passover Jelly Fruit Slices:  Storebought from the MIL.  I don't actually think anyone ever attempts to make them

Maybe one year you can come up for a seder??  We'd love to have you any Passover!!

Subject: Happy Pesach

Good morning Kara -

Last night was the first night of Passover.  Hubby and I hosted the dinner at our house and because we have yet to buy a dining room table, we dined in our backyard.  The set up is below with a promise to post more pictures from the night tomorrow.

Subject: One Year as a Mrs.

Were you curious what that picture was from yesterday??  When I first saw it, I thought it had to be in Europe.  However, the Grove Park Inn is about four hours north of us in Asheville, NC.  Here are a few pictures:

That last picture is part of the spa.  Pretty amazing, right??

Hubby has actually vacationed there with his family when he was younger, and thought it would be the perfect place for our first year anniversary trip.  We still have some time until Memorial Day weekend, but just looking at the pictures is getting me excited.  I need this vacation!!

I thought you would get a kick out of some of the history of the hotel.  It opened in 1913 and has hosted guests including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, George Gershwin, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt and Henry Ford.  The list of presidents who have stayed at the Inn include William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard M. Nixon, George H. W. Bush, William J. Clinton and Barack H. Obama.

I also learned from my research that there is a ghost in the hotel, known as the Pink Lady.  In the 1920's a young girl in a pink chiffon dress was said to have fallen or been pushed from one of the balconies.  They claim she is friendly though!

I'll let you know once we are officially booked.  And I've already purchased Hubby's anniversary gift.  Something paper of course.  I like the idea of following tradition!!  Will share what I ended up with AFTER the anniversary. 

Have a wonderful weekend!!  I am going to the COOLEST place tomorrow.  Can't wait to tell you all about it.  Hopefully it is as cool as it's supposed to be otherwise this will just be an exaggeration!

Mel

Update:  The trip has been booked.  Grove Park Inn here we come.  (In May)

Subject: Wrapped Gifts

Hi-eee!

Okay, so this will be my last post through Christmas because we are going to my parents' house tomorrow and I'm pretty sure their computer is powered by hamsters on a wheel...so, no blogging for me. I have a feeling that for Suz's first Christmas my parents' living room will look like the showroom of a girls-only toy store, so who knows if there will even be time for writing with all the new toys she'll (okay, we'll) have to play with!

I wanted to share my wrapped presents, which I am very proud of this year! My favorite thing to do when I have lots of gifts to wrap (which really only happens at Christmas) is to wrap them all in the same paper and then change things up with the ribbon I use, so each one is different:

I got this paper from Target and it was $2.50 for 90 square feet, which means I will be using it for Christmas 2011 and 2012, too. The backside had the grid marks which I love and the roll was really long so I was able to wrap several of the smaller packages when I cut a length of it off the roll, so I barely wasted any. Here is a closer look:

The only thing I had to buy was the paper - I used this opportunity to use up a lot of the ribbon I already had on hand. And I love using paint chips/samples as my gift tags - most are the traditional red or green, but I used a few that were shades of brown or lighter green. I think it's such a fun idea as an alternative to traditional gift tags! Really, I love using those little colorful cards for all kinds of things - I know you were the recipient of one recently! The new ones from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot are the perfect length for a short note. I also use them to make lists and as book marks. Plus I use them for gifts the rest of the year too, like for birthdays or Mother's Day.

Signing off for now,

Kara

Re: Handmade Gifts

If you could only see me now.  My jaw is on the floor because I am in awe over your napkins.  It's probably because I don't have the slightest clue how to sew.  (I even send clothes home with my mom when a button falls off.)  You should be SO SO SO proud of yourself!!  I think our friend Margaret has some competition.  

The Japanese umbrella napkins make me think of the gorgeous Japanese papers that Paper-Source carries.  I always wonder who wants to cut up a sheet of $10 paper though?!?

Paper-Source - Chiyogami Yellow Roses

Paper-Source:  Yuzen Cranes

 

Subjects: Handmade Gifts

Helloooo!

So, in an attempt to give something that is original and personalized, I decided to try and make some of the Christmas gifts I would be giving this year. At first I had these grand plans to make quilts for mine and Jonathan's brothers, but that never really panned out. I was going to use a makeshift version of this quilt (this site is so inspiring sewing-wise!), but like I said - the whole thing seemed daunting and I kept putting it off until it was too late to start. Darn!

The other idea I had was to make cloth napkins for my mom and mother-in-law. This was a little more doable and not quite as time-intensive and daunting (or so I thought). I got the fabric from Joann Fabrics the weekend after Thanksgiving, which was nice because everything was on sale and I had tons of coupons, but I think half the female population of this city was also in there. Ack! But, I managed all the same and so I wanted to show you my (almost) finished products.

First up, these are for my mom:

The table in her kitchen seats four, so I made eight total so she would have two sets. (If you count, you'll realize there are only seven napkins here...I'll need to finish one when I get to her house later on this week. My machine was messing up. Mostly I think it was user error.) The colors will also go really nice in her kitchen and the print reminded me of this duvet from Garnet Hill that was available for a long time but now I can't find on their site:

And then I made these for my mother-in-law:

Her dining table seats six, so I made her two sets of six. The colors don't match her house perfectly, but I thought the colors were really nice and I think she'll like them. I really like the mixture of the teal-blue and red in the fabric on the left and yes, the fabric on the right is little Japanese umbrellas. Kind of random given that she is not Japanese and her house is not decorated with any Asian accents, but still I really liked the colors and thought it was just a fun pattern. I mean, what else will you do with fabric that has Japanese umbrellas? Exactly. These are not done - again, my sewing machine! - but they won't take me long to whip up at my mom's house using her machine (which apparently is a lot more resilient to my ineptitude for sewing).

I didn't use a pattern for the napkins, but I did follow the directions I found here. I tried to do mitered corners. Sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't - I couldn't figure out what determined whether or not they worked. Whatever! You can just do an Internet search for "cloth napkins DIY" or something to that effect - tons of sites are out there! This project was really fast and easy, but it got repetitive. All the prep work took longer than actually sewing the napkins. After washing the fabric, I then had to measure and cut, then iron them and then measure out the seams and iron those...20 times. Ugh.

My napkins measured 16" so I cut them 17" and did a 1/2" seam on all four sides (I think that math works). Two yards of fabric made eight napkins and to make six I got 1.5 yards. Now I have some scraps that I will need to find a use for soon. Maybe I'll make a quilt of all my scraps one day!

And next year maybe I'll start earlier and make it a truly handmade holiday!

Xoxo,

Kara