Felt and Ric Rac Together Again

I love seasonal table settings...however, this is the first Christmas we've had a formal dining room, so our table linens are a little lacking in Christmas spirit. I had a set of Christmas napkins given to me by my mother-in-law, but no napkin rings to match. So I thought a bit, and came up with these felt and ric rac napkin rings.

I cut out 8 rectangular strips of red felt and 8 lengths of white ric rac. Two straight stitches each, one to sew on the ric rac and another to close up the ring, and I was finished!

Gift Card Holder

Inevitably, someone on my christmas list ends up getting a gift card. Gift cards are great, especially for those hard-to-shop-for family and friends, but aren't very personal. A handmade gift card holder, in place of a plain envelope, is a great way to make the gift a little more thoughtful.

It only took a few minutes to make this gift card holder, using felt and ric rac leftover from another project. I cut the felt to size around the gift card, added ric rac at the top, then sewed around three sides to create a little pocket. I used a small hole punch to make holes near the top, then tied it closed with red ribbon. It makes me think of gingerbread...

Max and Jax Vintage

I won the Max and Jax Vintage giveaway on the Daily Etsian blog! Max and Jax Vintage sells vintage glass, pottery, books, and ephemera. I chose this little bird dish...

and these vintage Christmas cards

Images from Max and Jax Vintage

Tip top

Zach and I just finished putting up our Christmas decorations, including this mini Christmas tree in our bathroom. It was looking a little naked without a tree topper, so I made one out of felt.

First, I cut out two large stars from blue felt and sewed them together around the edges. I made sure to leave the bottom of the star open so that it could fit over the top of the tree. Then I traced out a smaller star on green felt and embroidered around the edges, before cutting it out. This made the embroidery a lot easier. To finish it off, I attached the green star to the front using fabric glue.

Trash to Treasure

S: Another trashy find from my mom's neighborhood, circa college, was a wooden rocking chair. When I found it, it was bare wood, and missing all the caning in the seat and the back. My dad helped me cut out a piece of wood for the seat and screw it in to place. Then the whole chair got a coat of earl gray paint, one of my favorite colors.

I covered the repaired seat with an inexpensive cream colored cushion, but had to be a little more creative with the back of the chair. After pricing caning I decided to use ribbon instead. I weaved it in and out of the holes left from the caning and tied it off in the back. ta da! a brand new look!

Thanks Giving

Image from klove.com

We're looking forward to a delicious Thanksgiving dinner this afternoon, and are thankful for all we've been blessed with...family, friends, our home, and plenty of food!

Hope to the Hungry provides meals to those in need. It cost just $1.96 to feed one person. You can donate to a local mission of your choice, and it can all be done online with just a few clicks.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Photo Collage

We love our open living room, but have a little less love for the very awkward wall near the front door. The main source of awkwardness is the two switch plates, and 6 light switches, that take up half the wall. We had several photographs we'd been meaning to frame and thought awkward wall would benefit from a photo collage. I picked up three matching frames, including mats, at Tuesday Morning for $36. Then we ordered two 8x10 and one 5x7 matte prints from Walgreens.

The tree photos were taken by Zach while camping in Shiner and the lichen photo was taken at Inks Lake State Park. I love the patina green color of lichen...