Beaded Jelly Spoon & Butter Knife

While looking at our December calendar, I made note as to how many hostess gifts we will need this year.  I like to bring little gifts of handmade gifts.  This year is no exception.  I will be adding these beaded little spoons and butter knives to homemade jams and flavored butters.

I start with small butter knife or jam/jelly spoon.

You'll need a stiff but bendable wire and a few beads of multiple shapes and colors.

Cut a piece of the wire about 8 inches long.

Hold the tip of the wire in a needle nose pliers and twist to make a circle at the end of the wire.

Once you have a little circle on the end, hold that circle flat in the pliers and then begin twisting the wire and turn the circle to make a spiral.

Hold the spiral at the base of the knife/spoon and wrap the end around.

Add a few beads and twist it around again.  Repeat this process, adding beads to the front, until you reach the top of the handle of the knife/spoon.

Make the same spiral at this end of the wire as was done at the bottom and press it onto the utensil.

That's all it takes to jazz up a knife/spoon.

Tie it to a homemade jar of jam with a cute ribbon and you have a fabulous hostess gift!

"A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intentions of the giver or doer."  -Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Great Christmas "To Do" Books

If you're looking for a good resource for Christmas crafts, baked goods, meals for the holidays, homemade gift ideas - just about anything Christmas related - check out these books.

They are just titled "Christmas" and they are by Gooseberry Patch (A Leisure Art Publication).

There are a lot of pictures in each section so you can see exactly how those cookies are supposed to look or how the place setting they're describing really is set or what the Christmas craft looks like when it's all done.

There are even patterns to the craft ideas! 

I adore these books and find something new to make each Christmas.  (Sometimes I like to page through them just to look at the pictures!)  You can order them online from Amazon or if you're ever at my house, they are coffee table books during the holiday season!

"Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas.  They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal."  -Lenore Hershey

Countdown to Christmas Wall Hanging

One of my children's favorite Christmas decorations is our "Countdown to Christmas" wall hanging. 

 My mom made one from a kit when I was really little.  When I got my own home, I wanted one for my family so I used my mom's as a template.  I got some felt, sequins and beads and went to work. 

I outlined the tree with green beads and sequins.

The base I made out of a white piece of felt, a circle of green felt for the wreath and little red beads for the berries.

The pockets are just strips of red felt that I sewed on horizontally and then I glued on numbers cut from white felt.

Each pocket (one for each day in December - to Christmas Eve) has a felt "ornament".  All of them are different - each embellished in a different way with beads and sequins.

The ornament for the 24th day of December is a star that goes on the top of the tree.  

The calendar is held up by a dowl stitched into a pocket.  I used a decorative gold trim as the hanger with a red bead glued on the end to hold it in place.

My children no longer fight over who puts up the ornaments.  It now falls to the one who gets up first in the morning.  Sometimes that's even me!  I plan on making three more of these.  One for each of my children to share with their families one day.

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!"  -Charles Dickens

Ugly Lamp Upcycle

What to do with a lamp that has served its' time and no longer fits with the style of your house.....my cousin gave me a great idea in how to turn a lamp into a beautiful Christmas decoration.

First you need a lamp.  Mine is approximately 36" tall.

Take out all of the electrical parts.  I had my 16 year old son help with this part.

I bought a wreath, gold pinecones and red bulbs from Michael's.

I added them to the wreath.  The bulbs were prepackaged with wires attached so I just "twisted" them on to the wreath.

The pinecones I added by using a glue gun.  I bunched them in groups of three as well.

I cut a piece of cardboard to go where the lightbulb used to be.  This will be the base for my candle.

The candles I chose are LED flickering tea lights.  They have an on/off switch at the base and because they "flicker", they really look like a real candle.

The candle fits perfectly on the cardboard base.

Next I took some green florist wire and a wire cutter.

I strung the wire through the wreath and attached it to the screws that hold on the glass element of the lamp.  I have three screws on the lamp so the wreath is held securely by three wires.

Here is the finished product. 

I wish I had a picture that showed how great it looks in low light.  I was going to put it outside by our front door but my family wanted to be able to see it so instead, it's in our family room - where we spend the most time!

"Christmas isn't a season.  It's a feeling."  -Edna Ferber