Tis the Season... Almost

 

(Pardon the step stool in the pic. I mean... it was an integral part of the day... but I got a little snap-happy with the camera before all our decorations were up.)

 

I was decorating my grandmother's Christmas tree with her this past Sunday, and it was so interesting to me that she remembered where many of her ornaments came from. Some, like the cloth-covered ball above, were handmade by her and her family. Some were from trips out of town, some from co-workers, some from favorite botiques. Heck I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday!

 

But she loves her Christmas decorations, man. I have to say, I hauled more Christmas boxes around for her on Sunday than I ever have in our household. Decorating for us is like... hang two stockings and it's done. Decorating for her is like... Put up trees and garland and inside lights and outside lights and wreaths and... Whew. It was really sweet though. After everything was done, we sat on the couch watching Christmas movies and drinking boiled custard (a Southern kind of eggnog). It was just great.

 

 

Etsy Sales

I was so happy on Monday to see a sale in my Etsy shop! I had such a busy, crazy, hectic day- working late- and was ready to collapse. And what a nice surprise it was to see that someone liked this little floral frog as much as me... Yes, they are random things. But I like random. I'm using one at my desk at home as a paperweight for all my college paperwork.

Speaking of college, can I just say how frustrating it is to work full time and go back to school simultaneously? It's a nightmare and it's awesome. I really wish there were thirty hours in a day. Maybe I would feel accomplished then. :-)

Flea Marketing

I had such a great time at the October flea market in Nashville! I've resorted to taking pictures of my favorite items instead of trying to buy all of them- I'm not quite as poor afterward ;-)

 

 

 

Elf on a shelf! And some cute, simple frames. Those would be such an easy project.

 

I loooove these vintage tablecloths - love!

 

Vintage test tubes - how awesome?? Now I did end up buying a few of these, to go with an antique test tube holder that I bought at a flea market last summer. I had a quirky bud vase in mind.... What do you think? Maybe I'll have to post some pictures to give you a better idea.

$10 tables

I found these side tables at a local garage sale for (happy gasp) $10. I couldn't believe it. I didn't even have a place to put them, but I took them home and gave them a quick coat of Krylon. Winter gray or something like that. My dad is a handyman and keeps telling me I need to wipe my projects with Wilbond or one of its alternatives, but I was really just so excited to get these done, I didn't listen.

Thus far, they have migrated here and there in my rooms, but they've ended up as my bedside tables. I'm really happy thus far. They're sturdy, clean, simple and just a little feminine. Soon to post a pic of the finished product.

Rag Rug Bliss

So, someone "borrowed" the card out of my camera as I was making this... so although I took pictures of the process... but they were not to be. Having grown up in the South, I've seen rag rugs since I was little. But I didn't really think about making one until this summer, when my grandmother and I eyed some at the flea market. "If you can crochet in a circle, you can make one of those," she told me.

 To make this, all you need is a jumbo crochet hook and an old sheet. I didn't have an old sheet (I mean, that wasn't in use) so I picked up a couple at Goodwill. Careful to choose a pattern that would jive with my Shabby Chic theme, I cut them into 1" thin strips. (I think it makes things infinitely easier to wind these into a ball - like yarn.) Then, just start crocheting. I wasn't careful to count my stitches; I just added extra stitches in the turns as needed to keep the rug flat. If you don't add enough, you'll have some weird bumps and stretching.

My finished rug took two sheets, and measures 22" x 38". And it probably only took 2-3 hours from start to finish.

Cherub Ornaments

I found this adorable vintage cherub pdf on The Graphics Fairy the other day and made these little ornaments. I kinda mixed up the suggested materials to suit what I had on hand, (yellowed novel pages instead of sheet music) but I was really happy with how these turned out :-) I added some vintage buttons and some glitz and walla! Free Christmas decorations.

I used bits of lace that I had from previous sewing projects for the hangers and... glitter... lots of glitter. The kitchen basically looked like a rave when I was done glittering these things.

I love this vintage Christmas tin - where I keep all my buttons :-) I'm beginning to have a collection of Christmas tins...

T-shirt Headband

I've seen tutorials for this all over Pinterest lately. I'm not a frequent headband-wearer, but the idea was too cute and easy not to at least try!! Although I couldn't find it again, I'm pretty darn sure I saw at least one DIY post along these lines on StarsforStreetlights - great blog.

I added a couple yo-yo's and some beading to this one.

I braided white and green lace into this one...

And here's the back - I folded a piece of t-shirt to cover the seam. Not absolutely necessary, but it looks a little cleaner with it.