Tag Archives: Christmas
I wanted to do a little word play with you all this morning, but it just wasn’t coming together in my head correctly. Do any of you have that issue ever? :) So I just decided to focus on the ‘cheer’ of the Christmas season and see what fun things we can find on the internet for you (that are free) to enjoy and hopefully inspire you.
How about some miniature Christmas hats? These can be ornaments for your tree, or better yet a great top for a bottle of wine or cider for your holiday host and hostess. So darned adorable! (click pic for free pattern)
Miniature Hats / Christmas Ornaments (Knitting)
How about a mini sweater? Make it in your school’s colors or child’s team number on the front. Great way to remember sporting events every year.
Miniature Sweater (knitting)
Here’s some sewing ideas for wine cozies (totally free) that you can make: FREE WINE BAG PATTERNS from SewingSupport.com
My personal fave is this burlap bag, as it reminds me of my husband who refuses to say the word ‘burlap‘ correctly because he knows it irritates me. :) This is a super pattern that uses inexpensive burlap, found at your local fabric store, and simple stencil embellishment. It’s so simple, it’s crazy! I think rice bags would be a super idea if you like to recycle and repurpose things.
Burlap Wine Bag (sewing)
I didn’t give myself enough time this morning to give you more ideas, but take these and get a little creative in your gift giving and memory making.
Thinking I need to go to Trader Joe’s and get some 3-Buck Chuck and find some burlap! What do you think? :) Have a safe and memory filled Christmas.
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Leave a comment | tags: burlap, burlap bag, Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, Christmas tree, diy, free patterns, hats, Hessian (cloth), Holidays, host gift, hostess gift, knitting, memories, ornaments, recycle, repurpose, Santa Claus, sewing, sewing ideas, Shopping, Trader Joe's, wine, wine bag, wine toppers, yarn | posted in Random
The second Sunday of every December, there is a candle lighting ceremony – around the globe.
Please click on the candle to get to their website to see if there is a community service being held in your area.
This is such a uniting experience, even when it is done privately in your home. There are so many families who are hurting during the holiday season. We will be lighting our candle to remind us the Tyler’s light still shines in our lives.
The Compassionate Friends
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It’s December! I had planned on doing a 25 Days of Christmas type countdown on the blog, but my desktop decided to get fried overnight. So as long as my dear hubby shares his laptop, we’ll do the best we can to keep rolling around here. :)
So on the First Day of Christmas, I think it’s appropriate to be thankful and mindful of what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. Jesus. And we intend to keep Christ in Christmas. Also want to keep the spirit of giving alive and well. We’ve never given a lot of attention to the ‘receiving’ part of Christmas, but the way we feel when we are able to GIVE is what makes this season so wonderful for the both of us.
Luke 2:9-12
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. (10) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Doesn’t that just put warmth in your heart and a smile on your face to know we are loved SO much?
For all you crafters out there, I’m picking up on the ‘swaddling cloths’ part of the scripture and we’ll see what kind of great free patterns are out there for the babies on your Christmas lists!
For you knitters, this little Acorn Swaddle Sac just made me giggle. As they say, the apple (sub acorn) doesn’t fall far from the tree. :)
Acorn Swaddle Sac & Cap
As usual, just click the pic and you’ll go straight over the the Bright Family Farm’s blog for the free pattern. This still makes me giggle at how cute it is.
OK, for you crochet peeps, let’s see what kind of fun we found for you!
Holiday Baby Cocoon
I can just see a picture with the shopping mall Santa holding a baby wrapped in this! It almost looks like a Christmas stocking with a baby in it. Just adorable.
And for you that love sewing, I think this is my favorite find of the day! I think it would make a great blanket for a guy, too! Not just a baby. Take a look over at This Mama Makes Stuff….
He’s All Boy Baby Blanket
Great tutorial and great way to use flannel shirts! And the furry fabric around the edges just tops off a wonderful gift idea.
I tip my hat to all these wonderful designers and their ideas for keeping those little ones of ours warm and cozy. May you have a wonderful Christmas season, and check back for hopefully a little more sharing and showing some of my own ideas. I’ll be starting from pretty much ‘scratch’ without my desktop – so bear with me.
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Leave a comment | tags: Angel of the Lord, baby, blanket, bunting, Christ, Christmas, Clothing, crochet, diy, flannel, free, free pattern, Gift, Great Joy, Holiday, home, Jesus, knit, Lord, Saviour, sew, swaddle, winter | posted in Crochet, Knitting, Random, Sewing, To Be Gifted, UpCycling
Can’t you just here Gomer Pyle saying that title? If you don’t know who Gomer is, Google it. 
I knew there was a ton of work to get done today, so after doing some laundry I dug into getting one complete order finished. Needless to say, when I digitized it the other day I made it too doggone big. 
So I started from scratch and by about noon it was saved and ready to embroider on six items. Here’s the last one out of the hoop….
Saunders County Livestock Association
There were two work jackets in that order which was a concern because of thickness (one was a Carhart coat), but we got-r-dun and bagged up to deliver tomorrow. Isn’t the little angus head cute? Now that this job is complete (for now) I can get started on the next embroidery job in line. But not this evening.
Since we are all so spoiled by technology, the cell phone has to sit by me at all times. Not that I’ll ever ANSWER it, mind you, but it’s the best way for me to get email and watch the little shop over on Etsy. I had not only one, but THREE emails off of Etsy today. One ended up in a sale, so this pretty little number is ready to ship…….
Purple and Lime iPad Clutch (plus a little bling-a-ling-a)
The last Etsy email was the biggest surprise of ALL! It was from a cousin’s wife on my dad’s side whom I haven’t seen since the 1980′s, and haven’t heard from since the early 90′s. And the way she found me was really pretty smart – Ancestry.com. Remember back to the beginning of this year and I was working on our family tree every hour available? Then I stopped. But it was all for a good reason now – to connect with family whom I’d lost track of. Now I can’t wait to hear back from them.
One last Sunday blessing was the hawk that flew low enough I could see him from where I sit downstairs at the sewing machine (under the deck). It’ been awhile – I’ve missed seeing him.
It’s time to give Bill back his laptop and sit with a book for a little bit. Right? Hope you’ve all had a very blessed weekend.
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Leave a comment | tags: blessings, Christmas, Clothing, clutch, cousin, diy, embroidery, embroidery machine, Etsy, Gomer, Gomer Pyle, Google, IPad, Journal Junction, relatives, sewing, Sewing machine, style, tablet, technology | posted in Journal Junction, Sewing
With so many designs available for iPad covers (which I saw on Black Friday) it only makes me want to keep the originality of a handmade cover even MORE available for those of you who love to sew. So I searched this morning for a freebie that may get you inspired to make your own, or give as Christmas gifts. This is a FREE toturial from Chica & Jo that I think you will truly enjoy!
Custom iPad Cover – Free Sewing Project
There are Amy Butler fabrics out there that would be absolutely SO FUN to sew this style of iPad cover. Or maybe a little bling or jewelry accents. This is a well written and photographed tutorial and just know that you will not be disappointed.
Now off to do some of my own projects – what are you crafting up today?
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Leave a comment | tags: Amy Butler, Apple, chipboard, Christmas, Crafts, diy, electronics, free, gadgets, gifts, Handmade, handmade gift, Holidays, IPad, IPhone, sew, sewing, sewing project, Shopping, tablet, technology, tutorial | posted in Other Designers, Sewing, Storage Ideas, To Be Gifted
While surfing around the web on Christmas, we came across the greatest and funnest Ultimate Challenge ever! Somewhere along the line, I have been blessed by being called “McGyver” and people ask me first when they are ready to throw something out if I could use it or make something out of it! So here’s the deal………
Now Seeking America’s Most Talented Crafters!!!
Are you ready to show America your unique, creative skills?
Do your friends refer to you as the “MacGyver” of arts & crafts?
Can you create, design, build and implement visually stunning
and out-of-the-box creations on the fly?
A MAJOR CABLE NETWORK & the Executive Producers of “CUPCAKE
WARS” and “HALLOWEEN WARS” are seeking Arts & Crafts Designers
for a new competition show.
Each episode will feature Arts & Crafts competitors who battle
against each other for a $10,000 prize and an opportunity to
publicly showcase their craft masterpiece!
Casting Males & Females, (18 and over) with fun and upbeat
personalities that can think on their feet!!!
If this is you, we want to hear from you ASAP!
Email craftcasting@gmail.com the following information:
-Send us your full name & contact numbers
-Tell us what city you live in
-Tell us in a short paragraph about you and your specialty
-Pictures of you and samples of your work
Here is someone’s YouTube audition. Don’t think I could actually do that. But I could sure use some help writing up an audition email!!! Any takers on that one?
Can’t leave without throwing in a free pattern. Found this lovely thing this morning and will put it into my own library – it would be perfect on the front of a handmade purse. Don’t ya think?
Click the photo and you’ll go directly to Berroco for the free pattern download. ENJOY!
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I was enjoying a little conversation with my sister the other day over on Facebook, and she requested a special little mini portfolio that would accommodate her Palm Tungsten and a pad of paper. Yes, we are sisters obviously. Neither of us can give up the feel of paper and pen. So this is what I came up for her with some of the left over fabric from the large size iPad portfolio I had completed earlier. Excuse the photos, I was in a hurry as there is a lot to do today.
Pink Poppy CRS Portfolio
CRS Mini Port Magnet Closure
CRS Mini Port Open - Showing Velcro ready for her to attach to her Palm
You may ask what the CRS in the name means. As my sister couldn’t remember either while I was teasing her, it only made the name more appropriate. “Can’t Remember Sh**” Palm holder, because we need to write down with pen what we need to put in our electronic organizers! It’s perfect and I totally understand what she means. I’m the same way. So hopefully this will be something a little fun and bright for her to use.
Accomplished some projects yesterday, two of which I forgot to photograph before bagging up. Those two were winter ear warmers for my son-in-law’s aunt to give as gifts. So that was two down. Then there was a request for a baby pixie hat in my FB inbox from a co-worker who had moved on and had a baby. This is what got made from the photo she sent me of what she wanted….
Yellow Baby Pixie Hat
I couldn’t find anything round to display this on without having to scrub an old hamster exercise ball. tee hee So the chair just has to do it. This was a really fun project and trying to figure out how to get a pixie point on top was fun! Even got out the old knitting encyclopedia to make sure I was doing the right thing. Success!! So that’s ready to ship out to her tomorrow.
Today we celebrate Thanksgiving with our oldest daughter and her family. Hopefully her kids will give us many ideas for Christmas gifts. Since it’s a ‘handmade’ Christmas this year, it could be tough, but we’re going to sure try.
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4 comments | tags: Children and Youth, Christmas, cotton, crs, fabric, Facebook, Gift, Handmade, Holidays, mini, olive green, original, Palm Tungsten, pink, poppies, portfolio, sew, sewing, Shopping, sister, Thanksgiving | posted in Journal Junction, Original Designs, Sewing, TL's Creations, To Be Gifted
I believe that March will be my month for hunkering down and getting serious about recycling, upcycling, designing, and generally getting some product done.
So in getting ready for my BIG month coming, Goodwill advertised a HUGE sale ending today. Got in the boo-boo-bug and slushed my way over to the neighborhood store and ended up bringing home a garbage bag full of sweaters, jumpers, ugly dress suits and ties. Why you ask? Because they wanted stuff out of their store and some of this stuff will make perfect bag linings, photo backdrops and yes, the bags themselves! I can’t wait to dig in as the ideas to make these boring sweaters into something fun and useful are swirling around in my head. Just look at this pile……..
Sweaters to Recyle into Bags
See the ugly purple jacket under the sweater pile? Don’t think I’d even wear this as a joke, but the embroidery on it is out of this world. And texture? This baby has got it going on. The picture in my head of this bag finished is outstanding. And yes, there are two Christmas sweaters in there, but don’t gals like to sometimes carry a seasonal bag? hmmmm But wait, it gets better……
Golf Vest
You got it! It’s a never before worn knitted golf vest. See the price tag still attached? You are reading it right. It says $84.00 and it’s a Pendleton. What a fun spring bag this will make. My dear husband said when he saw it, “Why don’t you just wear that one?” Um, well honey, number one… I don’t golf. Number two, it’s stinking ugly! :) But that’s just me.
Yesterday’s errands found me at Joann’s and Staples. Weird combo, but it works for me. Staples discount bins were out of this world. And Joann’s was Joann’s, it’s always fun there. But I did find fat quarter bundles for 25% off, so these are going to make some fun little stuff to put IN your bags or totes.
Tools and just plain good stuff....
As I write this, my dear one is still rummaging through the pile of sweaters wondering why I don’t just wear them! I spent some big bucks, too, and found a Husker tie I thought just maybe he’d like to wear to work on Fridays. But if he doesn’t wear it, it’s going to get recycled into something else if he doesn’t watch it. tee hee
So bring it on March! I’m ready for you. Let the ‘madness’ begin………….
And happy creating, everyone!!!! Thanks for stopping by.
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2 comments | tags: bags, Christmas, fabric, Fridays, Golf, Goodwill, photography, purses, Recyling, sewing, Staples, sweater, totes, Upcycling | posted in Journal Junction, Original Designs, Sewing, TL's Creations, UpCycling
Twelve Fabric Portfolios…….
Eleven Million Yards of Fabric…….
Ten Yards of Interfacing…….
Nine Spools of Thread…….
Eight Cards of Buttons…….
Seven Special Aprons…….
Six Adorable Grandchildren…….
Five TRIPS TO JOANNS!!!!!!…………….
Four American Girl Doll Outfits…….
Three Days Off for Christmas…….
Two Orders from Fabric.com …….
….. and ONE most loving and understanding husband in the world!!!
The last Christmas gift project did not get completed until last night at about 10:30. But it’s complete and ready to gift to my oldest granddaughter. Funny how I thought it would only be a 4 hour job and it turned into an 8 hour one because I couldn’t stop and HAD to made a matching hat for her American Girl Doll. Is that a bit obsessive compulsive? Probably.
The American Girl Doll Clothing Finale'
I must say, I ADORE this little outfit. :)
Hope your Christmas time was blessed beyond compare.
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The next four in the portfolio gang of gifts….. or whatever. :)
Brown Coffee Mug Portfolio and Book Cover
Brown Coffee Mug (open)
Brown/Blue Flourish Portfolio with Book Cover
Black and Red Coffee Mug with Book Cover
Black Floral Net Portfolio with Book Cover
Now it’s time to do Christmas cards – probably about time since we haven’t mailed any for years. We OWE people our Christmas greetings. Lots to be thankful for – family, friends, co-workers….. yes, lots.
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1 comment | tags: business, Christmas, Christmas card, Coffee, fabric, feminine, portfolio, professional, sew, sewn | posted in Sewing, TL's Creations, To Be Gifted
Bill & Karen
