A Tutorial and Christentine Greetings

 Back on December 20, 1990 when we bought our Little House, we didn't have a Christmas tree. It just wasn't going to happen that year. So when I came home from work on January 25, 1991, Doug had purchased a living evergreen tree and had decorated it with Valentines and proclaimed it Christentine! So tomorrow is the 20 year anniversary of the first Christentine. We celebrate it every year with a 'Happy Christentine!' and some kind of blended decor. It works for me...no rush to get the holiday tree down and I love red! Our newly redone bathroom is the perfect Valentine-y space with its red ceiling and black and white accents so the tinsel tree that was in there was the logical choice.

Pink dove from Ormolulu,
Red Feather Butterfly from Bountiful Home
and
Valentine Fat Book from a Red Lead Swap.

For the December 2nd Saturdayz Urban Market I had made some Ribbon Wrapped Wire Stocking ornaments and then for gift pizzazz I made some Initial ornaments. So here is a quick tutorial for Ribbon Wrapped Wire Hearts.

You will need:


18-gauge wire
Pliers (round nose, smooth nose, or needle nose)
Wire cutters
Ribbon (I used Midori silk, double-faced satin and velvet)
Ruler
Scissors
Bling

Cut wire to about 14" long. Use round nose pliers to make loop and then bend wire by hand into your shape.

Attach end of wire around inside of first loop and crimp closed with pliers.

Cut 1 to 1 1/2 feet of ribbon to wrap around wire (depends on  how large you make your heart).
Tie around wire at top of heart. Leave a little tail at the top.

Wrap, overlapping slightly each time around.

When you reach the end, tie off at the top to the existing tail of your starter knot.
Trim ends as you like.

A group of hearts....
You can add bling to your loop or bend up with pliers for hanging.
Here I added a chandelier crystal to the pink heart.
But it could be beads, charms, another heart.

Happy Christentine!

Holiday Goodness!

December Burger Day with the girls is always terrific....Burgers AND holiday gift exchange! This year I did my shopping at 2nd Saturdayz and I found the exactly right gifts. The Tree (for Beth) was from Lori of Cinnabarblue, the Mannequin (for Colleen) was made by Linda of Luluz and the Wreath (for Judy) was assembled by Deb of Garden Party.


Here is a close-up of the pretty wreath details.

Bunny always loves to help and is looking good in the Midori silk ribbon box.

I made some initial ornaments from wire and Midori silk ribbon as nametags. And I will post a super-simple tutorial on these next week!

Wrapped the gifts up in creamy dreamy pieces of silk sari, added some ribbon and the ornaments and the gifts were good to go. Fabric is a great wrap: recyclable again as wrap or can later be used in crafts and is very good for odd shaped items. And who doesn't need a piece of silk sari?

Happy girls with full tummys and full hearts!

Colleen, Beth, Me, Judy



2nd Saturdayz was #1

Loved being a vendor at last weekend's 2nd Saturdayz Holiday Show!

The lovely organizers, Linda and Deb, made us feel so special...even shared a beautiful and delicious dinner by candlelight with us...Ham and scalloped potatos from Geff and treats from some of the rest of the vendors. And the table was decked out, of course.

A few shots of my booth.

And some of my tiny treasures.

 I made the necklace from a drilled out serving spoon and attached the porcelain rose and added green rayon ribbon to suggest the stem.

The stockings were made from wire and then wrapped with silk Midori ribbon.

My friend Sara makes the best handmade soap...

This display by Dawn of Great Findz was breathtaking. She is so very talented.

Mom and Ophelia helped me set-up on Friday...Love them! And Doug was on duty for tear-down...Love him!

And a big thank you to all my friends that came by to say hello! Hope you had as much fun as I did!

Happy Holidays!

Hooray for Craft Days!

Tuesday was going to be an 'outdoor' project day, but Mom and I just didn't want to be out in the rainy rain. So we gathered up the shrunken, felted wool and a couple of cats and crafted all afternoon.

Spicy watching the thread go in and out...hard to resist.

Bunny just chillin'...

Mom has been working on these pretty 3-dimensional Christmas trees.

She hopes to have enough for a little forest on her coffee table this holiday.

I worked on pillows for the upcoming 2nd Saturdayz sale. I have always loved this wool blanket with its creamy dreamy background and soft rose flowers and holly leaves.

Now it has become some comfy cozy pillows.

Hooray for indoor craft days!

Bling!

Let's get some bling on this blog! Doug and I met our friend Colleen (she created the fabulous painted furniture at the Studio) for breakfast and guess what she just 'happened' to have in her car? This shoe! I know! While at the July 2nd Saturdayz Sale she found a vintage pair of lucite shoes. She removed the heel and buckles and added them to this vintage wooden shoe form she had. A few wraps of rayon seam binding later and look at this darling object d'art. We thought it looked very Marie Antoinette-ish.