BEAD-KNITTED BAUBLES AND A TREE

 

Knitted on 5" DP US Size 4 needles with Gatsby Lux by Katia.  It is a metallic knitting thread that comes in a nice selection of colors.

Ever since I spied this tree on Pinterest (view source here), I have been wanting to make one.  Here is my version. The base is an old Starbucks store decoration that I stripped down to bare styrofoam and covered in vintage French music paper.  I have two more of these trees in my attic waiting to be refurbished.  I want to do one in all different sizes of pastel pearl beads.  Haven't decided about the last one yet.

S.W.A.K.

WE WISH YOU...

A Merry Christmas

And A Happy New Year!

MERRY, MERRY!

TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING

WOW!  Frannie did it!  You know, this really wasn't that easy, she stuck with it, and to me that is the most important part.  (Yes, she did have a little push/help from me now and then, but we all need a little encouragement sometimes - right?).

Drum roll, please... (drum roll - get it?)

 

Twelve miniature drums (about 1" tall) made from empty spools of thread (why do I save these things? - the plastic kind - not my vintage wood spools that I have been collecting), cardboard from a cereal box, bits of scrapbook paper, pipe cleaners, leftover gold knitting thread, a round paper punch, scissors and a glue stick.

...11 Pipers Piping, 10 Lords A Leaping, 9 Ladies Dancing, 8 Maids A Milking, 7 Swans A Swimming, 6 Geese A Laying, 5 Gold RIngs, 4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves, and A Partridge In A Pear Tree

My favorite project was the Four Calling Birds and I'll definitely consider making more of those (in my own way) for next year.
 

MERRY, MERRY!

ELEVEN PIPERS PIPING

I am sure there are more than 11 chocolate filled cookie pipes in this can, so that will make up for the 7 missing frogs.  Besides, chocolate filled cookie pipes are way better than actual pipers piping.

MERRY, MERRY!

TEN LORDS OF LEAPING

WARNING Will Robinson - WARNING!

This One Is Lame.

Wait for it.

Ribbit, ribbit.

That's right - three - not ten - origami frogs that leap.  How about an A for effort?

MERRY, MERRY!

NINE LADIES DANCING

Phew!  Only three more to go.  These dancing ladies are cupcake toppers.  Had them in our stash.  They came from the dollar store quite a while back.

MERRY, MERRY!

EIGHT MAIDS A MILKING

Mmmm...You can get these little chocolate squares at the checkout counter of your local Whole Foods store.  They are available in a variety of flavors, and they are sold individually.  There's still time to tuck a few in those hand-made stockings we all finished this year. ;)

MmmmERRY, MmmmERRY!

SEVEN SWANS A SWIMMING

Grandma is only getting one swan - it's a felt pincushion.  Frannie has had a nasty cold for the past week (although she is feeling much better now), so her enthusiasm had waned a little bit.  She has everything else ready, except for those darned Lords A Leaping.

Merry, Merry!

SIX GEESE A LAYING

Is this too much of a stretch?  It's a paper patchwork - six flying geese a laying on a piece of cardboard to create a holiday bookmark.

MERRY, MERRY!

FIVE GOLD RINGS

No Brainer!

MERRY, MERRY!

ENCHANTED MAKEOVER

I just finished crocheting this baby afghan - Lucy's ripple pattern from Attic24 - I added a shell border to mine.  Excuse the early morning sun streaming across the blanket - but it did make it ever so warm and cozy.

Everyone once in a while I squeeze in time to work on a project for Enchanted Makeover.   I'm just going to use their words:  "Imagine feeling hopeless, scared, vulnerable and unworthy because you are living in an environment where often everything is depressing, broken or filled with things other people threw away.  Imagine your children living in such a place."  Enchanted Makeover's mission (all volunteer) is to transform these depressing environments into places that inspire and are supportive to those re-building their lives.

I know a lot of sewers, quilters, knitters and crocheters out there create lots of beautiful things.  You might even have a pretty, useful item that you are willing to part with in order to help someone else.  After all, that's what this season is all about.

Merry, Merry!

FOUR CALLING BIRDS

These little birdies were really fun and easy to make.  Best of all, it was a QUICK project!  We even made a couple for our own tree.  Luckily, I had some double sided Christmas paper already in my stash, and this project just used scraps.  If you don't have a supply of that on hand, just use what you have and glue a piece on each side of a cereal box.  If I had time, I could see myself making them out of some vintage French book paper with some glitter and other embellishments.  This pattern would also work with felt, fabric or even cookies.  Trace around the template on your cookie dough and glue the wings on with royal icing.  I think they would be really pretty out of gingerbread and sprinkled with sanding sugar.  Yummy too.  Pattern here.  Thank you Pinterest.

...And a Partridge In A Pear Tree

Merry, Merry!

THREE FRENCH HENS

Close enough.  We added a gold string through the loop in the beret and turned them into ornaments.  You can get a pattern here.

By the way, Frannie is a great artist.  She finds a drawing she likes, copies it freehand, and then adds color.  One of the requests on her Christmas list is a set of real artist markers, dual tip, brush end on one side.  She better be good! ;)

...Two Turtle Doves, and a Partridge In A Pear Tree.

Merry, Merry!

TWO TURTLE DOVES

...and a partridge in a pear tree.

Merry, Merry!

A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE

Last May, my mother moved to New Jersey.  Frannie used to see her everyday.  Needless to say, she really misses her.  Frannie decided that it would be a nice surprise if she sent grandma The 12 Days of Christmas.  This is what Frannie made for the first day.  We found the partridge pattern on Pinterest (where else?) and you can get it here.

Has anyone got an idea for Lords of Leaping? 

Merry, Merry!

DECK THE WALLS!

I had been wanting to make one of these wreaths for a long time.  I would snatch up old ornaments wherever I could find them - especially pink and aqua.  I covered a wire wreath form with some old silver garland and just started hot gluing everything in place.  The entire wreath has been made with vintage trinkets, except the little polymer clay cupcake to the left, which I had made sometime last year.  I also added some glitter to a few ornaments that had seen much better days.  It's the perfect size - approximately 16" in diameter.

Merry, Merry!

SCENES FROM A MALL

When you are in 6th grade orchestra,

the dress code changes.

So how does one stand out in a sea of black & white?

 

Put Christmas tree garland in your hair!

Bravissimo!!!

Stamford Town Center

Center Court

All Decked Out For The Holidays

Security would not allow photos from the front.

Bah! Humbug!

Merry, Merry Anyway!