Jewelry Tree and Nesting.

Hello!  It' s been awhile since I've been able to post.  As I said a couple of posts back, "What gets done, gets done and what doesn't get done, doesn't."  Well, blogging didn't I guess.  Plus quite a bit else. Since I still hope to wrap all the gifts I've bought, I will be taking another short break from here.

I wanted to share with you this jewelry tree I made.  It was just for fun and I didn't have time to glue it all down so I no longer have it.  I have a couple vintage jewelry trees that I have bought at sales and one is particularly pretty in all it's vintage blingingness.  But, for many it may not be in your budget to make yourself such a tree.  However, the one pictured above is really fun and festive and much more economical.  All the jewelry is from the 1980s so cheap to come by.  I'm not sure where all of mine came from, here and there at garage sales, thrifted or auctions.

Another idea is to make a tree like I have in my current banner.  You just anchor a string of pearls in the shape of a tree with an earring for a "star" and a squarish one for a trunk.

I hope your advent is going well that all the little (or big) hiccups that happen during it will remind you of the tough journey Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem.  It certainly wasn't easy for them so I assume our journey to Bethlehem can be a bit rough too.  I was thinking the other day about how before a baby is born, a mother goes through "nesting".  I know I did.  Preparing.  That is what we are doing in our gift buying, baking, and general merry making....nesting....so to speak.  Preparing for the baby Jesus. 

And in the process, our hearts are ready for Him.  

Advent Blessings to you.

A Little Washi Tape Project and Storage

One of my girls told me that Bath and Body Works was now selling coordinating match books to go along with their candles.  

We were both surprised that it actually took them this many years to come up with this idea.

I've not seen them yet and it's not likely I would buy them, however, I will "fancy up" my own! 

Since my youngest kids are now old enough to leave matches alone, I can leave a box out.  That is until that adorable grand daughter of mine comes around! 

Get yourself some small match boxes and break out your washi tape.  Easy-Peasy as they say. 

And, what do you think of my washi tape holder?! 

I'm not really sure what it is other than metal, rusty, and wonderful.  It has a clip on the left side, much like a safety pin.

I have another one out the garage should my tape collection grow.

Just carefully, line your tape up on either side of your small match box and then trim with a scissors.  Some of my tape was thin and need two layers to cover the writing on the box.

I think this "measuring tape" washi tape is pretty perfect for the sewing room where this sits.

It's surprising how a little, easy thing, can be so much fun. I did two match boxes: a different tape on each side:  just refill the box when empty with matches from a different box.  

Feeling more motivated??  When you have an empty box, you can fill it with goodies like Kim Anderson does! Or, look at this pinterest page of altered match boxes.

~ I hope you Advent is off to a good start ~ 

The Book Tree

We did some decorating this past weekend while a couple of the older kids were home. 

I started this book tree and then my son came to build it while I scavenged more books for it.

It took about 115 books, give or take, says my son...who I asked to count them.  I chose mostly red-ish and green-ish covers.

After he was done, I adorned it with some vintage ornaments and tinsel.

We live close enough to the train tracks that we get some vibration in the house on occasion, so I used fun tac to keep the ornaments in place.  I didn't want them jiggling off over the month!  

In true form for my son...he thought it would be neat if this book was at the center of the tree.

And, that it would even better if it wasn't load bearing....

so it could be removed.  He's in school to be a mechanical engineer.  Nice to see all that education is helping me out too, ha!!

Pulling some of the books out for "shelves" really added a nice dimensional look to it.

Let's take a peek at some of the titles.  (No, I have not read it, nor have I seen the stage production or the movie!  Am I in the minority?!)

Nope, have not read nor have I seen the movie.  My older kids have though.

Yes!  Read it, but too long ago to remember it very well.

It's a good title to have in a book Christmas tree. :)

It took far longer that we would have ever thought.  Seems so easy to just stack books, right?  Yeah, not.  I'm so glad I had help with it.  I should also add that two of my girls had opinions and advice that was quite helpful too!

While we're here by the fireplace, I'll show you the shelves next to it.

These chalkboard prints were free online.  You can find similar ones everywhere now.

I love the mason jars with tinsel and vintage ornaments.  Such an easy way to showcase sparkle and your favorite ornaments.  See them here too.

The pictures are too dark to show the spool Christmas trees on the shelves very well.  You can see them better here and here.

As for decorating....I'm taking the attitude that "what gets done, gets done and what doesn't get done, doesn't".  I hope you do too!

I'm linking this post up with Thoughts from Alice for Sunday's at Home.

Christmas in the Apartment

I've shown you pictures from my daughter's apartment before but I thought you might like to see it currently with some Christmas decorations around.   It's really coming to life as she makes it her home.

This wreath she made from a magazine hangs on her front door.  She just rolled up the pages and glued them on a piece of cardboard.  I like how she really made it full.  Both my older girls have made a few of these and they make a nice addition to a wall for basically only the cost of your time.

A little print gifted to her from her sister.  The trend of putting things up on the wall with washi tape is cute. (And, easy!)

Cute little wall hanging she made last week with scraps. 

 These are in between the windows.

A free print from online...sorry, I'm not sure where it's from.

This is a greeting card she bought and put in a suspended frame.  Greeting cards make for really affordable art!

A shot of the wall with the shelves she made. Note another magazine wreath in the upper right one.

Her kitchen is nice sized.  She could still use some stools, but none in her price range have come her way.  I bought some she could use, but they need hours of refinishing.

Her vintage cart has now become a "tea cart".  I love this.  All her pretty tea tins are out to be enjoyed instead of up in a cupboard.  She's a coupon clipper so she can buy pretty tea.  She made the two mugs on the left in her college pottery class.  I was impressed.

Tea tins and succulents...nice window in the kitchen too.

I posted about her embroidery hoop "hello" here. Check out the link if you want a closer look.  That was inspired by Mollie Makes.

She bought the trays at a flea market although, I have some of the same kind in the basement.  We used trays just like these when I was growing up for birthday parties.  People always came to visit on birthdays back then.  These hung easily with command strips and now serve as memo boards with magnets.

This little Santa and Reindeer garland is cute!  You can't see it very well in my picture, but Rudolph has red glitter on his nose.  The how-to to make your own is here.

This is another embroidery hoop project.  All pretty and sparkly! For more details on it, you can look here.

I didn't get a good picture of her bed but she currently is using the bed that first was my parents...gifted to my husband, Jim and I over 25 years ago for a wedding gift...we gave it to my brother and wife...who gave it to another niece....and now my daughter has it, refinished it, and is using it.  The dressers are currently being stored, but the set will be reunited eventually.  Kind of neat how that came about.

Thanksgiving: Gratitude: Today: Everyday

Upcycle: Inspiration in Your Mail

Shortly before my daughter's birthday, an advertising packet of cards came in the mail from Piperlime.  I was pretty taken with their images and just couldn't throw the cards in the recycle bin.  The card stock they were printed on was really nice too.

I decided that cut up and "altered", they would make a fun birthday card for my second daughter.

She is certainly fond of clothes and accessories so it seemed a fit for her.

The card is like a flip book.

I thought you might enjoy seeing a few of the pages.

  The cards I began with were two sided, but I didn't worry too much about what showed up on the back of the pages.

I used free form cutting to cut out all of the letters for my message pages.  Nothing Fancy, I'll call my hand cut font.

Free form cutting can work even for a flower. :)

The little girls thought this card really looked perfect for their big sister along with the "be happy" card.

I used rivets to finish off the holes and tied it all up with a black cord.  You could just punch a hole though if you didn't have rivets.

If you are interested in how I went about cutting out the pages, continue on:

First, I made myself a frame the size I wanted using a ruler and exacto knife.  The finished size of the page is the inside measurement of the frame.

Now, I could use the frame for seeing what part of the card I wanted to crop out.  This really works well for you to visualize the proposed page.

Also, with this method you can easily see how the image may look set at an angle.

Once you like your placement, trace the inside of the frame with a pencil.

I used a ruler and my rotary cutter to cut along the pencil lines.  You could of course just use a scissors.

(blurry cell phone picture here...)

If you are a maker of sorts, I would highly recommend a rotary cutter, cutting mat, and a clear ruler.  They sell them for quilters, but I use mine equally as much for cutting paper as I do fabric. And, those tools make projects much easier!

I made this out of a catalog this morning.  Only folding, a scissors, and a glue stick needed.

With all the Christmas catalogs and advertising that will be coming out now, you may want to keep your mail!