Making a Christmas Wreath

You can make a wreath with the trimmings from your Christmas tree.  It is much easier than you'd think, or at least than I thought.  All you need is a wire wreath frame, some floral tape and wire and your tree trimmings.

I got my wire wreath frame from JoAnn. I got a small one because I wanted it to hang from a small wreath stand, but you can get any size that you think will accommodate your trimmings.  By the way, they go a lot farther than you would think.

 

Use clippers to snip your trimmings into small, easy to work with pieces that you will attach to your wreath frame.  Try to snip them into symmetrical pieces that will blend nicely with others.  Place your trimmed branch onto the frame in the direction you want the branches to flow.  Wrap the floral wire around the bottom of the branch to affix it to the frame.

If you have a larger branch with a thicker stem, and it seems hard to get the stem to lay flat onto the wreath frame, wrap it with floral tape.  This will hold it tight and flat.  Continue to add branches all the way around until your wreath is complete.

That's it.  Add a bow with your favorite Christmas ribbon and you have a fresh pine wreath for your Christmas stash!

My Stash of Materials:

Wire wreath

Clippers

Christmas tree trimmings, or anything else

Floral wire

Floral tape

Christmas Card Display

I love getting Christmas cards.  During the entire month of December, I find myself racing to the mailbox to see what Christmas cards have come.  I love the pictures, the letters, the fancy cards and most of all, hearing from family and friends.  It's one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  Of course, I want to display my treasured cards, so I made a display. 

First, you need a frame.  I had a 20" x 24" frame I wasn't using, but honestly, it could be any size.  The bigger the frame, the more cards.  The smaller, the more the cards will be smashed together collage style. Mine are pretty smashed together, so if that isn't a look you like...go bigger.  Take note of where you'd like to hang it too.  I hung mine on our entry wall where our wedding picture usually hangs.  It barely fit in the space.  Another option is to lean it on a piece of furniture against a wall.  That would work perfect.

 

If your frame has the metal flaps that you bend over the backing to secure into place, you will need to bend them backwards, over the frame.  This way they won't catch anything.  I used a hammer to gently flatten mine.  

Next, you will need a staple gun and some jute.  Take a look at the frame and get an idea of how many strands of jute you'd like.  I did 4.  How they are spaced is entirely up to you.  You could space them so they fit each card perfectly.  If that is what you would like, then allow at least 7 1/2" of space.  This is the size of a standard Costco greeting card, which are usually the biggest.  If you prefer to have them all sort of blended together, just eyeball it.  Or you could always take the length of your frame opening, divide that by the number of jute lines you plan to use and then use a ruler to mark off where each jute line will be placed.  I chose the “eyeball it” plan. 

 

Tie a knot in the end of the jute and secure it to the frame with staple gun.  Place the staple on the jute so the knot is on the outside of the frame, then gently pull the jute so the knot butts up against the staple.  If necessary, tie a double knot so it can't pull through.

 

Pull your line across and staple the jute into place on the other side.  Pull it pretty tight.  When the weight of the cards is added, it will droop.  Now you clip the jute - with plenty to spare - and tie a knot as close to the staple as possible.

Repeat all the way down the frame.

 

Make sure you clip the ends of the jute so it doesn't hang off the sides when displayed.

 

Your Christmas Card Display is complete and ready to show off all the gems your family and friends send you.  At the end of the year, I like to punch a hole in all my cards and use a binder ring to make a little book.  I have every card I have ever been sent.  I keep them in a basket and bring it out every year.  It is fun to look back and the cards and see how families have changed.  Babies are born, kids get older, people get married, pets come into lives, even hair styles change!  I love adding Christmas cards to my Christmas stash.  

My Stash of Materials:

Frame of choice

Staple gun

Jute

Holiday Skirt

This holiday skirt is SO super simple to make and it's super fast, too. I have full plans to make one for every holiday.

Pick out your favorite holiday print. You will need about 1/2 yard. You will also need 1/2" braided elastic. You could use 1/4", or any other size, just adjust your waist band size as needed.

You're basically making a large rectangle. Measure your daughter’s waist and double it. This will give you the length of the rectangle. If you'd like the skirt to be extra scrunched up, add a little more to it. To get your length, measure down from your daughter’s waist to the point you'd like the skirt to hit. You will need to add to that to allow for seams. Add 1/2" for the bottom and 1" for the top. Using a dressmaker’s pencil, measure and mark your rectangle.

Next, you will want to press your seams into place. For the bottom, finger press a 1/4" fold across the fabric and then press. Roll the fold over itself creating another 1/4" seam and press. For the top, finger press a 1/4" fold then press. Fold a 3/4" seam and press into place. Fold your skirt in half, matching up the lengths to make sure they are even, if they're not, make adjustments to your seams now. If they don't match up now, they won't in your finished skirt either.

Pin both of your seams into place. Sew a straight line over the bottom. For the top you can use a zigzag or straight stitch, but make sure that you get it as close to the edge as possible.

Now you are ready to add your elastic. To get the right length, cut it 1 1/2" shorter than the length of the waist. To easily feed it through your waistband, use a safety pin. This will give you something to pull and work through the fabric.

Once you get it in and before you remove the safety pin, use a zigzag stitch to secure the elastic to the end of the opening of the waistband. Sew your stitch all the way to the edge.

Now pull the remaining end out and secure it the same.

Fold the skirt in half, right side in so that the skirt is inside out. Secure the hem using pins. It's important to do this, even if it looks like it would be easy and you don't need pins. The reason is because as you sew, the fabric will stretch and move slightly, and this will cause your ends to not match up, so do not skip this process. Once you have it secure, sew a 1/4" seam. Finish the seam off by running a zigzag stitch across the edge to prevent fraying.

Turn your skirt right side out and you have the perfect festive skirt for your daughter’s holiday stash. I made my son a matching bow tie - tutorial coming!

My Stash of Materials

Awesome Holiday Fabric
1/2" Braided Elastic
Thread

Burlap Silverware Pouch

These burlap silverware pouches are quick and easy, but make your tablescape look fabulous. Everyone raved about my table setting at Thanksgiving, if they only knew how easy it was!

I got my burlap from the clearance section at JoAnn. It has gold dots on it, which I could not pass up, but you can use plain, or any pattern you please.

Start by laying your silverware out on a piece of cardstock. You are going to create a pattern so that you make sure that your pouches are the correct size for your silverware. The measurements do not have to be perfect, I literally eyeballed it. When laying them out, the length will probably be perfect for the size of the paper, then use a ruler to draw a line making sure to leave enough room on both sides of the silverware to run a seam.

Next, use your ruler to make a second strip the same size. Hold that strip over the silverware and move it to the perfect place for the pocket to start. Mark that size and cut it. Use tape to attach it to the bottom of your long strip.

Next, use your pattern to trace onto the burlap the amount of pouches you need, then cut them out. I used a dressmakers marking pencil to trace my patterns.

Once you have your burlap pieces cut, iron them. Yes, you can iron burlap! It will be much easier to sew them, and they will look nicer.

Next, detach the small piece of the pattern you taped on. Use that as a guide to turn your burlap up and make a pocket. Sew a seam up both sides of the pocket. The perfect seam size is about 1/4 inch, but you can make it any size. I used gold thread in mine to go with my gold dots, but you could use a color that contrasts and matches the rest of your table décor.

Another option is to use tacky glue or hot glue. I ran out of gold thread and used tacky glue on the last two pouches. It worked perfect.

Your burlap silverware pouches are ready to be added to your tablescape stash!

My Stash of Materials:

Burlap
Thread
Tacky Glue