Stockings hung by the chimney with care... and old gaming consoles.
This week I have taken a whopping zero photos with the real camera, but boy have my hands been busy with crafting projects! Christmas is creeping ever closer, and I am doing everything I can to fill the house with cheer. I've been diving into quite a few Pinterest decorating ideas, and I'm pleased to say it has been very successful.
We diligently turned all of the construction paper into chains.
While Jacki was in town we set to stringing the house full of red and green paper chains. Andrew quite liked what we were doing and requested even more chains than I had anticipated. By the end of the night my fingers were sore from ripping tape. It was totally worth it though.
In addition to wanting the house full of Christmas for my own pleasure, we also had a festive/holiday party on Saturday night. How can one have a holiday party without adequate decorations? Andrew was concerned that the house wouldn't be decked out enough, and I was quite willing to rise to the occasion.
The sock portion of the stockings were very easy, which was nice.
Over the course of two days I made the Christmas stockings shown at the beginning of the post; the proved to be a larger challenge than I anticipated. I had a hell of a time comprehending how everything needed to be sewn together in order to have the cuff folding over. One of them I re-sewed four times. By the fourth stocking I finally had the hang of it.
I attempted to branch out and make smaller decorations that could be scattered throughout the house. Andrew and I made some large silver stars that were hung on the wall (and looked very lovely) and a few weeks ago I made a large 'Merry Christmas' banner to hang in a window. One of my projects brought me to making these little yarn trees, but after making two of them I burned my palm rather wickedly with the hot glue. The crafting ceased after that.
They were cute, but I'm not sure the burning was worth it.
The crowning gem of the night, for me, was the (mostly) successful construction of two Santa hats! Andrew asked if I could make some; I was feeling bolstered by the success of the stockings and so I said yes. Again I encountered serious issues with the folding cuff issue. The hats are a little wonky, but are hand made with lots of love and Christmas songs.
Simple beginnings and very festive completions! I felt like the Grinch making his costume!
After all of the work, minor stresses and dedication to the cause, the holiday party was a great success and the house looks lovely and Christmas-y. It was all worth it. Plus, I now have homemade Santa hats and stockings. I love this time of year!
-MJ
