It's that time when the Christmas cards start coming in the mail. What to do with them? Why not hang them on the door. I know this is not a new idea, but this Tool Time Tuesday uses over the door hooks from the hardware store.
space For this project you will need fabric, 2 plastic rings, 2 over the door hangers and elastic. I used 3/4", but you can use wider...I just didn't have it. space
space These little extras are for the clips that hold the cards on. You can use anything even clothespins.
I started with 2 strips of 2 1/2" wide Christmas fabric. Cut them the width of fabric...so 42"-44" long.
Here's a close up of the fabric...Moda by 3 Sisters, I think Maison de Noel.
Take the 2 strips and sew the short ends right sides together.
I used 1/4" seam in black thread so you can see.
Now you have one long strip about 88" long.
Fold over both long sides about 1/4". Press with iron.
Fold in half wrong sides together...the entire length. The piece should now be about 1 inch wide by 88" long.
Now sew close to the edge along the full length of the strip.
Roll this seam to the middle and press.
Flip it over and you now have a flat tube, without having to turn it right side out!!
Take your elastic and cut a piece about 48" long. Why that length? Not sure...I just hung it on the hook, stretched it out and then cut it. The trick is to have about double the amount of fabric as elastic to give it the ruffled effect. Now use a safety pin to run the elastic through.
Sew through all thicknesses to secure the elastic at both ends.
Push the end through the ring and fold over to the side with the seam.
Sew down both ends to secure.
Place one hook on the top of the door.
and the other on the bottom of the door, upside down.
Loop one ring over each hook.
Add a ribbon or greenery for decoration.
Now you can hot glue little doo dads to the paper clips for added color.
and now you are ready to hang all your cards as they start coming in.
Don't forget the clothespins too.
You can always paint them to match.
Bring 'em on postman...I'm ready!!
I had mentioned in an earlier post that this could be used all year long. If you made them to match you room, you could use them for:
the inside of you kitchen cabinet to hold recipe cards that you use all the time
in your children's room on the door or closet to hold their artwork or school work
in the sewing room to keep track of inspirational pictures or patterns that you want to do
or in your office for that "to do" list or family photos
The possibilities are endless for these and so cute to have the fabrics match the room. Have fun making these and have a great Tuesday, ~Karen~
Here are some more decorating pictures and some quick tips to help you out. Remember when I said we bought a new 12 foot tree last year. Well, I don't throw anything away, so that big fat 10 foot tree that had seen better days is now morphed itself into different things around the house. space Here's the first one. I'll try and post different ideas each day as I take pictures. space This swag is just 2 branches from the bottom row of the tree where they are the biggest.
space I tap a small nail on the top of the moulding and hang the swag on each window in my sewing room. I leave that tiny nail up all year, so all I have to do is hang it up. space
space Here's the how to: space Take 2 branches of your desired size.
Face them so the hooks are going in the opposite direction.
Stack them on top of each other,
Wire them together with either floral wire or one of the wired branches on the swag. Put on a bow and you're done.
Here's the how to for the bow:
Fold over the ribbon like the shape of the Breast Cancer Awareness ribbons.
Pinch the part where the ribbons cross.
Bring down the center of the top loop and pinch it with the first part.
Use wire or a bread twisty and you're done!!
This tip is for Jane. She asked how I wire the garland on the railing. I use double sided velcro tape. I think I purchased it in Walmart. You just wrap it around the railing and the garland and the back side of the velcro tape sticks to the front side of the tape. It's re-usable. I've had this for a long time.
Here's a picture of the tape. It comes on a roll, so you can cut it to size.
I just put this up last night next to the big tree. There was a big empty space next to it, so I went in the garage and found this old ladder. I filled a bucket with some of the ornaments off the tree and I used a small set of 20 lights that I bought at Walmart after Christmas last year for 10 cents!!! I placed a star at the base, so it looks like someone is still decorating the tree, but it fills in the space nicely.
This a close-up of the bucket.
and finally, here is the tree in my sewing room. Just simply lights and little porcelain ornament plates that my sister bought me to cheer me up after the flood. They match the room, but even better, they are hexagons...like all the ones I "haven't" sewn in a while for my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.
Aren't they pretty?
Stay tuned for more!
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I'm off to work...see you tomorrow!
~Karen
I'm linking to The Idea Room...pop over and join the link party!!!
It's been crazy around here since Thanksgiving...non-stop Christmas decorating. I'm getting ready for a party!! For the past two years, I've had a Christmas Dessert Party with all the ladies in my family, neighborhood and the girls I work with. I serve appetizers, punch, wine, tea and coffee. All the women bring a dessert for all to share. I also have a raffle. Right after Christmas I shop for all the bargains of adorable Christmas things. I store them away and use them for the raffle. Each item has a little cup in front of it and each person gets a long strip of raffle tickets. They put the tickets in the cups and then we draw for the prize...(no money is involved) just a lot of fun to see who wins. space I also make party favors. The first year I made the tissue holders and last year I made everyone scarves. I'm still debating on this year's gift. Typical me, waiting to the end and then I'll be sewing all night. I think I secretly love the pressure of doing things last minute. It's like the adrenaline rush that athletes get and since I don't exercise...procrastination is my adrenaline!!! Space Here are a few pictures of rooms around the house. I still have to do the girls' trees in their bedrooms, but if their rooms aren't magically cleaned by some cleaning fairy, you won't be seeing those!! space This is the tree in our family room. It's 12 feet tall and has all our family ornaments on it. We bought this tree last year to replace our 16 year old one. I have some tips on what to do with old artificial trees, so stay tuned.
space We all get a new ornament every year to represent something that happened that year or a vacation we went on. space This tree is in our master bedroom. I always have this tree in here, but this will be the third year it is decorated with my mom's wooden Steinbach ornaments from Germany.
These little people were her most favorite things. She had a large collection...the tree is filled with them. I know you're looking down on them and smiling mom. Something special just for you.
This is our Dicken's Village collection. Scott and I started this the year we were married in '87. Haven't bought any in years...too expensive now. Wow, that greenery sure looks "green". It's not that green in person...looks like frozen broccoli.
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The railing change every year. Sometimes they have stockings, sometimes pine cones and berries, but this year is sugared fruit.
I reuse all my decorations in many different places each year. Last year in the dining room, the tree was filled with all these sugared fruits.
If you change it up a little, it's like you are working with all new things.
I made these last year to fill in the large wall in our family room. I just took heavy duty wire from the hardware store, shaped it into the letters I wanted and then attached evergreen garland to it. I already had plenty of garland from years past, so this was a freebie. Hey, that was a quick Tool Time on a Sunday. Now you're off to the hardware store for wire...you can also use coat hangers.
This is our nativity set in the front foyer...the true meaning of Christmas right as you walk in the door to our home.
These next few pictures are in the dining room. This year I tried a woodland theme in here (which I usually have in the office).
The tree is filled with berries, red cardinals, pine cones, bird's nests, snow flakes, tree twigs and little clip on candle holders. I love the look of the old fashion candles on the tree (we don't light them though).
Here's the fireplace...still not sure about this, it looks better in person. I hate my camera.
and this is the hutch in the corner. I put a few of my Christmas dishes in there, but I really use the rest of it all season long. I've learned life is too short to keep the china just for decoration.
If it breaks...it breaks. They're just things after all.
This last tree is the tree in the office. It's our gingerbread tree.
I seriously re-use things for years. Those red checked bows are soooo old (I'm thinking at least 15 years). I just keep them nicely packed away in their own box so they don't get crushed and they look good as new each time I take them out.
If I do add something to a tree, you better believe it was on sale from the previous year or from the dollar store. The red pom pom garland was the only thing I added this year and it was only $2.99 for 9 feet. Do the galvanized tubs look familiar? They're from my sewing room. See just look around your house for things that you wouldn't think to use.
I have been making or buying things a little each year since we were married. You need to build your Christmas stash slowly. I never pay full price for anything...always after Christmas bargains, 75% - 90% off. You'll have the urge to go right away, but then it's only 50% off. If you wait a little, they drop the prices pretty fast. You might miss out on some things in those first few days, but the bigger bargains are worth it. Except for our 12 foot tree, I have 7 or 8 other trees that are about 5-6 feet tall. Some are even pre-lit. I paid $3.00 dollars for the regular trees and $8.00 for the pre-lit trees...all at Walmart.
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Well, I hope you enjoyed this part of the tour. If I don't run out of time, I have plans to do a few more trees. I finished one in my husbands office, but didn't take a picture of it. It's a tree with all his boyhood memories...big colored lights, colored glass balls, the silver garland and tinsel. It's his favorite!!
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I'll see you on Tuesday. I have another Christmas Tool Time, but you can also use all year too!
Hoy me encontre con esta hermosa brasileña,y como aqui se le rinde culto a la belleza decidi publicar las fotografias de Renata Dominguez en la Revista VIP.
Ojala sean del aprecio de todos los seguidores de este Blog.
El lio de faldas del famoso Tiger Woods tiene un nuevo ingrediente,no es una, sino 2 las amantes que aparecieron en la vida del golfista.
Una rubia y una morena lograron lo que cientos de golfistas intentaron por años, alejar a Tiger Woods de los campos de golf.
Se dijo que la presentadora Rachel Uchitel fue la causante de que la esposa del “tigre” atacara a su marido, haciéndolo estrellar contra un árbol, mientras conducía por una calle de Windermere, Florida.
La mujer, perseguida por los medios de comunicación, dijo que no tuvo, una relación con el deportista. Pero apareció Jaimee Grubbs, una hermosa camarera de 24 años de edad, quién asegura que es la novia de Tiger Woods desde hace varios meses.
Esta camarera les dijo a varios periódicos que está dispuesta a someterse al polígrafo para comprobar su versión de un amor clandestino con le rey de los campos de golf.
La hermosa mesera afirma que hacía parte de los festejos cuando Tiger lograba hoyo en uno. La prensa también asegura que días antes del accidente Tiger Woods habló con la chica y le pidio que cambiara su número de teléfono y evitara salir a la calle, porque su esposa sospechaba de sus encuentros.
El deportista emitió un comunicado en el que reconoció que le falló a su familia y que le fue infiel a su esposa con una persona que no identificó.
No sólo la vida familiar de Woods va en picada, el deportista perdió cuatro puntos del carné de conducir, y el escándalo lo obligó a cancelar su participación en varios torneos de golf y como si fuera poco, se especula que su esposa tramita el divorcio.
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