Showing posts with label handmade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handmade. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Three Trees and Counting!

It's the most wonder..ful time, it's the most wonderful time..., the most wonderful time... of.... the year!

You could say I've been just a tad busy lately!  It's been one crazy season so far but I've managed to deck three trees already.  I've still got 2 more to go but thought I'd share the ones that I've finished.  I shared some of these photos with my facebook friends already because I was so excited Sunday.  So for those of you who have already seen this, sorry but this is as far as I've gotten still.

Tree No.1 - The Den

This is the first photo I took on Sunday, after I finished.

 I was trying to go a little more rustic on the tree in my den this year.

Here's the tree again this morning after readjusting my stars on top that had slipped down into the bow.

They are hand forged copper that I purchased from a craftsman in Charleston several years ago. I put the three of them together myself to use as a tree topper.  I finally found just the right ribbon to use this year too.  Not only is it houndstooth, but actually feels like wool as well.

Quite different from last years tree, huh?


Tree No.2 - The Dining Room 

Again, here is the tree on Sunday after first finishing it.

This is my white, gold and silver tree.


And my very old special angel who has been with me for so long!

Here it is this morning from a different angle.  Please overlook all the other fall junk still sitting around yall.   I am so pressed for time lately that my house is still a mess, but at least I have a few trees up!

I wanted to also show you a few snaps of this tree without the lights on.  

You can see a few of my Lenox ornaments in this photo.  I've collected them ever since my husband and I got married.  The intertwined rings in the bottom of this photo is my first Lenox ornament and they are dated too.  These ornaments are what inspired me to do a white tree that has evolved into a white, silver and gold tree.  

With the lights on it really sparkles!

Tree No.3 - The Kitchen

 I had the most fun with this tree.  I previously have only done a small tree in here but decided to go large this year.  I just bought a very inexpensive tree from Target.   Since I knew it would be covered with ornaments I wasn't nearly as concerned about the quality of the tree as I was the size.  

How do you like the crazy topper I made?  My husband said, it reminds him of a Dr. Suess tree.

Do you remember these guys?  I was so excited to get them out and put them on this little red ladder I found at a thrift store this summer.  The Mr. came in later and said, no, that is not going to work.  I was crushed and asked why?  He said because they are not thing 1 and thing 2.  LOL!

All of my newest candy ornaments and ribbon from last year went on this tree along with my old elves and a few other whimsical ornaments.

I think this is quite a magical tree!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my trees!
I hope to find some time for visiting many of you tonight.  See ya soon!
Have a great day everyone!  


Sunday, November 13, 2011

Handmade Fleece Throw

Whew!  I finally found a moment to share my latest project with you.  I'm pretty happy I finished it just in time to share it with your for

Do you remember the hint I gave you about the project I was working on?  No?  Well, let me refresh your memory, here is what I said;

"Here's a hint!  It's very easy to do and you've seen them a thousand times already I'm sure!  It's warm and cozy but the combination that I am using is probably new to some of you."  

Did you guess what's warm and Cozy?

If you guessed a blanket you would be correct!  More accurately, if you guessed a fleece blanket,  you would have been dead on!

We all know how much we love our plaid here in blog land right?  So, I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was when I came across this beautiful brown plaid fleece fabric on my lunch hour at the fabric store. My head started swimming with ideas!

  I have been wanting to make one of those knotted throws for several years now.  So when, I came across this plaid fleece fabric that I absolutely loved and it was on sale for 50% off, I decided I was going to make a blanket for our den.

  To make a knotted throw you need two pieces of fabric.  I decided to make a reversible blanket instead of making it the same on both sides.  You will understand why perfectly when you see what I chose for the opposite side.

The next thing I did was to lay the two pieces on top of each other and pinned them together with the front sides of the fabric facing out.  Then after determining my size, I cut out the corners on each end of the blanket and then trimmed off my sides equally.

Then it was time to go around all the edges and cut my tassels.

The next step was to to knot both of the pieces of fabric together.  This is what finishes the blanket.

I made this blanket using the knotting method called the "half hitch" knot.  It's where you just take the two tassel pieces that are stacked on top of each other, wrap them around your finger, loop them both through the hole and slide the knot up towards the blanket.   I've made the knotted fleece scarves before using this method but with only one piece of fabric.

  Now you get a peek at the fabric I chose for the reverse side.

How do you like my choices?  Who doesn't love houndstooth and plaid?  
I know I sure do!  

And...OMG!!!  I think the two of them together is just so comforting and gorgeous!  

My family obviously feels the same way because both my husband and son have been enjoying using our new blanket already.  The best part of it is, I love how beautifully it looks in our den!

We're getting some cooler temperatures here now and it's prime snuggling time!

This is a very easy project for those of you who have never made one yet.  I highly recommend it!  The fleece fabric choices seem to get better every year too.

Thanks for visiting today!
I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Have a great week everyone!
Hoping you all stay warm and cozy!