Oh Christmas Tree!

I'm so excited, we're getting a REAL Christmas tree this year!  The plan is to go tree shopping at our local family-owned grocery/nursery on Saturday with the in-laws, and maybe get some Santa photos for Mr. Bubs while we're there.  We have a fairly life-like artificial tree at home, but I've never had a real tree, so this is going to be a new experience for me.  Maybe I'll love it or maybe I'll hate it, especially with what I hear about the needles and sap, but either way, it's going to be beautiful!

I can't wait to decorate it! 

I feel that a real tree doesn't need as much stuff on it as a fake one; the natural beauty of the tree is the focus point, after all.  Still, I've gone searching for some tree trimming inspiration, in case I want to add to my pile of tree decorations.

This is what our tree looked like last year.  This year, with a real tree, maybe I'll do something a little more country or traditional.

My favorite tree inspirations are at houseandhome.com, in this photo gallery of simple and charming trees.  Some of my favorites from this site are:

This is the Santa Claus of trees - big, fat and jolly!  We don't have enough room for something like this, but I love the splash of orange, and the old school photo ornaments.

Here's an Asian inspired bonsai Christmas tree:

This red and white trimmed tree looks great in the all-white room, but may not look as stark and simple when backed up against the mound of children's toys we have scattered in our living room.

I love the farmhouse feel of this tree, perfect with a wood stove and a lovable golden retriever!

This silver and green hydrangea tree would be nice for a home with a more elegant setting.  Can you imagine a positively civilized Christmas brunch around this beauty?

I also found some crazy and colorful trees at www.trendytree.com.  They are so fun and festive, but a little overdone for my taste.

I may be asking this into the void, but how are you decorating your tree this year?

Old Frames, New Art

Every once in a while, I get it into my head that we have just way too much stuff, so I head to the basement and look through the shelves to see if I can clear out any more boxes.  Not that I always throw things away - sometimes, a simple re-organization or re-shuffling of items helps soothe the frenzy in my head.  Or, things get designated to the Donations box, which is a good feeling too, knowing it will eventually find a new home.  Even better is when something gets brought out and re-used or up-cycled to make something new.

One day, I found a box full of frames - some with art that no longer matched anything in the house, and some that I bought on clearance ages ago.  There was a shadow box of some paint chip art that I had done years ago, back before I knew about all the beautiful paint chip art that people now put together.  Here is it, with the frame re-painted.

I filled another old frame with our handprints, for which I found inspiration here.

After a few more old frames from yard sales, a couple of cans of spray paint, some Michael's coupons for pre-cut mats and a splurge on some custom mats at the local framer, I now have my own picture wall!  Just like what I used to see in Better Homes and Gardens or Elle Decor....or so I'd like to think!

I was so inspired by the white on white look from Young House Love, but I realized that white on white doesn't look as good when mixed with black frames - the white frames tend to get washed out.  Since my husband already had some music posters he wanted to feature, I ended up using the colors in the posters to tie the black and white pieces together.

Mr. Bubs points at all the pictures of himself when we walk downstairs every morning, and I love that we finally can show off some homemade art and family photos!

Cozy Infinity Scarf

I couldn't quite figure out the the benefits of an infinity scarf over a normal scarf when I was shopping the other day, but I was totally convinced of its awesomeness after seeing this pattern at On the Wings of a Dove.  It is the perfect quick and easy Christmas present, so if you are a friend of mine, and a girl, you might be getting one!

The pattern requires 2 skeins of Wool Ease Thick and Quick, but you can also use any bulky yarn.  I used some yarn I had bought years ago for a quilt that I never got around to, and then bought some more at Michael's on Black Friday.

Of course, being me, I forgot my wallet on the busiest shopping day of the year, so I had to fight the traffic, the crowds, and stand in line twice to buy my yarn.

So far, I've made 2, for a friend at home and for my mom.  Each takes a couple of hours of work, while watching tv or watching mr. bubs totter around.

Brooke at On the Wings of a Dove has another infinity scarf pattern that uses a single crochet instead of a double crochet.  Maybe I'll switch it up and try that one too!

30 Sucks - Birthday gift idea

I saw a picture of this concept while roaming on Pinterest, just in time for a friend's 30th birthday party.  And happily enough, Michael's was offering a 25% off your total purchase coupon as well, so I could stock up on any crafty supplies I might need.  So, I cobbled together this quick fun gift while bubs was taking his nap.

Supplies:
lollipops for the number of years - I used BlowPops because the Tootsie were sold out at my grocery store.
small plain gift box
styrofoam ball to fit into gift box
tissue paper
scrapbook paper
scissors, ruler, pencil, glue, tape
cup for the circle shape (I don't have a cricut, or a compass)
popsicle stick
alphabet stamps

Wrap the gift box in the paper of your choice.

Cut tissue paper to size and stack an assortment of them in layers to create the bottom of the "bouquet".
Insert tissue paper and styrofoam ball into the gift box.

Stick all the lollipops into the styrofoam ball.

For the signage - choose two contrasting papers, trace and cut two differently sized circles with the cup(s).
Stamp "30 sucks" on one of the small circles, and "happy birthday" on the other small circle.
Glue small circles onto large circles, and glue both sets onto either side of the popsicle stick.
Stick the popsicle stick into the styrofoam ball, and you're done!

You know you're a mother when your first post is about diapers.

Actually, I wasn't a mom when I made my first diaper cake.  And I had no idea what a diaper cake was, but somehow, we girls decided we wanted a diaper cake to adorn our friend's baby shower.   Oh the beauty of Google!  After spending way too much time looking at images of diaper cakes and reading instructions on creating diaper cakes, I decided to make my own.  I went out and bought a box of Pampers Swaddlers Size 1, 216 count.  In my naïveté, I figured 216 itty bitty diapers would make a good average sized cake. 

Boy was I wrong.  This cake was BIG, and heavy and dense.

I didn't take pictures of the process (who knew I was going to need it?), so here is a quick summary of how everything was put together.

1.  First tier - Start with a bunch of diapers, and a flat bottomed pan.  Using the pan as a "mold", fan the diapers out in a pinwheel shape.  Keep adding diapers until it reaches the desired size.  This became the first, or bottom, tier.  I had my husband, the Eagle Scout, create a string loop around the diaper pinwheel and tied it with a taut line hitch knot.  You can see a neat little animation of it here.
2.  Additional tiers -  Repeat Step 1 for each tier, decreasing in size.  Add and take out diapers from each tier as necessary in order to keep the tiers proportional like in a real cake.  Do this until you have used up the desired number of diapers, or if you're like me, until you run out of diapers.
3.  Assembly - Choose something to use for a center column and thread each tier onto this center column.  You'll have something like a huge diaper stacking toy.  I chose to use a bottle of champagne as a center column that runs the height of the cake and stacked each tier onto the bottle.  The bottle ended up not being tall enough, so I fudged a bit at the top with some rolled up cloth diapers. 
4.  The Fun Part - Wrap each tier in ribbon.  Add desired embellishments on top and around the cake.  You can use flowers, stuffed animals, baby items or whatever floats your boat.

I've made other cakes since then, and have changed some things along the way.  I don't use champagne bottles anymore, for one thing.  I either use rolled up receiving blankets in the center, or just use wooden dowels throughout the cake to hold it together.

Other times, I've used long flower stems instead of dowels, and receiving blankets around the outside instead of ribbon.

I've also replaced fake flower stems with tissue paper flowers for a different look.

I like my diaper cakes to be simple in order to show the pinwheel of the diapers, so I don't normally overstuff it with toys and accessories, although doing so does make for a very colorful gift.

I've found these cakes to be a hit at baby showers, and I've seen similar cakes made out of towels for wedding showers as well.  I've also seen a whole assortment of baby washcloth cupcakes and lollipops and diaper tricycles too.  Can't wait to give those a try!

So this is the end of my very first post.  I'll have to remember to take more pictures of my other projects, and hopefully, there will be many more fun posts!

ChiWei