Christmas Skates

When I was unearthing our painting things for the Santas and Nutcrackers I came across an old pair of children ice skates that I've laid aside a couple of years ago for a special kind of Christmas wreath decoration.

I've seen this idea quite a while back in an old fashioned Christmas book and thought that that was a great idea. Especially since my whole family loves to ice skate.

I've never considered myself a painter and was a bit hesitant to tackle this project. But painting the Santas and Nutcrackers gave me enough encouragement to go for it. So over the next few days the skates got more and more decorated until there wasn't much more that could fit on them.

I usually like the "less is more" philosophy but this time it called for some extra decoration and the golden ribbon shoe laces were the finishing touch. It was for Christmas after all!

Ribbon Trees

Alright, now or never!

For the last two years I've been buying these really pretty Christmas ribbon rolls in the after Christmas sales with the thought that one Christmas I will make something out of them.

My drawer with the ribbon rolls was now full to the top and something needed to happen. But what? I mentioned my dilemma to my mom on the phone and she remembered making once a wreath out of ribbon strips that were folded and stacked like fish scales.

 
Oh, yes, I remembered. That was a very pretty wreath. But I am not a big wreath fan... and settled on a more traditional Christmas tree design.

I first made  the cone shapes out of brown paper bag paper mache (3 layers), then stuff them with old newspaper and sealed them. At last, I cut the ribbon into strips, folded them into triangles and pinned them like fish scales on the cone.

Phew, it was quite a bit of work over several days but I think the effect was worth it!

You can purchase them in my Etsy store and even send me your own ribbon so that the tree will fit perfectly to your decorations.

EDIT: Look how neat the ribbon tree looks with the XS Santa and Nutcracker figures!

Santas & Nutcrackers

For the last couple of days my oldest son and I have been busy painting and crafting Santas and Nutcracker figurines for an upcoming craft fair.

It was a real assembly line with him painting all the solid colors and me adding all the embellishments. For a couple of days we had Santa and Nutcracker parts all over our place until they were put together. We had a great time working together on this project.
 

Boy, this was quite a bit of work! But they sure look cute. :)

The Santas and Nutcrackers are available in four sizes each: XS (8"), S (9.5"), M (12") and L (15"). The figures are now listed in my Etsy store as well.

Lip Balm Key Chain

Are you like me? I always have to dig to the bottom of my purse to find my lip balm and sometimes, I can't find it and end up buying another one just to find the first one the very next time?

I finally had enough and came up with a lip balm cover that I can attach to my purse's zipper, handle ring, belt loop or my key chain.

Ah, what a difference this little invention makes. I actually own a couple - a bright and fun one (green with a butterfly) for my daily bag and a mocha/black one for my going out purse.

You leave the lip balm in its cover and only unbutton the cover and pop off the lid. You can turn the wheel at the bottom through the cover to adjust the lip balm stick.

I LOVE it!

It's a great little gift or stocking stuffer. You can find them in my Etsy store as well. Let me know if you want a different color (combination) and button. I've even made one for a guy in dark forest green and midnight blue with a fish button that was given to me by the customer.

Spiral Cap

I was looking through my yarn stash when I bumped into 6 skeins of Yarn Bee Mosaic Twist "Iced Fruit". I just love those colors! But what was I thinking when I bought only 6 skeins... must have been one of those "I must have this yarn/color and will figure out something with it later" moments. :)

But "only time can tell" really came true because today I happened upon a neat looking cap pattern on Ravelry (free) that was knit in the flat. Yep, in the flat. I had to try it out.

And voila! Here it is. I think the yarn is perfect for this pattern.

I had to adjust the pattern a bit as my yarn was much thicker so that I ended up casting on 37 sts and repeated the pattern 15 times. This cap fits nicely a regular women's size head.

What a nice splash of color in the cool and grey weather of the season...