Stamped & Sewn Christmas Cards - Mittens, Stocking, and Hat

Need some inspiration for your holiday cards?  Well here is one of my favorite Christmas cards designs from a few years back.

I used the Stitch a Card stamps from Art Impressions.  The stamps include the outline of the object plus the stitching pattern, so piercing the holes and adding the floss is easy.  After I stamped the images, I cut the images out, pierced the stitching holes, and added the stitching using embroidery floss.  I stamped white snowflakes onto blue paper to give a nice contrasting background.

For the mittens, I added a white ribbon to connect the pair.

I embellished the hat with white ribbon and blue beads.

For the stocking, I used metallic floss to add extra pizazz to the holly leaves, and used a red button for the holly.

Be sure to keep checking back for more holiday projects.  I'll be posting more Christmas card ideas, decorations, ornament projects over the next several weeks.  

Baby Food Jar Christmas Trees

It's finally Christmas season -- my favorite time of year for crafting.  For weeks I've anxiously been anticipating getting through Thanksgiving so I can get my Christmas tree up and my decorations out!  So to start out my month of holiday crafting, here is one of my favorite home made Christmas decorations -- a frosted Christmas tree made out of baby food jars.

I remember having a one of these that my aunt Kim made for my mom, and it would sit on our mantel every Christmas.  So when Landon started eating baby food, I saved all his jars so I could make one of these frosted trees.

This was a really easy project.  I thoroughly cleaned all the jars, including the label and glue on the outside of the jars.  Then I used hot glue to permanently adhere the jars together.  Once the glue dried, I sprayed the jars with a frosted glass finish.  Next, I wrapped a sparkly red ribbon around the outside and secured it with hot glue.  And finally, I added the string of Christmas lights, making sure each jar had a couple of bulbs. 

The baby food jar trees fit in perfectly with the decorations I keep above the kitchen cupboards.

Well I need to get back to getting more decorations up and more Christmas craft projects completed.  Be sure to keep checking back.  I will be posting lots of holiday craft projects between now and Christmas.  So until next time, have a Sew Scrappy Day!

The Cutest Little Pirate

Landon's favorite show lately is Jake and the Neverland Pirates -- so we decided a pirate costume would be a great Halloween costume for him (or so we thought anyway).  So I went to Joann Fabrics, Hancock Fabrics, and Hobby Lobby to buy a pattern (Simplicity 2561) and fabric and got to work making the fabric.

For all the time I spent running to three stores just to get the necessary fabric and then making the costume, Landon was not very appreciative.  In fact, he wanted nothing to do with the costume.  I had to bribe him with a tootsie roll sucker just to get a couple of pictures.

For a brief moment we almost were able to get a smile out of him.

But by the second house he stripped off his jacket.

And by the third house he ditched his hat.

But at least he kept his pants on for most of the night, and we were able to snap a few cute pictures.  On  a positive note, he thoroughly enjoyed trick or treating and especially loved riding in his wagon while his Nonny pulled him.

Maybe next year he'll be more in the Halloween costume spirit.