paper snowflake window display

After watching Elf for the 100th time I went in search of templates for paper snowflakes. If you've seen the movie you'll remember how Buddy decorates pretty much everywhere he goes with paper snowflakes.


I found some cool templates here. And I just saw another post today for some really fancy ones. Trust me, once you start making these, it becomes addictive!

I chose to make mine in red paper stock and used a heavier weight paper so that they would look more substantial. I felt like the red paper would really stand out against the white window nook.

I used red thread to hang them and I used a needle to pierce a hole in the paper while simultaneously threading the snowflake.

The neat thing about these snowflakes is that when I put candles on the windowsill below they rotate beautifully throwing shadows on the wall.

These cute little antique Santa mugs finish the look!

'A' for embellishment

Years ago I purchased a wooden letter 'A' from Anthro. I also purchased a 'Q' in an attempt to create a unique design on my office wall! Since that time, in a fortuitous coincidence my last name now begins with the letter A. The letter Q is in a pile marked "Yard Sale"(This is beginning to sound like an episode of Sesame Street).

Inspired by a blog post I can no longer find (sorry!) I decided to update and embellish this wooden letter for the holidays.

 Firstly I covered the letter with festive material and added in some fiberfill just to pad it out a bit.

Then I cut up a lot of little circles from red felt, plus a few from purple felt just to add some interest. 

I hot glued the circles on to the material and put them really close together to create a petal effect. 

I'm really happy with the finished product which completes my Christmas mantle perfectly.

Happy Holidays from the A's!

vintage christmas decorations

The other day my father-in-law brought over a bag of ornaments that he no longer wanted.

Some of them are great and really charming, especially these little elves.

The decorations are mostly from the 60s and 70s and although some of these ornaments had long ago seen their best days and were just too shabby to hang up there were others that made the cut.

I call the one below a Samurai Santa!

Some of them were made by my husband in 1st grade - obviously keepers!

I'm trying to think of something crafty to do with a whole cast of characters like this guy that are made in wool. I've got 10 of them. Any ideas?

making whoopie......pies

I made some whoopie pies for the first time today and used this recipe. I am attending a kiddie birthday party and I thought these would be the prefect mini-treat to bring along.

 Of course, since these are for children I had to add sprinkles. I also like that the recipe includes whole wheat flour. I suppose that cancels out the high marshmallow fluff content, right?

With the red and green sugar added I thought these would be a perfect treat for a holiday party. Looks like somebody thought they would be a perfect treat right away!

P.S. How much do you love those Santa mugs? I adore them.

christmas bunting

I am so excited! I have completed my first holiday project of the season and my first using felt. Felt is so easy to work with, no fraying edges, so easy to cut and to glue. It is the perfect material for applique.

This mitten bunting is a total knock-off of this garland from The Land of Nod. I got the catalogue a week ago, saw these and thought, I can do that. So I did. I made my bunting 12 mittens long and I created my own designs for each mitten. 

Although I don't usually decorate until after Thanksgiving once I put these up I found it really hard to take them down. They are so cheery and fun!

P.S. I have made another strand just like this available in my etsy shop. I am also offering custom lengths.


This post is linked to Today's Creative Blog.