When Creativity Abounds

Now that my teaching is over for the semester, I have a glorious 3 weeks to fill with other things! Of course, crafting is always pretty high on my list. One of the first projects I tackled with my free time last week was this tray. I found it at Goodwill a few months ago and originally planned to paint it white. However, it just didn't feel exciting enough. So, instead, I decided to repurpose some vintage sheet music that I had on hand. It had been damaged so that it was not useful anymore for actually playing, but it was perfect for this project!

  

I was able to make a few Christmas presents this year, which is always a fun thing to do. I made a few table runners out of burlap, and this cute flower hat for a special little girl (my friend's daughter). The hat itself was knitted by my friend Beth, but I made the flower out of felt.

My last burst of creativity came the other day, approximately 2.5 minutes before company was coming over... I looked at the huge mess of lovely Christmas cards on our refrigerator and decided that something had to be done. Every time I went to open the door a card would fall off... 

I fashioned this card holder using twine, mini clothespins, and a 3m command adhesive hook. I love how it turned out! It makes use of some "extra" space in our dimly lit hallway, and now I don't have to worry about cards falling down when I open the fridge. I simply tied the other end to one of the brackets on our fridge. It works perfectly!

 

 

In other news... the forecast is not looking good for snow! We might have a brown Christmas here in Minnesota, which is just utterly unthinkable in my book. I'm halfway tempted to buy all the flocking I can get my hands on and go crazy outside. What's the weather looking like in your part of the country?

(Linking up to What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy!)

The Most Important Gifts

I got a sweet surprise when I logged into my Facebook account this morning. My Aunt Elizabeth had posted this photo on her wall and wrote this: "This sweet little Nativity is always proudly displayed in our home and is traditionally the first one out every year. Made by the loving hands of my niece when she was around 7. She is now married. Thank you Mikalah for thinking of me when you made this! I'm still so proud of this!!"

Aw, it just about brought tears to my eyes! I remember making this for her. She saw a little doll that I had hand-sewn, and she asked me to make her a nativity set. I was thrilled that she trusted me with such a big project! I had no idea that after all these years, she still had the nativity set.

It's not the most amazing craft ever, since it was made by a seven year old, but I think it goes to show that the gifts we hold most dear often don't carry great monetary value. Instead, it's the love that goes into the giving that is the important part. 

Merry (almost) Christmas, dear friends!

Christmas is coming...

 The packages are wrapped.....

The house is gently glowing with candle-light and tiny shimmers from the tree...

Christmas smells fill the air with memories of times gone by, and hope for the days to come. 

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

(Isaiah 9:2 NIV)

Christmas Home Tour

Welcome to our Christmas Home Tour! I'm excited to share with you the final product of our Christmas decorating this year. Our mammoth (11 foot tall) tree sits behind the loveseat, where we can enjoy the twinkly lights and still have traffic flow through our living room.

In the living room, I brought out my big glass bowl and added some pinecones, a white candle, and some glittery branches. 

I tucked a pretty snowflake into one of the empty frames on the wall for some added shine.

My green glass trees are sitting atop the secretary desk. I recently filled the case with my milk glass collection. I think they are the perfect backdrop for our Christmas decorations.

In the dining room, I created a simple display using candles and glass votives that we already had on hand.

I love my glittery animals...

I also used the burlap table runner that I made (you can find the tutorial in this post.)

Another DIY project from this year made it's way onto the record player. The "Glittery Wonderland" scene was such a fun project, I hope it will last for years to come! I made the moss-covered trees last year, tutorial here.

At the top of the stairs, I just tucked some branches with pinecones on them into our vase of willow branches.

And since we had to move the furniture around a bit for the tree, I decided to create a little sitting area right next to the tree. It's a fun little spot to read a book, sip some tea, and enjoy the Christmas lights.

A couple more gratuitous photos of the tree... This tree is definitely a show stopper. My 5 year piano student was in complete awe of the tree! I don't think she had ever seen one so big!

We had a LOT of leftover branches from the tree. After filling a few vases with them over the house, we also gave some away to my sister and my piano student's family.

It's nice to have the scent of evergreen wafting through the house again.

From our home to yours, we wish you a joyful season celebrating the birth of Christ! Merry Christmas!

Linking up here...

Trimming the Tree

(Photo Source)

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of having a gloriously huge Christmas tree. I was always slightly disappointed when we would bring home a tree that barely cleared my dad's head.

This year, Josh and I thought it would be "fun," since we have such high ceilings and the tree farm we visited had a flat-rate price for all of their trees, to pick one that was a little more awe-inspiring in height.

So, giving way to our exuberant childhood fantasies, we picked out a tree that we thought was about 8-9 feet tall. Perfect! Then... we got home. 

(Don't worry- no one was hurt during the decorating of this monstrosity)

So, our Christmas tree is about 11 feet tall. And it gives me great joy and induces fits of happy giggles nearly every time I walk into the living room!

As you can imagine, it takes quite a few decorations to fill up an 11 foot tall tree! Plus, we had to put it behind the couch, where it is pretty much visible from every angle, which meant that we had to decorate the entire tree. We definitely didn't have enough ornaments stocked up, so after purchasing 2 more sets of lights (we already had one), I decided to make some new ones. I thought it would be fun to add some tissue paper pom-poms! I found a tutorial online, and made 3 of these cuties.

I searched the house for things that could work as ornaments, and fit into our silver/cream/white/blue theme. This tiny picture frame was the perfect match! I just hot glued some ribbon on the back, and voila, a new ornament.

I made 6 of these cute, round paper ornaments using leftover Amy Butler paper from our wedding programs. I just embellished them a bit using some glue and glitter. 

Of course, no tree is complete without an ornament that looks like a 5 year old on a sugar high created it. 

Some new ornaments that I bought last year on sale after Christmas are making their first debut as well! I bought 2 of the beauties from Macy's, for about 20% of their original price. Nice!

These ornaments (gifts from my Mother-In-Law) are by far my favorite though. There are 2 of them, little tiny antiqued mirrors. Aren't they sweet?

 

I also love this blown-glass ornament, Josh's aunt Jackie bought it years ago, or so I am told! 

I am really loving our tree this year. It's so fun to gaze at it and think back on all of the memories that I have from Christmases past. One thing's for sure- I can check off "buy a giant Christmas tree" from my bucket list! 

P.S. You may notice some changes are a-happening around here... I put up a new banner that I've been working on for a while, and some more subtle changes will occur shortly. Hope you like them! Also- be sure to check back tomorrow for the full tour of our decorated home! I'll be linking to some fun holiday parties. Can't wait to see you then!

A Musical Weekend

On Friday night, Josh and I broke from our routine and went out on the town. Yup. Us old folks got dressed up and went to a concert like we were college-age again (which really wasn't that long ago.... right?).

Beirut is my all-time favorite band ever. I have listened to them for years. I literally listened to their album "Gulag Orkestar" every morning at work for a year. Yup, I still like it. We even played some of their music at our wedding reception.

So, of course I have been watching their tour dates to see when they would come to Minnesota. They had not come here since 2006! Finally, I was listening to The Current (local radio station) one day, and they announced that Beirut was coming to Minneapolis! Wooo to the Hoo!!!

The lead singer, Zach Condon, has a wonderful, mellow singing voice. And, he also plays the trumpet like you wouldn't believe! Their music is indie rock/world music, but it's unlike anything I've ever heard. Their songs have the ability to transport you to another place. There's a few songs that instantly make me feel like I'm in Paris again!

I took a couple videos during the concert, so here's a little snippet of their sound.

The next day, I got to actually participate in some music making! Our church hosts an annual "Christmas Tea," and this year I was the featured vocalist. I got to sing with a trio of wonderful musicians on piano, flute, and violin. My mom and my friend Jill also joined me on one song and sang harmony. It was so fun to be a part of the tea this year! 

My dear friend Katie joined us! It was so fun to have her there. 

Here are (starting from the left) Jill, my Mom Ruthie, and my Aunt JJ.

And here is my wonderful MIL Jody, and my Grandma Bertie. 

And of course, my lovely sisters Morna and Elsie.

December is always filled with lots of music for me- between church events and concerts, there is never a shortage of opportunities to be involved with and attend events. It's one of the best ways that I know to experience the season.