Christmas Card Display Problem: SOLVED!

The last few days I've been stressing about how to display the inevitable loads of Christmas cards we will receive this year. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love getting them!! But after starting the Konmari method and reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up I just wanted to display them in a joyful way.

I scoured Pinterest for some ideas, and there are a lot of them out there!  I settled on this one from Thyme is Honey using washi tape. And then I realized that the only washi tape I had was some leopard print stuff leftover from one of my girl's art projects.

Uh, that's not very Christmas-y.

So I went to my trusty ribbon stash and found the perfect shade of green (seriously, I have a LOT of ribbon). I used some command strips, some leftover tinsel and a level to make the perfect display tree!  I even cut a star out of some gold fabric I had left over from Halloween.

Total Cost: $0

I love how it turned out and can't wait to fill it up with the season's greetings from our friends and family.

Bring on the cards!!

Speaking of which, I'm waiting for ours to come via Shutterfly so that I can send them out asap.  I keep a list on my Google Docs of all the addresses of our friends and family from year to year, so it's a snap to fill out the cards when they come.

I'm all about making the holidays as stress-free as possible!

It's filling up! 

What's your favorite way to display cards? Share in the comments below! 

~Patricia

DIY Christmas tree onesie

So I took a little break from blogging for the month of December, but that didn't mean that I stopped sewing or creating. Nope, not at all!  Rather, I was just too busy doing all the other stuff that a family has to do in December, besides taking some time to slow down and celebrate the real meaning of the season.

And so, my next few posts are going to be about Christmas.  Maybe you can get a head start on your presents for next year (!) or maybe these will just inspire you to modify and make something even cooler for Valentine's Day. Because there is always another holiday right around the corner! 

The Christmas Onesie:

If you're not following me on Pinterest yet, you really should (let me know, and I'll follow you back!)  I found this idea on there, but of course when I tried to go back and find it again, I couldn't!  I just had to go off of my memory and just make it up as I went along. For your benefit, here's a brief synopsis of how to make a ribbon Christmas Tree onesie. 

Cute, huh?

First you'll want to do a test-run by cutting your ribbon to the right lengths and setting everything out.  As you can see, my original idea involved a lot more buttons than the final product. I also was going to use a shiny green ribbon, but then decided against it. I also heat-sealed all of the ribbon edges to prevent fraying.  But, the material of that particular green ribbon wouldn't heat-seal (it kept lighting on fire actually), so I skipped it. 

And here's how NOT to make it. When starting this project I forgot one very crucial step. Which will happen when you are going off of a picture in your memory and not directions. Crucial-step-do-not-forget-or-your-project-will-be-a-mess:  Stabilizer. Yep. Just a simple iron-on stabilizer makes a world of difference when you're sewing on a knit onesie.  Obviously, I had to rip out the first four rows and start completely over after using my trusty iron-on stabilizer. I use the tear-away kind, and it's kinda fun to rip it all off when you're done sewing. 

I think if I were to make it again, I'd think ahead and buy a cooler button for the top and bottom.  Maybe a square-shaped button for the bottom and a cool yellow star for the top.  I could always change it out, but that means I'd have to remember them next time I go to Joann's, and I can barely remember my name when I go there, I get so overwhelmed from all the crafts I could make-colors, fabrics, paper,yarn!!!! I will just keep it as is for now (hey, Christmas is past anyways), and improve upon it for next year. 

~Patricia

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DIY Baby Ribbon Toy

Today my littlest one was being fussy, so when I had a few minutes I whipped up this little gem of a baby toy. I think she's teething, because she just wants to chew on things, especially her car seat straps!

I first saw this idea as a monogrammed/appliqued bean bag on sewlikemymom here. It's a great tutorial, but you can't sell these as Taggies has a patent on the looped ribbon. But, you can make them for your kids and your friends as gifts!

I started with 2 different squares of fabric, since I wanted different textures for her to feel. They are 9 in squares. I chose six different ribbons and cut two 3 inch pieces of each.

On the RIGHT side of one piece of fabric, sew on the ribbon by folding it in half, spacing it out evenly, 3 to a side. I like to mark where mine will go ahead of time, so I make dots on all 4 sides at 2.25 in, 4.5 in and 7.75 in.

Then put right sides of your fabric together and sew around the edge, leaving a 1/4 in seam allowance, and leaving a space on one side in order to turn it right side out.

Clip your corners, turn it right side out, and use a pencil or your fingers to push out the corners. Then sew the opening shut and if you want, topstitch all around.

Now sometimes I like to add a layer of plastic to add that crinkly sound to it. I use the plastic covering to a wipes refill. I only buy Pampers sensitive wipes, so I have a lot of their refill bags lying around. I think there are 9 bags that come in the big box that I usually buy. If you add this layer, add it to the outside of your right sides together fabric. In other words, you'll be sewing plastic, wrong-side piece #2, right-side piece #1 with ribbons.

And as a side note, I just saw a friend with one of these  commercially made yesterday! How much more would a new mom love this, if it came from a friend, made with love? So go find some scraps, some ribbon and get crafty!