10 Minute Trees

This Christmas, I have had so much fun coming up with new Christmas displays for my home.    Partly because I didn't want to get out all of my usual decorations and have the work of putting them all away again in a few weeks.  Partly because I just wanted something different to enjoy.  One of those little projects has been to try my hand at Origami!  I found a website that visually showed pictures and gave instructions for making Origami Pine Trees. But since I am not good with geometry, (at all!), I also searched You Tube and came up with a video that showed how to make them.  The little tree above is one of the ones I made.  

I decided to do our mantle this year in the calm, peaceful colors of Aqua, Green, Silver, and White.  The plate is a North Star treasure I found at a flea market for a couple of dollars.  LOVE it.  It was my inspiration piece.  I already had the glass containers, teacup and saucer, and the vintage green copy of Little Women, so just added an aqua print fabric belly band around the book and put inexpensive aqua and silver ornaments in the glass containers.

The three trees were so easy and quick to make.  The link for the blog site that gives instructions on how to fold them is HERE.  And if you are like me and need a video to help you figure out the folds, then watch this ONE (just through 1:45 minutes of it, because then they do a different design than the simple one I wanted.)  The 3D stars came from THIS blog link, and were fun and easy to make.  I can't decide if my favorite tree is the aqua one with the green star, or the sheet music of Good Christian Men Rejoice (a photocopy of it) for the small tree.

These would be fun projects to make with kids.  You can practice on a square of computer paper first.  You can make them any size...just start with a square.  Add a loop of ribbon or embroidery thread at the top if you want to hand it from your Christmas tree.

Come back soon, and I will show you the Origami dresses I've made to hang on a Christmas tree.  Sweeeeet!

Have Fun!!

Christmas Blessings,
Donna
Linked to:
My Romantic Home
Funky Junk Interiors
Sunday Showcase

A Vintage Little Christmas

My love for all things vintage is sparking some creative fun as I decorate the house for Christmas.  I am using some of my vintage belongings to make a few new tablescapes.  Here is the coffee table's new look for December.  The little old muffin tin is something I found at the flea market this past weekend, and I already LOVE it.

The same scene with the flash used, so you can better see what makes up the vignette.  

Eloise Wilken's book Baby's Christmas is a true favorite.  Both of my darling grandbabies have Eloise Wilkens cheeks and profiles!

The tin is holding miniature candy molds, Peppermint Pillow candies, and Scrabble tiles that spell Jesus.

With the flash, you can see my $2 bag of ABC blocks from this summer's garage saling is being enjoyed!  On the left is my childhood Christmas stocking, and I tucked in a few photos from my childhood Christmases in the 1960s.

That's me in the snow above right in 1967 and the lower photo shows my mom, my baby brother, and me with a large teddy bear in 1965.  :)

Lastly, this fabric underneath the display is called Dick and Jane at Christmas Time!!  Bliss!

Thanks for stopping in!

Christmas Blessings,

Donna

Linked to:
My Romantic Home
Funky Junk Interiors
Sunday Showcase

Starbucks Cup Scrapbook

I'm excited to share this fun craft with you today!  I learned this idea from Angie at Echos of Laughter last year.  She is such a creative girl!  Be sure and check out her delightful blog for a full tutorial on this little scrapbook.

This Starbucks cup was my holiday drink from last December...white mocha I think!  It's fun b/c the markings on the front of the cup are a remembrance of what I had that day while Christmas shopping with my mom.  :)  I  brought it home, washed it, and saved it for making a cute December scrapbook.

You cut the bottom of the cup off and then cut the cup down the seam to make the cover of your book.

Then you make a template for your pages.  I covered the inside of the 'cover' with cute paper and then made double page spread pages for the rest.

Since my b-day is in December, I decided to make my book about all the festivities of December rather than just Christmas.  Because the pages are small I had to get creative with the photos...cropping them when I was able, or cutting them and squishing them together.

It's cute to use as many 3D touches as you can...so I used foam dots under embellishments and little photos.

I also put photos of a craft I made for gifts and of some decor I used for a dinner party.  Note the C'mas tree embellishment with a button on top.

Our Christmas Eve appetizer buffet...I had to cut part of the photo and superimpose it over the main part of the photo to get most of it on this page.

Using a circle punch I was able to put all of the photos of our family that were together for Christmas on one page even though the page was small.  And I put a foam dot under three of our photos for some depth.

Our puppy dog's stocking!  And I found that one of my photos had this picture of my Gooseberry Patch calendar in it, so I cut it out to add to the book.  :)

We had a white Christmas!

My sweet puppy-girl...Gracie.  She was enjoying Christmas Day!

Here you can see that I cut the photo in half and spread it over two pages.

The back of the book is where I attached the baker's twine to be the little closure for the book. A circle of paper hides the attachment. A button on the front is perfect for wrapping the twine around to keep the little book closed.

And I used a pick to poke 2 holes in the middle (folded part) of the pages and the cover.  This baker's twine ties it all together.  Worked out really well.

I hope you enjoyed this little sweet idea!  And thank you Angie for this adorable, brilliant idea!  I really love it!  

Merry Christmas!!
Donna


Linked To:
Whatever Goes Wednesday 
My Romantic Home
Tip Junkie
Here's to Handy Andy