scottish kilt placemats {in the craft room}

i'm planning a burn's night supper

it happens on january 25th

and is a night of 

literature, revelry

and

haggis

i thought it might be fun 

to have place settings

that match the theme

plaid and kilts

seem very scottish to me

(click here for tutorial)

*these are time consuming, but easy for anyone with basic sewing skills. if you have any questions about the tutorial or method, please leave me a comment and i will get back to you in a jiffy

baker's twine shamrock vase {craft room}

anyone up for a quickie?

 this is a simple little craft

using 

bottles

glue

&

baker's twine

 (about 50 yards per bottle)

paint a bit of glue on a clean bottle 

and 

wind green baker's twine

around

and

around

and

around 

until you can't

go around any more

i mostly did mine in one layer, pushing the twine together to eliminate gaps. 

i added a bit of felt for a touch of whimsy

and

to make it

st. paddy's day-ish

if you make one of these...i would love it if you shared your creation on my facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/fudgeripple

i am linking up to
a little birdie told me 

why must i be...a dog in a suitcase?

i don't speak french

which is why it is slightly insane

that i subscribe

to french magazines

aside from the few french words 

incorporated into the english language

i have not a clue

if the prose is 

inspired 

or

insipid

however

the photos

and 

creativity

never fail to 

turn this

punctual taskmaster

into a 

daring daydreamer

a recent issue of marie claire idees

showed a small dog

perched in a

 darling white-washed bed

fashioned from an old valise

at a romp through an overstuffed antique store

i found this

with a

 bit of fabric

little ingenuity

and

sackful of patience

(i am a horrible seamstress)

we now have

our own darling version

(if i might say so myself)

both girls checked it out

but only one 

reigns supreme

she seems quite content

mais oui!

*i have a tutorial here with a material's list and some steps

this is not a sewing tutorial...that would be like the blind leading the blind!

linking up to
tatertots and jello weekend wrap up

and

one of santa's?

i know it isn't food--but i had to share
i was browsing through a british mag

a cast off from my cousin

and found the most delightful tableau

from living etc december 2010

and i thought

hmmm

i could probably make that

surprisingly,

 i didn't look at it close enough

as

i see now

that it was a small little table-top picture

mine
is not

my mantle december 2010

but i love it anyway

and hubster does too

now that he knows it is just for the holidays

he was a bit suspect

 and slightly concerned 

i might start making "art"

for the house

this was really simple

i purchased a cheap canvas

painted the background white-white

drew the elk freehand in pencil

and 

painted it burnt umber

 a few strands of battery operated lights

strategically placed and poked through

(a little hot glue to secure)

gives it a sparkly-snowy feel

simple, right?

i was thinking of making eight more

  to line our living room wall

as if i

curate santa's hall of fame

home sweet home

wouldn't it be great

if we could all live

in houses made of gingerbread

imagine

waking up to the smell of

molasses, cinnamon and clove

 i would literally 

eat myself out of house and home

i'm not sure if i would rather live

in a

a sweetheart's cottage

or a

trapper's cabin

a bit o' crafting

i do love to craft

but to be honest 

i am usually behind the magic 8 ball

furiously finishing things

at the last moment

i am envious of those

that are organized enough

to have halloween mastered

well before the 31st

mantles decorated

matching wreaths on every door

personalized with "this year's theme"

 halloween costumes finished

which, by the way

have been hand sewn and hanging in the costume closet

for weeks

treat bags

made of homemade paper and hand folded

into perfect packets

by the hundreds

awaiting little ghouls and goblins

who will be treated to a full haunted house

and a framed picture of themselves screaming

at the scary bits

upon exiting

i wish i were describing myself

but i am not

mind you

i do my fair share of  marthanizing

but

i'm more of the

its due tomorrow kind of girl

which is why

it is so surprising

that i have actually

put together a halloween-scape

that has been gracing our mantle

for almost 3 weeks now

and will probably be there

until new years

because 

i just don't have it in me

to swap it out

in time for thanksgiving

i would be remiss

if i didn't mention

joni over at red couch recipes

she has been posting halloween goodness all month long

and has inspired me to get off my duff

and make some stuff

specifically

the candy corn topiaries

that are to die for

rainy day crafting {wreaths}

i have a compulsion

and it is making things

it could be food

it could be a craft

it could be trouble

today

i am sharing some of my rainy day projects 

during the holidays

jen at tatertotsandjello

made an adorable marshmallow and gumdrop wreath

which i shamelessly copied for a valentine wreath

substituting conversation hearts for the gumdrops

Marshmallow Wreath

Fabric Wreath

Embroidered Gift Bag

i used a piece of linen

from the remnants pile

i wanted it to look a bit

like it had been sitting in the bottom

of a civil war widow's hope chest

it is a gift

for a yet to be born

little wonder

named Ruby

it will hold baby essentials

and then it can be easily transformed

into a small pillow

Gingerbread Nostalgia

I like gingerbread

the cake, not the cookie

BUT I LOVE GINGERBREAD HOUSES

no matter how frustrating they can be

but sadly, this year

I didn't plug time in the calendar to devote to one

because I have a gingerbread house problem

I am very supportive and genuinely so, when I see a ginger-house made up of four walls and a roof with a few half eaten candies pasted to it. I find all gingerbread projects charming and nostalgic. But what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.

I have issues

I can't just make a house

When in culinary school, the assignment was make a gingerbread house. I made a neighborhood of East Coast row houses with clear windows and decorated interiors.

One year I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to do a simple gingerbread centerpiece for Christmas and showed up with a shopping village replete with a bakery, art gallery and dress shop 100% edible and fully furnished.  The stone church even had pews.

Listen

I already admitted that I have a problem

A couple of years ago, I was asked to enter a gingerbread competition

The theme was Christmas Around the World.

Immediately I thought, Swiss Chalet!

 I then turned to my husband and said...

you have to help me

I am already going over-board and it is only in my head

which is how our gingerbread project was born

Mike built the whole structure from foam core to test the structural viability and appropriate scale

because he is a guy and does guy things

while I got to making caramel corn for the base of the mountain

It took us about 10 days to craft

but it was well worth the effort

we won lots of goodies and a bunch of cash

and it won just about every prize--except the fan favorite

or as we like to call it--be a college student and bring your class, then grab a school bus and drive around town picking up folks to stuff the ballot box.

but i am not bitter

-much

because even without ballot pushing proletariats, we garnered second place in the fan fave category

and hear this...

we won the grand prize

from actual judges

And then we gave the chalet to the hotel

for their holiday display

We left that party

with our arms full of prizes

and our egos full of pride

even after 24 months, I can still feel the sunshine of that very good day

the day my obsessive gingerbread disorder

reaped rewards

Is It Time Yet?

As the temperatures begin to dip into the very holiday level of 85 degrees, it makes me long for my snowflake t-shirts and winter sandals. It's getting to the point where I find myself feigning and Australian accent and pretending its Christmas Down-Under. Hot holidays are a rip off. I'm not asking for snow...well maybe I am, but that's just ridiculous. I'm asking for maybe a windbreaker holiday, or maybe even being able to say, bring a sweater, you may get chilly, without it seeming cheeky.

I'm not going to embrace it.
Its bad enough that I succumbed to the earth friendly fake tree. If you hear me saying how great it is, and how much I love it...it's all part of the self-brainwash. Yes, it is good for the environment. Yes it is cost effective...but that's about where I have to end the list. The rest of the benefits just don't apply to me. I don't have cats.

So how many days are there until Christmas anyway? I see the advertisers have been market-conscious and haven't flooded us with the up to the minute T-minus data. But I did catch a "news anchor" making recommendations on how to save money on stuffing, cranberry sauce and what-not. I wonder if this current crisis will force the cancellation of "where in the world is Matt Lauer". Not that I want the market to remain poor, but it spares us the travel trevails of the the NBC morning crew---but I digress. I can appreciate the countdown...but again, it doesn't apply to me. And not because of the cat thing, but because the one thing I have always been good at, is planning for Christmas.

I shop all year for Christmas. It's the most organized area of my life. Open a closet and you run the risk of, the classic and always funny, being bombarded by its' contents. I could spend all day looking for one of 10 pairs of scissors stashed around the house. Clickers, keys, clothes all a jumble in my mind. But Christmas...perfectly assembled from the list to the budget to the wrapped gifts under the tree.

What's my secret?
There is no secret. I have a staff. Nah, just kidding.
My secret is that I pick up lots of crap at a discount, wrap it up to make it look expensive and then pass it off to my unsuspecting friends and family, as gifts picked just for them.
Again, kidding.
It gets done because it's on my radar. Just like good grooming and hygiene, a tidy abode, adequate car care, regular doctor visits or rodent traps may be on your radar.
It is a priority for me because I have wonderful memories associated with this time of year and I evoke them each time I pick up a gift, or prepare for the holidays.

It reminds me of singing "my favorite things" in the 4th grade chior...before my voice broke. When it was just a whisper in a sea of whispers, and no one could tell who the off-key crooner was.

It reminds me of staying up late nights and preparing cookies for the family party and lining the shelves of the service porch with boxes and boxed of sweet treats.

It reminds me of my dad "flocking" the house because it was his year to pick the tree and he wanted a white Christmas. Flock was a popular word in our house during the holidays. It wasn't until I was an adult that I understood that flock is a noun and not a verb.

But most of all it reminds me of candy. Candy, candy everywhere. Slap lots of it onto gingerbread slab and invite Hansel and Gretel over. Use peppermint disks to make a wonderful and fragrant wreath. Assemble gumball trees for a colorful and playful centerpiece. Have too many candy canes? Make them into stars and use them as a fun gift tag. I could go on, but how would Meredith hold our attention for the next 30 days? I have designed the ultimate candy accessory for the holidays. The Gumdrop Sconce. What will I think of next? Perhaps a tiny chocolate tree house for the parade of ants?

You can count the hours, count the days, count the minutes...but whatever it is...make them count.