Stockings, Ornaments (and Tutorial), Bunting, and Scarves

Although I took a break from posting during the week of Thanksgiving, I did not take a break from activity and creating! I made small, decorative Christmas stockings with nontraditional fabric; spice-filled Christmas ornaments along with a tutorial, a fabric bunting for my daughter’s fifth birthday party, started making placemats (then realized that I had some that I could use so I delayed that project), got a much needed haircut, bought and set up our very first Christmas tree, made Thanksgiving dinner for the four of us, cleaned the house and hosted a birthday party on Sunday!

By Monday of this week, I needed a break and spent a few hours at my parents’ house with the girls. On Tuesday, I worked on some food prep, participated in a mentoring group session, and worked on laundry. Wednesday, I had a physical therapy appointment (for chronic hip pain) in the morning, but of course, by the time, I dropped off the girls with my mom, went to the appointment, bought a few groceries, picked up the girls and took them home for naps, the day was almost gone. But that evening and yesterday, I worked on making scarves, which you will see pictured at the end of the post.

But first, I will show you a few of the finished projects. These small Christmas stockings are perfect to decorate a piece of furniture or hang on a door knob. I chose this fabric because toile fabric is one of my favorites, especially with blue and white or blue and yellow. I had purchased this fabric many years ago to make curtains in a rental house, but decided against using it for that purpose. Finally, I am using it for various projects, and I have decided to use these stockings for an upcoming give-away. You may have the chance to have them for your very own!

I had the idea for these spice-filled ornaments a few months ago, but I finally got to a local bulk food store to purchase the necessary spices a couple of weeks ago. At first, I was going to make little round ornaments to hold the spices, but then I changed my mind and made little packages that look like gifts. They smell so nice! If you would like to try it for yourself, I have included a tutorial for you below. If you would rather purchase than make them, I have made some to sell as well in my online shop.

These easy-to-make ornaments will fill your home with the scent of Christmas.

Supplies needed:

-coffee filter, cupcake liner, or tissue

-spices of your choice (I used a combination of cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom) takes 1 tsp or up to 1 Tbsp per ornament, depending on size of fabric and whether you are using felt

-5" or 6" squares of fabric

-felt, optional (just use more of the spice mix if you don't have felt)

-ribbon (23' per ornament, divided into 18" and 5" pieces)

-LOW temp hot glue gun

And the last project that I completed the week of Thanksgiving was making a fabric bunting for my 5-year-old daughter. I had made a blue and silver bunting to sell earlier in the month, and she was delighted with it! I had completed it one night after the girls were in bed, and I quickly hung it over this doorway just to see how it looked. The next morning, when she came into find me when I was getting ready for the day, she exclaimed to me: “I had an ‘Oh Mommy!’ in-my-heart-whisper when I saw it!” She was disappointed that I was going to sell it, and I promised that I would make one for her birthday.

A quick snapshot of the bunting that I sold.

So, around 10 p.m. on Saturday night, I started making it. It was really the last thing that I wanted to do, but a promise is a promise, and I wanted to keep my word. Because my sewing space is located in the corner of our bedroom, my dear husband took a pillow and blanket out to the couch to begin his night of rest and asked that I come get him when I was finished. By 11:15 p.m., I was finished, and hung it in the opening between our living room and dining room. When El saw it the next day, she was pleased, but not overly excited, and later she wistfully asked me, “Mom, are you going to sell this one?” I assured her that it was hers to keep as a gift from me. She was happy.

This week, I started making scarves to fill orders for Christmas gifts. Here is a picture of the first one that I finished. I will also be making black and silver scarves, but I will post more about those another day…

Happy Friday!