Christmas Home Tour

No matter where we've lived, I have always enjoyed decorating our home for Christmas. This house, though, seems like it was made for Christmas! It makes it even more fun! I used a lot of the same decor as I had up last year (even the same tablescape- gasp!) but moved a lot of things to different parts of the house or paired them up in a new way. Enjoy the tour!

The front porch...

As usual, we cut down a really huge tree and then had to chop a lot of the bottom to fit it in the house. It was okay, though, because I had plenty of branches for making a wreath, a garland, and sprigs to tuck here and there. The ornament in the bottom right picture is the one we picked out on our Christmas date.

So much better than a fake garland! I might do this every year. The vase with branches is a card tree. We have a few up now!

Of course, I had to make new stockings this year. These were made out of old plaid shirts I picked up at Goodwill. Yes; I'm still obsessing over plaid. I did not come up with the chalkboard graphic on my own. I'm just really good at copying stuff I see on pinterest. The advent garland is still a favorite!

I didn't have the gallery wall up in time for Christmas last year, so I was excited to switch out the sheet music for some Christmas pieces.

That's it! Thanks for stopping by!

Fulfilled.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. -Isaiah 7:14

{click to print}

When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. -Matthew 1:18

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. -Luke 2:4-7

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying

{click to print}
wreath courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely^[d] known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. -Luke 2:8-20

Merry Christmas!

Plaid Pillow Cover Knock-Offs

Plaid has been very trendy this Christmas season, and I hope it lasts!  There is something cozy about it, especially on pillows.  Pottery Barn, L.L. Bean, Land of Nod, and Eddie Bauer all agree, and they usually know what they're talking about.

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Land of Nod's pillows have been discontinued, but you can purchase the other covers starting at $19.95, OR you can make them yourself for much, much less.

Step 1: Go to Goodwill and buy a bunch of flannel plaid shirts (men's XL work best) for about $3 each.  While you're there, grab some pillows for about $1 each.  They can be a little lumpy, but pick pillows that don't smell like smoke (or anything else).

Step 2: Wash the shirts, and remove their buttons and pockets.  Save the buttons for other projects.

Step 3:  Make pillow covers.  I used the envelope style for all of mine and utilized the finished edges of the shirts.  The edge that I removed the buttons from is the outer envelope edge, and I didn't bother hemming the inside envelope edge.

I was able to buy five pillows and make five slipcovers for less than what it would have cost to buy one slipcover from the store!

Vintage Advent Garland

I know, I know...

It's super late to be posting an Advent garland idea.  I had started a different Advent calendar at the beginning of the month but didn't really love it.  And then I saw this idea on pinterest.

By the way, you know how there is usually a list of the most popular words or phrases of the year towards the ends of December?  I think the phrase "I saw it on pinterest" will be pretty high on the list.

Anyway, when I came across Miss Mustard Seed's vintage Advent garland, I immediately made plans to make one of my own.  I thought to myself, "Oh, this looks super easy!  And fun!"

Wrong.

Have you ever tried to print on fabric?  Yes, I followed the instructions, and yes I tried everything I could think of to get it to go through the printer, and it just wouldn't.  I tried troubleshooting via Google search, but that got me nowhere.  Apparently, I am the only one who has problems printing on fabric.  I was so frustrated that I almost posted something on my Facebook status about it, but I kept thinking of Proverbs 20:11.

Instead, I smacked the printer and started baking something in the kitchen.

I came back a few hours later with some much thinner fabric, and it went right through the printer.

And the rest of the project was super easy and fun.

In a nutshell, you just download vintage graphics (all mine came from The Graphics Fairy), crop and resize them to 3 1/2 x 5 inches, and add numbers in the corners.  Print them on fabric.

How do you print on fabric?

Just cut down a piece of freezer paper and your fabric to 8 1/2 x 11 inches.  Iron the waxy side of the freezer paper to the back of the fabric (to make it stable enough to feed through the printer).  Put your fabric in the printer so the images will print on the fabric side.

I printed four images per page and cut them out.  I cut the heavier fabric (the stuff that wouldn't fit through the printer) for the backs of the pockets.

After sandwiching the ribbons in between the pocket pieces, sew around the sides and bottom to create the pocket.

Fill the pockets with goodies or slips of paper with Advent activities written on them for your family to enjoy.  You can begin the Advent season with a full garland and untie a pocket each day, or you can start with one pocket and add to the garland throughout the month.  We are going to leave our garland up all season.  It's just too pretty to take down!

Be sure to check here for the full instructions!

Want to make our Christmas merry?  Subscribe to our blog and follow us on pinterest!

O Tannenbaum

I already shared pictures of our Christmas tree, but I realized a couple days ago that I didn't tell you anything about the details.  And it's all in the details.  Today is the fourth and final link party in the Holiday Home series, and the theme is "Christmas Trees."  I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to show you some of the things that make our tree extra special.

We decided to go with a real tree this year for two reasons.

1.  Our artificial tree didn't fit on the moving truck.
2.  There is nothing that competes with the beauty and fragrance of a real one.

I made the popcorn garland by hand for my first Christmas in my first apartment.  I couldn't afford to buy much for the tree, so I popped a bag of popcorn and spent a month putting the garland together.  It was a major pain to string all that popcorn with a needle and thread, but I'm so glad I have it.

It just occurred to me that I have a pattern of moving right before Christmas.  Interesting...

I also made a tree skirt that year, although I didn't finish it until after Christmas.  I just couldn't find one I liked, so I bought a bunch of fabric and sewed one by hand.

Marshall and I both prefer to have a random assortment of ornaments rather than having a lot that match.  Here are some of our favorites.

Of all the ornaments we have, this one carries the most meaning.

We celebrated our first married Christmas last year.  It came at a very hard time in our lives.  We had endured so much heartbreak in the month leading up to Christmas and just didn't feel like celebrating.  We took a spur of the moment trip to Galena, IL the weekend before Christmas to give ourselves a little pick-me-up.  It was so wonderful; it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.  We just meandered around in the beautiful little shops that were all decked out for Christmas and enjoyed being together.

We bought the "First Christmas Together" ornament in one of those shops, and then we ate out at a nice Mexican restaurant (a rare treat for us!).  We drove back home and watched It's a Wonderful Life.  I wrote the date and place on the bottom of the ornament, and then we hung it on our tree.

I will never forget that day.

We are planning to go on a special Christmas date again this year.  We'll be on the lookout for an ornament, and I'm going to write the date and place on that one, too.

We didn't have much money last year, so we decided not to give each other any gifts.  Even though it's not about the presents, I'm thankful that we have a little more this year and that there are presents under the tree.

It may just look like everyone else's tree, but to us, it's so very special.

$2 Ikea Pillow Covers

I like to make different pillow covers for the different seasons and holidays.  It's an easy way to switch things up.  It can also be really cheap.  As in $2 per pillow...

Do you remember when I brought home these Ikea dishtowels?

They were about $0.79 each.  I bought them with the intention of making Christmas pillow covers out of them, and they worked wonderfully!  To make your own pillow covers, you'll need 2 towels for each pillow. I forgot to take pictures, so I've made a little diagram for you.

After cutting the pieces, flip around the pieces from towel #2 so your finished edges overlap in the middle.  Lay your square from towel #1 over the towel #2 pieces (right sides together), and sew around the edge with a 1/4 inch seam.  So easy!

They also look very similar to Pottery Barn's Grain Sack Stripe Pillow Cover ($29.50 each), but for a fraction of the price.

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Christmas All Around

Have I told you that I really love Christmas?

Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday, because it kicks off the Christmas season.

{Merry & Bright printable art}

I dread December 26th when trees come down, carols are put away, and life goes back to normal.

I realize that a lot of people get really stressed out with all the Christmas shopping and partying.

Our solution?  Don't go the parties, and spend less money.  Less money = less shopping.

{Christmas Cheer printable art}

Christmas isn't about the parties or presents anyway.

{Isaiah 9:6 printable art}

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

    one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

    from ancient days."

Micah 5:2

"And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

    to the ends of the earth.

And he shall be their peace."

Micah 5:4

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:8-11