a little bit holiday library

today i am sharing our library, which happens to be the only festive space in the house other than our front porch. i was really excited to do a lot for the holidays this year but with the unexpected loss of my nana and spontaneously redoing the family room, things just haven't panned out. with that being said i am really happy with how our library is looking!

 

Alternative Christmas Trees Take 2

Last year I did a post on alternative christmas trees, here, and it was a hit!  So, here it goes again:)

adore

brilliant

my favorite:)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!  This is one of my favorite times of year.  Spending time with family inside around a cozy fire and with a belly full of YUMMY-YUM!  Another favorite part about this holiday is decorating for it!!!  Although this year has been hectic and I have cut back a bit I have done a few things and looking at the possibilities of what could be are enough of a "fix" for me.

I love the innovative ideas people have for Garland and Garland is something that screams Christmas Time to me!

If you are like me and do not have a mantle, remember that a console or mirror is a great place to hang your garland!

Find a DIY Tutorial on this garland below!

The best thing about all of these Garlands are the ability for you to make them at home, they make a wonderful DIY project!

These are the Garland that adorn my house:)

Christmas Card Garland

DIY:  Paper (Fabric) Chain Garland

For this project, you’ll need a selection of fabric, and some heavy fusible interfacing. (Velcro and/or snaps would be needed if you decide to go for the optional fastening method).

To start I selected a number of fabrics – some of my larger scraps, as well as a few favorite fabrics. I used a variety of colors, but this could be made using red, green and white fabrics, or fabrics of a particular hue, or anything that fits the look you’re going for.

I cut each piece to 3″ x 9.5″. You could vary these measurements depending on how wide you want your chains to be. (I wouldn’t recommend going smaller than a width of 2.5″ or you may find it too difficult to turn the fabric right side out.)

At the same time, I cut a piece of heavy fusible interfacing. You’ll want the interfacing to be about 1/2 an inch smaller in width and about an inch shorter in length than the size of the fabric once it’s sewn into its final shape. I cut mine to about 1″ x 8.5″. You’ll need one strip of interfacing for each fabric strip you cut.

Take your fabric piece and fold it lengthwise, right sides together. Sew along the long edge using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Turn right side out and iron flat, placing the seam in the middle of one side (this will be the inside of the ring). Insert the interfacing strip, positioning the fusible side so it will be attached to the side of the ring which will face the outside (the side without the seam). I attach a safety pin to one end of the interfacing so I can use that to pull the interfacing through the tube we’ve just created.

Repeat this process for all the fabric pieces you’ve cut out, making as many as you’d like to make a chain of your desired length.
Now you’ll want to attach these pieces together to form the rings. You could order them as you’d like and simply sew the ends together, interlocking the rings as you go.

Or, if you want to make a chain where the rings could be opened and reorganized, you may want to use velcro or snaps as the fastener for each ring. I like this idea, as your fabric chain could then be used as a toy for children when it’s not in use as decoration!

Cut a small piece of velcro, about an inch square and sew one side of the velcro to the end of one of your strips. Sew the second piece to the reverse side of the other side of the strip. (I make sure to tuck the unfinished edge up and position it under the velcro to create a clean edge.)

 Once you have the velcro sewn to each strip, you can put your chain together any way you’d like!



 

DIY Felt Rosette Pillow

Courtesy of Etsy's Handmade blog, The Storque, I found an AWESOME felt pillow design.  I have not worked with felt in a couple of years but for those of us who are not pros at sewing, felt is a savior!

Photo via The Storque

This pillow is so cool.  It's design totally goes with the trends, with the rosette/ruffle effect on the front and it is ORANGE, I LOVE orange:)  Alright, so lets get right into this.

Materials/Supplies Needed:

• 
  
  10" x 18" Feather Pillow Insert
• 
  
  23.5 x 19" Orange Felt for the Pillow Cover
• 
  
  20" x 18" Orange Felt for the Rosettes
• 
  
  Matching Sewing Thread
• 
  
  Basic Sewing Kit
• 
  
  Sewing Machine

Photo via The Storque

1.  Cut two peices of felt that are 11" x 19".  To make the rosettes you will need to cut out 60 circles that measure 3" in diameter.

Photo via The Storque

2.  Pinch each felt circle in the middle and fold the edges to form the rosette shape.  Hand stitch the base of each rosette so it will hold its shape.

Photo via The Storque

3.  Starting at one end of the front pillow panel sew on each rosette neatly at the base of each one and close together.

4.  Continue adding rosettes positioning them close together and in a straight line.  Make sure there is the same amount of blank space on the pillow above and below the rows of rosettes.

5.  Make up the pillow back using directions below.  Insert pillow form into finished cover.

Photo via The Storque

1.  Lay the two peices on top of eachother making sure the edges are perfectly in line.  Pin the peices together on three sides, leaving the fourth side open.  Make sure not to pen too close to the edge so you have room to run your sewing machine along the edge.

2.  Using a matching thread and your sewing machine, sew along the three sides to join your peices together, removing the pins as you sew.  Cut off the corners on the diagonal, making sure not to cut your stitches.  This will create a neater pillow.

Photo via The Storque

3.  Turn the pillow right side out and insert the pillow form.  To close the fourth side, fold the felt inside 1/2" and pin the edges together.

4.  Sticth the sides together keeping the thread as invisible as possible. 

Find this pattern and other felt ideas in Anne Kyyro Quinn's book, Felt Furnishings. 

Happy Felting!

Fabricadabra

A website offering naturally dyed and pesticide free textiles as well as pillow covers. Not only are these fabrics/pillows SIMPLY ADORABLE they are healthy for the environment too! All of the pillows pictured below are for sale on the Fabricadabra website!

Being an obsesser of Ikat, this was the best discovery EVER! I love her choice of color and her simple yet stunning Ikat patterns.

Robert Indiana makes an appearance! Gotta "LOVE" that!

:)

Congratulations on a job well done Donna. It is beautiful items like this and people like you that will truly make a difference in the future of our world.