25 Days Of Christmas, Day 7

I'm going with another Pinterest success on this one. 

I started with a couple of old wooden pallets.  I don't have much scrape lumber to chose from so I am having to get it where ever I can.  

I also used a foam paint brush handle, chair spindle and a wooded closet rod. 

This was my inspiration piece.   I found it on Pinterest but traced it to Etsy.  The store was closed temporarily but there were several examples using a variety of color combinations. 

After a lot of trial and error on getting a circle with wedged shaped pieces, I finally settled on this arrangement.  

After using some of my "spare paint", this is what I ended up with.  

I love it.  Now that I am looking at the inspiration piece side by side with mine, mine may be a little busier.  

I had trouble deciding where to hang it.  I tried several locations.  But I ultimately ended up hanging it next to the china cabinet.  There usually aren't quite as many plants crowding the corner but I had to make room for the Christmas tree somehow.  

 

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 6

Tonight we went to the Christmas Parade in town.  Honoring the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the theme was, "Stars and Stripes and Christmas Lights."

There were bands from the 3 county high schools. 

Heavenly Pets, (pet cremation service) had the Best in Show float. 

A neighbor drove his old tractor. 

A couple of the floats had "snow" machines.  It was really just soap bubbles but the effect was nice. 

And something I have not seen before, LED eye lights. 

It made me wonder if they are legal to drive with.  I thought they were pretty cool.  

I loved the pink and purple breast cancer awareness float.   Pink, your favorite color, as Sadie keeps reminding me.  

I think the snow globe was my favorite.  

With the temperature in the 30's, this float had the right idea with a fire pit. 

And there was Santa at the end.  Sadie and Allie got several pieces of candy.  Virginia had to keep telling them not to eat anymore.  They were very snug in their wagon, warm cloths and blanket.  I was very snug in my lined jeans and ski pants.   It was a fun parade. 
 

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 5

Dr. B gave me this bowl koozie a couple of years ago.  I didn't know I needed one until I got it.  

It is perfect to set a bowl in and heat it up in the microwave.   Or just set the hot bowl into it to keep it warm while eating.   It can also keep your hand from getting cold while eating ice cream.  

It is reversable too.  

I decided to make a Christmas version to add to my kitchen holiday decor.   Since it might go in the microwave, I needed to use 100% cotton everything.  I had some batting I thought was cotton so I did the burn test.  It burned instead of melting so I think I was right that it was cotton.  Next was finding cotton thread.  Most everything I had was polyester.  I did find a few spools of tread from my grandmother labeled "Will Boil", "Boil Fast" and "Merchandized".  A quick google search said these vintage threads were cotton.  I had gotten the fabric 36 years ago for a different Christmas project.  I am pretty sure it is cotton too.   

I think it is very festive.  

And perfect for a bowl of Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash soup Keiran had left for me.  Plus, I had a toasted slice of walnut-cranberry sour dough bread to go with it, yum!

  It was a wonderful meal to enjoy during our first snow day of the season. 

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 4

I saw an idea on Pinterest using logs as outdoor decorations. 

I procured mine early and used them for some fall decorations.  But I have thrown the pumpkins over the fence in order to get ready for winter decorations.  

I started with some Norway spruce that I got from next to the catch pens at the farm we rent.  I used fence staples to secure them to the logs. 

Next, I added some Frasier fir trimmed from the Christmas tree.  

I then added a lantern from my aunts estate and a metal box from my mother's shed.  

A few more branches and some nandina and Tada, outdoor decor.  (after I took the picture I realized that I needed for do something about the leaves, so with the help of the leaf blower, those are now gone.)

 

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 3

I finally came up with something to do with one of the $22 bird cages that I got last year at Dollar General for a penny. 

I have 4 and they have been sitting in a pile of stuff to go to the thrift store. Our clinic Christmas party is tomorrow and there is a white elephant gift exchange.  I was inspired to try to make something.  I first put in a plastic pillar candle surround but thought it looked too, well, plastic. So I got a styrofoam wreath that fit inside and disassembled a larger wreath and remade it to fit.  

I added a red glass, also a penny from DG and a big red bow.  Now I just needed a candle to put in the glass.  Surprisingly, I did not have a suitable one so I headed to Dollar Tree.  

I switched out the red glass for a white battery operated flickering candle. It was just the thing.  I’ll see tomorrow if it is a hit or not. 
 

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 2

When Emily was here she asked if I had any spare red and white paint, Q-tips and an egg carton.  Who does she think I am?  Of course I have that simple list of items.  What on earth are you going to make with them, that's the question. 

She said this was the proto type, a Santa hat.  

Apparently, if you make a bunch, you can string them together in a garland.  But i if you just have a few of the proto types, they make nice plant hats.  
 

25 Days Of Christmas, Day 1

I thought I would try to post something for Christmas every day until December 25th.  We'll see how that works. 

When Emily and Keiran were here for Thanksgiving, they got out the Santa mugs to enjoy with their coffee and tea.  I decided to leave them out on a mug rack that I had made years ago.  The mugs were all originally from Walmart, but I have been picking up mine at thrift stores.  It looks like I will only have 6  plus the big one, because I haven't found any more for a couple of years now.  

I just love the Santa face.