Holidays

Thankful Tree

I don’t know anyone who hates Thanksgiving. I know plenty of people who hate Valentines, Halloween, and even a few who are fed up with Christmas…but I have never found anyone who hates Thanksgiving. Why? Who can find fault with eating pie and food and being appreciative and eating more pie? Nobody. That’s who.

I have been trying to come up with a Thanksgiving craft for a while, but it’s surprisingly hard since the holiday is pretty swell as is. Just the same, this project for Pentel hits the bases; it’s easy, it’s appreciative, and it can double as a centerpiece which is another way of making food look good. Not that my pie has ever looked bad. But, it might look even better under a Thankful Tree. Welp, only one way to find out…

Happy Thanksgiving!

Craft Lightning: Christmas Pom Pom Branches

by aunt peaches 19 Comments

To celebrate the season I am kicking off Craft Lightning holiday week — a collection highlighting simple Christmas crafts that can be completed in 15 minutes or less, plus, I feature a roundup of other quick-and-easy craft projects from craft bloggers around the web. My project today was created as part of Michael’s Dream Tree challenge, but I think it may have spurred a pompom epidemic that will be felt in my house through Valentines day!

Before we begin, I just want to say that I’m not in the business of telling people what to do, especially if when it comes to something as personal as holiday decorating (I’d sooner tell someone how to put on their socks than how to do their Christmas tree (and you don’t even want to see the horns that come out of my head when someone tries to tell me how to do mine!)). That said. Ahem. If there is one suggestion that I could give the world, it would be to bust out of the heavy, dull triangle shape of the traditional tree by adding a layer of what I call “frosting.”

What is frosting? It’s the things you add to the surface of the tree to make it less of a cone shape. Branches. Feathers. Big swags of tulle and mesh. Stuff that sprouts out of the tree, not the stuff that hangs off the branches in the tree. I talked about this a little more in-depth while back. Frosting a tree is an absolute game changer. This year I added these pompom branches and you would not believe how much of a difference they make. Look!

Yes there are more ornaments on the right, but the magic happens in the edges. There are no hard lines. Let’s look again.

One is a boring triangle. One is a boo-yow spaghetti monster. Which one would you want to take home?

That was a rhetorical question.

These branches are super fun (AND EFFECTIVE) so I thought I would share how I made them. Let’s go!

One last time: did I mention this was easy? It’s easy.

MATERIALS

Gold Branches. I used faux, plastic and wire branches from the floral section at Michael’s. One stem retails for $9.99, but they are big so you can get 2 or 3 branches out of each stem. Holiday floral is 50% off right now, and Michael’s currently has a coupon for 25% off (including sale items) so that means you can get one stem for $2.50, which actually breaks down to one branch for 83cents. That’s a great deal! I noticed yesterday that Michael’s also carries a red velvet flocked version of this branch. THAT WOULD LOOK AWESOME. You can also use real branches from the garden, but be wary of using them on a tree in a high-traffic area because when they snap, they snap. Can you tell I learned that one the hard way? Yeah. How many branches will you need per tree? The more the merrier, but I suggest at least an average of 2 per foot of tree. So if you have a 6′ tree, prepare for 12 or more branches. I would go with 18. It’s Christmas.

Pompoms. I have been gradually collecting pompoms for some time, but if you are a beginner, I like this variety bag (again, from Michaels – retails at $5.99 but you can use your 40% off coupon) and just remove the blue ones. Just about anything with a rainbow assortment can look Christmasy when you remove anything blue or black. I think I might have also added a couple mini packs of red for good measure, but it’s very easy to customize your color wave here.

Hot Glue. I strongly suggest using a glue gun with a “warm” setting so you don’t burn your fingers, because your fingers are going to be all up in here, but that’s your call.

Something to keep your braches upright. This process will go a lot faster if you have your branches sticking in a bucket of sand or a heavy vase. Trust me.

Start with a dab of glue on the tip of the branch.

Now stick a pom pom on it. I like to burry the glue bit in the pompom so it stays on there good and snug, but that’s a lot easier when you aren’t worried about burning your fingers (high five to you, warm temp setting glue gun).

If you are using the branches I used, you’ll find there is a fork in the middle. You can use a wire cutter to snip them off, but I found that wiggling them back and forth ten times was equally effective.

When they are done you can stick them in the tree, no wires or hangers needed. Just slip them in as the very last item on the tree and watch the magic happen! Or, skip the tree and make your own little table top tree.

Doesn’t this remind you of those gumdrop branches that used to be popular back in the day?

And here is a tip to remember: If you find yourself with a bunch of glue strings, wait until you finish all the branches, bundle together, then hit them with a hairdryer for 20 seconds. The strings disappear. I know, isn’t that nifty?

Merry Christmas! Looking for other quick and easy ways to kick off the holiday season?

ME TOO! Now for the great crafts from our partner blogs this week…

I’m nuts over these plaid rag ball ornaments a try over at Mad in Crafts. She is ground zero for the holiday plaid trend so be sure to check her out (no pun intended). Also, Jessica is the person who gave me my new favorite German vocabulary word, backpfeifengesicht = a face that needs to be slapped, so y’all are going to like her if you don’t already.

Speaking of plaid…these plaid ruffle tags from Dolen Diaries are too cute!

This custom photo ornament would make a terrific gift for anyone, but I see the granny crowd going especially nuts for a gift like this. Home gift + cute photos of children = Happy Grannies.

Michelle’s Party Plan It made some festive drink containers and coasters in just minutes.

Or look at these snowmen. Would you have ever guessed they started out as a child’s handprint? Amazing!

Or what about vintage blocks become photo holders with this tutorial from Duct Tape and Denim. These were made for your mantel. HELLO.

And, turn simple circles into a card in minutes with this idea from Cute as a Fox. Way to up your holiday card game!

Angie’s holiday luminaries are going to take festiveness to new levels!

Don’t miss a minute of Craft Lightning It’ll be here all week. Click here to follow along with our Pinterest board so you don’t miss a thing!

Bohemian Funk Granny Chic Dream Tree

by aunt peaches 44 Comments

Well folks, early November wouldn’t be early November if someone wasn’t trying to jingle you into the Christmas spirit. Usually the spirit hits me in August, which is profoundly inconvenient btw, but this year I held off long enough to let sweater weather set in. And this time it was worth the wait! Every year I pick a theme for one of my Christmas trees, and as Michael’s was kind enough to let me participate in the Dream Tree Challenge again this year, I wanted to push the limits.

Last year I challenged myself to put together a gorgeous, traditional tree for less than $100 (with supplies from Michaels of course). This year, I challenged myself to decorate the entire tree exclusively from homemade ornaments. Grandma style! Nothing on here is actually a ready-made ‘ornament’ in the traditional sense; it’s all handmade or resourced from items intended for other purposes. And where can you find the supplies?

You guessed it: Michaels.

I love the way this one came out. This will be in my top ten, for sho!

It looks real good at night, too.

Now lets go in for a close up…

It’s granny. It’s bohemian. It’s YARNTASTIC!

So, theme trees are nothing new, but I think it’s fun take holiday inspiration from non-holiday concepts. With that in mind, I wanted to give credit where credit is due. These four images have been pinned to the top of my holiday Pinterest board in my head since Valentines…

1. This tree. Cindy from Skip to My Lou put together the most incredible crochet tree a couple years ago. If I knew how to knit, or crochet more than a potholder, I probably would have tried to copy this concept, because it is so gorgeous!!

2. This cathedral. In 2011, thousands of granny square afghans were put together on the steps of the Helsinki Cathedral in Finland (all of the blankets were donated to charity after the event). I’m a big fan of yarn bombing in general, but this is like a whole new level of street art. That fact that these beloved treasures lead into a house of worship speaks of all kinds of metaphors you can take or leave as you like, but seriously, this is ONE HUNDRED KINDS OF RAD.

3. This camel. Obviously. No explanation needed.

4. This village. I’m calling this the Granny Chic tree because the core of it all came from a Granny, specifically, my friend Kiki‘s Grandma Seal (short for Lucile) who made an entire village of plastic canvas crochet. These kits were all the rage back in the day but you can still buy the supplies at Michael’s today (YESSS!). Grandma Seal made her little houses extra special by putting a music box inside each one, then displayed them under the Christmas tree each year. There is a farm, a barn, a toy shop, a train depot, a church…a bunch more. Super precious. VERY SEVENTIES. J’dor! When Grandma Seal passed away a few years ago the village was the one thing Kiki really wanted to take home, and she did, but she has found it difficult to display them in her home. Fact: Cats and Christmas villages don’t mix. It was a Cat-Godzilla thing if you know what I mean. I suggested she nestle the houses inside the tree instead of under it, and Kiki said that was insane, “The Christmas village can only live under the tree or on a sideboard or maybe a coffee table…but in a tree? What craziness are you even talking about? THAT DOESN’T EVEN MAKE SENSE.” So I borrowed them and I put them in a tree. And of course, she saw them, and is now insisting they stay in the tree. She will get them back at the end of the season, and they will likely go in her tree next year. I’m telling you people: get your villages off your sideboards and put them in your trees! Let these little houses party with the other ornaments! Set the Christmas village free!

The school house music box plays “School Days” but I think the rest are Christmas jams. Grandma Seal knew what she was doing.

The Swiss Chalet is my favorite. It plays Edelweiss from the Sound of Music. I’m not sure if Edelweiss is officially Christmas music but I know for a fact it appears on Julie Andrew’s Christmas album, and that’s good enough for me. Actually, it’s good enough for all of us. Nobody is stupid enough to pick a fight with Julie Andrews.

If you are not into posts featuring lots of photos, I can tell you now, this is going to go on for a while…

I’m still working on the tree skirt situation. I usually like to put trees up on a skirted pedestal but this particular model was too tall for that. You’d think I’d have an afghan laying around for this specific purpose, but no (and here I was thinking the yarn had gone away for the season). Right now I’m just using a sequin gold cardigan. Weirdly enough, it works surprisingly well. It’ll need to change though because I’m wearing that cardigan for Thanksgiving. Ideas welcome.

I used individual granny squares as the base layer for the ornaments. They make a terrific filler! If you are one of those people who has made granny squares but never got ambitious enough to make a whole afghan, here is your chance to show them off. If you are not into crochet, you can easily purchase piles of granny squares in thrift stores or on Ebay, but there is something to be said for the energy that comes from using things you make yourself. Also, you can use them as potholders the rest of the year. That’s just good news for everyone.

The Christmas spirit hasn’t spread to any other locations of the house, but it will. It will. A garland. Another couple of trees. That chandelier is crying out for a new party dress…

There are tassels and pompoms and every variety of yarn art on this tree, but my new favorite is the Gods Eyes (SUCH A WEIRD NAME). These little yarn spinner things. I guess everyone (but me) learns to make them as kids, but they were new to me, and I struggled a bit. Luckily I got some great advice on Instagram, and then they took off. I’m now making them by the dozen!

But of all the nifty bits in the tree, these branches below are the magic makers.

Adding an airy ‘fringe layer’ of something to the outside of the tree makes such a huge difference. This tree doesn’t have any sparkle in it at all and it felt so heavy…almost kind of dull if you can imagine…but then I added the branches and POW! I’ll give you details on how I made them in a later post. I might need some more for around the house.

Yes, need is a funny word.

Welp. That’s it folks. It’s not your everyday glam tree, but it’s mine. It’s a little old, a little new, a little folksy, and a lot of weird…but it’s mine, and the cat loves it. So it’s staying!

Many thanks to Michael’s for inviting me to participate in their Dream Tree Challenge again this year. Inspired to start decorating your own tree? Make sure you visit Michaels’ blog, The Glue String, to see the other 49 Michaels Makers’ dream holiday trees that were created this year.

PS: From now until November 14, you can get FREE shipping on all Christmas trees that are 6ft or taller on Michaels.com!

An InLinkz Link-up

Why am I Not Swedish?

by PEACHES 12 Comments

Is my deep and abiding love for ABBA, Pippi, and paskris Easter trees not enough? When will Sweden adopt me as a native? How much crispbread and pickled herring does one need to eat before they open for amnesty? This is important. I need to know!

Welp. You could say I’m a little bit obsessed with Sweden. Not as obsessed as I am with Iceland, but it’s up there. If there was one day above all days when I secretly wish I was Swedish, it would be today, December 13th, Saint Lucia Day.

I found this little video online from the Royal Cathedral in Stockholm, and even though it’s clearly taken from somebody’s phone, it still gives me goosebumps.

Not familiar with this holiday? Here is a three minute Saint Lucia for Dummies. I would walk you through it myself but I’m a bit preoccupied with my current headdress. Does anyone know how to get waxy candle drips off a keyboard?

I jest (not really).

PS: Into Swedish choir music? Here is a whole hour of the stuff.
PPS: Can any Swedes out there explain the little boys in pointy star hats? I’m digging them.

10 Minute Gift Bow Wreath

by PEACHES 8 Comments

Have you ever been to a garage sale and seen someone trying to sell a giant granny bag of rumpled, once-used gift bows?

Probably not. Because I bought them before you got there.

Dude. Don’t hate me because I’m early.

I made this red one last year but never posted it. I liked it so much I made a silver and blue one to match.

The only hard part is collecting the bows. I keep a bow drawer so I’m always stocked, but if you need some cheap, I suggest you check the dollar store. Or just save up bows as you cross them this year and save this project for next year.

These could not be easier to make. When I say ten minutes, that means ten minutes.

All you need is a wreath form, dress pins and bows.

Directions
Use the bow adhesive to stick to the wreath form then reinforce with a dress pin. Boom. That’s it. You could use hot glue too, but don’t expect it to last more than a year or two, especially when exposed to the elements.

Tips

A Straw wreath form will hold pins better. I can usually find one or two for a buck at Goodwill.
Pearl head pins hurt less then no-head pins. You could also use a staple gun or greening pins. Your call.
Not enough gift bows? Fill in with tuffets of curly ribbon.

Chocolate Coin Garland

by PEACHES 15 Comments

I have a weird relationship with chocolate coins.

They are the only kind of chocolate I do not eat. I mean, I’ll eat them if I have to. Don’t get me wrong –I would eat tire tread if it came drizzled in Hersey’s syrup – but chocolate coins, no thank you. Money is not for eating. And not because the chocolate is not good, but because I like the look of them better than I like the taste. I just like to know that I have them. I can run my fingers through them and waller in the knowledge that they are mine.

MINE.

Okay. This probably means I have Scrooge McDuck issues, and maybe I do, but it also means that I always have chocolate on hand at all times, which is more than I can say for most people. Ahem. And then, even on the rare occasions I allow myself to eat some, the coin wrappers must be saved. They must.

That’s not weird at all.

It took me years to figure out what to do with the wrappers, and then it hit me like Hanukkah turkey –garland. Let’s string the coins into garland. Except the garland won’t be very long and will actually just look like big Cher earrings, but whatever. It’s festive!

Three reasons why this craft is rad.

It’s an excuse to eat chocolate. Like you needed one.
It’s cheap-to-free. You are using candy wrappers, staples, and some wire hooks. You may need to buy some chocolate coins (fyi, imo, Trader Joe’s carries better quality at the best price), but the rest is already in your junk drawer.
This works for either Hanukah and Christmas without mixing the two (ie. distasteful blue and silver Santa suits, etc.). Everybody loves chocolate coins. We can all agree on this one. How/where you want to use these puppies is up to you.

Gelt is the Yiddish word for money, and is what most people around here call chocolate coins (read more here). It comes in little baggies next to the cash register at the drug store, and some people keep it for years and years, never eating it, only bringing it out for Hannuah and poker night. Mine stay on the coffee table in a little bowl above the coaster napkins. It looks nice and people think I am being polite and offering them some candy to eat. Little do they know how irrationally angry it makes me when people take my coins. Again, yes, I have issues.

Okay, where were we? Ah yes. How to make these little dangler dos. Let’s get going…

Directions

You are going to need to eat some chocolate. You could sit down to do this in one sitting, but perhaps it would be wiser to collect over the season (save for next year). Or invite a bunch of kids over to play poker. Your call.
Use the side of a pencil to flatten the edges of the wrapper, forming a small lip around the edges.
Lay two coin wrappers across the bed of a stapler and press down. Attched!
Repeat. I like rows of four or five, but you could do one long string, too. Add a wire hook to the end and that’s it.
Repeat as necessary (or as chocolate allows).

Oh, look. They work on Christmas trees. The also look nice hanging plant, not coincidentally called, a Wandering Jew.

Nothing says Happy Hanukkah like a spangled houseplant.

Five New Ways to Use Tinsel Garland

by PEACHES 8 Comments

There are two kinds of people in this world; people who like tinsel garland, and people who need to start liking tinsel. There are also people who claim they can’t keep it in the house because they don’t want to pull it out of a dog butt come New Years (valid concern), so with that in mind, I’m offering up a few alternative ideas, some of which will keep this sparkly wonder out of harm’s way.

I know you want this.
How about a tinsel purse to wear at your next holiday party? This one cost $1 to make and is the surest conversation starter you will ever keep in your closet.

Not so big on purses? What about a lantern? You need one of these too. It’s a little drag queen (and a lot of awesome). This one also turns into Elmo, but you can keep him sans monster if you prefer.

Or, say, here is an easy one…

Here is something you can use to thicken up any Christmas tree, wreath or garland. Just take long strand of the tinsel garland and cut it into 3″ pieces, and BAM, it’s an ornament! Actually, it’s a tuffet that doubles as an ornament (which is even better).

And how about these babies? Just pop a little tuffet inside a clear ball and hang on the inner branches for extra reflective razzle-dazzle. These also feel very retro astro to me, for some reason. If I had one of those trendy mid-century Mad Men style trees I would try doing this with some vintage bronze toned tinsel. Swingin.’ Far out.

And last but not least, good gift wrap. You can snaz up any old gift wrap with a bit of tinsel. Although, this giftwrap features Aunt Myrtle and looks pretty snazzy already.

Do you have a fun new way to use tinsel garland? Tell me about it!

Oh Holiday Card, Oh Holiday Card

by PEACHES 14 Comments

There was a time when I made a hundred+ holiday cards each year. Glittered and glued, lovingly sealed in construction paper envelopes….that’s all a thing of the past. The last two years I have barely sent any, mostly because I push it back and think I’ll do it after the tree is up…after the shopping is done…after the…

No more.

This year, I am setting the bar low. Low, reasonable, and early. No elaborate cards, just something handwritten and on time. Maybe I’ll fancify the envelopes. We’ll see.

If you have kiddos you probably put their photo on the cover or something (here are some great resources on that front, btw), but for me, I’m going to keep it simple. Just a nice card that will stand apart from the typical Santa pack. This is what has caught my eye so far…

1. Color wheel with winter names. 2. Ugly Christmas sweater. 3. Paper-cut on craft paper 4. Hannukah hair 5. Zebra cheer. 6. Santa throw down. 7. Pantone color swatch tree (PS: Someone DIY this as an advent calendar and send me a picture, okay?)

Patriotic Cocktail Wreath

by PEACHES 16 Comments

Two years ago, Camilla made the most amazing wreath featuring a paper cocktail umbrellas. You should see it. It’s awesome.

After seeing her wreath, I made a mental note to pick up umbrellas at the party store so I could make my own, but for whatever reason, paper umbrellas and I never crossed paths. Until this weekend. And they weren’t yellow and pink – they were flag umbrellas. Did you hear that people? Tiny, precious flag umbrellas. To put in your tiny, precious, utterly delicious, mixed rum and patriotism cocktail.

‘MERICA!!!!

I don’t know about you, but I like stuff with flags that are not official flags. Real flags make me nervous.
I grew up in one of that one house in the neighborhood that never flew the flag on holidays. Ever. Not because we were anti-patriots but because my dad thought they were too high maintenance and “Having a flag is like having a dog.” …Bah-yankeedoodle-humbug. He was one of those Boy Scout types who grew up with major flag rules; the flag needed to be taken out in the morning and in at night, taken down in rain or in bad weather, or hung at half-staff out of respect of the fallen….not to mention burning it if it touched the ground or became damaged in any way…not to mention folding it in seven perfect triangles. Drove him up the wall to see neighbors flying it 24/7 year-round. One time, when one of them let their flag get so tattered, we staged a midnight raid, stole it, and burned it in can in the garage with the door shut. The heat above the flame got so hot it melted the plastic casing on the garage door opener thingy and we could never get in to replace the batteries after that. So we parked outside. For years. In the name of patriotism.

I’ll bet all this fuss about flag etiquette must seem weird to people reading this post in other countries. I forget that other countries have other rules until I watch the Olympics….before you know it, some hunky swimmer from Argentina gets up on the podium wearing his flag as a loin cloth…and nobody flinches but us. Way to be uptight, America.

So. Flags or no flags, you should look into this. Be sure to check out Camilla’s original post.

Also, here’s a tip for next time you need a wreath base – check your local thrift store. Thrift stores always have wreaths for a buck or two. So what if you have to yank off some old scragle flowers from 1983? Do it for your country!

PS: I found my umbrella picks at my local Party City store in the Fourth of July section, $1.99 for 24 (they don’t appear to sell it online or I would provide a link here). If you have a hard time finding umbrellas, this wreath made with flag toothpicks is pretty darn awesome too.

Duct Tape Easter Eggs

by PEACHES 51 Comments

I had grand plans to make leopard print Easter eggs this year, all gussied up and handpainted brown and black spots with badass brass studs around the circumference. Yeah! They were going to be sparkly. They were going to be Vegas. They were going to be amazing.

Yes, I had grand plans to do lots of things. Then life happened. Now I find myself waking up short on cat food and clean underwear. Now it’s time to take it down a peg or two.

So I am taking to easy road on this one. I got my leopard eggs, but I’m skipping the fussy stuff and going right for the peanutnutter and jelly of DIY supplies: duct tape.

When I was a tatertot, duct tape came in two colors: silver and fugly.

Nowadays it comes in pink and green and gold and stripes and argyle and even bacon. Yes, there is such a thing as bacon tape. I myself am rather fond of the leopard and the metallic gold. I keep them at an arm’s length at all times. You just never know when you will need a lick of leopard.

Substitute Easter grass for Mardi gras beads. You know, because it’s tasteful.

On the How Easy Is This? Scale, on a 1 through 10, this comes in at a negative 2. If you can mess this project up, there is something wrong with you. It’s not the tape or the eggs, honey, it’s you.

Let’s get started.

I made all of those eggs in under 20 minutes. Not too shabby!

Could you use a box cutter to slice the circumference and keep the egg functional for storing chocolatey goodness, sure. I didn’t in this case because I like to reallocate chocolately goodness directly to its final *destination.

*That’s fancy talk for my mouth.

Patterned duct tape is easy to find in stores, but I realize not everyone will want to run out and buy a bunch of patterns. So why not make due with what you have an paint it? Just stretch the tape out on something you can remove it from later on (In my case, a plastic shoe box), paint on your desired pattern, et voila!

I know what you are thinking? Couldn’t you just paint the egg directly?

Yes, but painting plastic eggs is harder than you might think. For one thing, they are slippery bastards, and for another thing, the drying takes forever, and then, to top it all off, the stuff chips off after a while. With duct tape, that’s not a problem. These will keep for years and years, ready to hand them down to passing generations. Because let’s face it, the one thing posterity needs more than anything is more leopard in their religious holidays.

Happy Easter Y’all!

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