It has almost been a year since my last post and while I have completed quite a few projects I ended up having less time. What I have been doing you might ask? Well I was cooking and raising a baby. He is now two and a half months and I am finally starting to have more time for myself. As it is a new year my goals do in fact include losing weight, do not worry this doesn't include any crazy diets. Just getting back into my normal exercise routine and possibly adding some running. Another goal of mine is to dress up every day, there is no reason to sit around in sweats and looking like a mombie.
As for the blog I now need to change the name to something more family oriented. I have to admit I was surprised by just how much space a baby can require. My guest room has transformed into my room/partial storage room. My closet which was a good size has now been cut in half. I am still learning some storage organization techniques and utilizing the space I have in my home.
The Christmas Holidays is always my favorite time of year and while it
is after the Holidays I still wanted to take a look at my decorations
from the past few years. My Christmas decorations have evolved over the last three years. I did not have a tree for the first couple of years that I moved to Seattle. Once I got a job and was unable to visit my mom during my school vacations I decided I needed to get a tree. I got everything including the tree on sale with the exception of the few ornaments that I received as gifts.
My favorite about having stairs in the town home was being able to decorate the railing. I really miss having stairs to decorate and being able to decorate more rooms in the home.
Once I moved it became difficult to decorate more than the tree and mantle above the fireplace. I had always wanted a wreath for the front door but did not want to pay for them!! One of my Christmas present ideas for the entire family was to create scrabble letter ornaments. I have a ridiculous obsession with pinterest and many of my projects are inspired by things I have seen on pinterest.
The scrabble letter ornaments really fit in with any tree not just mine and are very easy to make. It only took me a few hours and probably cost me around $10 to make 15 ornaments. I not only used names but also words such as family, love, and peace.
Scrabble Letter Ornaments Items List:
Scrabble Letters: Look for old scrabble games at a goodwill or value village. It is easier to keep an eye out for them since they aren't always easy to find. I ended up buying scrabble on sale for $7.
Hot Glue gun: I am a crafter so I have always had this on hand but you can find them at craft stores for about $3.
Cardstock and ribbon.
I spelled out the names I wanted to use and lined them up on the cardstock. Using a pencil I drew lines where I needed to cut the cardstock. After cutting out the cardstock I began with the final letter and worked my way up. One thing I found was when gluing each letter onto the cardstock it is also important to place glue in between the letters to create a cohesive ornament. Everyone loved them and since I have had requests for more.
My 2012 Christmas Tree has changed a lot since 2010. I picked up ribbon at the 2011 day after Christmas sale so that I could add it to the tree. I wanted the tree to look fuller and picked up a couple tips from mi madre.
Doty Dynasty Christmas Tree Tips
* Instead of placing the ribbon around the tree place it length wise. This way you use less ribbon and it
makes the tree look like a present.
* Place ornaments toward the trunk. I chose to put the colored balls toward the tree trunk. This creates more depth.
* Heavy Ornaments toward the bottom! This helps keep the tree's overall look balanced.
-side note: I look forward to figuring out how to decorate next Christmas with a one year old little boy.
* Add new ornaments every year. I have a small collection of Christmas ornaments that my mom started for my first Christmas. I am going to continue this with my little one but they may not always be store bought. This gives your tree a family look.
* More than one tree is allowed! If you have a specific theme you wish to use but also want a family tree pick up another tree for another room in the house if you have space. If you don't have as much space look into some smaller trees. I plan on having a small shoe tree next year hopefully with purple lights.
-Side Note: A family friends home is Christmas Wonderland. They have a tree or two in every room and each tree has a theme. They even do an ornament exchange. They hand make ornaments and trade them with a large group. The creativity involved is just amazing and inspirational. They even have a UW tree, which my husband decided that he wanted. We will probably have a UW/WSU tree. Half purple lights and half red lights, since we are a divided household when it comes to the Huskies and the Cougs.
* Use white lights, unless you have a color theme for your tree. Lights are often a preference but I have found that colored lights tend to compete with the ornaments that are on the tree.
* Mix and Match high end ornaments and inexpensive/hand made ones. A rule to always follow in any situation. I use this with fashion and home decor constantly, and it helps keep costs down but still gives you the desired look.
* Find some ornaments that represent family vacations. Whether you go to NYC or just the beach it is usually easy to find an ornament that reminds you of your vacation. You don't have to find one while on vacation, but make sure to get one the same year. My mom picked me up the empire state building the year I went to NYC.
* You don't have to spend a fortune. We all know how expensive ornaments can be, but the reality is you can have nice homemade ornaments and find inexpensive ornaments at places like Target.
Speaking of homemade ornaments I decided to make poinsettia ornaments out of leftovers from my wreath.
I cut out and painted too many toilet paper rolls and so I created this lovely ornament for a few family and friends, and of course for myself. I had saved up toilet paper rolls for any upcoming art and came across the wreath. It is an inexpensive project I just had to spend $1.20 on the red paint. I had the yarn, cardstock and glue. I made six of these ornaments and a wreath for $1.20 which even I have to admit is pretty good.
Tips
* Make sure you paint the toilet paper roll before you cut 1/2" strips because cutting first takes a ton more time.
* Cut the leaves out of green cardstock. This is where you can get creative. You can use any kind of green even if it has designs on the paper.
* I used rubber cement to glue them together, but tacky glue or hot glue works just as well. A normal craft glue stick on the other hand does not work.
I originally planned on making snowflake ornaments. I even bought two different kinds of white paint for them. Unfortunately being a new mom doesn't always leave you enough time to finish all of the projects you have planned. You never know I may end up doing the snowflakes anyway. Hopefully I will catch up on some of the projects I have completed over the past year within the next few weeks. Keep checking back for more projects!
~J
