Countdown Day

We had dinner out with friends last night - the final steak of 2016! 
Having a safe & quiet New Year's Eve at home with Mr. Cut Off (aka Mr. Wonderful)!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Make-Ahead Projects 4

Today's post is the 4th of 5 posts giving you project ideas you can do now to avoid the Christmas rush in 2017. All of these projects have my typical project characteristics: fast & simple! 

I guess it's no secret that I'm obsessed with cone trees this year. I like the simple lines and the fact that they can be decorated in so many ways and used in so many ways - alone or in groups, in vignettes or in tablescapes. I made today's project with the same yarn I used for my Votive Candle Ring. You can see that project by clicking here. I'm calling this project my Holographic Yarn Tree.

The yarn was purchased at Hobby Lobby. It's a Yarn Bee Gilt Eyelash Holographics yarn - color is Diamonds. The photos do not do it justice. It reads silver and the iridescent quality really makes it sparkle. The look is very similar to tinsel, but it's softer.

I simply did the usual - wrapped the yarn around & around a cone until it was completely covered.

I topped it off with a red snowflake ornament. Too precious! My mom loves silver, so I made another one for her.

Wouldn't this one be lovely on top of a crystal or silver candlestick?

Project #5 is up next. It's another tree, but it turned out to be my favorite of 2016. If I don't find the time to post it tomorrow, come back for a look on Monday.

Snowfall update: We're above 100" now!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Make-Ahead Projects 3

Imagine opening up your Christmas storage boxes next year to find new decor and/or gifts that were already completed. Wouldn't it feel great to know you had fewer things to do in that last rush-rush time between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Here's another project you could do now or in the slower month of January to help make that possible.

I used the same yarn I purchased for Candy Cane Makeover 1. You can see that project by clicking here. This is Isaac Mizrahi Craft yarn - color is Rockefeller.

The yarn is creamy white - wrapped with a variegated iridescent thread - very pretty!

I wrapped the yarn around foam cones for these trees - no glue - tucked the ends under. You could use a dab of glue or a straight pin to secure the ends. For the first tree, I didn't stray from a horizontal pattern and just kept wrapping until the cone was covered - going up and down again a few times. For the second one, I wrapped horizontally - but a little more haphazardly - so it didn't look quite so neat - again going up and down again a few times - until the foam was covered. Then, I wrapped some vertical pieces for added interest.

To finish them off, I glued a button to the top of each one. . .

and glued a metal canning lid to the bottom of one for a simulated trunk.

I displayed these both with and without the candlesticks during the Christmas season, as they aren't glued to the candlesticks.

I seem to be amassing quite a cone tree collection!

Up next: A project using the same yarn I used for my Votive Candle Ring.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

P.S. If you haven't checked the Snowfall Chart page for a while, we're now over 8 feet - and the snow is still falling!

Make-Ahead Projects 2

January could be the best time to begin working on projects for next Christmas, so here's another simple project that you could use for your 2017 Christmas decor or for an inexpensive gift. All you need is 2 pillar candle holders and sequin ribbon from Dollar Tree.

I actually like these candle holders the way they were originally, but I wanted to bling them up a little for Christmas. I just used my glue gun to attach the ribbon to the pillar candle holder.

I'll only use battery-operated candles in these.

Since the sequin ribbon is red, I can also use the candle holders for Valentine's Day and July 4th. Not sure if I will, but it's an option!

Next up:  Small Christmas trees with yarn and buttons.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Make-Ahead Projects 1

Christmas 2016 is over, but you're probably not thinking about Christmas 2017 yet. However, these winter days and evenings could be the perfect time to start working on items for next Christmas. To end the month of December, I have a series of posts with simple projects that can be used as Christmas gifts, decor or as embellishments on your Christmas packaging next year.

We'll start with some easy and inexpensive ornaments you could do with your kids or grandkids. I picked up a bag of cookie cutters at Dollar Tree.

The only other item needed for this project was yarn. I found a skein at Walmart that would coordinate with our tree and decor in our great room. I wrapped the yarn around and around the cookie cutter until it was completely covered.

Then, I tied the 2 loose ends together to form a loop for hanging.

Super simple - and all 6 were finished very quickly.

Next up: An easy way to make a pillar candle holder look a little more like Christmas.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Merry Christmas!

~ From Our Home to Your Home ~

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Christmas Eve

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Votive Candle Ring

Are you in need of a last-minute gift for someone? Maybe you find yourself short on time this year, but you want to make some small gifts ahead of time to be better prepared for next year. If so, this project may fill the bill.

This craft was inspired by my Furry Wreath Ornaments made with yarn and a Mason jar lid. You can see the full tutorial on those by clicking here.

I was gazing at our tree in the great room one evening when the thought occurred to me that these furry wreaths would also make great votive candle rings. Since I had an even dozen and didn't want to break up the set (Ha!), I wondered what else I could use for a similar look. That's when I remembered I had picked up a skein of this Yarn Bee Gilt Eyelash Holographics yarn (color = Diamonds) at Hobby Lobby. I didn't know what I would do with it at the time, but it was too pretty to pass up. It reads silver with an iridescent quality that makes it especially great for Christmas projects.

I repeated the process I used for the Furry Wreath Ornaments - wrapped the yarn around and around a canning jar lid/ring & tied it off at the end. You can't see the knot.

It really shimmers and is the perfect size to use for a votive candle ring.

So easy! So pretty!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Candy Cane Makeover 2

Mr. Cut Off recently spent some time organizing boxes in the basement. When it was time to bring the Christmas boxes upstairs, guess what happened? I had one more box than last year - a box that must have been stashed in another area. This is a box I haven't seen since our last Christmas in Saginaw in 2010, so it really was like Christmas when I unpacked it. I was delighted to find a few precious items I had forgotten about, but I also found some items I will put in a donation box after Christmas. There was a bag with 10 old plastic candy canes, and I wondered why on earth I had saved them. I snatched them up and headed for the waste basket. I was halfway through the kitchen when I suddenly realized they were perfect candidates for a makeover. 

The candy canes could be used this year if I covered them with some tinsel wire garland I already had on hand (purchased on clearance last year).

Since I used a wire garland, it was simple to wind and secure it around the candy canes.

10 candy canes were finished in no time at all.

They were the perfect addition to a small tree on the stair landing.

They look really cute. I'm so glad I didn't throw those old plastic candy canes in the trash.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Candy Cane Makeover 1

I wanted some candy canes for the Christmas tree in the great room, but I didn't want them to be red, so I gave some Dollar Tree candy canes a makeover. This project started with 2 packages of these plastic candy canes.

I found this Isaac Mizrahi Craft yarn at Michael's.

The color is Rockefeller.

Here's a detail shot of the yarn. It's creamy white wrapped with an interesting variegated shiny thread.

I started at the bottom and continued wrapping tightly all the way around the top.

To finish it off, I used a bit of hot glue to secure the end of the thread.

Super simple & super quick.

The knots in the thread really shine when we turn on the Christmas tree lights.

I have another candy cane makeover (using some old plastic candy canes that almost ended up in the trash) coming up next on the blog.

Oh, and we're now officially up to 82" of snow! Are we in for a record-breaking year? Time will tell!

All is well in the Keweenaw.