Reindeer and Penguins

Christmas 2007: I was working in a craft store. Constantly being surrounded by crafts was a test of my willpower, but at least I got an employee discount! I had purchased my tree after Christmas 2006, so this would be the first year it was decorated. Naturally, I had to stock up on clear glass bulbs to decorate. I couldn't pass up these adorable reindeer and penguin stickers.

Grandpa's Ornaments

Zack's grandpa is very creative. I thought I'd feature some of the Christmas decorations he has made:

Crab Shell Santa

Mr. and Mrs. Snowman,
made out of light bulbs

Candy Cane Santa

(If Zack received any of these artistic genes, you'd never know it; I can't even get him to draw a stick figure. He did, however, assemble the puzzle ornament my dad sent for Christmas.)

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2009

At first I wasn't sure if this was an ornament or an accessory, but it is an ornament, conceived and constructed by Amanda's husband, Chris. In case you can't read the beads, they say "Rowdy Librarian." Last year I told Amanda that I'd seen a bag that said "Beware: Rowdy Librarian," so she made me a shirt with that phrase and an image of red, rhinestoned glasses on it. It's a tank top, so I don't get to wear in out of the house much with the weather here, but I think I will keep these glasses at work!

Christmas Fabric

For Christmas, my mom sent me the results of her Joann's shopping extravaganza. The Joann's near my parents house clearly has a different selection of fabric, as I've only seen the green leaf print at my Joann's. I also received thread, quilt batting, and machine needles, all of which will come in handy for the quilts I plan to start in 2010. Thanks Mom!

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2009

This is one of the fabulous ornaments I received from Amanda in our exchange this year. The bulb is filled with tiny paper cranes in red and silver. She has been mailing me envelopes of paper cranes all year.

Christmas Card

This is a special edition Christmas card. The box of cards I bought said 20, but I only ended up with 19, so Mom and Dad were the recipients of a home-made card. The tree is from a scrapbook spread I did in 2005, the last time I was home for Christmas, and the "Merry Christmas" sticker is from my 2004 tree cards.

Mini Mailbox Ornament

This is the ornament I made for my pen pal. The mailbox is made out of two soda cans, and the flag actually moves! I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but it has miraculously stayed glued together. Originally it wasn't going to be sparkly, but I had to camouflage my super glue fingerprints in a few spots. I was thrilled with it until I decided to make mail for it, then I was even more pleased! I love the little postcard! I scanned a real postcard, re-sized it, printed it out on sticker paper, and attached it to some poster board. The stamp for the envelope is also printed out on sticker paper, so it is like a real stamp, not just printed directly on the envelope.

Snowflake Ornaments

This blue fabric was originally purchased for Amanda's quilt and I loved it so much, I bought more for myself. I knew I wanted to make snowflake-themed ornaments with it, so I searched and searched until I found this sparkly white fabric that was just perfect. I had already purchased this snowflake brads thinking I might use them for Christmas cards. They worked perfectly since you can poke the prongs easily into the styrofoam. I decided they needed a little glitz so I coated them in glitter paint. There's also a snowflake on the top securing the ribbon.

Try one yourself using this tutorial.

Tree Card

These were my Christmas cards my second year of grad school. I absolutely love the "Merry Christmas" stickers. When I first moved to North Carolina, I was thrilled to discover a little scrapbook store not far from my apartment. It ended up closing, which was tragic because I have yet to find another store that has stickers like this, and I would love to have several other phrases. "Happy Birthday" would be particularly handy.

Angel Card

I made these Christmas cards my first year in grad school as a creative outlet since my sewing machine was broken, which was probably a good thing since paper is cheaper than fabric. All the angel pieces are individually cut out, so I only made about a dozen. I loved them so much though that I had to keep one for myself.

Download the template to make your own.

 

On my card, the head is the size of a nickle and the body is 3" from top to bottom.