Top 15 of 2015- Year in Review

I can't believe 2015 is over, in some ways it feels like it has gone so fast. I feel like I have learned so much this year and I'm really excited for what this next year will bring. I feel like my blog has really evolved over the past year, at least for me. I feel like I have figured out more of a direction of where I want it to go and what I want it to be. At the end of last year I was just starting and really had no clue what I was doing or even what I was wanting to do. Now I feel like I have a lot more direction and focus and I am really excited for that.

Easy Ornament or Gift Tag

If you a looking for a last minute Christmas project these ornaments made with new Metallic Oly-Fun are really quick and easy. There are 4 colors of Metallic Oly-fun to choose from, gold, silver, rose gold, and red. When I got some samples in the mail to try out I thought the shiny colors  would be perfect for Christmas, especially the red. I wanted to do something really quick and easy since Christmas is only a week away, which seems totally crazy, December always seems to fly by so fast. You can also write on the Oly-Fun with a permanent marker so these little ornaments could be used as gift tags or you could just write a little reminder on the back of who it is for and what year it was given. You can find the pattern for the Metallic Oly-Fun ornaments on the Fairfield World site.

Crocheted Jute Christmas Ornaments on Craftaholics Anonymous

Today I am over on Craftaholics Anonymous sharing some crocheted Christmas Ornaments. There are 2 patterns, a heart and a star. They are both really simple so they can be made really fast if you are still looking for some last minute projects. Instead of using yarn to make the ornaments I made them with jute. This gave them kind of a rustic look but if that isn't your style they could easily be made with yarn instead. Head over to Craftaholics Anonymous to get the patterns.

Christmas Star Table Runner

As part of working with Fairfield World as one of their Master Makers I was recently sent a variety of fat quarters from the Urban Scandinavian line from P&B Textiles. There are a ton of fabrics in the line, lots of different prints in 6 different colors. I was sent a sample of the fabrics, 3 of each of the 6 colors. I went back and forth on what I wanted to do with them because part of me wanted to use the whole stack, all of the colors together, to make a quilt or something. But, on the other hand with Christmas coming up I was really tempted to pull the reds, greens, and grays from the stack and make a Christmas project. I kind of liked the idea of making something with Christmas colors but not really Christmas fabrics so it wasn't quite so Christmasy, a little bit more subtle I guess. I figured out how many squares of different sizes I could get from those 9 fat quarters and drew up a quilt design that used some solid white to take up some of the space so I could get a slightly bigger quilt. I really liked the design that I came up with but even with the white I felt like it was going to be too small and I was worried that in the end I wouldn't love it. Plus, I stared at that stack of fat quarters for so long trying to decide which way to go that it was getting too close to Christmas and I wasn't sure I would have time to get a whole Christmas quilt made.

Toy Soldier Christmas Ornament

 Last week I posted another ornament pattern on Fairfield World's site. I am finally getting around to sharing the link here on my blog. I wanted to make a set of matching ornaments that would all be similar in size and shape but at the same time be all different. I used the same basic body shape for all 4 of these ornaments, using different colors, sometimes changing colors, to make the bodies. Then I added different hats, scarves, belts and other accessories to make the different characters. The newest ornament that I just added to the collection is a little toy soldier.

Cookie Box Snowmen

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Today I am going to share a Christmas gift idea that is cute and really easy to make. It is perfect for stocking stuffers or neighbor gifts or any other time you need a small gift. I will probably be saving the ones that I made for my husband's family Christmas party where every year we put together Christmas bags for the kids. We have pillowcase type bags for each of the kids and we bring a bunch of small little gifts and treats, dollar store type stuff, and I thought these would be great for that. I made them using small boxes of Nabisco cookies, there are a few different types to choose from, I got OREO, Double Stuf OREO, and Nutter Butter cookies. They also have Chips Ahoy! cookies and RITZ Crackers in the same small boxes. I got them at Walmart, they were right by the checkout so they were really easy to find. I think the store I went to was out of Chips Ahoy!, at least I didn't see any, and I wanted cookies instead of crackers so I didn't get the RITZ but any of the boxes should work. There are some variation in the sizes of the boxes but not a lot and it is easy to work around. 

Christmas Treats and Crocheted Trees

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareTheHoliday#CollectiveBias

It is the time of year when we want to give little gifts to all of the people who touch our lives, friends, neighbors, teachers, etc. I always like to try to make something, sometimes a little homemade Christmas treat, sometimes a small handmade gift. One of my favorite treats to make is a candy that my family often makes at Christmas time called Almond Bark Candy, and if I am going the non edible route Christmas ornaments are some of my favorite gifts to give because they are small and usually pretty easy to make multiples of.