Yarn wrapped Christmas trees

Every year, the moms board of which I'm a part does a holiday gift exchange. It has to be something handmade and cost under $20. 

I remember the first year I participated and shook in my shoes thinking that I had to make something for someone else. Something that didn't suck.

I've survived without hitting up Etsy so far, but this year, I drew Gail's name. 

Now, Gail is the queen of craft and beauty. Her photography is art. She can sew anything without a pattern. She makes amazing things from paper.

If you can dream it, Gail can make it.

I was nervous.

I commiserated with our mutual friend, Constance, who gave me some wonderful ideas, but best of all, reminded me that Gail would love whatever it was because it was made by a friend.

With that reminder, I settled on something that I thought at first was too modest and easy.

Yarn wrapped Christmas trees. 

I found the tutorial on Pretty Ditty awhile back and have been dying to make these ever since.

They are so simplistically beautiful. The texture, the muted colors, the bright pop of the berries. I just love them.

But they are SO EASY to make. I wasn't sure it was the right gift for the woman who can do anything.

I think though, that she likes them. She took this picture of them, and makes them even more beautiful than they really are.

Then again, that's what her gift is. She brings beauty to the ordinary. Every day.

Merry Christmas, my friend.

Pants, pants, and more pants

Holy cow. I cannot take pictures. Seriously.

But, here are some pants. And a hat. 

I'm an awesome craft blogger.

Long version: I always make Christmas pj's for the family. Little tradition that started the year I got my sewing machine. 

They have gotten progressively better over the years - of course, that isn't saying much. The first pairs were hysterical. Huge - as in, Kevin and I could both fit in one pair.

Not that we tried.

Nope.

Not us.

Anyhoo, this year, my pal Nita requested some matching jammie pants for her crew. I made her a pair last year for a Secret Santa swap. It was the first time I had sewn something for someone to wear when I couldn't have them try it on. Made me really nervous.

This made me even more nervous. Especially after she bought the fabric and realized that it can be pricey to make your own stuff. Eek. Don't waste your friend's money! 

I got some measurements and went to work. We'll see. I'm hoping the Christmas photo turns out like she wanted it to.

The picture is of her son's pants and the little hat I threw in because there were some odd pieces of extra fabric left over.

Oh, and someone remind me next year that fleece isn't as wide as flannel. Because if Nita hadn't ordered extra material? I totally wouldn't have had enough.

Next up? MORE PANTS.

In which I go on about Shutterfly's awesome photo cards

I'm no liar. This post will result in Shutterfly giving me 50 free cards. Which is awesome.

In exchange for their generosity, I'm writing at least 150 words on how awesome they are. Which doesn't mean that I don't believe it. Because I don't jump through hoops for hardly anything - you know I really like Shutterfly. And free Shutterfly is even better.

For the past two years, I've used Shutterfly to create our family's Christmas cards. I've made books and calendars too. Their Christmas party invitations have inspired me to check into invitations for the boys' birthday parties in January. It's quick and easy, and my favorite part is that all of your work is saved and your photos stored. 

That means that when you are in the middle of your project and the kids start swatting the ornaments off the tree, you don't have to worry about leaving what you are doing and coming back to it later. I need that flexibility.

This year, I'm looking at a bright, bold design, or if I can get just one perfect picture, I'm leaning towards a lovely gift wrapped look. Of course, if you get one of these fabulous cards from me, act surprised please.

This post was totally sponsored by Shutterfly's Christmas Promotion. Yay for cute cards!

Felt Tree Garland

This adorable garland has been tempting me for a couple of years in the Land of Nod catalog. However, being the cheap cheapo that I am, I refused to drop $30 on some felt tree garland.

Thus began a valuable lesson in crafting. Sometimes, it's worth the money to just buy the darn thing.

I had a ton of felt left over from my Christmas stocking project last year. I'm not so good on the estimating, and since I was making them from my own imagination, I bought "a little extra" just to be sure. I could now wallpaper our family room with felt, but that's beside the point.

I figured the felt wasn't really a cost, because if I didn't use it for this, I was just wasting it anyway. However, I probably spent $15 on sequins and other decorating doodles for the trees. Then there was the expense of the ribbon and glue.

Not to mention, the expense of the time involved. It was time consuming. Just ask Lovely, my stepdaughter. She spent about an hour gluing the trees onto the sequin strands.

So, meh. Felt tree garland. It's cute, but I would just buy it from Land of Nod.