holidays Archives - Page 7 of 8

Fall Burlap Banner

October 12, 2012 By Taylor 25 Comments

Happy Fall Y’all, My favorite season. I made this little festive Fall Banner for PSA Essentials. I used the letter stamps on cardstock, fabric, burlap and a ribbon. So easy and cute.

I stamped the letter on white cardstock.

I ripped the fabric so it would look a little more rustic.

I cut out my burlap and layered the fabric strips and cardstock on top. Then I sewed right through the paper.

Then I sandwiched the burlap flags between a ribbon.

Then I hung it up at Ampersand :) You know I love a quick project. For more ideas on how to use these stamps, visit PSA Stamp Camp Blog.

Just four days left until Christmas and I’m sure I’m not the only one crafting into the wee hours to get everything done. Sure, the majority of my gifts are store bought but I always like to have at least one homemade thing for everyone. Homemade gifts are always better! The only bad part- I can’t share them on the blog yet. I literally have a folder full of projects that are blog ready… but they will have to wait. So, I give you a tablecloth that I made a year ago. I was scrambling then too, imagine that! I had great plans for a tutorial but when the night before my dinner party came and I had no tablecloth, I thought… these crafty people can figure it out on their own :) This is what I did:-started with red tulle and trimmed it up-made wide bias tape with green and white polka dot fabric-sewed the bias tape all around the tulle-made “Christmas candies” out of felt-glued (with fabric glue) the candy into the overhanging part of the tablecloth-used a piece of felt cut to the exact size of the table under the tulleFelt “Candy”gumdrops in blue, yellow, green and purple with clear sugar beads

candy canes and peppermints – duh

Christmas Cookies

My favorite/hardest part was the bias tape binding. I love the final product, it’s really cute but it really wasn’t easy. A single layer of tulle is really hard to see haha! It kept slipping and I didn’t even know… clearly I’m still bitter a year later.

I had more candies planned too but due to my time constraints/tulle issues I didn’t get them on. Even still, I love the finished product. What else should I add? It’s a work in progress… maybe it will be done by Christmas 2012?

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A “Make Your Own Ornament” Party

December 5, 2011 By Taylor 23 Comments

Ah sequins, so festive. I have a group of girlfriends who I have remained close with through the years and we all are living back in the same area again. We go by the “coyotes” – don’t judge I think we made up the name when we were 14ish. We grew up together and have been a group since 6th grade, some of us were even in the same kindergarten class! I am lucky to have them because I know its rare. Once a month, we take turns hosting “Coyote Night” and this past month it was my turn… craft hour and wine… yes please.

How to host your own Ornament Party:sequins, sequins, sequins – I got an array of colors and sizes

I also got a variety pack

You need sequin pins, which are not the same as sewing pins and will be located by the sequins at the craft store. I bought gold and silver, and we were picky about which ones we used, then we realized you couldn’t even tell the difference.

Styrofoam Balls, these came in a 6 pack

extras: ribbon for the hanging part, foam glue is optional, extra little dishes for each person

There doesn’t have to be any rhyme or reason to the ornament making and that is why it was fun. It is perfect for a girl get together because it it mindless so you can still talk, eat and drink :)

Some of us had a color scheme, some did a pattern, and some were totally random, I love them all!

Progress… it does take a while, thankfully for us we never run out of things to say.

A little later…

I wanted to keep all of them :)

This is the one I made, happy on my tree.

Has anyone else had a “make your own ornament party” yet? I think you should.

Cranberry Chutney Recipe

November 28, 2011 By Taylor 4 Comments

Hello real world, did everyone have a great Thanksgiving? I felt like it was Saturday for five days, and I love Saturdays :) You might ask, why are you giving us a Cranberry Recipe the week after Thanksgiving? Well, cranberries are good for the whole holiday season. That and I made this for my Mom’s Thanksgiving which was the day after and I took pictures as I went, ha.

A little back story: My aunt made this for Thanksgiving and brought it to my Mom’s house about six years ago. It was a REALLY big hit with us. Now, I wonder why every family doesn’t make it. It it the perfect accompaniment to every holiday feast. The citrus and black pepper cut the sweet and savory perfectly. Actually, just yesterday my Mom said. “I think I just need to have this on hand for life”. It’s that good. So, we emailed my uncle to get the recipe. Then I was curious and I googled it, I found many similar recipes that were named Cranberry Salsa but none exactly like this one. Does anyone make anything like this? If not, do yourself a favor and whip some up for Christmas. I followed my Aunt and Uncle’s recipe exactly. My Uncle called it “Hudson’s on the Bend Cranberry Chutney” which is a restaurant in Austin, TX, where they live. I wonder if this is some coveted secret?? My Uncle said “The trick to this recipe is to trust the ingredients…..don’t add to or subtract from”.

Hudson’s on the Bend Cranberry Chutney12 oz pkg of cranberries½ cup fresh lime juice and ZEST2 shallots½ tsp of salt1 whole bunch of Cilantro2-3 cloves of garlic1-2 seeded jalapenos1 ¼ cup light brown sugar¼ cup coarse ground pepper

Blend together in food processor

My food processor isn’t large enough so I mixed everything together in a bowl then “chopped” in batches

I put mine in mason jars and added a fake fall leaf with twine. But lets be honest, you could serve this out of some old tupperware with a plastic spork and it would be pretty.

So… was this one anyone else’s Thanksgiving plate? All of the recipes I found online called for green onion and white sugar with no black pepper (which I have to say is a definite must). And does anyone have a secret family side that is out of the norm?