Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

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Christmas, Christmas cheer, Christmas decor, Christmas Ornament, Christmas party, Christmas tradition, classic Christmas, craft, happy holidays, holiday craft, holiday ornament, holiday tradition, mistletoe, Ornament, Xmas craft, Xmas ornaments, XMas party

Mistletoe Craft or Ornament
I love to hang mistletoe in my home… any excuse to kiss Hubster is good. 😉 Okay, so I don’t need an excuse, but I think it’s a cute festive decoration.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

 

I started with three fuzzy green pipe cleaners and bent them in half to create the “stems”. Then, tied a long piece of burgundy ribbon around the middle of the pipe cleaners to create the hanging piece. I took a smaller piece of burgundy ribbon and tied it lower of the stems, to create a “bunch”. I cut heart-shaped leaves out of green fleece, cutting down the middle of the heart, but not through the base of the heart. Next, I staggered and glued two hearts upside-down on each pipe cleaner. Then I glued 5 white pearls at the bottoms of each stem to create “berries”. I carefully arranged each stem into place, spreading out each branch.

Mistletoe Bunch

 

Then it was time to hang it over my head and see it Hubster got the hint… which was a pretty big deal since it was during yesterday’s football game. Then I hung it in the doorway leading into the living room.

What classic Christmas tradition do you love?

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Twelfth Day of Christmas – Espresso Jar Candle

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12 Days of Christmas, 12th day of Christmas, beverage, candle, candle making, Christmas cheer, Christmas decor, Christmas gift, Christmas party, Christmas present, Christmas tradition, coffee, door prizes, espresso, gift, gift giving, gift in a jar, handmade, holiday craft, holiday party, home decor, homemade, hostess gift, hot beverages, house warming, house warming gift, jar candle, jar craft, party favors, present, scented candle, twelfth day of Christmas, twelve days of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Espresso Jar Candle, Gingerbread Man Ornaments, Fleece Blankets, Bottle Cap Magnets, Fleece Sphere Ornament, Button Wreath Ornament, Christmas Mouse Cat Toy, Melted Frosty Ornament, Crocheted Fan Bookmarks, Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

Today’s post is very late, due to an earlier science experiment that went wrong and resulted in a few small burns on my hand… Ouch!.. The first brand of wax dye I tried was not very good and caused the wax to bubble and splatter out of the pot, which caused me to spill the candle fragrance on the counter. I’ve made dozens of candles before and I felt like a clueless newbie. I’ll be contacting the wax dye company tomorrow.

It took a while for me to start the second batch, this time I only added fragrance. I also had gloves on this time. Also, I didn’t wait for the wax to set before photographing… once the jar cools, I’ll clean up the outside where I spilled some wax. I’ll update with a better photo once the candle is cleaned up and I have some natural light to photograph.

Espresso Jar Candle

 

These Espresso Jar Candles are so cute and easy to make. These candles make a great Christmas present, housewarming present, hostess gift, party favors of door prizes! Coffee lovers beware! Do not attempt to drink this!

How To:
Use clear drying craft glue to attach coffee beans to the inside of the jar, in a pattern you like. I covered the bottom of the sides with coffee beans and glued a few randomly up the sides. Center candle wick in middle of jar, and glue base down. Allow all glue to dry completely (it took three hours for all traces of my glue to disappear). Cut wax into small pieces and heat over medium heat until all melted. Keep still until candle is set. Tie a piece of holiday ribbon around the neck of the jar and attach a gift tag.

Approx. Cost
Airtight glass jar = $1, large block of wax = $7.50, small bag of whole coffee beans = $1, package of candle wicks = $1, craft glue = $1 a bottle, bottle of candle fragrance = $1, bottle of wax dye = $1    Such a cute gift for about $3.25 a candle

This post wraps up 2010’s 12 Days of Christmas countdown, I hope you saw a few ideas that you can use, or inspired you to create something else! Happy Holiday season everyone!!!

2009′s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudge, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…

Fifth Day of Christmas – Melted Frosty Ornament

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12 Days of Christmas, 5th day of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas cheer, Christmas decor, Christmas gift, Christmas Ornament, Christmas party, Christmas snow, Christmas tree, craft, custom ornament, easy craft, fifth day of Christmas, funny ornament, gift giving, gift ideas, handmade ornament, Holiday, holiday spirit, homemade ornament, kid craft, melted frosty, melted snowman, Ornament, party favor, personalized gifts, quick craft, snowman, snowman ornament, twelve days of Christmas, whimsical ornament, winter, winter craft, XMas, XMas ornament, XMas party

On the fifth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Melted Frosty Ornament, Crocheted Fan Bookmarks, Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

Today’s gift idea is a whimsical ornament surely to delight children and adults the same. This Melted Frosty Ornament is quick and simple to make. This is a great craft for older kids, supervised with the glue gun of course.

Melted Frosty Ornament

How to:
Heat up glue gun and set aside. Using black fleece or felt, cut small top hat. Cut small piece of ribbon and glue across hat. Cut a 6″ piece of silver yarn and knot ends together, trim excess. Cut a small triangle from the orange felt and set aside. Place foil or wax paper on cutting board, baking tray or rotary mat. Place silver loop on the foil, knot face down. Take glue gun and drizzle glue on top of the knot and downward to create a dripping face. Quickly press felt hat into place, add carrot nose, place two bead for the eyes and begin to arrange the remaining beads for the mouth. Try to keep the number of bead for the mouth odd, 5 or 7 looks better than 6. Allow glue to cool completely. Tear Frosty off of foil and make sure edges that are stuck to the ornament are smoothed out.

Customize your Frosty :
Make your Frosty smile or make your Frosty frown. Use small foil holly leaves and three red beads for holly berries added on top of the satin ribbon. For a shimmery Frosty, sprinkle a bit of glitter dust over the wet glue. Cut out a small pipe and glue to the mouth.  Have fun with it!

Approx. Cost:
1 square of black fleece = 50¢, 1 square of orange fleece = 50¢, hot glue sticks $2 a bag, small beads = $2 a tube, 1 sheet of tin foil 25¢, small skein of silver yarn = $2  Melted Frosty Ornament = under 30¢ each

Once again this ornament makes a great party favor for any holiday party, attach the to gifts in place of a box or give them out to students before break.

2009′s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudge, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…

Third Day of Christmas – Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments

Tags

Christmas, Christmas decor, Christmas Ornament, Christmas snow, Christmas wreath, classic Christmas, classic decor, Crochet, crochet snowflake, crocheted, decor, gift, gift giving, gift tag, handmade, handmade ornament, holiday decor, homemade, homemade ornament, hooking, ornaments, simple snowflake, XMas, XMas ornament

On the third day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

Crocheted snowflake ornaments are a staple for classic Christmas decor. They look great many different sizes and patterns. For a white Christmas, string them on the tree. Add them to a wreath for a whimsical touch. Hang then from the windows at varying heights, keep them up all winter for a snowscape.

I reminded of crocheted snowflake ornaments while browsing the internet. I can’t remember who exactly, but I remember seeing them on someone’s tree when I was younger. I tried to follow a few different patterns (I found online), without success. British crochet patterns have different terminology than U.S. crochet patterns and even knowing the conversions (if you will), I still seem to slip up every so often… I changed my yarn, thread and hook, still no success. Just like I can’t seem to follow recipes, I can’t seem to follow patterns. Sometimes creative genius feels more like undiagnosed ADHD. I tore apart each attempt and just made what my heart desired…

Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments

I used a 4 ply worsted white cotton yarn with my US G6 Hook. Then I used size 5 thread  in white/pearl (it has glitter flecks all through the thread) with a 1.65MM hook.

How To:
To Start: chain 6, sl st to join
Row 1: 1 sc, chain 5, repeat 5 more times, sl st to join
Row 2: 1 sc in first chain, chain 5, skip 1, 1 sc, chain 5, 1 sc in same stitch, chain 5, skip 1 stitch, 1 sc, skip 1 stitch and repeat 5 times, sl st to close
Block snowflakes and spray with fabric starch. Once dry to can attach a thin satin ribbon to a corner of the snowflake)

Approx. Cost:
1 skein of yard of thread = less than $4, 1 spool of ribbon = $1, for about than 5-at under 10¢ each this is an ornament you can’t pass up!

2009’s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudgerecipe, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles,gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudgerecipe…