Handmade Christmas

I've always enjoyed making Christmas gifts. It's just something that I do - and have done for years. I do it mostly because I enjoy it. I get a true pleasure out of creating something for another person. I go back and forth as to whether or not the people who receive the gifts really like them or not. I realize that it would be so much easier to just go to the store and buy something. I think it depends upon who you give the gift to. Some people really don't "get" homemade gifts while others do appreciate them and think they are special. Either way - I still went ahead and made some gifts. This year I decided to make fudge. I'm not an expert fudge maker by any means. I found an easy recipe on-line and gave it a try. Here is a picture of the fudge before cutting- in some Pyrex (of course). It looks so pretty!

I decided that it would be nice to package the homemade fudge in vintage containers to give away. The container would be part of the gift. I've collected so many vintage items over the years that I have plenty to spare. Here is a gift that I gave to one of my daughter's teachers packaged in Pyrex. I know I would love to receive something like this. I think it looks so much prettier this way than in a disposable container - plus it saves me the expense of buying something new by using what I already had. I didn't have a lid for this one so I slipped the entire piece inside a cellophane bag and tied it with ribbon.

Another thing I make every year at Christmas for gifting is bread - in these vintage star tins. They always turn out so cute. This year I made banana bread. I just used a recipe that I always do but something about making them in a shaped mold makes them so much more festive. Two of these stars and a little bag of coffee make a great present for some one. (I don't give these with the mold. Instead I pop them out and wrap with plastic wrap.)

I also made some crafty things other than food. This year I became obsessed with making Pom Poms. I've seen so many cute things on Pinterest that are made with homemade Pom Poms. I tried making a few using an old Susan Bates Pom Pom maker that my grandmother had in the 1970's. They took forever to make - which is not fun at all. Luckily I discovered THIS pom pom maker by Clover. I bought mine at Michaels. I was able to whip out several pom poms over a few evenings in front of the television. I made this wreath for a co-worker who likes the colors pink and purple. Not sure how she felt about it when she opened it. {like I said above - it does depend upon who you give the gift to if they will "get" the whole homemade thing} Oh well, at least she will be the only person around with a wreath like this. You certainly can't buy something like that at Walmart!

 

Hope you are enjoying the season and finding time to do something that you love.
KayteeJane

Christmas Decorating

This past weekend I was able to get some of my Christmas decorating done. I still don't have a tree yet - that has to wait until payday :) - in any case, it still looks pretty merry around here with all of the rest of my decorations. This is a corner cupboard that sits in my dining room. It is made of knotty pine. I often look at it and think that I should paint it. Maybe I will someday. I packed up all of the things that sit on here throughout the year and filled the shelves with lots of trees and vintage linens.I guess you could say that my decorations are a combo of vintage, handmade and country. 

I love white trees - especially bottle brush in white. This wreath is not vintage but sure looks like it could be. The ceramic tree on the top is one of my favorite decorations. I bought it over 20+ years ago at a rummage sale from an older lady who had made this and then didn't want it anymore. I fell in love with the white tree with the candy-colored lights. It looks especially pretty at night. I guess I was ahead of my time because I recently saw one sell on eBay for over $100 - which amazes me. I am still keeping this one.

The red bottle brush trees are ones that I did myself. They started out green and then I bleached them and used RIT dye to color them red.

These are vintage ornament hanger boxes.

Burlap trees that I made last year that I decorated with vintage buttons. I decided to put them on top of spools of Christmas ribbon for the height. I found a bag of vintage ribbon this past summer at Goodwill.

Miniature mercury-glass ball ornaments look pretty in this little cup.

Vintage Christmas table cloths

A stocking made by my talented friend Cindy - who also creates things using vintage materials.

More to come..
KayteeJane

Cyber Monday

Since it is "Cyber Monday" I wanted to share some snaps of some of the vintage Christmas things that I've collected and am now selling on eBay. Yesterday all I did was take pictures for some 40+ items and then begin to list them for sale. Fellow collectors will understand - sometimes you just need to lighten the load. I love all of this stuff, but none of it has sentimental attachment so I've decided to send it on to the next collector. Everything shown here was found at either a yard sale, estate sale or thrift shop. If you are interested, I sell under the name kayteejane on ebay. Or, just enjoy the vintage eye candy!

Happy Monday!
KayteeJane

Advent Ornaments

In all the busy fun of the Christmas season each year I purposefully try to set aside a little time each day to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. I especially want my children to know that Christmas means more than stuff and Santa. Last year I saw THIS idea on Pinterest. I cannot take credit for the idea itself, but I adjusted it to reflect my style by using vintage ornaments instead of new. I like this idea because it is simple and can be whipped up last minute - which is how I roll much of the time. This idea is so simple that even though today marks the first day of Advent, you could still make these ornies in a jiffy and get started. {It won't matter if you do it a day late either - the point is you are doing it}.

To get started all you will need are:
~25 solid colored ornaments {I just dug into my stash of vintage ball ornaments since I already had a ton and didn't mind using some for this - but you could just as easily buy a box of plain or clear glass or plastic ornaments at Target}
~A white or black Sharpie or paint pen.

This advent calendar will celebrate 25 different names for Jesus used in the bible. Each name will have a scripture reference to go with it. We'll hang one on our tree each day of December as a way to learn more about Jesus and celebrate His birth.

To begin choose 25 names for Jesus that you would like to use. Go HERE for an online reference of names and coordinating scripture reference. When I chose 25 I wrote them down on a piece of cardstock in my own handwriting. I keep this with the ornaments. When I pack up my decorations after the holiday I put this list along with the ornaments in the box to be used each year.

Next get out your ornaments and your pens. Begin writing one name from your list on each ornament. If you have kids, get them into the act too. If they want to decorate the ornaments in addition to the words, great! For me I just went simple and only put on the names.

I place all of my finished ornaments in a bowl by the Christmas tree. Each day I allow one of my kids to choose an ornament and then hang it on the tree. They must also look up the scripture in the Bible and read it. It doesn't take much time out of each day, it is simple, and if you miss a day because you were really busy, that is ok because you just do two ornaments the next day or one in the morning, one in the evening - whatever suits your schedule.

Variation - If you didn't want to do this every day you could adjust it so that you only hang the ornaments on Sunday - instead of doing one ornament at a time allow each member of your family to choose an ornament. Or, wait until Christmas Eve and do them all. If you are having guests over to celebrate this could become an activity with each guest choosing an ornament to put on the tree or a family tradition to be done before bed.

 This would also make a fabulous gift for a newly married couple or new parents. Make up a box of ornaments for them and include the list of names/scripture references. The gift that becomes a keepsake year after year.

I hope you will try this idea. It is super easy. It will work for all ages also - not just for kids, not just for adults. I like it because there is very little pressure involved and it gets me into the Word. I have tried other advent calendars and daily scripture readings and truthfully I usually don't do them after a few days or the kids lose interest. This idea did work for us.

Happy Advent!
KayteeJane

Thanksgiving Recap

One last post before the Christmas posts begin....Here is my Thanksgiving table. I cooked this year for my family. I tried to use as much of my Pyrex and vintage glassware as possible. This year I went with white milk glass, clear glass and some Pyrex - mostly Snowflake, Butterprint and blue tones to match my dishes.

I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving this year.

Please stop back tomorrow - Dec. 1st - for an Advent craft project to kick off the Christmas season.

KayteeJane

Pyrex Loaf Pan

As I mentioned in my last post, I was lucky enough to find a few pieces of Pyrex at the thrift recently - after what has seemed like a very long dry spell. This was one of two pieces that I bought from the same store. I don't usually buy Butterfly Gold because it isn't a favorite pattern, but I made an exception because i didn't own a Pyrex loaf pan. {This is the first one that I have found since starting to collect.}  Here it is in use. I made Banana Bread. 

I love it! I think it was only $1.99 too - which is awesome. I love it when I get lucky that way. 

KayteeJane

What I've Been Up To

Hello Friends,

I've been taking a bit of a bloggy break.

I need that from time to time.

Life is just so very busy right now- between working and being a mom. By the end of the day I just want to crash.

I know you all understand that. :)

Here are some of the things I've been up to.

Crafting - I love to craft. It is nourishment for my soul really. I haven't had much time to devote to it as of late. I did make some time this past weekend and came up with these signs. They are made from the cover of a Reader's Digest book and vintage game pieces.

Shopping - my kind of shopping that is. These were listed for sale on Craigslist. They just happened to be located in my own town too. So during my lunch break at work I decided to go and get them. I'm happy I did. They are so cute and cheery!

More Shopping - I also found a few pieces of Pyrex at the thrift this past week. Shocking because I haven't seen any Pyrex for months at thrift stores. (no picture yet - haven't gotten to it)

Anyway, just wanted to check in. Back soon.

KayteeJane