I Made My Own! What's Your Tradition?

 
Over the years, I have made several different ornaments for family and friends. I did my little tradition for about 14 years. I stopped about 3 years ago when I was going through the world’s ugliest divorce.   I didn’t just skip a year, I totally let the tradition go.

There were people in my life that actually looked forward to seeing what I will come up with to pass around each year. Some things are given out as sets, others are individual gifts.  If I passed out sets, I would have had to make hundreds of each item...lol. These are a few of the projects I have taken on.
 
The last year that I did an annual Christmas gift for everyone on my card list was the year that I made these.  It was a year I almost didn't make anything, until my then niece mentioned how much she was looking forward to adding this year's addition to her hope chest. So I got my butt in gear and thought of something easy, fast, pretty and shiny! They were used to spice up the place settings at Christmas dinner. Each person got one...and they got to keep them. They also look very pretty on a side table or where ever!

...this is about as close to a tablescape as I will probably ever come!
These are my bow tie pasta angels. Some have a lapel pin on the back for the ladies to put on their collar....and some (not pictured here) have a wire ornament hook glued on the back to put on a small tree. I made each person or  family a set of several of them so as to create a statement on the tree.

Here's her close-up!

These are my Snow Mites!

They were my 2007 Ornament, and a HUGE hit!

Each family got a set with enough little snow people to represent each of their family members.

These little mitten people are adorable...

A few that I have made...I was getting so good at them, that I made 100’s of them…and customized them to whoever wanted them.   I think I still have a few dozen in the storage box...lol

These light bulb men were my 2006 ornament.

They were the hardest challenge for me...I am NOT AN ARTIST! Those faces took me a long long time. I made each family member one...each friend one too...I tried to make them suit the person that got them.

This one has hair!

You should have seen the looks I got when I was outside spray painting light bulbs in July...one guy actually mentioned that it is possible to purchase light bulbs in colors...he thought I was going to plug them into lamps! lol

I don't recall which year these were...but they are slippers made out of a Christmas card. I stuffed them with little bunches of potpourri.

They took a long time to make. These ones are about 8 inches tall.

This is a larger version...they are about 11 inches tall.

The paper angels were the ornament for 2005. ( I think) lol

They are made out of coffee filters. I don't drink coffee...so they didn't go to waste. I had a really hard time finding the brown filters...most of them now are white...I had no idea!

They are a few years old...so they are not as fluffy as they once were...

I made these skates a few years back. Each person (or family got a set of 6 pairs each) They are made from Styrofoam...the eyelets are small grommets and the laces are craft rope. I painted them by hand with acrylic paints and they were a huge hit with the hockey families, and a few of the more athletic people in our family.


I have several others that I have made over the years, but I think I will wait to post them for another day...hey...a girl can only make a post so long ya know!

What do you make?

Do you have a tradition that you like to do?

Until Next Time…Happy Crafing!

*)*)*)… Expecting the world to treat you fairly cause you are a good person is like expecting the lion not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

linked in to Manic Mondays with the Mermaid

 12/14/09

Chicken Coop Curtains - Tootsie Style

After the move, I had to re-think pretty much everything in my house.  The windows are NO exception to this problem. 

Those of you who have been reading me for a while know that I could not sew if my life was on the line...so I have to be creative with my window treatments...or let them look like they came from a big box store.   I refuse to be typical...so I choose to be creative.

My youngest daughter has a fairly large window in her bedroom.  I did not want to get rid of her pretty sheer curtains that she had, so I had to modify my design to make them work with her new window dimensions.

Simply hanging the curtains without a valance worked at our other house, but definitely NOT in this house.



The curtains look “okay”…but they are just not quite what I wanted to see…so I got to scheming…and trying to come up with a new look for them.

One night I was browsing around the internet and I came across some adorable curtains made out of chicken wire.  I loved the look of them…but didn’t want to have the same thing…no copy cat here!   I kept on looking…but could not get those curtains out of my head…nor could I find them again to look at!  So…I have to thank my inspiration person from here…”thank you who ever you are for the inspiration!”

With the inspiration of that elusive post  still fresh in my mind, I decided to make my own Tootsie version of those curtains.

I pulled out my roll of chicken wire…and grabbed a couple of gauzy window panels and started to work.  I cut myself some of the chicken wire to fit the window and folded it in half to make it the right size for my plan.




I then started ripping strips of fabric and weaving them in and out of the chicken wire.




I wanted the valance that I was making to be “imperfect” and look a little frayed…so I added a little more detail with some purple pieces ripped and frayed to add a little “shabby” to the whole thing. 
After several hours of weaving and ripping and tying little pieces onto the chicken wire…My masterpiece was complete!




I hung the valance onto the existing curtains with a couple of curtain clips (it is really light weight) and ripped a couple more strips to use as ties on the sheers.

“Busy” absolutely LOVES them now!



I am far from finished in this room…but the window is off to a very good start.  The purple in the valance pulls the purple in her bed spread quilt out nicely!  I have ideas for that bed…and a few other little projects  that I would like to find time to work on in the near future.  In other words…you haven’t seen the last of this bedroom!

 Stay tuned…one of these day’s I will find time…and this room will get Tootsiefied completely.

So?   What do you think?   Do you like the Tootsie Coop look?  ha ha ha!

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating!

*)*)*)  Maybe things don't happen TO us. Maybe things happen FOR us, to make a choice, to decide how we live through the trials and tribulations in life.

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

I am linking in today with the following:
Fabulously Creative Friday
Frugalicious Friday
Inspiration Gallery
Be Inspired

Tattered and Torn.... Valance / Garland Tutorial

Well Hello There!!!   I’m so glad you dropped by!   I want to thank everyone for all of the kind words about my kitchen renovation.  You are all so very sweet!   There were a lot of questions about the unusual valances that I made to dress the windows in this room... and as promised… today I am sharing the tutorial on how to make them!

  These valances were very simple and super cheap to make…and they added just the right touch to my curtains!

I made them out of paper!  Yep…that’s right…Paper…pages out of old books to be exact.  
All you will need to make these valances/ garlands is:
*one old book.   (you will need to measure your window…it will take one 500 to 600 page book to do about 3 feet of space …depending on how full you want your garland to be)  (mine are full)
*twine. 
* scissors

  Once you have chosen your book…begin tearing out the pages making sure none of the glue or binding is still attached.  Continue removing the pages until your book cover is empty.
~~Remember that the pages of the book you choose will determine the size of the garland you are making…if you want a “fat” one…use a larger page…if you are wanting to make a “skinny” one, perhaps a paperback or cutting the pages down to your preferred size is an option. I used a reader’s digest condensed book for my valance garlands. ~~

Once all the pages are removed from the book binding…fold each page in half loosely …

…and with your scissors make about a 1 inch long cut in the middle of each page.

You will end up with a slit like this when you have made the cut.

Next…take each page one at a time and crumple them up…throw them on the floor and make a great big mess!!!   (The cats at my house were in their glory running and diving in the pile of crumpled pages on the floor…they were EVERYWHERE when they were done playing with them!  ha ha!)

When all the papers are crumpled, you will then need to gently un-crumple them, and lay them on the table.  Do not smooth them out completely…the rumpled look is what we are going for.

With the paper all ready to go…we need to cut ourselves a piece of twine to string it on.  Measure your window and and add about 12 inches or so to the length of your twine.  This will allow a bit of room to work with.

Tie the ends of the twine into a loop knot.

Begin to thread the knot through the slits in each  page, until you have strung the whole lot.

When you are finished it should look something like this!  Now that you have made yourself a nice full garland, you can hang it where ever you like!   Use the loops at the end of the string to attach the piece to the wall.  

This project was so simple that my 7 year old was helping make another garland…  

…we didn’t have a window that needed it left, so we tied it into a circle and hung it on her door.  
Just think of all the places you could use this idea!   Windows…are just the beginning!   If you made them small enough you could have fancy little garlands and decorations for your Christmas tree!  The possibilities are as big as your imagination will allow!
I have enjoyed this little project and was very pleased with the results I got…I do hope you will have as much fun and success as I did!   Where are you going to use your paper garland???  I’d love to hear from you!
Until Next Time…Happy Crafting / Decorating!
*)*)*) Don't point fingers unless you are sure you  have clean hands...just sayin’
  (¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.