Christmas Paper Cuts

I'm a guest today over on the lovely Pickled Herring, as part of her Scandinavian Christmas series, with a tutorial on how to make your own paper cuts. They are really easy, and make great last-minute decorations.

Please stop by, if you get a chance! She's also got some delicious-looking recipes for some traditional Scandinavian treats, which are well worth a look.

International Nisse

The Nissemen have been busy! From around the world, photos of Christmas hats are coming in, and what creative Nisse there are this year. Here are a few of my favourites:

In China, Chairman Nisse is writing his Christmas list. In England, the Dala horses are going for a trot. Here in Texas, a little Christmas frog is out for a chilly bike ride. In Denmark, the Little Mermaid is keeping her head warm (if nothing else). And, a British pheasant is going out caroling.

If you want to get your neighbourhood in the spirit, too, then make a hat or two using our tutorial, and upload your Nisse photos to our group on Flickr.

Christmastime, Mistletoe and Twine

Over the past week, I've been knitting up a Christmas cardigan for Tilly with this gorgeous red-and-white striped wool, using this free pattern. I love how the two-toned wool comes together -- not too pepperminty, not much too like a candy cane -- and looks like it would be right at home on a little Danish baby!

And all that striped wool inspired me to pull out the roll of baker's twine. Our house at Christmas is almost all red and white (with the exception, of course, of the Russian Doll cones!) and so baker's twine is a perfect compliment.

(source)

Use it to string up decorations:

(source)

To tie a gift bag closed:

(tutorial)

To keep your Christmas cookies neatly in a pile:

(source)

Or, for a bit of simple charm, it would look lovely just wound around an old wooden spool:

(source)

So, don't let ribbon have the monopoly on Christmas trim again this year -- give baker's twine a try! And, as always, please post a link if you do, as I'd love to see!

(linking to My Creative Space today!)

Russian Stacking Cones

If you love little collections of gathered beauties, or are mad about Christmas, then stop on over to The Fable of the Table this week... there's a wonderful idea for an unusual and personal decorating idea, and she's giving away a little set of oddities picked up from her travels in China, Thailand and beyond...

This year, my family is planning a Christmas-of-the-century: a family reunion, meet-and-greet-with-Tilly, house-warming, three-week-long, English-countryside, handmade extravaganza. The idea is that, if we start now, there'll be time to get done all the things we want to have ready for Christmas. So, to spur us on, each week I'll be posting a little Christmas inspiration or tutorial. And perhaps you can add a little handmade fun to your celebration this year, too.

Today, I've got a little how-to on making felt Christmas cones. Very easy, and a lovely way to add colour to your tree.

You'll need:

• a piece of felt, about 8" square (I used 100% wool felt as it's a bit sturdier, but acrylic will work, too)
• about 20" of trim (ribbon, rickrack, twill tape)
• scissors
• a needle
• pins
• sewing thread

Cut a curved line across your felt from one corner to the corner diagonally opposite. (You can use a compass to mark this out first for perfection, but it's not necessary) Then, starting about 2" along the curve, cut towards the corner. This will trim away one of the sides, so that your cone won't be so wide. Cut a small curve in the bottom corner of the felt, as shown below.

Take the trim you've picked, and pin it along the edge of long curve on the right side of the felt. It may look a bit bumpy now, but it should straighten out when the cone is joined up. Cut the trim to size once it is pinned.

Using small running stitches, sew the trim onto the felt. A thread that matches the colour of the trim will make this almost invisible, or you can use a contrasting colour if you want the stitches to show.

Fold the cone in half, so that the right sides are together and the trim is on the inside. Pin it, and sew down the long sides of the felt, from the trim to the bottom of the cone, and across the bottom. The only opening should now be at the top, where your trim is. Turn the cone right-side out.

Cut another length of trim for the handle, 10" long. Pin it to the sides of the cone, on the inside. The seam where you sewed up the cone should be halfway between the handles.

Sew the handles to the cone. Again, matching thread will make this invisible. Cut away any excess trim.

Now, fill with sweeties! 

And why not make a couple more in complementary colours? The beauty of handmade things is that they probably won't be exactly the same size, so they'll be able to stack inside each other just like Russian dolls... which will no doubt make for easy storage when they're not in use.

If you make any cones, I'd love to see! Or, if you've got any Christmas projects of your own you're working on, please share a link so we can all have a look.

Bunting

You might remember, I was very inspired by beautiful bunting hung in nurseries. It's a lovely way of adding colour and patterns.

You might also remember Justin's reaction to the idea: "But it reminds me of used-car dealers!"

With another day at home, and a little more energy than usual, I couldn't resist giving it a try. And though fabric flags look lovely and hang beautifully, my lack of pinking shears plus my lack of motivation to hem edges led me to use some brightly patterned scrapbook paper, instead! I simply took squares of 12" by 12" paper, and cut diagonally down from each top corner to the centre of the bottom edge to make the triangular flag shape.

The letters of her name are cut from plain brown paper, and glued on. Then, little holes are punched out along the tops of the flags, and a piece of long string threaded through. (I taped the string to the back of the flags to prevent them all sliding together).

Oh, and Justin approves. "It's nothing like a car lot," he assured me. High praise, indeed!

We thought Tilly might be on her way last night, with an hour or two of stronger contractions, but I guess it was just a bit of practice! And though we're so eager to meet her, we did enjoy a nice full night's sleep last night instead, which seems like more and more of a blessing each day!

Here Comes the Circus

For a while now, friends and family have been asking me over and over again, "What theme are you going to have for your nursery?" And for a long time, I had no answer.

I mean, I love colour. People had suggested I just pick a colour, and make that my theme. But how to pick? I love red, of course, but don't think that has quite the calming vibe a nursery needs as the only colour. I love yellow, I love pink, I love orange, I love turquoise. I love them alone, I love them all together!

Plus, I want to have lots of animals around. Where does that fit in to a colour theme? I was really actually starting to hate the word 'theme', and beginning to empathise with all the students working on literature essays I see, who ask, "What even is a theme?"

But then it hit me. A way to tie it all together. The circus!

Circuses have colour. Lots of colour! All the colours I like, with none of the pastelly sage-greens and lavenders that give me the creeps a bit. Circuses have bunting. Circuses have animals by the dozen!

So, I think I've got it figured out. All the design websites tell expectant mothers to have one item that really captures what they want in the room, and proceed to match everyone else to that. I feel like for me, that item is this Alexander Henry fabric (above), spotted on etsy.

Tilly will be a Tiger, after all!

Photo sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Interview

The job interview today went well, and I should hear tomorrow if I got it. It'll be two evenings a week, caring for elderly patients at the hospital, so I think it should be very rewarding.

And, with my mind on interviews, I couldn't resist posting this:

Yay, IKEA! How I love assembling things... our baby is definitely going to be an IKEA baby through and through!

These are the IKEA things I have my eye on so far...

Duvet for future Traffic Wardens

Funky wardrobe that I always wanted for myself as a kid!

(Um... when I say 'kid', I mean fifteen-year-old)

And yes, it really is a Rocking Moose!

I can't wait to start decorating! (I do need to keep reminding myself, though, that no, baby won't need a rocking moose ready and waiting as soon as we get home from the hospital!)

Jingle Bella

So well-behaved, Bella hasn't eaten any of our tree decorations. See how she's sitting so neatly, toes pointed, by the tree? The camera definitely brings out her best behaviour.

Nisse Houses

There's a lot of Danish blood in my family, so we've always celebrated Christmas with Nissemen, the cheeky little red elves who, legend has it, deliver the presents.

This year, inspired by the little Nissemen, I've been making these Nisse houses... just the right size for a passing Nisseman to take a nap in!

They are completely made from felt, with embroidered windows, and stuffed with soft batting that would make a lovely Nisse bed. I'm still finishing the little village, but they should be done in time for Christmas!

Photo from (here) and my camera