Merry Christmas Y'all

Christmas 2011 Ribbon Wreaths #2 and #3

The last 2 ribbon wreaths for the year are going to two families who started out neighbors, became friends and now we consider them part of the family. They also both have last names that start with "G's"...ha ha.

Can you spot the different ribbons I used in these two compared to my first Christmas one?

The "G's" are painted green with a thin layer of extreme glitter paint in silver on top (they are also smaller then the "S" I put on the other wreath)

I don't think I've ever posted what the ribbon wreaths look like from the back. Since these take a while to do I taught my Mom how to make one (mother/daughter bonding over wreaths) Can you tell which one I did and which one she did?

Wire Bead Crosses

So I'm not sure if I've written about these before or not, but I can't find the post so bare with me if it becomes a little deja vu for you...

A few years ago I received a gorgeous hand beaded wire cross from a friend and loved it so much I wanted to learn how to make them as well. So she taught me and for the past couple of years I've made these as gifts for family and a couple of friends. I think these make great gifts for anyone and if you want to learn how to make them I'd be glad to show you because I don't think I could fully explain everything in a post...ha ha

Christmas 2007: the cross given to me that started my obsession

Christmas 2008: my first cross...I gave it to my Mom

Christmas 2009: given to two of my favorite people!

Christmas 2010: given to my Mimi and Aunts

This year I was too busy making wreaths that I didn't get around to making crosses/I didn't know who else to make one for...maybe next year I'll make another one. In the meantime, I have lots of pretty leftover beads to use in new projects (like the ribbon bookmarks!)

Christmas Cards

Simple and elegant, no? I love the white paper...it reminds me of snow!

Snowmen Candle Holders

These cuties are yet another gift I made this holiday season. I got the idea from Pinterest (seriously what did I do before this site and why did it take me so long to join)

The things I changed from the original directions... I spray painted my wire black to look more like a normal snowman hat. I put in flame-less tea lights so 1. the black paint wouldn't drip and 2. nothing would catch on fire. I didn't use a golf tee to shape the nose (did it all by hand) and made the nose smaller. And finally, I tied red ribbon around the hats.

Things I learned... I'm not very good and tying bows (well I already knew this, but still they are frustrating) and making paint circles even is hard

Oh and in case anyone thinks like my mom...one is a snowMAN and one is a snowWOMAN...ha ha

Ribbon Bookmarks

Time to share some more gifts I made this season...ribbon bookmarks

These two were for my friends who love them some animal print! Of course I'm right there with them!!

And of course I had to make one for me too!

These were really fun to make and I love the charms I found! I also got to use some left over beads from all the crosses I've made in the past (more on those later)! If I can find the website where I got the idea from I will definitely update this post with the link, but since I can't and don't know what all the jewelry stuff is called...I'll just leave y'all with the above pictures.

More Popcorn?!?!

Remember in this post how I said red and green M&Ms would be cute for the holidays...well...I did it!

Looks/tastes like Christmas to me! I made this for a few ladies at work who weren't able to sample my first batch and packaged them in cute little pails.