Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday Jesus!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Christmas. More importantly I hope you are remembering what Christmas is truly about. God sending the the gift of his son Jesus!

Old Man's Cave, Hocking Co, Oh.

Ready!

The tree is trimmed, the presents wrapped & under the tree, the children wriggling with anticipation. Yep. We are ready!

Christmas on a Budget

I know. Christmas is 4 months away. But if you are like us you have to plan ahead & spread out the cost of all those gifts! This year, like last, I am trying to make as many gifts as possible & hopefully find some great thrift store gifts too. I've already finished my niece's gift! I fell in love with this sweater & thought a whimsical version of it would be perfect for a tween. Shh, don't tell!

Wool J Crew Sweater - $2.00 at my thrift store's 50% off Memorial Day sale, felted & cut by me :)
Ribbon & buttons I already had on hand. Total cost $2.00!
P.S. It looks MUCH cuter in person! I can't wait to see it on her!

Countdown to Christmas

With Christmas only three days away I wanted to remind everyone what Christmas is really about. It's not about Santa or presents as most people tend to believe. But about the celebration of the birth of Christ Jesus. It is way too easy to forget this, especially with the media's never ending ploy to try and exclude the use of Christmas from our vocabulary. With the increasingly popular use of Holiday instead of Christmas more and more people are forgetting what Christmas is really about. So take a pledge not to forget and don't be afraid to say "Merry Christmas!" instead of "Happy Holiday"

Handmade for Teacher Too

In keeping with my Handmade efforts I wanted to make handmade gifts for the boys teachers too. It took me till the night before to figure out what I wanted to make them. I had already made the Spiced Pecans and Savory Oyster Crackers but it just didn't seem like enough. I decided to try my hand at fabric coasters and they turned out so cute! I used coordinating Flea Market Fancy fabrics (my fav!) some fleece I had on hand and went to work. I made eight, four for each teacher, and it took me no more than an hour to make them all. Best of all since I already had all the supplies it cost me NOTHING! When I was done I didn't want to give them away! Then I tied each set up with yellow ric-rac and I REALLY didn't want to give them away. Good thing I have more fabric to make my own set! I will so be making these again VERY soon. I think some of my friends can expect to be getting a set of these for Christmas!

Handmade for Christmas

I wanted to try & make as many of our gifts this year as possible. I ended up with only a few being handmade but I thought it was a good start. I won't reveal my favorite because it is a gift for my sister, Chubby Baby, and I don't want her to know what it is (obviously) but I will share another one of my favorites. My first quilt! (Transformers made from kinex are guarding the quilt while it is on the floor should anyone DARE step on it while I was taking a picture).

I have been wanting to make a quilt for a couple of years and just wasn't sure if I could pull it off & honestly didn't think I would have the time. But for some strange reason I thought it would be a good (and feasible) idea to make a T-shirt quilt for my grandpa & grandma for Christmas. I collected a t-shirt from each of their grandkids and great-grandkids, seventeen in all, and made my first quilt. The colors are scarlet on the front & gray on the back for what else but the Buckeyes! I also took a small piece from each shirt and made a strip down the back of the quilt. I decided to tie it instead of getting it quilted as this was a MUCH cheaper option for me. I still have some learning to do but all in all I think it turned out pretty well. I can't wait to see my grandparents faces when they open this on Christmas morning!

Going Vintage

I have recently fallen in love with most things vintage. Blame it on Etsy and the plethora of beautiful vintage things you will find on there. Part of me loves vintage because of the nostalgia associated with it. I have told my husband numerous times that I was born in the wrong decade. I should have been born in the thirties or forties. Buying vintage allows be to tap into that feeling of having missed it the first time around. But I also love vintage because it means I can be green without really being green. I really can't stand this whole green thing. It has become such a PC thing to do and well I am not PC. I do believe in taking care of what God has given us and being good stewards of the earth, but I do not buy into the media, democratic agenda, global warming thing. It just isn't happening for the reasons that they tell you it is and well basically people are not intelligent enough to do the research and find out the truth for themselves. Ok enough about that moving back to the whole vintage thing.

Here is what I have scored so far. A few, alright ALOT of vintage ornaments which I LOVE and only wish I had more little containers to put them in. The glass apothecary jar on the right was a vintage find from Salvation Army for $1.99! Score!

They even look cute in thier little boxes!

I did manage to add some to this wreath. I stole the idea from Sis Boom, but only because I couldn't buy the one she has.

The other day I found a little something for Seth's birthday at Goodwill, which I will show you later. I stopped at the Salvation Army yesterday and there was the cutes little vintage blue suitcase/hat box or something. For some stupid reason I didn't buy it. I am going back tomorrow all the while praying that it is still there. I have plans for it for a Christmas gift for Kate.

Ooh, ooh! I also bought a set of vintage Anchor Hocking red and white salt and pepper shakers. They are so awesome and they will go great in my red kitchen that I will have, someday, sigh.

I'm Not the Only One!

It's Merry CHRISTMAS!

I need to vent. I am sure most of you noticed the obvious exclusion of Merry Christmas last year with the replacement of the very generic Holiday. It has continued this year with more companies jumping on the band wagon. This just burns me up inside. I got the Pottery Barn Kids catalog yesterday & was flipping through it. When I noticed a strange saying not only on the front of the catalog but on almost every page. "Holiday is ..." and then they would show some classic Christmas scene or gift that everyone knows is really about Christmas. And then to hear the Lowes is selling "Family Trees" instead of Christmas Trees. When I turn on the T.V. I am bombarded by adds for the "Holiday". What kind of generic name is that?

Whatever (excuse my language & cover the eyes of little ones if necessary) a**hole decided that it would be o.k to strip Christmas of Christmas and just call it Holiday, needs to be shot! They say it is all about including everyone. We don't want anyone to get their feelings hurt, waah, waah, waah. What a bunch of whining, conniving, liberals. Don't believe for one second that that is why Christmas has been dropped from just about every advertisement, media story & greeting.

You see it's not about including everyone else. It is about excluding CHRIST! That's right I said it. EXCLUDING CHRIST! God forbid should we have a day to celebrate the birth of our Christ! I for one am tired of hearing the word "Holiday" and will scream from the top of my lungs "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Should someone say "Happy Holiday" to me. So lets not sit idly by while a few people decided that Christmas shouldn't be a part of Christmas anymore. Let your voice be heard! It's Merry Christmas to all!