Maker Mama's Best of 2011

We start the New Year off tomorrow--are you ready? I can't wait to see what this year brings. And thanks to all of you for being such awesome readers! I love reading all your great comments and hearing about the creative things you're up to. I thought I'd recap some of my favorite and most popular posts of 2011:

1.  Mason Jar Roundup  A collection of different ways to use old Mason jars. For some reason this is my second highest ranking post--I guess you guys have a lot of jars, too, huh?

2. Crocheted Girl's Robe  My very first crocheted garment--very proud of this one, and it still fits (Eleanor, not me)!

3. Lazy Hem How-To  This one ranks number one on Maker Mama. Part of the Mend Along series. 

4. Spring Greening Series  A big undertaking, but learned a lot and shared some fun giveaways!

5. Birthday Boy Pajamas  Here I shared my first pair of kids' pjs. I probably picked out the craziest pattern to work with, but they turned out (unfortunately they don't still fit). 

6. Resale Over Retail  A fun look at some of my favorite thrifty finds, and four reasons why you should get thrifty, too. 

7. Thrift Store Party Plates  Another thrifty find to aid in greener living--no more paper plate parties!

8. Last-Chance Beach Trip  A simple, fun family trip.

9. Dressmaking Debut  After all my years of sewing, I finally made a dress for myself!

10. Princess Hat Tutorial  A fun little tutorial for Halloween. 

11. Catherine Stitch Cowl  My favorite crochet project of the year. 

12. Paper Ball Ornament Tutorial  My all-time favorite Christmas ornament, and a reader favorite, too!

It brings me peace to look back and see how fruitful life truly is. I've had a great time sharing with all of you this year and hope to have as much fun in 2012. What are your favorite memories of 2011? Any posts that you enjoyed the most? Enjoy the New Year everyone!

 

 

 

Christmas

I've settled into a bit of a slow-down mode after preparing for all the merry-making at our house. Hope you all had a blessed Christmas with family and loved ones, and are taking time for peace and reflection as we enter into the gift of another year. Merry Christmas!

A Very Crafty Christmas

This past week has been filled with crafting with friends, in secret, and into the wee hours of the night. It's been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun putting so much meaning into our family celebrations this year.

The kids are loving making gifts for each other and have even started making their own little gifts for us to open. We found some wonderful kid-friendly gifts they could make in Joel Henriques' Made to Play and Todd Oldham's Kid Made Modern, two must-have craft books. I've also fallen in love with these cinnamon-applesauce ornaments (no, they're not edible!) I found on Pinterest.

And I'm sure I'll be busy as a bee right up to the last minute finishing Christmas pjs, baking cookies, and working on all the other little odds and ends that come along with it all. And I can't wait to show you the hoard of used books I found for the kids (they're already wrapped and under the tree)!

Hopefully we'll be keeping cozy at home the rest of the week (and staying away from the shopping crowds!). What are you up to these last few days before Christmas?

Silent Night

Trying to remember to breathe today (and go to bed earlier). The dishes are piled up in the sink, there are gifts to be wrapped, mailed, made, and bought, not to mention the two baskets of laundry that need folding (and the Christmas cards that need addressing!).

For the moment, I'm giving my self permission to take a little breather before I fizzle out completely. It may be the whole night, or just thirty minutes, but I'm going to take some time to think about where I am in the life flying by all around me. How do you cope with all the hustle and bustle during the holidays?

Paper Ball Ornament Tutorial

Some of my favorite Christmas tree ornaments are a set of paper balls I learned how to make a few years back. They're free and easy to make with simple supplies, and would be perfect for your own decor or even as a little gift. I got the itch to make some more today, so I thought I'd make up a little tutorial so you can make some, too.

The main supplies you'll need are some paper and a cutting tool. I picked out some 12 x 12 scrapbook paper I already had on hand, and used my Fiskars circle punch to make things easy. You can use any  paper you have around, but make sure it's about card stock weight, otherwise it won't keep it's shape well. Likewise, if you don't have a circle cutting tool, you can trace something circular and cut them by hand (double the paper up so it'll go faster).

Start by cutting out 21 circles. I cut out 10 of each color, plus an extra to use as a template. 

To create your template and start folding your circles follow these steps:

(1) Lay out your extra circle piece. (2) Fold it in half. (3) Fold it in half again to make an X in your circle. (4) Fold a small section into the middle. (5) Fold an equal-sized section into the middle, overlapping the first section. (6) Fold the third section over the others, creating a triangle (try to keep the sections as equal as possible). (7) Cut away the flaps leaving your equilateral triangle as the template. (8) Place the template on top of a new circle and fold flaps along the lines. (9) Remove the template and you have the basic piece that will make up your ornament.

Now fold the rest until you have twenty folded triangle-circles (the template makes it go by pretty fast).

Next, bust out your craft glue of choice. I went for the hot glue gun for the sake of time. I've used white glue on previous ones and had to paperclip the flaps together to ensure they stay together, and it took much longer to dry.

Take 10 of your pieces and line them up in a row, alternating the direction they're pointing. (You don't have to do this, but it helps to keep track when you glue them together--and yes, this picture only shows 9, oops!)

Here's what they should look like after gluing. This will be the middle section of your ornament.

Next, glue the first and last pieces together.

You should have five flaps facing out on both the top and bottom.

Take your 10 remaining pieces and lay them out for the top and bottom of the ornament. This time you want them all pointing toward the center, creating a circular shape.

After you glue the flaps together, you'll have two domed pieces with five flaps on the bottom of each.

Glue the top and bottom pieces together along the flaps (I glued and pressed the flaps together one at a time).

Here's what the inside looks like without the top. 

And here you're all finished! Doesn't it look great?

To hang it on the Christmas tree, just punch a whole in the top and string some yarn through.

You could also use old Christmas cards...

...and make them in different sizes. I've also made them with photos. They look great on display or in a bowl or vase; I'm even thinking of making a garland for the fireplace.

But I'll just hang this one on the tree for now.

Advent Update

We're halfway through Advent now, and here's a look back at what we did during week two:

We hung the kids' stockings up and put out some cookies and carrots for St. Nicholas day. Traditionally children put out their shoes, but we decided to do the stockings to help separate Santa from Christmas this year. It's definitely been a bit of a challenge with Santa so entwined with Christmas in our culture (I wonder how that came to be, exactly).

Rather than taking Santa out of the picture entirely, we've been focusing on who the real "Santa" was. I found this great book about the real St. Nicholas at my local Catholic bookstore. There are many traditional stories about St. Nick, most focused on his love for children and the poor. This book tells of Nicholas helping three poor girls by putting gold coins in their stockings hanging to dry on the fireplace.

We read the story over hot chocolate before school that morning (and have been enjoying lots of hot chocolate since).

We also went to our local nursery to pick out a tree. To make room for it, we took our t.v. out of the family room for the month. We've been debating whether we should get rid of it altogether, and figured that Advent and Christmas would be a good time to make that sacrifice as a family. As a compromise, we went ahead and let the kids put all the ornaments on the tree, but we're still waiting until Christmas to turn the lights on and add the star.

I used some of the tree clippings and some berries from our garden to make a little something for the front door.

We've also been working away on our Advent ornaments from the Truth in the Tinsel ebook. It's been a fun tradition to do with the kids each day.

And we've been working on our handmade gifts. I found the inspiration for the monogrammed mugs over at Soule Mama, and you can find instructions on how to make your own on Design Mom.

And now we're onto the third week of Advent! How are you observing Advent this year? Anyone starting any new traditions?