Writings On The Wall

Many of you saw flurries Friday night.  But Christmas has been at our house all week.  Our schedule is a little different for a couple of reasons.  My mom owns her own gift shop in Cayuga, IN.  The Gingerbread Shed.  The second weekend on November is always her Christmas Open House so for three days we sit in a Christmas wonderland listening to Christmas music non stop.  If I want to make anything and contribute to this event that means I have to be making Christmas items in the fall.  This year I was behind, just didn't have the desire to get the sewing machine out.  This past week I have been in the craft room each evening with Christmas carols blarring to get me in the holiday spirit. 

In the basement, G is listening to Christmas music too.  His is a different reason, he is busy putting together this years light show.  For the past two years we have had over 30,000 LED lights synced to music!!  http://www.southsidechristmas.com/ The lights come on the night after Thanksgiving!

For several years now I have designed, sculpted, and created my own line of santa's.  I will post more about them later.  I also try to mix in something else.  Last year I made jewelry and this year I am creating prim banners that I found this fall.  I bought a Halloween version and knew it would be easy to duplicate my own.

I started with cutting triangles out of burlap.  Size will depend on the size of your stencils.

I created my own stencils.  I had bought a set and they were regular stencils with the lines that connected the center of the stencil.  I knew I wanted a more prim look.  Luckily I had just invested in a Cricut for work purposes and thought I would test it out.  The result was perfect! The only downfall is the letters with a center, like the above "e" I have to hold the center piece in as I paint around it.  I used regular craft paint and sponged it on.

I made a big mess and had newspapers laid out all over the place.  It made it easier to put the paint on a plate.  Lay out the painted pieces to dry.


To attach the triangles, sew to a piece of material.  Last year at a garage sale I found a whole bolt of homespun material that was perfect and long enough that I was able to use one piece of material instead of sewing a few pieces together.


Action pose!  Luckily I have a craft room that I can just close the door and forget about, this is not the best scenerio for trying to sew!  My santa heads are drying in the background!


The first finished product!! I am so excited.  I can't wait to see if they sell next weekend.  If making your own, you can make them say anything you want.


Three options to choose from!  They look great hanging from a mantle or over a door way.

I found a great shelf in Country Sampler this month so  I told my dad it would be a great birthday gift idea.  He can be quite handy so I left the rest up to him.  He worked his magic and here is the finished results!

It's just what the room needed.  I need to call the dining room the dad room since he also made my dining room table and the dough bowl that is on the table.  The dining room table was an old workbench that he reworked and made a new top for.  I said I wanted something that the pilgrims could eat at and this was perfect!




Almost all of my furniture has come from second hand and antique stores. I like to paint it black and distress it.  Here are some of my  other favorite pieces.


Thanks for taking a tour of some of my favorite things!