Moss Covered Initials

I just love the look of these moss covered initials. I have seen several different ways to make them on other blogs.   I decided to make some as Christmas gifts and they turned out really nice.  I  included a tutorial on how I made mine below. Give it a try -- they are really easy.

 I bought the wooden letters  at Hobby Lobby for $1.50.-- on sale.   (Tracy also cut some of the letters from leftover press wood). The moss was also purchased at Hobby Lobby.  I bought the larger bag and used my 40 percent off coupon so it was like $12.00.  It went a LONG way, though. (I covered 5 initials and 6 christmas tree shaped cones with it!)

Flip your letter over so the front side is facing the back of the moss sheet.  Trace around it leaving about an inch all the way around.

Apply hot glue underneath the initial and around edges gluing the moss onto the initial.

(Hope you don't burn yourself as much as I did!)

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Add a strip of burlap (or whatever you plan to use as ribbon) and secure it to the back of the initial.  It's that easy. 

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Merry Christmas to You!

Snowmen for the Family

Christmas is SO close and I am still having fun!  Thank the Lord --  we are all healthy again and over the flu.  That was some awful stuff!  Now.. I want to share this adorable snowman with you all.  I have ordered several patterns from Kim @ www.oldroadprimitives.com. Her patterns are just wonderful and as a Christmas gift for her past customers -- she sent us a free pattern for these adorable snowmen!  They were so fun  to make!  I made one for each  of my family on the Crosson side.   Thanks, Kim!

Check out her website and see all her beautiful work!

www.oldroadprimitives.com

Vintage Mr. & Mrs. Clause

My Great Aunt (Katie Thompson) made this Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus from magazines in the early 1970's.  I love them and they are in perfect condition after all these years.  It's funny how people think the crafting craze is something new.  Just wanted to share these two little cuties with you! 

shelstring blog: Pine Cone Cluster

 Easy Pinecone Winter Bundles

I saw this cute little tutuorial on how to make a pine cone cluster over @  Michele from Shelstring.   Since I seem to be overflowing in pinecones this year.. I thought this was just what I needed.  I think I will add a few green sprigs and berries to mine.  (Maybe even a little fake snow and burlap instead of twine too).  Thanks for the inspiration, Michele!  Click on over  and check her out @
http://shelstringblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/pine-cone-cluster.html.

Our Small town Christmas Merry Go Round Tradition

Christmas Merry Go Round

I love my hometown at Christmas time.  Well, I love my hometown all the time.. but Christmas time is just so quaint here.  We have so many traditions that mean alot to me.  Our Christmas Merry-go-Round is one of them.  I have rode on this Merry Go Round every Christmas season of my life!  It's not just for kids -- us adults love it too!   I have included some pictures and a little history in case you are interested. 

(Pictures provided by photographer and good friend, Carol Stewart)

The Christmas Merry-Go-Round was provided to Valley area children as a Christmas gift from the West Point Manufacturing Company beginning in  1956. It was located on the softball field behind the Fairfax Theater/Recreation Department Building in the Fairfax community of what is now Valley, Alabama. The theater/rec building has since been torn down.

The original carousal contained 30 horses and four carriages. The horses were in sets of three and were such colors as palomino, white, black, gray, and bay. Each horse was adorned with a pine wreath and a big red bow that hung around its neck. As the years passed by, the horses on the carousel were all painted white with black manes and tails, and the pine wreaths around their necks were discontinued.

Pine garland surrounded the carousel railing, as well as the ramp and archway leading to the entrance chain. The ground was covered in sawdust, and all around were cedar trees decked in brightly colored lights. Christmas music flowed from inside the center of the carousel and filled the air with Christmas cheer.
Tickets to the carousel were free and available from a friendly person inside a big, red candle with a flame on top. One Christmas season often sees over 60,000 carousel riders and each new season welcomes a fresh crop of young riders and many older fans who are still filled with childhood memories as they revisit the wonder and the magic of the Christmas Merry-Go-Round.

After West Point Pepperell became West Point Stevens and later West Point Home Inc., the City of Valley worked with the company to help keep the Christmas Merry-Go-Round a continued tradition. In 2008, West Point Home Inc. ended operations in the Valley; the City and local corporate sponsors worked together to ensure that the over 50-years old tradition would not end and in 2011, the Christmas Merry-Go-Round will celebrate 55 years of operations.

A couple of  pics from this year.

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Hershey Bar Snowmen

Snowmen Hershey Bars

Aren't these snowmen just adorable?  And SO easy to make.  I found the free printable over @

http://lauriefurnell.blogspot.com/2008/11/snowman-freebie.html  I plan to use these for stocking stuffers at our family get together this weekend.

And here's all the supplies you will need.  I used a touch of hot glue to fasten the hat and scarf.  Not too much though -- you will melt the chocolate!

A Primitive Christmas vignette

My primitive table decoration

Don't you just LOVE vintage things?  I saw this post (below) on pinterest (sorry, I don't remember where -- so I can't give credit where credit is due).  I absolutely fell in love with it.  I used it as my inspiration to try and create one of my own.  Mine is not near as pretty -- but I did use things I already had and I'm proud of how it turned out!(Consists of vintage wooden bowl, old vase with pine needles and red berries, mason jar of pecans with raffia, rusty star garland, gingerbread ornaments, raffia, twig garland, pine needles and cones, vintage lace doily, homespun blue check material, and a beeswax candle in a vintage candlestick all placed in a wooden tray.)

The picture I saw on pinterest and used for inspiration to make mine.

 

Christmas on the front porch

I decided I better hurry up and get my porch decorated since Christmas is coming whether I am ready or not!  I took a trip out in the woods near our home and gathered up some magnolia leaves, pinecones, pine branches and berries.  Then a grabbed a few logs off the wood pile out back and just threw it all together.  I'm happy with how it turned out.  Now just to add a few lights.....

Cardinals in the snow..( I mean rain)

 You all know I am a BIG fan of cardinals.  (They remind me so much of my mom.)  I especially enjoy pictures of them in the snow when the male and female are both present.  While eating lunch at a local restaurant this week, I saw something I thought was unusual. I was sitting near the window and could see onto the patio.   It was pouring down rain, and a female cardinal was sitting under an outdoor wrought iron table. It was not keeping her dry because rain kept pouring through the holes.  She did not seem to mind at all.  She would get soaking wet and then just shake all the water off and fly under another nearby table.  She stayed in the rain instead of seeking shelter.  I always thought birds sought shelter and did not like to get wet.  Well.. not this one.  I enjoyed watching her for about twenty minutes.. then it was time to get back to work.  It was nice to enjoy such a beautiful sight on an otherwise dreary day.  

 

Dried oranges and cranberry tree

I had leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving and hated to see them go to waste -- so I strung them up to put on my kitchen tree.  I also dried some oranges and added them too.

Crate stools for the nephews

I have been wanting to make some of these crate stools since I first saw them on pinterest last summer.  My three nephews love to sit right in front of the tv and play video games so I thought it would make a great Christmas gift for them.  They can also use the bottom to store all their games and such. Tracy actually took over the project and made them himself. He got the crates from Staples (about $8 dollars each),  and used some extra wood he had left over from a project.  I already had some of the camo fabric and the foam leftover from a headboard I made a few years ago.    He did a great job and they are very sturdy!  I think I will add the boys names to the label side of each crate.  I hope the boys enjoy  them!