Tutorial Tuesday: Stained Glass Ornaments

In case you’re not keeping track, only six weeks remain between now and Christmas. Whatever retail stores that had the dignity to wait until after Halloween to unveil their garish holiday displays have completed the terrible act. Now everyone’s flaunting faux evergreen, holly, poinsettia, nutcrackers, stars, snowmen, and dozens of other motifs that signify the season of spending is here.

And boy do I want to spend. This year, more than any other, I want to blow lots of money on extravagant gifts, buy decorations ample enough to turn our home into a holiday wonderland, and invest heavily in scented candles that make the entire house smell like orange and cinnamon and pine 24/7.

Last year, all the energy I might have poured into decorating our home, baking seasonal treats, and searching for the perfect gift instead went toward mastering breastfeeding, changing diapers every hour on the hour, and sleeping in stretches no more than two or three hours in length. This year I’m ready to jump in and binge while I can on holiday everything, and introduce Adelaide to the spectacle that is the Christmas season. I know she won’t remember much, if anything from this year, but I have a difficult time remaining rational.

In an effort to appease my appetite for all things Christmas without breaking my budget, I’ve thrown myself into Holiday DIY projects. You’ve probably noticed. It started with a garland of crochet Christmas trees and then a trio of evergreens made from felted wool sweaters.

My latest crafty endeavor? Stained glass ornaments made with wax paper and crayon shavings. Call this one practice for when Addie is old enough to join me in the holiday making. But even without a little one to help you sprinkle the crayon shavings just so, this is pure comfort food crafting. A little glue, kraft paper, crayons, and some paint – classic craft ingredients if there ever were any.

If you want to make stained glass ornaments my way, check out the tutorial!

Tutorial Wednesday - Recycled Felt Holiday Trees

I haven't even started my November tutorial series and already I am one day behind my intended schedule. You can blame my tardiness on yesterday's Presidential Election. Once the returns started pouring in I couldn't tear myself away from the live coverage for long enough to post this first installment (darn you, Brian Williams!). I wanted so badly to maintain my fidelity to the schedule I announced in my last post that I briefly considered back-dating this entry, but that felt a little disingenuous and silly to me. After much hand-wringing (because I do fret over my admittedly nebulous blogging schedule), I resolved to put to use the option to schedule a post next time.

But enough with the excuses; I have a tutorial to unveil!
I know these little guys are not exactly ornaments, but they’re small enough to nestle in the branches of a larger Christmas tree without weighing it down.

I love my wooly trees, which will likely occupy the coveted role of dining room table centerpiece this holiday season.

You can find the complete tutorial here.

Goodbye Sandy, Hello November

When Super Storm Sandy barreled through the District earlier this week, we were prepared. Pasta, lentils, tomato sauce, and stock filled our pantry; a package of bottled water lay at the ready in the dining room; and I had queued up my knitting and craft projects. So I wasn’t surprised when Monday and Tuesday came and went without so much as a minute sans electricity. About four hundred thousand people in my area were not as fortunate, but that’s still a small number compared to the millions who are still in the dark along the east coast.

We weathered the storm on Monday with a succession of Christmas movies (I know, I know, it wasn’t even November. Oh the horror), homemade banana bread, and an ever-growing stack of crocheted Christmas trees. By Tuesday the worst of the storm had passed and I had strung the crocheted trees into a garland that, in a few weeks, will hang along our living room staircase.
Unlike Christmas movies, which I have no reservations about popping in the DVD player whenever the spirit moves me, Christmas decorations have no place in our home until mid-November at the very earliest. Besides, I am not yet prepared to part with my collection of ornamental gourds, my turkey pumpkin, and the autumn wreath I made a few weeks ago.

I may be waiting a little longer before I litter my house with fake evergreen and garlands ranging from the rustic, handmade variety to the tacky, sparkly, but with the crocheted trees began my holiday crafting spree. From now until December 24th I’ll be churning out ornaments, assembling gift baskets, knitting my fingers numb, and baking quick breads and candies until I am covered, head-to-toe, in a semi-permanent dusting of confectioner’s sugar. Although I will work up until Christmas, November is the best month for holiday make-ready, and I am celebrating with four weeks of Tutorial Tuesdays.

Starting next week, I’ll post a holiday DIY tutorial on the blog every Tuesday through the end of the month. This year’s theme is cheap and chic ornaments. Every project features supplies you probably already have lying around the house, or that you can buy for less than five dollars at any craft store. They may not cost much money or take much time to make, but I think the DIY project I have planned this month will add a ton of handmade cuteness to your holiday.

Knitwear for Jam Jars

Since my early knitting days I have focused my stitching efforts on churning out garments of all varieties. Hats, scarves, the off pair of mittens, and my favorite: sweaters. Rarely did I cast on with the intention of knitting something that I or a knit-worthy recipient could not throw on before greeting a cool morning.

Knitted pillows? Lovely, but I couldn’t be bothered. Wooly throws? I adore the idea of having a few to toss over the back of our living room couch, but I can’t commit to knitting something that large. My inability to knit for the home has even put me off making that heirloom lace tablecloth I so badly want to conquer. Seriously – I planned to start that monster no fewer than three years ago, and I have yet to even attempt the cast-on.

So my most recent knitting project is somewhat of a breakthrough, because unlike my usual knitting fare, it cannot be worn. Well, it technically can be worn if you are a glass jar or aluminum can or some other round, container-shaped object. Yes, I made a knitted jar cover. But it is a knitted jar cover capable of turning a container destined for the recycling bin into a lovely vessel for flowers, pencils, and even, perhaps, knitting needles.

October 20, 2012

 It’s a project small enough to keep me from throwing it to the ground halfway in and returning to my beloved sweater knits, and it’s a fantastic canvas on which to practice stitch patterns that might one day become part of a sweater, hat, or other wearable. It also features a method of working from the center out using an i-cord umbilical cord (thank you techknitting), and for those of you who are like me – with lots of leftover yarn in amounts too tiny to make much – it’s great for stash busting.

Want to know how I did it? The full tutorial is here!