Monday, November 28, 2011

~a few thoughts on decorating for Christmas~

Happy Monday friends!!


oh was it rugged.....draggin' everyone
out of bed at 6 am.....after a week long
vacation & par-tay....;)


it's hard getting everyone out of their warm &
cozy beds.....and out the door into the
chilly, damp and foggy morning....
before
the sun is up....


but they're all up & gone....
it's just me & the pooch here at home....


{this isn't her...but looks just like her!
hmmm....maybe I'll try for a similar shot!}

did you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving??
we really did.....so much fun spending time
with my brother & his family

stayed up late every night....played games
and hung out....did not step foot into a store~
with the exception of buying this & that
for cooking.....

{absolutely insane game.....my kids could not
get enough of it! hence the staying up late each
night!!}

well the only bummer about being gone all
weekend was coming home
to all our neighbors having their
outdoor lights & decorations up.....
ruh-roh....the pressure builds.....

time to get started......yesterday....;)


isn't this the cutest little Christmas cone?
love it!
so easy to make & stuff with little goodies....

I know one element I'll be adding to my
Christmas decor......


and that is....sheepskin....

 around the house
and maybe under the tree?


I started noticing this last year but at
that time it was a little late to add it in ~
but not this year!

doesn't it look great under a cute tree?
I absolutely love how our nordic friends
decorate for the holidays.....

how they use sheepskin
&
 how they throw little baby trees into jars of water .....


hmmmm....where to find a little spruce I
can pull out by the roots????


Mr. T & T is out of town this week so
if stuff is gonna be hauled out of the attic
it's gotta be hauled out tonight.....
....cuz I need my stuff....

like my little sleds.....
I usually set them out on the front porch ~
but would love to use one inside....
anyone else do this?


am I like way slow on this?
do you all do this already?

love this little vignette on a coffee table too....
the mercury glass with the pinecones
is perfect together....


pinecones are so fun to decorate with....
it's so easy to change up things
by adding a few pinecones & greens...


pinecones, greens, a little lace & silver....
add in some ironstone....

love it.....

did you all get started on decorations
this weekend?

or ~gasp~ finish decorating?

{fyi...please don't tell me yes on that one.....
I need my sanity this week....hee hee.....}

oh the pressure we put on ourselves huh? ;)


Hope you are all happy & content
and
 feeling un-pressured
and un-hurried
and
can enjoy the beginning of this
Christmas season.....!



xoxo,



Shellagh



{all images can be found here}











Thursday, November 24, 2011

~Happy Thanksgiving & a winner!~

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


We are having a wonderful time
visiting family in the Seattle
area! 

Spending time with my "little"
brother.....so fun!

{he's got a death grip on my hand to stop the tickling :)....}

we'v'e been baking, laughing, cooking,
giggling, playing games, and
looking through very old pictures
of family....

 and *bonus*
he loves to cook!!
kinda nice break for me!

So the winner of the
2 stockings & a 20%
discount on stuff from

by random number generator.....
which selected #84
the lucky girl is............

Andrea (AndeM1) !!!!

I'm so excited ~ because Andrea was
one of my very first customers way back
when my store first opened!!

and the sweetie girl already ordered a stocking
for her close friend!  Now you get your
own 2 stockings for free,  Andrea! :)


Thanks so much everyone for following
my blog & supporting my store :)


I feel like I have a big group of friends
out there that I can pour my heart out to
anytime......I am grateful for you all &
for your friendships!



Hope you have a wonderful
Thanksgiving!!!!



xoxo,



Shellagh
















Tuesday, November 22, 2011

~ruffle stocking tutorial~

Hello everyone!!

sheesh ~ we are having major rain and wind
today......lovely little storm to welcome in
the holidays....:}



lucky for me I don't have to go out in it too much...
I mean, certainly wouldn't want to head to the gym
or anything crazy like that......
and even though I have rain gear....I certainly won't be running outside in
this....I mean, if I did that, I might accidentally burn a few calories.....


so I'm excited to show you this tutorial on
making ruffled stockings....seems everyone
was pretty excited to give it a try ~ so
here we go!! 

If you need a stocking pattern you can find one

once you have your pattern cut out
you can cut out your stocking pieces

*you'll be cutting:
2 stocking pieces in white linen
2 lining pieces in white muslin
one piece of linen for the ruffle
one piece of linen for the hang tab

~side note: you'll need approx. 1/2 yard of each
fabric~

~*~
first, pin and then sew together
the muslin stocking pieces &
the linen stocking pieces.

but....leave a 3 inch opening in the muslin
piece~ about half way down between the top
of the stocking & the heal of the stocking.

now set those aside & let's work on the ruffle!
 

for this pattern, the stocking opening
is about 17 inches around (8.5 inches wide at the top)

so cut approximately one yard
of linen 3.5 inches wide
(for this ruffle as shown, I used about
2x the fabric for gathering)

first: hem the strip if you want a hem,
(just fold over 1/2 inch, iron & fold over 1/2 again and iron for a nice hem)
or
leave it and pull 4 or 5 "rows" of  threads
if you want the frayed ruffle

second: gather the fabric
here is a good video tutorial on gathering
if you would like to see a neat technique I use!
except I use quilting thread not dental floss :)

third:  fold the ruffle over (right sides together)
to form a loop ~ measure it to make sure you
have the right size to match the opening of
the stocking, for this pattern it will be approx. 8.5 inches across, for a total
of 17 inches around
 and leave yourself a 1/2 inch for
seam allowance.  Now sew the little seam to
form a loop.

next, you're going to pin the ruffle to the linen
stocking piece that has been sewn together and
is now right side out
pin the raw edges together, with the ruffle
also right side out
(I know it seams weird to do it that way, but trust me...hee hee ;} )


now go ahead a sew the ruffle on to the top, using
a 1/2 inch seam allowance, or so......making sure
you line up the seams of the ruffle piece & the stocking piece...
{just looks better that way}

next you need to make your little hanging tab....
just cut a piece of linen approx. 8x2 inches and
fold the edges over 1/2 inch (both long edges)
iron, then fold over again, so there's no raw edges...
then stitch down the side


you'll end up with a nice finished tab like this.....


now pin that piece onto the ruffle (raw edges together)
and make sure it's on the heal side of the stocking!!!
{not that I did that wrong once or twice....argh....Mr. T & T was like well,
it looks fine that way....ahahahahahah....I'm like, no honey, you can't hang
stockings like that....hee hee....what a cutie}

if I were you, I would quickly stitch that little
guy on, cuz that little tab is known to aggravate & terrorize
certain linen shoppe owners by slipping out while
stitching the whole piece together....ahem....

and one more thing.....make sure you line up the tab
with the ruffle seam & stocking seam....

ok next the fun & magical part....:)


tuck the whole linen piece into the muslin piece....
the linen piece will be right side out, tucked into
the muslin piece which is inside out


like sooooo..........
next you're going to pin all the raw edges together
and sew around the whole thing.....


now for the a.m.a.z.i.n.g. part.....

remember the little 3 inch section you remembered
to leave unstitched...

oh you forgot?
yup....so did I....only every single time though....

for you smarties out there who didn't forget,
good job!  for the rest of us....get out your seam ripper
and open up the muslin seam about 3 inches...hahahaha


now reach in there & start pulling the stocking out
through the opening...



keep pulling it through.....see how cool this is?

voila!!!!
a lined ruffle stocking!!
just like magic :)


you did it!!

now after you admire your amazing work ~ you
can pull out the lining and stitch down the little opening...
I just top stitch over it right along the edge....

there ya have it!

any questions??

send 'em over to me & I'll see if I know the answer :)


Remember there's still time to enter
the 2 stocking giveaway!!

the winner will be announced Thanksgiving morning....

Have a wonderful day or 2 of baking, and
enjoying time with family & friends!


xoxoxo,


Shellagh














Friday, November 18, 2011

~stocking giveaway!~

Happy Friday friends!!!

My favorite day of the week :)
well, my post yesterday got me in
the mood for creating....and
I decided to make up some stockings!


and I had sooooo much fun!!
it's so fun to create & see what you can come
up with!


and I've been really wanting to add some
to my Etsy shoppe but just haven't really
had the time up until now....

so now I have some! yay!!!
now I don't have to feel so LAME!!
yay!!!! hee hee hee :)


I have so much fabric.....I mean ~
so much fabric
that it was just fun so pull stuff out
and see what I could do.....



 I made some in white, natural, and
flax linen, and distressed cotton with
graphics.....just played....


some with ruffles, without, frayed edge, finished edge....


my sweet friend came over last
night & we just played around
with different graphics


so what do ya think??
this one below has a bigger ruffle...
of course everythings gotta have ruffles....;)


next week I'll post the step by step tutorial
on making a ruffle stocking....

just in case you're interested in giving it
a whirl.....


I really have the best followers.....
you guys are so fabulous
~ your comments keep me going and
always put a smile on my face!!

so I'd love to giveaway.....

2 stockings of your choice!!

plus.....

a 20% discount on your
purchase*

All ya gotta do is....
for each entry:

1) follow me......
2) like me on facebook
3) like my Etsy linen shoppe
4) post my giveaway on
your blog, facebook, pinterest,
or twitter....
5) tell me what new stocking you like best!!


Giveaway ends Nov. 23rd


Have a fabulous weekend!!


xoxo,


Shellagh





*now for the fine print.....20% discount applies
to everything but the Annabelle Dust Ruffle....
because there is just not that much margin in there!!!








Thursday, November 17, 2011

~cold weather crafts~

Hello everyone!


How is blogland doing today?
it's Thursday, which means almost
Friday.....yay!!!


we have been a bit stormy & cold here
lately....
brrrrrr....
.....cold.....wet.....windy.....

which has got me thinking....
~cozy~
need warm blankets...
fireplace...
hot cocoa....
errr....dare I say need hibernation?
hee hee....if only.....right?!


if only kiddos didn't need driven around
and groceries didn't need to be bought
and people didn't need to go places....

I would hibernate....
I'm afraid....


but alas.....we can't do that sort of thing....
it wouldn't be socially acceptable...would it?

{uh, excuse me....I'll be back in April...well ok May when the sun
comes back....just carry on without me....I'll just be here in my
blanky with my book, next to my imaginary fireplace, drinking my
hot cocoa & watching a Jane Austen movie or 2 or 3 or 4 or ??}


no can do....
no such thing...
life carries on....wet rainy cold or not!!


so gotta make the best of it.....{I'm afraid
I'll be saying that a lot for the next 6 months!
ha ha ha :)}

so let's be like Martha & make some stuff!
that always makes the wintery cold
months go by faster.....


aren't these blanket stockings fun??
I've seen so many blanket & sweater stockings around...

got an old chenille blanket around that's
too tattered for using??

...perfect for a stocking....



these are just too cute....think of all those old
sweaters you've got that are too dated, too worn out,
too big, too small, etc...etc...

go grab ya one....and start cutting....
yes, and sewing will be required! :)
but shouldn't be too tough....





our Christmas stockings are seriously in need
of upgrading....if I can convince my very
sentimental kiddos of it!

I'm definitely going to be making some new ones
here in the next little while....


I'd love to try felting wool & making some
out of that....
anyone else done that yet?

~*~

so what are you working on?

are you squeezing some "crafting"
in while "hibernating"
in your little nest?


in between all the running around &
crazy holiday preparations??

hope so!! :)



xoxo,



Shellagh



{images found here}



update!!
just found this darling stocking
craft made of fringed scarves.....
cute huh??

















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