Christmas + Crafts = Love

The season of Christmas is officially here (although most of us have been celebrating for the last 2 weeks anyways) and in light of this wonderful season, it's time for a post.

For the last few weeks I've really had the passion on my heart to make Christmas a little less about the stuff we buy and more about the stuff we give.

I want to be giving from my heart - this includes giving my time, giving encouraging words, and giving the things I create. I know this won't be easy - and it'll be difficult to maintain any consistency whatsoever - but these are my goals and I hope that in beginning to practice the art of giving through advent and through the year following Christmas, it might come a little more naturally.

I've made 3 practical, realistic goals for myself this advent and I would appreciate any ideas in how to live this out:

1. The Charity:Water Campaign (click to read about this)
2. Making my own Christmas decorations - giving to myself! Let's be serious. (...mostly. I did spend some hard-earned mulah at the dollar store.)
3. Making some of my own Christmas gifts and treats.

Giving Water

If you want to support the Charity:Water campaign, I encourage you to help me reach my goal of $125 at this link - and if you're interested in helping me think of some creative Christmas decorations or gifts, I'd be happy to hear ideas.

Giving Decor (and Saving Money)

A few weeks ago I was perusing on Etsy (ahhh) for Christmas decoration ideas. At this point, my dreams for purchasing decor were a little bigger - I was hoping to gather some down-home Christmas crafts which looked like I made them but didn't require the work that it actually takes to make them. I found this:

Found these adorable advent mittens at this Etsy Shop

And that's when the ideas started to flow. Although it's not as easy as "I could do that" (really, it's not), these felt mittens gave me inspiration to do something very similar. I could save the $25 US (plus shipping) if I took myself on a trip to Fabricland and taught myself to sew.

That's right, I can't sew. Couldn't sew.

After an informative trip to Fabricland combined with a pouty understanding that mine wouldn't look as though I had been at it for years (that's why Michelle Phillips can sell hers for $25), I created a template, cut the fabric, and got right to it.

What I learned:

• Felt does not fray at the sides when you cut it. This is why my inspiration is so seamless.
• Felt also costs a lot of money.
• Fabric (what I purchased) does fray at the sides when you cut it. This is why my end product has frayed edges. If you're looking to do a similar project and you are anal retentive, choose felt.
• The entirety of fabric used to make this project cost about $4. So that's pretty awesome.
• In my inspiration, the creator used a sewing machine. That's why she could get those cute little zig zags, and they didn't have to go right to the edge of her fabric.
• In the real zone, if you don't have a sewing machine, you need to get your creative on. You can try cute zig zags, but you will give up quickly because they will overlap each other and be a frustrating mess.

Here they be:

I really should have ironed these before putting them on display forever...

In a crafty fever, I also decided to knit a couple little scarves for my door wreath to add some Christmas to the outside of our home:

Which of course turned into Christmas scarfing...

The Point:

DIY Christmas Crafts do not have to be perfect. I love my final products. They took me HOURS. I poured love into my advent stockings and they will pour love back to my family for years to come. They will bear chocolate and candies, and messages of hope and love, and be a reminder to us all that we can celebrate because Christmas is on it's way.


The Free Stuff
...and because you took the time to read all about my adventures, enjoy a free download of this poster I made, which I hope should remind us all of the reason we're celebrating this season in the first place.