Tuesday, December 12, 2017

A Homemade Christmas

Thanks for stopping by today.


I have joined with 4 other bloggers for the annual Creating Christmas Link Party hosted by Jann of Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson.


I love creating and never more so than at Christmas - this year pillows seem to be my thing.


I made the little linen pillows and embroidered them in the summer on one of our long drives to and from Sacramento to see Andy.


Next I jumped on the plaid bandwagon with flannel - I chose a red, white & blue fabric that will stay on the sofa through winter.


I ordered a set of 8 tea towels from Bed Bath and Beyond and used 4 of them for guest room pillows.


I wanted one more pillow on the bed so I created an iron on transfer with a green background to break up all the red.


Things in the guest room were finished until I found flannel plaid gift sacks at TJ Maxx last week


and this wonderful vintage Santa gift sack.


I like to keep my options open for future projects so bed pillows are just stuffed into each sack


The red and white tea towel pillows ended up on the window seat in the dining room and they will probably stay right there through Valentine's Day.


The other towels ended up in the kitchen, but woe betide anyone who actually tries to use one of the towels.


 Steve says, "enough with the pillows!", but Lulu thinks the more the merrier!


Last winter I went on a walking tour of Los Angeles Kaari and Molly Meng of French General where I found cute little red hearts and candy cane beads for a garland.


The Christmas decor will disappear in a little more than 2 weeks, but the garland will easily transition to a Valentine vignette.


I had fun creating this MERRY and BRIGHT banner.


The letters are another iron-on project and you'll see from my next project that I've gone a little overboard with iron-ons this year.


I ordered wine sacks on Amazon and made a bunch of iron-on transfers.


We are always popping in at holiday parties and I like having the sacks on hand to grab.


By far my favorite and worst project this year was to make stockings for KC and her family.


It's difficult to tell in this photo, but they are done with the pick stitch and nearly killed my hands.


The creating time has finished and I'm spending the rest of the month having a Merry Little Christmas.


And now for a bit of "A Shabby Christmas", visit Debbie Goes Shabby.


 Cecilia of My Thrift Store Addiction shared  "A Rustic and Romantic Christmas".


Thursday Jann of Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson shared "A Dish Addict's Christmas".


Friday Katie of Let's Add Sprinkles shared "Nordic Christmas Ideas".

And now, it's your turn - please link up and show us what you're up to this Christmas.


30 comments:

  1. You are so talented and all of your creations and decorations make your sweet home look oh so festive.

    Happy Christmas holidays ~ FlowerLady

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  2. Good morning, Carol! Every vignette you share is perfectly set up and photographed. How I wish I could do Christmas as such! Your pillows are marvelous, and my husband too does NOT care for them; he always throws them aside! No dog here to approve of them with me!

    Everything is white and merry and bright.

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  3. Carol, your Christmas decor is so charming and whimsical! Absolutely love all of your cozy pillows and those wine bags are just darling! Pinning! Excited to be touring with you this Christmas season! Blessings, Cecilia

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  4. Carol, I love all of your pillows and the iron on's are so fun! Those stockings are amazing! I'm not familiar with that stitch. I'm going to have to google it. lol! (sounds funny) I was able to link up with Debby yesterday with no problem. Today, I tried twice with yours and it's not taking my photo. Darn! I'll try again later. Thanks so much for joining Creating Christmas again this year!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  5. Carol, I love the white bead heart. I hope that the fires are not too close to you. Thanks for sharing and have a great week. Sylvia D.

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  6. Man you are good. Loved the pickup on the pillow and I love the Santa Sack pillow. That was too cute.

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  7. Such pretty and festive decor! My favorite is the simple branch with touches of greenery and beads! Love your pillows, too!
    Merry Christmas!

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  8. Carol

    Love all your creating! The stockings are gorgeous! Iron on, I will have to try it, so much beautiful inspiration! Merry Christmas and enjoy your family!

    Debby
    Debbygoesshabby.blogspot.com

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  9. I love what you have done with the sofas, such a simple idea! My husband shares Steve's view of pillows or cushions! Those transformed wine sacks look so good and so much better than anything you could buy. Sarah x

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  10. Carol you have created a beautiful cozy cottage Christmas in your home. I agree with Lulu the more pillows the better! Those Christmas stockings for everyone are gorgeous. Little Andy is going to love that his grandma made him this sweet stocking.
    Enjoy all your creating.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  11. Thanks so much for hosting this lovely party!! I love your beautiful Holiday decor!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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  12. I love how cute everything looks! The wine sacks are ingenious for hostess gifts. What a fabulous idea!

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  13. Never too many pillows! And I'm swooning over all the plaids!

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  14. Well since reading your last post, I was inspired to search out something to wrap around my two poinsettia pots and some ribbon to tie them with. . .keep up the inspiration! Loved the pillow ideas!

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  15. Your projects are fantastic, Carol! Tell Steve there are plenty of us who'd be glad to take a few pillows and/or sacks off your hands! I love the dish towel pillows and using the plaid sacks for pillowcases on the bed, but your entire cottage oozed with good things.

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  16. You make it all sound so easy! You whip up those wine sacks but that would take me days. :) Seriously.

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  17. YOUR HOME LOOKS LIKE A SHOP!
    A BEAUTIFUL DISPLAY!

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  18. I am in awe of your creations. The pillows are making me swoon. I'm with Lulu never too many pillows.

    Cindy

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  19. I just love everything about your cottage Carol and you make it look extra special at Christmas 🎄♥️

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  20. I am just loving all the sweet pillows! Tea towels - such a good idea!! Thank you for hosting the party!

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  21. I enjoyed every single picture in this post. Your home is beautiful and bright all decked out for Christmas, but especially that guest room. Who wouldn't love staying there? What fun you've had with pillows and gift bags too. Sweet Lulu is pretty sure you made them just for her. Have a blessed holiday season my friend. We'll be flying over you on our way to Hawaii to see Bethany but I'll give you a wave ;)
    Patti

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  22. Very pretty! I always love how red and white looks in your home. Love the elves in the dish rack! xoxo Su

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  23. Fabulous. I love all your pillows. Bill says we have too many too.

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  24. You not only decorate beautifully, but you are so creative and talented, too. Love all the pillows!

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  25. Hi Carol, I just love touring your beautiful cottage decorated for Christmas. Your decor and ideas are amazing. Love the pillows and everything. I just must go back and view it all again. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. xo

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  26. I love the cushions and the sacks, Carol. It's too late to do this year but i must remember to copy some of those ideas next year! Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas. Sarah x

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  27. Have a HAPPY and LOVELY CHRISTMAS!
    Love from Titti

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  28. Hi Carol,

    Everything looks so cheerful and ready for Santa to visit!

    What method do you use to make your iron on transfers for the wine bags? Do you use an iron on transfer pen to copy words printed out from your printer? Thanks for letting me know and Merry Christmas!

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  29. I've read this post over and over. Just had to say you have done an incredible job of making everything interconnecting and transferable to Valentines! So many great ideas you've put into action here. My favorite might be the Santa Sacks into Pillows, but really hard to pick a favorite really!

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  30. I love how you have decorated, Carol! The red is so perfect and festive for Christmas. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!...Blessings...Sandi

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