Twenty Handmade Christmas Ornament Ideas

As I pulled out all the Christmas tree decorations, I realized how many handmade ornaments I had and I thought it would be fun to share them with all of you!

Some were made my me, some were made by friends, but most were made by my Grandma (a.k.a. the Queen of crochet). She gives each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren an ornament every year. I cherish them and look forward to seeing the new ones each year.

I'm not posting tutorials or anything, just sharing ideas to get your juices flowing. Enjoy!

1. Quilted angel with wooden bead head (notice the YW value colors, anyone?)
2. Santa's pants. One of my favorites. I think they are so funny!
3. Gingerbread ornament. It smells fantastic.

4. Crocheted gold ornament. I told you Grandma was the Queen.
5. Silver crocheted ornament. It is so sparkly in real life.
6. Crocheted doily hardened with Mod Podge or similar substance.
7. Crochet attached to a silver star.
8. Snowflake man. Isn't he adorable? The body is felt with crochet edging.
9. Crocheted Santa. Another favorite.
10. Snowman made of model magic. If you haven't used that stuff, it's awesome.
11. Felt poinsettia. Easy to make
12. Wreath. One of my music students made this for me. He is five.
13. Candy cane mouse. The candy cane slides through a tab on the back and then through the ears.

14. Baby Jesus Wreath. Simple to make, but I love the reminder of the real reason for the season.
15. Hand stitched gingerbread man. You could make any shape, but I love the whimsy of hand stitching.

16. Jewel mouse. Grandma made one for each grandchild out of their birth stone. Kind of a fun idea.
17. Ceramic train I painted for hubby. It's an inside joke.
18. Ribbon snowflake. A friend made this, but I remember her saying the instructions were from Martha Stewart. Basically it is just wire ribbon and beads strung together.
19. Modeling clay gummy worm. I shaped it, baked it, painted it, then rolled it in real sugar to make it look authentic. Another inside joke ornament for my husband.
20. Plastic snowflake with crocheted center. I love how Grandma added a handmade touch to turn something inexpensive into something really special.

Orange Almond Christmas Wassail Drink

Today I'm going to share a favorite Christmas recipe. It's a great holiday drink that is somewhat similar to wassail, but not as heavy tasting. One cup of this will put you in the Christmas spirit lickety-split! And if you don't believe me, just ask Santa:
Heat together 3 cups sugar and 4 cups water.

Then add:

1 12 oz. frozen orange juice undiluted
1 1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon almond extract flavoring
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 quarts water

Heat all until hot, but DO NOT boil (boiling will change the taste).

An Easy Hairstyle Using Stretchy Headbands

Here's a quick and beautiful hairstyle for you or your little gal. I think it has a little bit of that old Hollywood glam to it.

1. Place the headband on over the top of the hair hippy-style (so the front lies on the forehead). You should be able to see the headband all the way around.

2. Grab one small section of hair from the front and wrap it around the headband. Get another section and add it to the first section and wrap it around the headband again. Keep going until you get to the middle back of the hair. Do the other side.
3. Gather all the hair that is left down and tuck it into the headband until it is smooth.
4. Gently grab the headband in the front, lift it up, and place it in the normal headband position. Unless you like the hippy look, then you can just leave it!

Here's a side view:
The best perk of this hairstyle is that if you fix the hair while it's slightly damp and leave it in all night, you'll have beautiful curls the next day! Heat-free curls! Yeah! Leave it down or put it up for a pretty messy bun.

Braided Leather Cuff Bracelet TUTORIAL

Christmas gift-making is in full swing in The Craft Patch household. Even Mr. CP is getting in on the action this year! Can’t wait to share the fun things I’ve got planned! But you may have to wait until after Christmas. Don’t want certain diligent blog-checking family members to see what they are getting!

So for the first Christmas gift post, how about a pretty, unique, trendy, handmade cuff bracelet?!

I had a sweet coupon for 20% off my entire purchase at Joann’s, so I went hunting a bargain, and came home with silver vinyl. I got ¼ yard for 40 cents! So I thought I’d try my hand at making “leather” cuff bracelets.

I found THIS tutorial, which was really confusing and hard to follow. So I wrestled with the braiding until I figured out how to do it. Ready to follow along on my adventure?

Using a rotary cutter, ruler and mat, cut a piece of vinyl that is the width you want, but longer than the circumference of your wrist. Cut even slits into the center of the band, leaving plenty of room (2-3 inches, bigger than the picture shows) on each solid end to adjust after it's braided, since braiding makes the bracelet shrink quite a bit.


Now comes the fun part….braiding! Do it just like braiding anything else, and totally ignore the hot tangled mess you’re making at the bottom.

Left over center:

Right over center:

Left over center:
Pinch the part you’ve braided so it doesn’t come undone. Now try to untangle the bottom by flipping the bottom end through the hole as shown. Just keep twisting and turning and when you’ve got it right, it will all smooth out (there’s no better way to explain it, you just keep fiddling until poof! It untangles!) and looks like this:Magic! I love this look, but I wanted to experiment some more, so I undid the bracelet (then I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get it to work again) and cut each of the three strands in the braid in half, so that I had six narrow strands. Then I bunched two strands together and braided it again the same way as before, but with two strands in each of the three parts. Make sense? The end result is a more complicated looking bracelet that lays flatter on the wrist.
For another variation, instead of just braiding L/R/L once, try doing it twice. It makes a tighter braid and gives it a whole new look.
Next, it’s time to try it on and trim off the excess from the two ends. Then round the corners. Here’s how I did it:
Now we add closures. I debated on this one. Buttons? Ribbon? Clasps? Hot glue? (haha…totally kidding!) In the end I chose snaps. I searched and searched Joann’s notions wall to find something stylish that didn’t require buying any setting tools, and this is what I found:
I followed the directions on the back of the package, but here’s a visual for those who need to see it:
Place the pearl part on the outside of the bracelet and lightly press the tongs into the vinyl.

Flip the bracelet over and you should see the prongs poking through. Using the tips of your scissors or your fingernails, press the fabric all the way through so the entire length of the prongs is showing. Center the back piece over all the prongs and double check that they are all in the ridge. Put a spool of thread over the back and hammer until... ...it is flat when you look at it from the side. Now do the other side of the bracelet. Place the outie part of the snap on the right side of the fabric and center it. Push the prongs through like before. There's no picture of the inside of this one, but you'll put a little ring over the prongs and hammer until it's flat. Then you are DONE! Yay! I am IN LOVE with the final product! Good thing I have tons of vinyl left over so I can make one for me!
Next I am going to try to make a solid wide cuff and hand-sew beads or sequins onto it. Wouldn’t that be pretty?!

I spent $1.80 at Joann’s and have enough snaps to make four bracelets, with lots of vinyl left over. So I guess you could say these bracelets cost less than 45 cents each. Woot! Woot! Can’t beat that!

Twilight Party Ideas

Anyone excited for the Breaking Dawn Premiere this week?!? Don’t be too jealous, but I get to see it at a special screening BEFORE the midnight showing. Yeah baby!

Instead of waiting until after the fact, I thought I’d post beforehand about the party we’re hosting for anyone still looking for ideas.

First off, the food. We’re doing appetizers/desserts at our party before the movie, treats for during the movie, and then going out to dinner after the movie. Here’s the party food menu:

- Werewolf Kibble (aka Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies)
- Deviled Eggs (since Bella craved eggs when she was pregnant)
- Swiss Cheese Fondue dyed red to look like blood with all the goodies for dipping
- Wedding Cake
- Fangs (Bugle snacks)
- Werewolf Chew Sticks (Pirouette cookies)
- Sparkling Cider in champagne glasses

At our party, we are playing a trivia game with prizes (each girl will bring a prize $5 or under and the winner of the game will get to choose first). We are also taking photos with props, costumes and a backdrop, and knowing the ladies I will be with, this will be the craziest and best part of the night. And of course, we are eating and chatting and debating Edward vs. Jacob. Hee hee.

Then I’m giving these to each of the girls to take to the theater:Cool mint for Edward and hot cinnamon for Jacob. Hee hee. These are just snack sized Ziploc bags with paper toppers that fold over the zipper and are stapled shut.

Can’t wait to see the wedding! And that freaky baby. Go Team Edward!

Here are links to other Twilight party ideas:
Hostess With the Mostest
Design Dazzle
natalme's Blog
The cutest vampire cookies

Thanksgiving Cornucopia Treats

A sweet friend made these treats for the women in our church and I thought they were so adorable, I had to share.

Materials Needed:

Small waffle cones

M&M's or other candies

Rubber bands

Squares of plastic wrap

Some type of ribbon

1. Soak the tip of the waffle cone in warm water for about 20 seconds. My friend said to put a little water on the inside of the cone too.

2. Remove from water and microwave the wet waffle cone for about 20 seconds.

3. Roll the softened tip of the cone around a clean pencil and hold it in place for about 20 seconds.

4. After the cone has hardened completely, fill with candies, cover the opening with plastic wrap, use the rubber band to secure the wrap, and tie a ribbon around to hide the rubber band.

That's it! So simple and so cute! They would be perfect class party treats or neighbor treats or a fun pre-Turkey snack on Thanksgiving day. I might make one to go on each plate around the table, so people have something to snack on while they're waiting for dinner. You could even use them as place markers at the table and add a little tag onto the ribbon that says each person's name. So fun!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Caramel Icing

When the weather turns cold, my first instinct is to start baking. And today I’m going to share my all-time favorite fall cookie recipe that I got from my friend Leslie. These cookies are melt-in-your-mouth soft with a crunchy caramel icing. I’m telling you, they are the kind of cookies that tempt you to devour a dozen while hiding in the pantry so no one sees you and asks to share. Not that I would know anything about that. Ahem.
2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
1 package chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Cream shortening, sugar and pumpkin until smooth. Add eggs. Sift dry ingredients together (or if you are lazy like me,skip this step). Add to wet. Stir until smooth. Dough is very thick. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until cookies are no longer shiny. Do not overbake.

The following icing recipe makes a little too much, but halving it is barely enough, so you decide which way you want to go.

Caramel Icing

6 TBSP butter
1 cup brown sugar
8 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and milk until dissolved. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir until smooth and spread over warm cookies. You may need to reheat the icing occasionally to keep it from getting hard in between batches. Just pop it into the microwave for 20 seconds or so.