Sewing Paper

Not too long ago I was looking at Christmas decorating article by Maratha Stewart and delusional thoughts set in about how crafty I could be too.  I went on to extend my fake crafty skills by signing up for Brooklyn Brides' 4th annual card swap. Panic set instantly as soon as I got my list of people to send my cards.  I struggled to think of how to make cards for my fellow swappers. It was when I was fixing hem in my pants when I decided that I would attempt to sew my cards. Pretty silly sounding I know, but I promise it works and makes your cards look really good.

Cards that are much better than how mine turned out by Instructables

You just need some fabric, thread, paper and get after it! You don't even need a machine. You can use thicker embroidery floss if you don't have a machine. I used my machine and used one of the fun stitching patterns. They are very simple but look pretty good if you ask me. Other people get really creative and use all sorts of different fabrics. Think about adding a speical touch to envelopes for party invites or even stitching wedding invitations.

Birthday card option

Adding some personal touches like stitching it is bound to make your card recipient feel special when they receive a fun handmade card. And you can even feel a little bit crafty!

Living on Borrowed Time

There are some Christmas fanatics our there among us. These are the people who believe decorations and holiday music can start as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is cleared from the table. In order to help these elves out we have some tips on making your greenery last all season long.  There is nothing worse than when a tree that starts dropping its needles when you look at it the wrong way or even think about walking by it.

Live long and Prosper Fir Tree of Mine:

• Think about where you are buying your tree. If you are going to a lot, that tree might have been cut down in October. The best way is to cut a tree down yourself. This is totally not feasible to many people nor do most people even want to do it. As someone that was dragged as a child to perform this task, I can honestly say that it is not that much fun. Someone always gets lost, cut or mad.  So check to see if your lot has fresh cut trees and pay them to do the work for you.

 

• Before you put the tree in the stand, make a straight cut across the base of the trunk. Make the cut at least 4inches above the original. Sap forms over the stump and that blocks water from getting in. The fresh cut will allow plenty of water to get through (see number 1). Many tree lots will do with for you if you are not the saw wielding type. Just make sure you get it in water within 6 hours of making the cut or the thing will just sap up again. It sounds sort of like a scab right? Gross, I know

• WATER THE TREE. Sounds obvious, but really how often do you get to the tree and find it totally dry? I mean you couldn’t even keep your Chia Pet alive this summer. A tree can take up to a gallon of water a day.  

• Location is everything! Try to place your tree far from heat vents, direct sun, fireplaces, radiators and registers to keep it from drying out.

• There are different mixtures that people swear keep their trees green like a bleach mix, adding an aspirin once a day, corn syrup,  giving the tree some Sprite or even putting some beer in the stand. Feel free to try all and any at your own risk.

America's Tree

• If you didn’t listen to any of this and your tree gets dried out, you can try to drill some small holes in the base and refill the stand with water. If that doesn’t work, throw it to the curb and get a fake. I prefer this American tree. 

Gift Away

Giving gifts can be hard. It can be harder when you don’t know someone is going to give you a gift. How embarrassing when, Tommy from IT, brings in a gift for you and you have nothing! I started solving this problem years ago by ordering cases of my favorite wines. It is a cheap way to get more than a few bottles and you are always prepared for whatever unexpected gift comes your way. Besides, any leftover bottles can be drunk by you in the new year!   

After attending the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertainment show in DC  this weekend I found a little item to make this holiday season even easier. I stopped by the Drink Me Tag booth to check out their wine tags. These clever and stylist little tags fit right over the wine bottle and show you cared enough to write out a card. No more giving a wine bottle to someone and hope they remember it was you that gave it to them. No more messing with wine bags because are your really hiding the fact that it is a bottle of wine? No more of  those tacky sticker labels that get stuck on everything but the gift. These tags make sure your recipient knows who gave them the wine and in a way the recipient can totally re-gift the wine if they dislike it! I think this is brilliant. They have tags for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and more. You can even have them customize some tags.