Oh Christmas Tree

Wow, okay I have been absent a little too long.  Maybe I can catch up on some of my past craft projects later, but right now we are getting ready for Christmas.  This year that means a new Christmas tree.

Here is a picture of us decorating our old tree.  It was small and skinny (perfect for our tiny little house).  Kent and I made most of the ornaments when we were first married.  We spent months cutting and painting the wooden stars, mittens, hearts, trees and snowmen.  The tree had a real primitive (code for a little rough) look to it.  I loved it, but the tree fell apart.  The new tree we found (on crazy cheap clearance) had colored lights and when I realized the old ointments wouldn't match, I was pretty sad.

I decided I still wanted a mostly handmade Christmas tree, but I didn't have the time (or lack of children) to make it happen.  So, here is our 50/50 tree.  It is a fun mix of our keepsake ornaments from years past, store bought (shatter proof) ornaments and homemade ornaments.  I wasn't sure it would be cute, but now that it is up, I really like it too.

 Here is a pic of the crochet stars I made.  With only 3 rounds, they are very simple and quick to make.  Here is a link:  http://jellywares.blogspot.com/2010/11/jelly-xmas-star-tutorial.html

 These little felt birds were the fastest and cheapest ornaments I made.  They are made out of stiff felt (about $0.70 a sheet) and you get 12-13 birds per sheet.  I added a sequence and bead for eyes on some of the birds, but they look cute without eyes too.

 The pattern for this comes from family fun.  http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/christmas-ornaments/buildable-bird-674956/

I think the crochet snowflakes were the most fun to make.  I made two different styles.  http://sarahlondon.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/simple-snowflake/ I made this style out of a sparkly yarn (Christmas always needs a little bit of sparkle).

This snowflake was a little more involved (but not difficult) that the one above, and I think I like it a little more.  I followed the instructions at the bottom of the blog post on starching the snowflakes (both patterns).  Trust me, it makes a HUGE difference.  I put a towel on my ironing board, pinned the points out and sprayed them with starch.  http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/crochet-snowflake.html

Lastly, I made the fun twisty garland for the tree.  http://www.purlbee.com/twisted-felt-garland-necklace/
 I didn't make it out of the real wool felt though, $60 for the project was just too steep.

Overall, I like it.  I don't like the hangers I used, and I might add ribbon hangers if I get the energy.  I also think I'll continue to add to the tree every year swapping out the store bought baubles for home-made, but this will do for now.

Merry Christmas!