alternative bell pull

I make cross stitch bell pull ornaments, and was having trouble finding bell pull hardware at my local crafting store. My solution:
cinnamon sticks! They look homey, fit in with the Christmas season, and cost a fraction of the price. Simply fold over the edge of your fabric, hiding the ends, glue, and thread the cinnamon stick through the loop made. Tie ribbon at both ends to make a hanger. J. Jepson, Wheelersburg OH.

Christmas Story

We have 4 children and even though they are teens and twenties we have through the years read the story of Christ's birth. The children have passed around a wrapped goody while listening to the story. For example every time I read the word Jesus or I or some word that was repeated a lot they passed the four presents around. At the end of the story they got to each open their little treat.

Christmas Wreaths

Use old jigsaw puzzle pieces to make Christmas Wreaths. Paint all pieces
green then place in a circle, gluing the top layer to the bottom ones.
Add little red pompoms for berries and make small green holly leaves
from felt. Next glue on small bow and a string at the top for hanging.

Christmas Tree Chain

In the first grade our oldest son made a Christmas tree chain with red, green and white pieces of construction paper. It was about two feet long when he brought it home that year. We hung it from a little shelf that year.

The next year around Christmas time he worked on his chain some more. He did this almost every year until high school. His Christmas tree chain hung in the living room... on all four walls with some extra placed in the entryway just two years ago!! I had to find a large enough box to store it in without crushing any of the chains.

Last year I had the opportunity to pass his chain on to him and his wife as part of their Christmas decor. It still brings a sparkle to his eyes when we talk about it. And yes they hung it in their house last year for Christmas.

Such an easy craft but what joy it brought to our house each year!

Football Rug

For printable instructions and pictures, please visit http://www.chicaandjo.com/?p=11

When my favorite NFL team made it to the championship game last year, I decided to host a party to celebrate the event. I had to do something special to decorate, and the idea I came up with was to make a large rug that looked like a football field.

I started with a giant piece of indoor/outdoor “fake grass” carpet, which I purchased it at the local home improvement store in the flooring section for about $20. They sell several kinds of carpet in giant rolls, and you can get them to cut off any length you want. The carpet I purchased came in a 12-foot-wide roll, so I got a 6-foot length of it, which was a good proportional size for a football field, and just right for my kitchen floor. I also picked up a roll of white duct tape while I was at the store.

When I got home, I spent quite a bit of time calculating my measurements. I first laid the carpet out on the floor and trimmed it a bit to fit the room. Then I measured the length of the field and figured out how far apart my lines should be to allow for all of the field measurements as well as two endzones. I then cut the duct tape into 1″ wide strips and used them to mark a full line for every five yards on the field. I also added short strips of tape to mark the 1-yard hash marks that appear on each side of the field and then again a third of the way in from each side of the field.

The next step was to make some numbers to mark every 10 yards. This was the trickiest part of the project for me. I began by printing out some giant numbers (about 3″ tall) on paper to serve as a pattern. I then laid three strips of duct tape across a self-healing cutting mat to make a “sheet” of tape. I placed the number pattern paper on top of the tape and then cut out the numbers with a craft knife, cutting through both the paper and the tape at once. When the cutting was done, I could then peel the numbers off the board and then apply them directly to the carpet. I also cut some little arrows for the 10, 20, 30, and 40 yard lines that pointed to the respective end zones.

The final touch was to put duct tape around all four edges of the carpet, to seal it up so that it wouldn’t fray over time. By doing the edges last, I was also able to cover up all of the ends of the tape from the yard marking lines, and it made a very nice finish. I pressed all the duct tape firmly in place and walked over it to make sure it had made full contact with the carpet, and it was definitely secure. I really loved the glossy look the white tape gave to the finished product, and I especially loved how well it held up — it didn’t even budge after two days of foot traffic!

Everyone loved the rug during the party and it had a huge impact, especially considering it only cost about $25 in supplies! The best part is that I could roll it up after the party and store it (under the couch!) to use again next year. If only my favorite... [Read More]