I did it!

I feel like a prize boxer that just won after nine rounds!
Because I finally got my blog page updated from the Christmas theme!
I do not feel defeated that it has taken me way more time than I think it should!

I mean.. I am victorious, because after several hours,
it looks like a pretty good rendition of what I feel is the the theme of my blog!

Boy.. this blogging is not easy to get the hang of,
but I am doing much better now after a few months of attempting to start my blog.

I am sooo happy to all my new friends and followers!
Thank you for reading my posts!
It has been so fun getting to know you all, and visit those of you with your own blogs!  

God bless you all!

Little Susie Home Maker

Christmas is a Coming!!

 Every where I go, I am reminded that it is the Christmas season. Santa and his red suit. Red and green colors, lights, and people busy taking packages to the post office. It is a bright and happy time of year.

 We got a snow blowing in today, and it's mighty cold outside. The snow is welcome, but not fond of the winds. But it is nice to have some snow blowing around at this time of year. Just because it is so pretty.

 I will be getting my last minute preparations in order this week. Waiting for the beautiful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to spend with family.

I will spend more time getting presents in order, baking holiday goodies, last minute decorating, and preparing for the holiday menu. It will be so exciting to watch the children enjoy the holiday and get together with family and friends.

The gift of my Savoir in which  I am so thankful. It is His day to be thought of often and remembered for the greatest gift of all.

Merry Christmas! 

Sewn Bird Ornaments

I love birds and I really like the charm of a hand made ornament. I thought it might be fun to show you these little birds I am making. These can be done with felts or your favorite fabric scraps. 

Home sewn birds on my snow frosted tree.

These fit into my Christmas decorations, but any color would be so pretty!

I chose the red because I am doing a lot of red and white this year, and red is my favorite high light color any time! They are made of fabric and or felt.

So I started by getting out my paper and drafting a basic bird shape to use as a pattern for cutting out fabric. 

I chose pinking sheers to cut out because the raw edges are going to show.

Now I used a decorative stitch in contrasting color to sew on the wings.

So either hand stitched or used sewing machine, which ever you prefer.

I decided to try an embroidered french knot for eyes,

I also used buttons.

Next, I hand sewn in a looped ribbon hanger,

a dab of hot glue is helpful here as well.

Now it is ready to be sewn around the perimeter. Sew on outside with a decorative top stitch. Again, hand or machine, with ever tickles your fancy.

Be sure to leave open a small opening in bottom to stuff the bird a little to plump him up!

After, stuffing, sew him up on bottom and he is finished! I used cotton balls to stuff mine.

They look so cute just hanging around!

Added some more embroidery and some loopy ribbons on the tail.

 Here are a few close ups.

I really like the way way they look on my real snow frosted tree outside!

These little guys are fun to make, and I bet you could make them with many different little personalities.

I think they will be around for a while at my house.

Blessings,

Little Susie Home Maker

Linking with
Old Time Party at Old Time Farm House 

Our Tags are Swapped!

It's time to share with my blog the Christmas Tag Swap 2011 that Sue over at It's a Very Cherry World  hosted! Thank you, Sue! What fun this has been. My partner in this was the wonderful, Deb of Garage Sale Gal! Deb is an amazing person and I love her blog, so if you haven't checked it out, I really hope you do, and tell her I said "Hi"!

Now for the fun! We set out in November to start making a tag that we would swap with our partners. I had never read Deb's blog before, but quickly knew she had a blog to follow. I found out that Deb is an avid collector of antiques and vintage finds. She also, has a love for her dear family pet dogs. She has several pictures posted on her blog of family Pets.

I wanted to make her tag personal, so I used these as clues to how I would  design her gift tag. But I will show you my results later. Now, our packages had been mailed to each other, and I was getting nervous about our exchange. You know, the good kinda nervous, where you just can't wait. Then finally it happened, and I got my pretty little package in the mail! Oh, it was so pretty wrapped in a golden angelic Christmas wrapping paper with the mailing label on top! My it is already looking good!

I opened the box with anticipation, and wow! Look at this beautiful little tag! Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

It has been stamped and embossed in the stunning golden and green glitter. And a pretty ribbon. It looks elegant and I am very pleased! But look.. it is resting on top of white glitter tissue paper.

I fold back the tissue paper to reveal what is inside..

A little box of treasures, with this nice note from my new friend, Deb.

And look at all the vintage goodies.. a Santa and a Snowman cupcake topper!

I will play house with these and the white glitter Church ornament, and a little tree from a snow scene!

A really charming old Nativity Christmas card, and a beautiful Christmas ornament of a church. A vintage Christmas post card, too.

Now here is a special tag. This must be the special one!

If you look close here there is a little pin tack of some chickadees on a sprig of holly.

Now isn't that a clever idea?

I love chickadees! Some of my favorite little buddies just outside my window every day!

The tag background is a gold embossed doily, with red gems in each corner!

The pretty gem studded Christmas tree and the Merry Christmas banner are raised for a 3-D effect!

Very Nice!

The tie is a red, green and gold cord with tassel.

Elegant! Deb, it's just great.

Oh, look.. a tag that Deb made from an old vintage Christmas print of a snow man. Isn't he cute!

There are some chocolate goodies. Yummy!!

There is a oh so pretty little vintage Poinsettia handkerchief. Isn't the most delightful handkerchief?

As I start to reveal all that is in the box, I am so overwhelmed with the kindness that she has shared with me.

Deb has taken the time to really put an effort into our swap, and I am thrilled with the tags and other goodies she has included for me.

Deb, you are so kind, Thank You! Thank you So very much. You have made me happy.

I am really hoping that Deb is going to like my swap that I sent to her. We can check out what she thinks over at her blog, Garage Sale Gal.

But here is a sneak peek...

Merry Christmas to all!

Blessings,

Little Susie Home Maker

Salt Dough Ornaments

If you feel like getting your hands into your Christmas crafts, this is the perfect one! You can definitely include your children and have a lot of fun with this, too. So with just three simple common house hold ingredients lets whip up a batch of Salt Dough.

 

Salt Dough Recipe

1 cup salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cold to luke warm water

• Mix salt and flour together in a large bowl.
• Then slowly add in the water and stir well, until it begins to form a consistency of dough.
• Knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding a few more drops of water as needed (but not making it too moist). The dough will become smoother, the more you knead it.

 Directions to make ornaments

• That simple.. now you can divided and roll it out about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thickness. Keep unused dough in airtight container or plastic wrap.
  
• Use cookie cutters, or create shapes like you would with playdough. It's up to you and your imagination. Have fun.
• For hanging ornaments use a straw to punch out holes in "cookie" to thread a ribbon through after finished. You can also push a wire ornament hanger or paper clip into it to dry in place.
• Then let the ornaments dry on cookie racks or wax paper for about 2 days, turning occasionally.
• Optional baking method to dry ornaments and get a little golden color, bake at 200*F in oven on cookie sheets with aluminum foil gently laying over top to prevent too much browning. Drying time depends on humidity, and your oven. 
• I like to heat for 200*F in the evening for a few hours while I can monitor them. Then leave them in oven overnight with the heat turned off. They will usually be dry in the morning, unless they were very thick to begin with. If not dry in the morning, just monitor at 200*F until they dry, another hour should be long enough.   Or just let air dry for the rest of the day.  Watch you don't burn them!

 After drying decorate

• Acrylic paints,  fabric paints, puff paints, glitter, ribbons, etc.
• Gingerbread men and Christmas cookies are very fun to decorate with puff fabric paint. Looks just like icing! 
• You can also leave plain. That works, too.
• Make a pretty hanger with ribbons.

Longevity

•  Finally, spraying your dough craft with polyurethane or varnish, will seal them and make them last for years to come. But this is optional.

The main thing is to have fun with family and friends of all ages. Get your do-dads ready and have fun making what ever you can imagine. Then you get to bake them in your own oven. Watch a Christmas movie or eat lunch, cookies, cocoa, etc. Then after a few hours decorate, or decorate the next day. Just enjoy!

I hope this is a fun Christmas craft to share.

Blessings,

Susie