A Welcoming Woodland Porch

There was a slight change to holiday decorating on the outdoor porch this year.  There are no complicated lights or time needed to set up a lit tree.  A bench decorated with soft, comfortable pillows and a bottle of rich red wine to enjoy as the snow gently falls and winter quietly settles in is all that is needed.  It is a porch that welcomes everyone all winter long.

The left over black and red buffalo checkered fabric from the fireplace mantel and dining room tablescape design (see next two photos) were used to make some toss pillows for cozy comfort on the front porch bench along with a "Merry Christmas" red truck pillow made from a inexpensive burlap gift bag ($4) from the Dollar Store.  

A once inexpensive gift bag cut and sewn into a toss pillow is paired along with two black and red buffalo checkered pillows.

The top drawstring and bottom of the burlap gift bag were cut off and the red truck print centered in the middle to make the fabric size 17 inch x 17 inch.  With the addition of a cream colored zipper, the pillow is the perfect size for an attractive decor piece.  I do not know of any other print that works more with the little red truck than the red and black buffalo checkered fabric for the side pillows.  

This cute homemade red truck print pillow conveys a warm welcoming feeling.  A sense of "come on over and make yourself comfortable".  

The troll like/Santa face plant pot given to me from my sister a number of years ago is perfect to hold snow/ice to chill a bottle of crisp red wine.   It looks like it has been hand carved from a tree trunk.  I just love the fairy/folk art feel of this versatile piece.  Adorable for a woodland theme, don't you think?

This unique plant pot which is charming as an ice bucket can also be used to hold a pillar candle and a protected hurricane glass.

For next year at Christmas, I am also thinking of using the plant pot to hold a small Christmas tree in place of a tree skirt or as a table centerpiece with a variety of Christmas flowers.   So many possibilities.

 

A ring of cedar branches and a cranberry scented pillar candle gives this troll/Santa face plant pot a beautiful look as a candleholder, especially with a red candle.

A tray is prepared with coffee and delicate Pecan Finger cookies rolled into a snowball and dusted with powdered sugar for a bit of sweetness on the front porch.  Who can resist this soft, buttery cookie served with a woodland/folk art Santa on the tray.

These cookies are the perfect treat any time of the year and every occasion.  If you would like the recipe to give it a try, here it is:

Pecan Fingers/Balls

1 C butter, softened

1/4 C brown sugar

2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 T water

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C finely chopped pecans

powdered sugar for rolling the finished cookies

Cream butter with brown sugar.  Add flour, salt, water and vanilla extract and mix until blended.  Add pecans mixing until incorporated.  Shape into balls or date-like shapes.

Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.  Let cool slightly and roll finished cookie into powdered sugar.

Enjoy the holiday season!

Waddling Through To Christmas

Merry Christmas!  The holiday is almost here.  Let's have some fun.  What better way to add some humor and good old fashioned joy to the Christmas holiday than to once again decorate with some jolly, peppy penguins.  The Christmas tree is filled with witty waddling black and white felt penguins with their happy, snappy smiles.  

This penguin themed tree was once used in the Rahr Art Museum's Christmas in the Mansion in 2019.  The design has now been slightly changed from incorporating white, iridescent deco mesh to adding large black and white checkered bows instead.  

You can view the Toy Room exhibit at the Rahr Art Museum here:    A Penguin Tree Exhibit

What would a penguin tree be without plenty of snowballs?

And with huge, lacy snowflakes.

Of course, there is a polka dot effect with these black and white pom pom filled ornaments.

And there are plenty of bold black and white checkered bows.

How about warm stockings?

Who can forget some shiny red and white balls?

They coordinate so well with the extra large red velvet poinsettias.  

And a whimsical tree wouldn't be whimsical without some candy.

Putting it all together with the fanciful penguins to make a storybook type of Christmas tree.

Perhaps with all of the snow and ice we see in the tree and the outdoors, we need a Penguin Hot Cocoa Tray.

Pouches of hot cocoa mix, peppermint candy canes and drops and sweet, soft marshmallows are surrounded with whimsical penguins.  Some are made of wood.

And some are ceramic like these tumbling, playful ones.

And some are made to drink from like this comical hot chocolate mug.

Who would think this little penguin could push this giant ice cube.  The big ice cube holds hot cocoa packets and peppermint drops.  It could be used to hold so many other things too like a candle, greenery, decorated stir sticks, etc.

Pour yourself a cup of hot cocoa

and

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Scraping Christmas

Scraping Christmas?  Oh heaven's no.  I didn't at all mean that I wasn't going to celebrate the Christmas holiday and its many events.  What I did mean was something totally different.  So what do I mean by "scraping?"   Look closely at the cute four foot tree in our guest bedroom.  This sweet tree lit with white lights is made up with scrap fabric quilt ball ornaments that were previously used as decorative filler balls.  The tree also incorporates scrap fabric ornaments that are made up of strips of fabric tied to cinnamon sticks and cut into the shape of a tree and embellished with a decorative button. The tree is finished off with a dot of white cotton batting for snow disbursed throughout the tree.  And lastly, perched on the tip of the tree is an off white crocheted lace bird tree topper.

About three years ago, my sister gave me a box of quilting fabric with coordinated patterns which she used to make clothing for her soft-sculptured Mrs. Santa Claus dolls.  As her terminal illness progressed, she gave up her work and asked if I would take all of the fabric to use as I wished.  I was not sure of what to do with the many yards of fabric, but came across instructions to make some simple, but beautiful ornaments for a Christmas tree.  I am sure my sister who loved the Christmas holiday would have been thrilled to learn of how this fabric was turned into these easy to make and inexpensive ornaments.  And, most importantly, these ornaments were made from smaller scrap pieces from the yards of fabric.  The quilted balls were given an eyelet and ribbon and were transformed from once being decorative filler balls into ornaments for the Christmas tree.  

You might even recognize the quilt balls from some of my previous posts.  (I also made them with other various fabric scraps, which included scraps from the baby blanket which I sewed for my first grandson.  They became filler balls.  See them by visiting this link:  Obsession Over Ice Cream).   

With other scrap pieces, the strips of fabric were tied to a cinnamon stick and cut into the shape of a tree.  Embellished with a button and some green and white striped baker string for hanging, these lovely scented ornaments add the same homespun design to the tree like the quilted balls.  

It just seemed like a perfect fit to top the tree with this beautifully crocheted lace love bird.  This bird is just as charming and heart-warming as snuggling under grandma's homemade quilt, don't you think?

As another project to use up the scrap pieces of fabric from my creation of the Northwoods Thanksgiving tableware design, I tied strips of the leftover red and black buffalo checkered fabric and solid red strips onto a long piece of twine to create a garland intertwined with another garland of pine needles, grapevine stars and white lights.  (If you happened to have missed my post on the tablescape, just visit: A Northwoods Thanksgiving.) 

Unfortunately, I was so excited and carried away with the idea of using this matching garland on our fireplace mantel that I forgot to take photos of the finished piece before putting it up.  I was just swept away in creative thought of how it was going to come together and how it would coordinate with the rustic look of my Northwoods Thanksgiving tablescape that before I realized it, the mantel was finished and ready for the holiday.  

As you can barely see from the following photos,  the mantel uses similar decor elements like the tablescape, which include the other engraved faux wood deer from the pair, greenery, pinecones, antlers, grapevine balls, snowballs, ice branches and, in this case, white poinsettias.    However, you are left with glimpses of the garland in the photos and you must use your imagination to envision how the finalized red and black buffalo checkered garland might have looked by itself.  

The standing deer surrounded with white poinsettias was added as the central focal point of the mantel.  You can see the red and black buffalo checkered scrap fabric garland twisted with the lights and greenery in this photo.

His twin is in a laying position and is used as the centerpiece in my Northwoods Thanksgiving tablescape.  ( Again, in case you missed this post, feel free to take a look at:  A Northwoods Thanksgiving.)  

What a wonderful way to use all of your scrap pieces of fabric, don't you think?  Create something charming and beautiful for the Christmas holiday for gift-giving and make a homemade (and low-cost) ornament(s) that convey a gift of love and from the heart.  

Happy Scraping!