Christmas season is sneaking up....and I love it!

 ( please click the title to view this post in your browser~ it looks so much nicer there!)

 Hello friends,

I have a little secret to confess....I have started pulling out my Christmas trees! This year I feel I need to add some extra cheer, extra early ;).

If you are feeling the same way, I have a great post for you today! I searched around the Internet to find some cute, simple, easy, and/ or cheap projects to make...either for yourself or as a gift. And keep reading, because at the end of my post I am sharing a little give-away! Who couldn't use a little fun give-away these days, right?

Alright, let's dive right into some Christmas cheer!

1) This burlap and fabric pattern by Thermo-Web is so cute AND simple! I made a bunch of these for my husband's office staff last year but instead of using the bear, I used a gingerbread man pattern. I am going to make more this year because I don't have any for ME, and I also think they would make great present toppers or little gifts for neighbors. 

                   http://blog.thermoweb.com/rustic-burlap-bear-christmas-ornaments/

2) These mini stocking advent calendars are so cute! You could hang them in a tree, or make a garland from some pretty ribbon and string it across a window pane.  

                                  https://www.marthastewart.com/271176/mini-stockings

3)Isn't this the most gorgeous tree ornament ever? This one is going to require a little extra prep work, but the results are stunning! And you could of course just skip the embroidering and use some pretty fabric instead!  

https://www.marthastewart.com/1524115/embroidered-christmas-tree-ornament

4) How about this sweet Christmas Tree banner? You could make it small and use it as a garland in a little table top tree, or make it big and hang it from your fireplace mantel if you have one. It would even look super cute hanging above a bed! And when you use fusible web it makes it such a quick project!

https://www.skiptomylou.org/canvas-christmas-tree-banner/

5)You know that I adore buttons, so when I came across these cute button Christmas trees I had to include the video!  This would be a fun activity for kids to do themselves as well and it's a great excuse to sort through our button boxes ;)  

                                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=644h6yN1UEc

6) And finally, because this is ME after all, I had to include this video tutorial for making these adorable GNOMES! You can NEVER have too many gnomes, although there are some strange people out there that don't seem to agree....you know who you are.....*friendly eyeroll here*~ hahahaha.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHsEhzaHfrY

And there you have it! A cute assortment of Christmas crafts that you can get started on today! Make yourself some hot cocoa, put on some Christmas music, and enjoy yourself!

And now for the giveaway! I own this great book by Cheri Saffiote called Quilted Christmas Projects. This week I found another used copy at my favorite re-use store and I would like to send it on to one of you! 

This book is filled with cute, folksy patterns and ideas and I just love it! All you have to do to enter to win is leave me a comment telling me what sorts of crafty items you are planning  on making this year ( if any). I will let you know who the winner is next week and then get your book out to you ASAP so you still have plenty of time to make some of the adorable projects! And I of course would love it if you decided to follow my blog via email so that you would always be aware of giveaways ;). I know some people are having trouble finding the sign up box and it is important that you view this blog post in a browser window. Then the sign up is super easy to find ( right hand side of the blog, near the top). On your phone you will see a "view web version" tab under the post. When you click on that, you will see the " sign up via email button" in the right-hand sidebar!

Until next time~happy creating!

Monique