I did my yearly Christmas craft exchange with my friend Teresa this year and the them this year was: garlands!
What I love about this exchange is seeing how we each interpret the assignment. My friend Teresa is so creative and she will often incorporate vintage items into her projects and they end up having a quirky and cool vibe - very much like my friend herself - that I love.
My friend Teresa used a garland she found on Etsy as the base for her design.
She then modified a Danish pattern for the little trees as the trees were very tiny in the original pattern. She made the trees bigger and then used some of the vintage items she’s collected over the years to ornament them.
My cat is already a big fan.
I wanted to go with a forest friends theme for my garland project and realized that the patterns I have from Alicia Paulson for felt ornaments would work great for this. I made a few changes in order to give everything a cohesive "woodsy Christmas" feel and I also created a fox pattern to add another cute animal to the mix.
I also created a "snowy mountain" pattern, although that is pretty much just a couple of triangles put together!
Once again I love how different our projects are: what inspires us, how we put our own spin on the assignment and how it reflects our personalities. If you’re interested in our past projects you can take a look here, here, and here!
This year, Teresa and I were not the only ones getting crafty. Each year my husband and I trade off on who will decorate the fireplace mantle. I tend to be a little one note: I have a collection of Christmas deer and I usually make them the focus of my display. Last year I had the deer having an "Ugly Christmas Sweater Party":
My husband on the other hand gets VERY creative. His last installation two years ago was an ode to the Christmas Truce in the Hurtgen Forest during WW2.
This year he completely outdid himself. He created a full replica of Martinis restaurant from the movie "It’s a Wonderful Life".
This is our favorite Christmas movie to watch and Martinis is the location of some of the major moments in the movie. My husband made the restaurant replica from scratch, adding indoor and outdoor lighting and even a light up "Martini's" neon sign.
The special touches include the “Ask Dad – He’ll Know” sign, which graced the soda shop where a young George worked.
I expect this to be a treasured part of our Christmas decorations for years to come.
We're now in that final few days ahead of Christmas where the gifts have been bought, crafts have been completed, treats have been baked and we are ready to just relax and soak up the season. Wishing a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all and hoping your holiday crafting has been fun!