Christmas Card Garland

It occurred to me to take a picture of this unexpectedly pretty and tidy corner the other day. I liked the simplicity of it.

The rocking chair was a gift from my parents, made by hand by my Grade Nine English teacher, who uses only traditional wood-working tools and local trees to create his beautiful work.

The quilt was made by me, and I never tire of its rustic plaids and sweet little pine trees.

The poster I got in Montreal after I saw it in a friend's apartment. It's travelled with me for almost fifteen years now, and suits every room I've hung it in.

The garland? Well, that you can make, if you haven't thrown out all those Christmas cards yet!

I can't even remember where I saw this idea. If you did it on your blog last year, let me know and I'll link to you!

Simply trace around the top of a mason jar to create circles out of the most interesting part of our old Christmas cards . Cut them out and hole-punch them on two sides. Then thread a ribbon through them, linking them all together.

 So simple, right? And thrifty. And quick. And best of all: pretty.

Over the years I hope to have one of these over every window; these cards are from last year, so I'll soon make this year's cards into a new garland.

I can't help but imagine this done with rainbow paper or printed scrapbooking paper...imagine them as birthday streamers! Oh...must try that soon....don't you love how creating spurs on your creativity?

On Christmas Eve

I've been so inspired by so many sites this Christmas. Money has been particularly tight for us this December, as our beautiful cat, Camino, came home with a badly broken leg early in the month. Her vet treatments were covered by the money I'd set aside for Christmas. Then our clothes dryer broke. While I found inspiration in the hand-mades I saw online, I walk the line between thrifty and incredibly busy (the last week of school contained two snow days, two Christmas concerts, Mass, Advent celebrations, a pizza lunch, sugar-cookie decorating...you get the idea); there is only so much time. I was staying up late in the evenings to finish the work-intensive handmades I was creating for my children, burning the candle at both ends.

The day before the last day of school (December 23), we brought Camino in to have her splint changed before the holidays; the news wasn't good. Her bones were not knitting, and were once again poking through the skin. Amputation, to be honest, was way out of our budget, and held no guarantees. Our wonderful vet felt that in spite of the excellent care she'd received, it would be most humane to put her down. Many tears were shed as we made this difficult decision, and said goodbye to an otherwise perfectly healthy young cat.

I'm sure I'm not alone; it seemed that, as the mama of the house, I'd worked my ass off for six weeks making sure Christmas would be bright for my children, my students, my husband, our families...baking, decorating, singing, reading Christmas stories, anticipating, knitting, wrapping, smiling at those moments when I got a good deal or found the perfect gift.

Then, by the time the day came, I felt spread so thin that I could hardly summon the strength to actually enjoy it all! On Christmas Eve, in spite of the beauty around me and my many blessings, I felt sad, stressed, worried, frazzled, and frustrated that I was feeling that way after so much work and preparation!

So, I put on my rubber boots and took a quiet, solo stroll just to the end of our lane way on Christmas Eve.

I looked at our house from the end of the lane. The clutter and mess and unpainted rooms are unseen from this perspective. The children arguing, the parents worrying, the animals demanding: unheard.

All I feel is home.

The rooster was beginning to crow in his cozy harem coop; a heat lamp keeps their water from freezing, and I pictured them roosting together, feathers fluffed to keep in the heat.

 I smile at the burdock (not sure if I've ever smiled at a burdock before), because of the little hats it wears. My grandmother always wore a tam at a jaunty angle, and I'm reminded of her once again.

 I wonder if bangs are in this year; straight but jagged seems to be the style.

 The icy rain that fell a few days ago didn't miss the opportunity to cling to every little strand of chicken wire; I love this icy beehive.

 Even the barbed wire was softened by the appearance of ice; one twang of the fence and the ice would tinkle to the ground.

The smokehouse, with a tiny decorative sled on the door, sits as if in wait for the next photo session. It, of all our buildings, is my favourite subject in all seasons. It calls to mind magical stories of small beings who eat hot buttered toast and tea for dinner, and invite any passersby in to sit by the fire for awhile.

As I step up to the front door, I turn once more to the lightening sky. A deep breath before I enter into the busyness of a Christmas-Eve-Home, a renewed feeling of well-being; sometimes all a mama needs for peace of mind in a hectic time is just her feet taking her out of the house and down the lane way for a few quiet moments.

The Stockings Were Hung

When we were growing up, we each had a huge striped knitted stocking, with the letters of our names stitched down the stripes. I loved that handmade stocking (and still have it). As each child reaches the age where they "get" the whole idea of stockings, I've created a handmade for them as well.

Jude's features a quilt-striped motif, with giant buttons as the O's in "Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Violet's was made from a thrifted sweater that I washed in hot water (on purpose!). I then stitched buttons on in the shape of a V. Margot's stocking is the most recent addition; I made it this past weekend! I found the free pattern online, and it includes a boy elf! I may have to make them for all my kids; they're so cute!

 My husband's stocking features a treble clef shaped from antique shell buttons. I love the "old" feel of this one; the buttons are beautiful against the old brown velvet.

Now, to dig out my own stocking, in hopes that Santa will find me worthy of a few treats! I always loved how my parents included clementines and nuts with our stocking gifts; they remembered the joy of receiving their very own orange at Christmas time (oranges would have been exotic in the 40s and 50s, right?). I  continue that tradition with my own children, and hope they will continue it with theirs.

What special treat do you always include in your family's stockings?

O, Christmas Tree

We live about ten minutes from a tree farm. This year, after participating in a local parade, we quickly picked out a cut-yesterday tree, tied it to the roof of the van with some baler twine, and took three tuckered-out kids home. They waited patiently while we wrestled this eight-foot beauty into the house, sawed a bit off the bottom, got it into the tree stand, and argued the need for extra support in the form of string tied to nails in the wall. My husband assured me that it was fine, and the kids set to hanging the decorations on the tree's many branches.

This is the first year that all of the kids have really gotten into this task. The older two remember their favourites (remember Violet's spawkly staw?), and I too cherished the memories of each ornament as I hung the higher branches. Much discussion was had about who would place our snowflake-star on the top. Daddy had gone out to pick up pizza for dinner, so we decided that we'd wait till he got home, and then they'd EACH take a turn topping the tree.

 We settled on to the couch to read a Christmas story and to wait for daddy.

About three pages in, disaster struck. With barely a whisper, the tree started to lean forward, and with a terrifying crash, it came down, face first, shattering many a glass ornament.

Chaos, of course, ensued. The various links between the Christmas Tree and Santa's arrival were explored in varying pitches of shrieking, wailing, and weeping.

The kids were devastated. I've never seen them like this, about anything. Violet was wailing that Santa wouldn't find us, Margot was screaming that Santa's Grandma (Mrs. Claus) wouldn't come. Jude disappeared to cry alone on the stairs, mumbling that this had been the best Christmas tree EVER.

For long moments, I just sat with my hands over my face. Sometimes this is the best thing a mama can do.

Then I gathered them around me, and asked them all to take some deep breaths so they could listen. I asked them if we'd always celebrate Jesus' birthday at Christmas time. They nodded. I assured them that Santa would find us, even if we didn't have a tree, or if we lived in a cave. I assured them that as soon as daddy got home, we'd fix the tree up.

We sat there, a little circle of disbelieving faces, staring at the mess of pine needles, glass, and spilled water that a few moments earlier had been our biggest, prettiest Christmas tree ever.

I asked them which ornament had been their favourites, and we crossed our fingers in hopes that they'd still be intact.

We cleaned up the mess, and found that the damage was not as bad as it had at first seemed. I lost the super-tacky polar bear-standing-on-a-bulb-labelled-Toronto that my brother gave me last year as a joke, but aside from that, most of the breakage was cheap glass bulbs I'd bought in a set a few years ago. My children's "First Christmas" ornaments were all okay, as were the children's favourites.

As Robin and I finished securing the string to the wall, I overheard Violet telling her little sister, "Mawgot, even if we lived in a CAVE Santa would find us". Margot replied, "Santa's Gwandma, too?" Violet assured her little sister lovingly, as I had assured them all just a while before.

Before bedtime, we spread out a quilt so they could all marvel at the prettiness of the tree. Everyone went to bed peacefully after a busy, Christmassy day. I like to think this experience has added to their bank of memories: that even in the midst of apparent disaster, hope and optimism abounds, and that things aren't always as bad as they seem.

A Letter at Christmas, AND a Promotional Discount!

I've calculated that since giving birth to my first child six and a half years ago, we've celebrated Christmas with kids six times, and acknowledged twelve birthdays. I did the math: that's eighteen opportunities for our loved ones to give gifts to our kids. That's three sets of grandparents, five sets of aunts and uncles, plus the gifts we give.

So the question is: how do you politely request certain kinds of gifts for your children? We have been blessed by many grownups that love our children and don't ever want to seem ungrateful. It's just that after so many years, I have had to discard so many cheap plastic/battery-powered toys, or worse, toys that cost lots of money BECAUSE they were battery-powered. They still break. We're overwhelmed with boxes of stuff our kids don't really play with, or those toys that have so many parts it's impossible to keep them together.
About four or five years ago, Mothering Magazine featured a letter that could be sent to friends and relatives well before the holidays to polite state your intentions for your children. I've always felt a bit unsettled about sending it...like I was being difficult, or a toy snob, or taking the fun out of the mad consumerism of Christmas. But I think this is the year.


After visiting a friend's small and beautiful home, I was inspired to take things in hand. The limitations in space demand that her daughter's toys are well-chosen. A few baskets of Waldorf toys (play silks, wooden tree blocks, felt fruit and vegetables, a little wooden play kitchen, and so on). I breathed of sigh of peace at the sight of these beautiful toys. My children HAVE toys like this. But they're so bound up with all the other "stuff" that they're hard to find.

So, upon returning home from her house, I fired off this email:

Relatives and Friends,

I'm just thinking ahead to Christmas (and the many birthdays ahead of us) and the INSANE amount of toys we have in our house. I would like to gratefully acknowledge the wonderful gifts you've given over the years, and respectfully request a certain "kind" of gifts this year. We're working hard at simplifying the "stuff" in our house, and are ditching a lot of toys that have broken over the years, or requires constant battery changing, or was brought into the house from yard sales, thrift shops, etc.

We just have too much; the kids don't even know what to play with anymore, pieces have gone missing, and we're always struggling to keep the toys in order.

Order her at www.babynaturopathics.com

So, as we attempt at achieve a bit more order in our busy house, I'd like to ask you to consider checking out www.babynaturopathics.com or www.naturalpod.com which are both Canadian businesses that support handmade/natural toys. We'd LOVE to build a collection of Holztiger animals (available at the first site)...we love the farm animals, daughter, farmer, and princess/queen/king/etc. kind of figures. Natural pod carries "Baby Bolga baskets" which would be so handy for the kids as they wander on their adventures (eggs, berries, apples, beach treasures!) , as well as beautiful coloured play silks (which are marvellous for dress up and imaginative play).

Visit http://www.naturalpod.com/ to order!

Please, no plastic toys this year, or toys with tons of little parts that will get lost...there's no need to spend tons of money on wooden stuff; a lot of the items I've mentioned are around $10.

Find this beauty of a marble run on etsy!

If you enter the code KnittyGritty11, you'll get a 5% discount, and so will I!

Kirk's wife Erin grew up near my hometown; they're good people. Support real craftspeople!

Jude is really into experiments and building stuff; we hope to get him a wooden marble run on etsy (made by Erin Egan's husband, Kirk); he already has a microscope, but would probably love a magnifying glass, or a small aquarium/terrarium, or anything that allows him to keep things from nature to study! He also loves drawing and music as usual.

Other ideas include: an amaryllis bulb that they can watch bloom in the winter months, gift cards to a bookstore, a bug-viewing kit, art supplies, or camping gear (a flashlight, an enamelware cup and bowl), contributing towards lessons or classes, or just making a date to spend time together!


I hope no one thinks me rude...this is the desperate plea of a desperate mother; I really want to pare down the amount of stuff in our house and have found through experience that the toys my kids keep returning to are the open-ended, natural ones...they feel nicer, last longer, encourage imagination, and don't need batteries or make annoying noises. They are made by hand, with little or no impact on the earth. These are the values we hope to pass on to our children, and hope you can help us!


Thank you for reading through all these mama thoughts of mine, and for respecting our request!


With all that said, please know that our children do not expect gifts; they do not keep track (nor do we!), and always remember the joy of being with loved ones when they talk about Christmases past.

We so appreciate your role in our children's lives, and appreciate the love you show them by choosing gifts thoughtfully.

With gratitude,
Stephanie

When I mentioned in yesterday's blogpost that I'd written this letter, several people commented on my courage. It's less courage (because it's taken me six years!) and more that I really, really want to stop stepping on sharp plastic toys. I want to feel peaceful when I see my children's toys. That, I hope I can achieve with words.

If you're feeling similarly fed up, and possibly courageous, please feel free to copy or adapt my letter! You can replace the Canadian sites with others (I also love Nova Natural Toys in the US!), or tailor it to reflect your child's interests.

It is time to do more than THINK about making change. I'm the person who picks up messes and has to dispose of broken craptastic toys (with the eco-guilt that entails). So I'm taking charge of what comes into my house. I should have done it years ago, but I'm starting now instead!

Post-Noel

On Christmas Eve, I lovingly placed these two little women on a rocking chair for my own little women to find the next morning.

In spite of my promise to myself to go to bed early, I decided at the last minute that their sweet little bunkbed needed mattresses and pillows, so out came the flannel and batting...

Margot was delighted to find a new baby to care for.

And both girls were delighted to find that the cats LOVE to nap in the bunk bed!

One thing I wasn't able to create by hand was the red Transformer Jude was dreaming of. Luckily, Santa helped out with that one! The Big Guy didn't come through on the pogo stick Jude requested at 9:00 pm on Christmas Eve; he did, however, write a note to Jude suggesting that he ask for one for his birthday, since pogo sticks are more a summer toy anyway. This seemed to satisfy my little man!

I plan to do one more post on Christmas; then we'll be looking forward to getting through the rest of the winter! I'm in a bit of a creative slump; all that purposeful hand-making before Christmas wore me out! I don't know what to do next...

Of course, I did start a new blog...because I'm not busy enough as it is! You can read my first post at Control Freak, where I examine and plan to challenge the unhealthy patterns I've created in my life. Please sign on as a follower and leave a comment to let me know you were there!

Christmas Wishes

'Twas the night before Christmas Eve, when all through the house, the mama was sewing like a crazy woman just to finish the dolls, quilts, knitted stuffed elephant toy, and pencil roll she'd been working on for weeks. Yes, it's that time. I'll pull an all-nighter if I have to, so that tomorrow night when the kids are abed, I can enjoy a glass of egg nog with my husband's arm around my shoulder, gazing at the Christmas tree surrounded by the gifts we managed to pull together. We'll prepare ourselves for the cacophony of noise Christmas morning will bring: the drums my husband found on the side of the road one day, and refurbished for the 4th generation of percussionists in his family (his grandfather played with the Glenn Millar Band when they toured in Ireland!)...the girls' lullabies as they tuck their new babies into their bunk beds (thrifted!)...and the sound of the coffee perk, of course.

A goal I have yet to achieve is to attain a really lovely family portrait at Christmastime. So far, it's been a Gong Show of infants crying, toddlers squirming, preschoolers looking askance or picking their noses...but I can always hope. Here are some of my favourites:

Jude wrangling his sisters, Christmas 2009

This was the best of about 15 taken in 2009; check out Jude's face...

This year's first attempt...girls in motion!

What's up there?

Margot in mid-blink...

This one is the best so far...

May your days be merry and bright, your Christmas morning noisy, your coffee generously laced with whiskey or Bailey's, and your family portraits somewhat decent! Merry Christmas, everyone; see you here in the New Year.

Parade of Lights

Not too far from here lies a little community called Wilno. It is known to be the first Polish settlement in Canada. It sits high in the Wilno Hills, overlooking Round Lake; at it's highest point sits St. Mary's Church, and at its lowest sits the Wilno Tavern, home of amazing Polish fare and Blues Night on Tuesdays. I admit, I wish I lived in Wilno. It's a neat little place! Although the population must sit at around 70 souls, the locals manage to concoct a beautiful Parade of Lights every Solstice evening.

The simplest and in my opinion, loveliest Christmas image: a man, a woman, and a donkey (mule).

Father Christmas rode in a canoe!

Jude and Violet jumped at the chance to ride in the canoe with Himself.

"Joseph and Mary"

Ritsuko is a Wilno resident, flower arranger, gardener and animal husband, and also happens to make the best sushi around!

After the parade, there were homemade cookies, beverages, and presents for all the little ones inside the rink, followed by skating outside.

Wilno is also home to what may be the best Christmas lights in the Valley!

The Christmas Spirit is alive and well in the Wilno Hills. Thanks to Sylvia and all the volunteers who made this such a lovely event! And happy belated Solstice to all...here's to the return of light and hope in our lives.

Handmade Holidays: Down to the Wire!

Inspired by Amanda's Solstice pyjamas, my friend Maureen and I created these Christmas pjs over two craft sessions. On the first night, we sewed the pants (perhaps a tutorial in the New Year?); the stitch ripper got some exercise, but Maureen diligently learned to put in the waistband elastic!

Our second session involved creating matching tops, using plain shirts and fabric paint. I realised after painting the apple on the white shirt below that the seeds are NOT that close to the skin, but I doubt Violet will notice! I'm really pleased with the way Jude's dinosaur turned out!

These slippers were inspired by this post! I'd been hanging on to this whimsical felted wool sweater, unwilling to cut it up until I found the perfect project...turns out this was it! It honestly took about 30 minutes to make this one slipper! I can't give them away, so they're my handmade gift to ME! I just love them: the fit, the colours, the little crocheted cuff...they're just so sweet! They'll definitely be on my New Year's "to make before December 2011" list!

Another lovely idea that is QUICK involves turning vintage women's watches into photo-bracelets. I saw this in a magazine years ago and would give credit if I had the slightest notion what it was. But I don't. The picture of my hubby (on the right) was taken in the first week we met, and the baby niece in the other photo is now twelve, so that should give an idea of how long ago I made these!

10 years ago you could find these old watches relatively cheaply at thrift stores and yard sales. Just remove the back plate, trace it onto a photo, place the photo in and replace the back. Voila! These look so lovely and charming when worn together in a group. The patina and unique details of these vintage pieces of jewellery rival any "fake vintage" stuff out there. Ask your mom or grandma if they have old watches kicking around...

And last, possibly most insanely, but definitely not least:

Quite belatedly, I decided to try my hand at some Waldorf-style dolls for my girls. We're cleaning up some old thrifted furniture (doll bunk beds, cradle, and rocking chair), and I've sewn some doll-sized quilts. Naturally, the only thing missing is a pair of dolls! We have your usual garden-variety craptastic dolls, given to us and picked up at yard sales over the years. None of them is a favourite with my girls, but somehow they continue to multiply. I've decided to get rid of them all! They have no charm, no spirit, no personality!

Using a tutorial I found here, combined with previous doll-making experience, I sat down last night to craft the heads. I'm really quite happy with how they turned out; they look friendly without simpering, sweet without being saccharine. Of course, those little quiffs on top of their heads make them look like Casper the Ghost (as my ever-observant hubby pointed out)...so now the challenge is creating hair. I acquired some beautiful mohair from a friend down the road and crocheted this wig base:

This is the second attempt and my (ever-helpful) hubby said "Achtung!" to both (because he thinks these so-called wigs look like WWII German helmets). Sigh. I'm out of this colour so can't loop longer pieces through this so-called base. Time's a-ticking...but for now, this elf is off to bed. I'll do a whole post about these little dollies if/when they come to fruition. This is looking like a last Handmade Holiday post, for this year anyway.

Thanks to Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living for inspiring and hosting this wonderful blog-share!