Handmade Christmas Ideas

I'm always inspired by people who get busy during the Christmas season making wonderful things....and I do my best. This week I've been busy baking up a storm - my daughter's 9th birthday was on Tuesday and I made everything for 16 mad children ages 5-12 who ran at the food like it was their last meal on earth. My daughter is a bit of a chocoholic so on the menu for goodies was a Devil's Food Cake with devilish creamy chocolate icing (we are now having the remainder over ice cream), Brownies, Gingerbread Women and Trees and Nachos which are a rarity in Ireland as it's such an American thing but they love it. Of course, I never had anytime to take detailed photos of anything I baked which is a shame and now there are only a few crumbs left!!!
Fellow blogger and a former colleague of mine at House Beautiful - Eddie Ross is one creative soul. His latest post has his wonderful ornament wreath and I thought I'd share it with you. Years ago, I bought a box of vintage ornaments at a flea market in Atlanta and embarked on a similar wreath project - it looked pretty good but in time got damaged so the remaining ornaments now sit in a silver bowl on our entry way table. Do check out his blog - he's a true inspiration and is busy all over the US doing demonstrations, decorating celebrity homes and much much more.

Through my Twitter network, I connected with Sew Recycled. These lovely bunting kits are great for birthdays and even Christmas decorations. Check out her blog for more lovely handmade goodies including charming needle cases - great stocking fillers. You can buy them all through Etsy.

Not sure where I found this now but for a candy inspired handmade tree - thought this was good for inspiration. Pretty simple to do - buy a foam cone shape from a local floral supply shop and simply hot glue the candies on! Obviously cannot be edible but really sweet for decorating a table or corner of a room.

And for simple outdoor decorating... I loved this idea of lighting the bay trees and putting apples around their bases. Big outdoor lanterns shed great light and add to the festive welcome in the dark winter hours.

I'm starting a fulltime job next week and while I will continue blogging, it will not be as frequent but know that my heart is still in it and will use my weekends to bank some posts to fulfill the creative side of me and keep all my loyal followers happy.