The Day After

Christmas is over and the gingerbread Candy Shoppe's busiest season is at its end. The kids had a ball eating all the sweet treats. Their parents are reminded of the day after Halloween -- the last time their kids had to be tethered to the ground so the kids wouldn't fly away on their sugar high.

The owners decorated the Shoppe in an extra special way this year. The theme? Candy Cane Christmas, of course!

The snowmen down at the pond were dressed in their finest red-and-white attire.

The "Rockefeller Center-sized Tree" was bedazzled with red and pink pompoms, and gifts wrapped in candy cane print paper.

Now, on Boxing Day, something is afoot! Customers have been spotted running down the sugar sidewalk with candy cane decorations over their shoulders!

Kids have scaled the tree to abscond with the glittery star! Is there looting afoot?

It certainly seems like this tot is trying to unwrap a present that's much bigger than he is.

Oh, dear! Or should I cry, "Hey Goat!" It looks like the fence came down at the neighbor's farm and the animals have escaped into Candyland. Look who hopped up onto the roof's ridgepole.

I suppose the goat wanted to lick the peppermint roof tiles above, just as the horse took a chunk out of the roof's eave.

The wooly sheep is sniffing at the Kiss bush by the front door

while Mr. Porky plopped his piggy bottom down and started chomping away.

Where are the adults? Aren't they paying attention? If the animals and kids have their way, the Candy Shoppe will be gone!

--

But oh. 

That just might be the plan. 

I see the owners down at the pond with businessmen in suits. It appears negotiations are in the works. Throughout December, rumors wafted through the air like steam off a cup of hot peppermint chocolate: the owners may be retiring in January. 

It appears to be the sad truth. The Candy Cane Christmas fun is, indeed, over.

But no fears. My eldest kid and I love to build these gingerbread scenes. 

2013: Gingerbread House

2014: Gingerbread Village

2015: The Gingerbread Train Station

2018: The Caroling Peanuts Gang 

This year Jeanne helped build the shoppe and landscape. Dale helped come up with the story and place the characters. We'll likely be back in the wintertime with another sticky adventure.

The Stockings Were Hung

On this quiet night with traditions old and new,

our Candy Cane Christmas wishes

are about to come true

Wishing you many Christmas blessings of gentle gratitude from Dale

and me.

Happiest of Holidays to All!

A Very Merry Swag

This is the idea that started it all. I watched a video about using wrapping paper for Christmas DIY projects. One of the crafts was to make a banner/swag from wrapping paper. That was my jumping off point for my entire Candy Cane Christmas.

I gathered these supplies from my stash: my second-hand banner flags templates, part of an old gift box, and some baker's twine. From Dollar Tree I bought two tinsel swags: one red, one red-and-silver. The wrapping paper is a texturized metallic silver.

I glued the silver wrapping paper to the flags. I hand sketched and cut the letters from the shiny red gift box, then glued them in place. I punched holes in the upper corners and threaded through the candy cane striped baker's twine. The swag is tied in place on small nails. 

I wrapped the two tinsel swags around each other to make one thicker swag. I also wanted it to be primarily red with silver accents. This is attached to the wall separately from the "Merry" swag, but positioned to sit right at the top of the letters.

That completes the dining room setup. How festive!

Later in the day I started baking cookies -- 8 dozen so far. I'm hoping for two more batches tomorrow. It's almost time ...

Santa's Coming! Santa's Coming!

Placemats

This project was such a no-brainer that I thought I'd have it done in 45 minutes. 

The best laid plans ... sigh

The idea was simple. Turn this pile of six large rectangular dishtowels into six wedge-shaped placemats that work on our round dining room table.

The microfiber-like towels I found at Dollar Tree are about 25 inches wide and 18 inches tall. They're a beautiful shade of red. Super inexpensive. Dressy enough for a Christmas dinner.

I laid one of our daily-use placemats on top, lining up the straight edge of the wedge with the long side of the towel.

Then cut it out with a rotary cutter, leaving the straight edge intact.

The cutting went very quickly. But wow. What a mess it left behind. That fuzz flew everywhere. It took at least 10 minutes to vacuum up the table and floor and under the desk and worktable.

That cleaned up, I went to my serger to give the edges a nice clean finish. I'd purchased new cones of red thread for this project. Since I've not used my machine in ::mumblemumble:: months, I had to re-learn to thread the four spools and fix the tension and all that goes into using the complicated overlock sewing machine.

I tried and tried. After about 2 hours and some *expletive deleted,* I finally gave up, feeling rather defeated. Time for a lunch and grumble break.

I reasoned with myself for a while, realizing I only need these placemats for a single meal. Why not use my tried-and-true old Singer that's been my go-to machine since my high school days. After several experiments, I decided to sew a wide zigzag around the cut edges of the fabric.

It came out ... ok. If my serger had worked, all the edges would look as nice as that top edge. But by using a zig-zag stitch, there was still a lot of fuzzy bits along the curved edge. 

My next idea was to use Frey Check to stabilize the edge. I couldn't find mine. I improvised with some watered down white glue, painted around the edges. I experimented on just two of the placemats, then re-evaluated. No. No. No. It was simply too crusty.

So into the washer and dryer they went. The six completed placemats came out beautifully soft. The fuzzy edges smoothed themselves out. There was plenty of red fluff left in the dryer's lint catcher.

So ... several hours later ... Look!

The placemats are just right! There will be five for dinner on Christmas (six, counting baby Abby). We'll all fit snuggly around our little dining table.

I even found Candy Cane colored plates at Dollar Tree. It's a festive table setting.

I'm so looking forward to hosting Christmas dinner next week!

The Entryway

 Christmas preparations continued over the last couple days. Decorations in our home's entryway are complete.

I display the Christmas cards we receive on a wire wreath. Each day new arrivals are clipped to the wreath frame with ribbon-covered mini clothespins.

Guarding the front door is Morty, my six-foot giraffe. He's sporting a stripey scarf, a bright bow, and sparkling reindeer antlers. Behind him is Twill, the sewing elf I stitched in 2002.

Across the hall, Grace takes her place on the table's bottom shelf sporting her new ribbon tie. She always adds a bit of serenity to the scene.

Decorations on the table are complete. Three gnomes sit beneath the candy cane tree. Melted wax wafts  a spicy scent throughout the house.

Overhead is the Candy Cane Swag I made a couple evenings ago. The plastic canes are about three feet long. I found them at Dollar Tree along with the large silver and red bells. They're all tied together with three red ribbons I had in my stash. I'm super pleased with the way this turned out!

At the stairs is my all-time favorite Christmas decoration. Jodie (and I) made this when she was tiny ... maybe three or four years old. She did all the stitching herself. I had her sit in my lap. I sewed the four pieces together.

This year, Jodie's Snowman got a couple new bows to match our Candy Cane theme.

I managed to decorate the Christmas tree, too (but the photos didn't come out well. I may try again). It's all white lights, red ribbons, and "crystal" beaded ornaments. Very simple and sweet.

Holiday Cards

No, I haven't even started the Christmas / New Year cards. This is a peek back to a couple cards I made for the grandkids in November for Thanksgiving.

For Melody, a cat dressed up as a turkey. It's made from wrapping paper, hand-marbled paper, scrap paper, cardstock, and googly eyes.

For Annalee, an owl dressed as a pilgrim. Hers is made of scrapbook paper, cardstock, and bigger googly eyes.

I kept the inside message simple ... jut Happy Thanksgiving.

Julie sent me this picture when the Littles received the cards in the mail.

I make cards for the twinkle in the eyes and the big grins.

Mini Candy Cane Ornaments

Time to decorate the lighted tabletop tree!

I found a good candy cane shape online then turned it into a template in a Word table. Each candy cane is two inches tall. I printed my template on heavy cardstock. Then I gathered the other supplies I needed: scraps of wrapping paper and scrapbook paper, a glue stick, detail scissors, a 1/8" hole punch (small holes), and a skein of DMC silver metallic floss.

I adhered the paper to the cardstock with liberal amounts of glue. The detail scissors help a lot in cutting the inside curve of the candy cane. It's easy to see how small that hole is from the punch. I divided the floss into a single ply ... tricky to maneuver, but just the right thickness for the hanger.

I made just under two dozen with the scrap paper I had on hand. I especially love the way the small striped cane looks.

Here they are in place. This lighted tree sits on a table in our entryway all year. I usually decorate it with seasonal ornaments. 

I may keep the decorations on this table simple and uncluttered this year.

Sweet.

Delsere's Kid - Goat

Back in October, Jodie and Kenny received a baby shower hosted by some of their dearest friends. It was a lovely event. One of Jodie's coworkers, Francesca, gifted them with this counted cross-stitch goat. Adorable.

Jodie asked if I might zhuzh up the framing a little so she could hang it in Abby's nursery. You bet!

I trimmed up the ground cloth, cut a piece of matching felt to size, then stitched it in place with a whip stitch.

On the front, I did my magic to finish it with a sparkly bow.

It's so adorable! The kid now hangs in Abby's nursery with its other goat and farm friends.

Plus it's made me want to stitch a baby goat for Abby, too. I found the sweetest pattern online ... but keeping the design a secret for the time being. 

I'll make stitching it one of my 24 Goals in 2024.