The 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Happy December 6th everyone! Anyone else awaken to a treat in their shoes this morning? In our house, Svate (St. Nicholas) stops by to leave little presents for the good little girls and boys. Apparently we have a good house as my son got a wooden bus, my husband some yummy goat cheese, and I found a lovely Irish dancer ornament in my shoe closet. A new morning also meant it was time to open another door in our Advent calendar.

As you can see, it's incredibly exciting

For me, December 6th also means it's time to get serious about Christmas! Ooo, I could start by taking down that Thanksgiving wall hanging back there...hmmm...time to pull out my reindeer one.

One thing we have hung up is our Christmas card...holder? Banner? Help me find a good word here, please. We don't have a mantle so last year I grabbed some ribbon, clothespins, paint, and scrapbook paper and made us a card holder.

Strung up on our wood beams - so pretty!

It is a simple, inexpensive, and immediately rewarding project. Most everything you can get at the dollar store or on sale (especially at Michaels who have decided that Christmas is over and marked everything at least 50% off!). Here's what I used:

Clothespins

Decoart paint in a holiday red & green

Festive ribbon

Decorative paper that coordinates with the ribbon

Modge Podge

I started by painting the clothespins, half in green and half in red. While they dried, I sliced up my paper to fit the clothespins. I chose to only cover one side with the paper as that's all you'll see. Once the clothespins were dry, I broke out my vat of Modge Podge and gave the pins a thin coat and attached the paper. While they sat for a bit, I cut my ribbon . Here you have some flexibility; just make sure it's enough to string up where you want it. I want to say mine is at least 6 feet (hey, it was last year - what do you want from me?).

That's it! You now have a lovely, easy card display for the holidays. Let me know if you make one, I'd love to see it.

See you tomorrow for Day 2!