Santa's online!

Can you believe it's only TEN days until Christmas? The panic has started to set in here... If you're also to the panic stage, get some help from Santa with a personalized video message and other fun resources -- get the links and see how (it's fast, easy, and FREE!) in my post over at Housewife Eclectic today.

Merry {panic} Christmas! {deep breath... and still panicking...}

Filigree Tannenbaum Earrings {tutorial}

**This is the tutorial that I shared for Haul out the Holly over at Gwenny Penny. Here it is again, just in case you missed it. These are fast, cheap, and easy so don't feel guilty adding them to your to-craft list ;)

Aside from a cheesy smile and, you know, necessary clothing, earrings are my favorite things to wear -- you can see my rock & roll earrings and tutorial here and today I'm sharing my quilled Christmas tree earrings. They're so simple to make and only take about half an hour, but I make them sound fancy by calling them filigree tannenbaums instead. ;)

If you've never heard of quilling, also called paper filigree, it's a simple but lovely concept: curled coils and scrolls of paper are joined together to form beautiful creations of all shapes and sizes. I began quilling (with these monograms) about six weeks ago, so I'm definitely still a beginner. But quilling is so easy that anyone can do it! I've decided that beginning quilling is more about patience than about actual talent (although there are many very talented quillers out there). :)

My tutorial today barely even skims the surface of quilling, but the lovely and kind Ann over at All Things Paper is a quilling master who provides fantastic inspiration and tutorials. If you'd like to continue quilling and start creating really beautiful and intricate designs like hers, Ann covers the quilling basics in this post on her blog.

Now... on to the earrings! I love the holidays, but I am terrible at holiday decorating -- {cringe} last year I didn't even pull our Christmas tree out of the box, shame on me and my lazy self. I get overwhelmed with all the beautiful decor options out there, so I love simple little touches that help put me and those I'm around into the holiday spirit.

These earrings are a little tidbit of holiday cheer for your everyday life from now until whenever you decide to stop wearing them! They're perfect for early holiday gifts and can easily be used, minus the earring fixings, for holiday cards, gift decorations and tags, or even ornaments to put on your Christmas tree.

Wooden Spoon Nativity {tutorial}

Good day, friends! Thanks for all the kind feedback about the wooden spoon nativity! I've realized that the nativity is just not happening at my house in time for Christmas, but I wanted to post the instructions just in case some of you haven't overbudgeted your time like I have and therefore will have time to put this little number together for the current holiday season. :)

Unfortunately, getting the the tutorial now, before I make my own, means I have no process pictures. I have included a few finished-product pictures, however. The process is pretty simple, so I'll add pictures once I get mine made.

Until then, here's the tutorial:

MaryJane Slipper Socks {tutorial}

Have you seen these cute little slippers at Old Navy?

Super cute, right?

I saw them there as I was standing in line a few weeks ago. But instead of being like a normal person and saying, "Those are cute and $5 and I should buy some," I said to myself, "Those are cute and $5 and I can make them myself." And, I think I did a pretty good job:

obviously my photography skills are not quite as good, however...

Yes, I created an Old Navy knock-off. I am THAT cheap. Call me frugal if you like, but even this quiz tells me I'm frugal-bordering-cheap. What can I say -- I live on the edge. ;)

Actually, I don't think it's the cheap side of my personality that spurred this creation. It's the "I can make that" side of my personality. The two often partner for their crimes, however. The many, many crimes they commit...

But, I digress... back to the slipper socks. So, yes, I am cheap. I thought I could make a pair from a single pair of the dollar store fuzzy chenille type socks, but I underestimated the finickity (also called finickyness, just in case you were confused) of chenille material, especially dollar store chenille material.

Apparently chenille is a social character because it is much more manageable (at least for me) when there are two of it of them layers. Thus, one pair of maryjane slipper socks requires two pairs of dollar store chenille socks. But, even though that doubles the cost of the slipper socks it also gives them added value... so you CAN'T buy these in a store anywhere!*

*including, possibly, the original single-layer ones at Old Navy. And good luck finding chenille socks at the dollar store this time of year, too. I bought mine before the Christmas rush and now I can't find any more, at any dollar store, anywhere. 

So, without further ado, I present to you the Yes I'm That Cheap BUT They Have Added Value MaryJane Slipper Socks Tutorial. (It's a working title...)

I'm trying out a new thing here, using a jump break so that my looong but detailed tutorials are a bit more manageable, especially for those of you using feed readers. Let me know what you think. :) (If you're coming straight to this post, you won't see anything special here. Except for my awesome maryjane slipper socks tutorial, of course.)