Merry Christmas!

 

Twelve Days of Christmas Bonus Post: Tips & Tools

 

Let me start by saying if you're thinking of making this ornament set in paper, it can be as simple or as elaborate as you like, but if you want to make them elaborate, it will take some time. They cannot be whipped out in an hour. Each of these ornaments took hours. If you're a stitcher, you may be thinking, "No problem! It takes hours to stitch a Christmas ornament." It does, but stitching is pretty relaxing and rhythmic and you can do it anywhere. Making these and being fancy pants about it is pretty exacting work and you need a workspace. I wouldn't call it relaxing, but the finished product is rewarding. The patterns become increasingly detailed as you work your way from the partridge to the people, and most of these took me at least a couple of days, and in the case of the people, longer. Part of that was because once I got everything cut out, including all the tiny details, I placed them, and then I walked away from it for a day or so to make sure I liked it before I started gluing everything in place. I have no idea how many hours this set took me. 

I say all that, not to discourage you, but to help you decide how you want to make your set and how much time to budget. If you like paper crafting, you will love making these. It's challenging and absorbing and the results are so lovely and unique. Mr. Wonderful has claimed this ornament set to decorate his library (shown above on his bookcases). The point is, when I had this idea, I really didn't have a clue how long these would take me. It's definitely not something you can throw together at the last minute. I think it would be a great year-long project, making one per month. You could start in January! The whole set is available in a bundle (I think it goes on sale every November; that's when I got mine but that was years ago) but it is also available in smaller bundles of three ornaments each and you can even purchase individual ornaments if you'd just like to dip your toe in and make one and see how it goes.

Twelve Days of Christmas by mmmcrafts

With all that out of the way, let's talk about tips & tools. Everything I used is pretty basic, with the only special purchases being the paper punches. If you're a crafter, you probably already have most of these supplies.

PAPER

Your paper choice is really the most important decision you make for how you want your set to look. You can do details or no details, glitter or no glitter (gasp!), but it's your paper choice that makes the set. Obviously, using plain paper (card stock) gives you a much different look than using patterned paper, and I did make my first partridge using plain paper, but it just lacked the visual interest I wanted. If you prefer a quieter look, definitely go with plain paper. If you want to use patterned paper, my advice is to choose a pad of curated papers that you like. Why? Because all the color work is done for you. Everything already coordinates. All you have to do is choose some complimentary plain paper (and glitter!) and you're ready to go. This is especially helpful if you don't feel confident choosing colors. All of the plaids I used in my set were from one pad of Christmas plaids.  There are so many styles and patterns and colors to choose from. 

PAPER PUNCHES

Whether or not you decide to add a lot of details to your ornaments will determine whether or not you need to invest in some paper punches. I say "invest" because good paper punches aren't cheap but they're definitely worth the money. A less expensive punch that mangles card stock and doesn't even dint glitter paper is a waste of money. I actually didn't figure out the paper punch solution for detail work until I had already made my first couple of ornaments. I wasn't satisfied with the result and I needed a way to produce lots of tiny pieces for details without driving myself mad cutting them out. Paper punches, obviously! I already had some basic shapes but decided I wanted a leafy, nature-y look, so I went hunting for those and found Bira craft punches. I can recommend these. Lots and lots of choices and very good quality. They handled heavy glitter paper and produced nice, clean cuts. They do go on sale occasionally, so watch out for that. The big one in the second picture was my splurge, but it was worth it. I used it a lot. For the heads of my people, I used the 1" round punch in the middle. The hands are about a 10 mm circle.

Here's another thing to think about when choosing paper punches. There are "border" punches like the blue Fiskars punch in the second picture that produce a long design, but what you're interested in is the little bits of punched paper. I used that punch (which I've had for many years and is probably no longer available) for the long squiggle and the leaves, but also for mouths, eyebrows, and eyelashes (by trimming the leaves). When you look at border punches, don't look at the border as a whole, but at the little shapes. They can be used for all kinds of things.

You'll also need some regular hole punches in different sizes. The one on the right is a tiny 4 mm punch and it feels like I glued about a thousand of those. It's a useful size, just about right for eyes. 

CUTTING TOOLS

Good scissors are a must. You might also need an exacto knife. I have a bunch of different Fiskars paper edgers, but I think this is the only one I used, to do the Lady's hair. If you have some, they would be neat to use, but they're not necessary.

COLORED PENCILS, SHARPIES, GEL PENS

Adding some shading around the edges of plain paper shapes really gives them a nice dimension and a more finished look. It may not show up well in the pictures, but I think it's an important step. You might also need a black Sharpie, and I use a white gel pen to add a little bright spot to the birds' eyes. 

EYES

Speaking of birds' eyes, I used these little adhesive black facets. You can find them in the scrapbook supplies with the stickers. 

GLUE

Nothing fancy, just good, old fashioned Elmer's glue sticks. I like the purple ones because you can easily see where the glue is going. It dries clear.

TWEEZERS. TWEEZERS. TWEEZERS.

If you decide to make this set fancy schmancy with lots of embellishments, you will develop a deep relationship with your tweezers. Oh my stars. Make sure they are worthy of your love. I wouldn't recommend the ones with the slanted tips, but that's probably a personal preference. But do make sure they close properly. Every single teeny tiny piece of paper will have to be placed, and you don't want to constantly have to pick up dropped pieces over and over. You'll go crazy.

HOW TO MAKE THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL HATS

For the most part, the patterns for these three-dimensional felt ornaments translate easily into paper. The only thing I had to figure out was the hats, because obviously, the patterns are meant to fit a round wooden bead. The solution was pretty simple, once I put my brain cell to it. I pencil traced around the shape of the hat in the picture on the pattern (top picture). I then used my little light box (a bright window will do) to trace that shape onto a plain piece of paper, which I took a picture of (second picture). Then I "embiggened" that picture until it fit the 1" round head I had punched out, and traced that enlarged shape right from my phone screen. My enlarged hat pattern is in the top picture. I did this with the piper's hat, too. I skipped the milk maid's hat but it would be the same process. 

I think that covers it. If you plunge into this project, allow yourself to make mistakes, and change your mind. I made the pear--the simplest pattern in the whole set--three times. Your first try may not give you the result you want, but you'll get there. Even though you're using a pattern, it's very much a creative process. My paper ornament set is very different from the felt set, but I think it still has the same spirit. I think anyone who is familiar with the felt set would immediately recognize my paper interpretation, and I like that.

If you have questions, leave a comment and I'll do my best to help.

Twelve Days of Christmas: You Have to Sing the Whole Song Now

 

I say it every year, and I mean it every year: thank you so much for sharing this tradition with me. I am humbled--and delighted--that you have made my little open house a part of the Christmas festivities you look forward to. Having a place in another person's Christmas tradition is very special, and I love it. I started this tradition 12 years ago, mostly for me, because I love Christmas and I figured if I was going to make Christmas stuff, I might as well put it on my blog. But over the years, it has grown into something I feel I do for all of us, because we all need a completely cozy, completely safe, completely cheerful Christmas place to go. Whatever is going on elsewhere, it ain't goin' on here. 

I have to give special thanks this year to Mr. Wonderful, who has helped me pull this off. It was close, y'all. I put the finishing touches on this year's celebration last week. Never in 12 years have I been so late. He cheered me on, brought me brownies, and kept our ever-so-helpful kittens out of my way while I was hunched over my craft table with tweezers and a glue stick for hours on end. 

Tomorrow I'll have a bonus post for you with some information about the supplies I used to make these ornaments and some helpful tips. Again, thank you for being here, thank you for leaving lovely comments and anniversary wishes, and thank you for making me a part of your Christmas. The theme for next year is chosen, one project is already done, and I'm already excited!

As always, from our home to yours, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Twelve Days of Christmas: Finally, the menfolk!

 

And here they are at last... the lads in all of their Christmas finery!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, ten lords a-leaping!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eleven pipers piping!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, twelve drummers drumming!

The Piper is Mr. Wonderful's favorite. He likes all the gold glitter! Speaking of Mr. Wonderful, yesterday was our 25th wedding anniversary. Here's a little bonus pic to commemorate the occasion, which I couldn't show you yesterday without spoiling today!

Our final recipe for the week is a highly customizable, 5-ingredient, slow cooker hot chocolate recipe. Pretty great, huh? Just what we need for the holidays! This is the original recipe. I made it as suggested, except I used half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet chocolate chips for less sweetness. If you decide to make it less rich, don't skimp on the evaporated milk; instead, use 2% milk instead of whole milk and/or half & half instead of heavy cream. Mind you, as it is, it's rich but not overly so. It is quite sweet with the milk chocolate chips, so if that's not your taste, substitute with semi-sweet chips. I haven't tried using only semi-sweet, but I think I will. See? Lots of ways to customize!

Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate (half recipe)

3 c. milk

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

Place ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low about 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Store leftovers in fridge. The surface will set when chilled, just give it a whisk before reheating.

*I gave mine a good stir about every 30 minutes to make sure the chocolate chips melted properly and didn't sit on the bottom of the slow cooker and then gave it a good whisk before serving. Mine was ready in about 2.5 hours.

*****

It's the whole song tomorrow!

Twelve Days of Christmas: Ladies first!

 

Day three of Open House and the ladies are here! I was going a little cross-eyed making birds so it was fun to move on to the people!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, seven swans a-swimming! 

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eight maids a-milking!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing!

Can you tell the Lady is my favorite? I really enjoyed making her and giving her a really sparkly gown and some jewelry... even a tiny wedding ring! 

*****

If you're not from Texas (or maybe even the American Southwest), today's recipe may seem a little weird, but in the part of Texas we're from, these tacos are a staple. We eat them at all hours of the day and night, including breakfast. People on their way to work will stop at their local taqueria and buy a box full of these foil-wrapped tacos to take to work and share (especially if they're running late!). When we go to Texas, there's always a box of these at my parents' house for our breakfast, or whenever. Sometimes they will have chorizo (Mexican sausage), potatoes, or egg, but the basic breakfast taco is just refried beans and cheese. 

I am not, and never have been, a breakfast person. I just don't like to eat in the morning. But I've always loved bean & cheese tacos, and I've had to increase my protein intake so these are perfect. I make up a big batch and keep them in the fridge. It's so quick and easy to zap one in the microwave for a low-carb, high protein breakfast. This is an adaptation of a recipe for refried beans. You can make it as spicy as you want. I don't add much in the way of spices since these are mainly for breakfast, but jazz them up if you want to.

Bean & Cheese Tacos

3 c. dried pinto beans

1 onion, peeled and halved

4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. dried minced garlic

1/4 tsp. cumin

7 c. water

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low-carb tortillas

shredded cheese

Put first seven ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for about 6 hours or until beans are done. Discard onion halves and mash beans with a potato masher. Place a couple of generous spoonfuls of beans on one side of a tortilla and top with a little cheese. Roll tortilla from the side with the beans into an enchilada shape. Three cups of beans will make at least 24 tacos, with beans left over. I make a couple dozen at a time because that's about how many we can eat in a reasonable amount of time. This recipe is easy to scale down. Store tacos in the fridge and zap in the microwave for about 45-50 seconds.

The last three tomorrow! See you then!