Thursday, January 7, 2016

Homemade Christmas

I received some great home made gifts this year. When my mom was up here visiting in October I told her I was a little tired of the curtains in the dining room and wondered if she'd do something to change them up for me. I didn't think of it until the last day she was here though so we ended up just taking them down and she took them home with her. For awhile I thought about them all the time and then, as is the norm, I forgot about them and became accustomed to the way the room looked without anything but blinds. But, mom didn't forget and she came up with an awesome solution...


They're such a nice change from what I had in there originally and I love how she chose a gray to go along with the light gray walls I have in there. They look nice with the red roman blinds I have too although I've just about had it with those things because they break constantly. Those curtains were enough of a gift but she brought along a huge bag of fabric to also make me some new kitchen cafe curtains. I was pretty excited when she showed me the fabric she'd picked up but just check out how they came together!


Orange polka dots! L.O.V.E. So glad I could incorporate something as fun as orange polka dots in my house! They're fun and unusual and I love the whimsy they bring to an area of the house we spend so much time in. We had a heck of a time deciding exactly what to do with the curtains beyond the cafe style, but we ended up going super simple since there was so much personality in the fabrics. Mom added a small ruffle to the bottom of the valance which gave it the little bit of flounce it needed to not be "boring". I hadn't realized how incredibly heavy these were going to be since they used rings to hang on the rod and it took several runs to Lowes to get a rod strong enough. (I still think it bows just slightly at the center, but hopefully it'll hold up.)

My sister actually gave me a homemade gift as well this year. She wouldn't call herself crafty but I think she's proven that she can be with this stamped burlap table runner:


More of that orange I love and what a pretty design, right? It looks lovely on my buffet and even prettier still with a cool cast iron basket filled with yarn balls that she picked up to go with it:


My Zoe also gave me a handmade gift this year. She had been dying to go to a PaintNite event and the minute she turned 21 she went. (Paige, Brandon's sister bought them both tickets for an event a few days after Zoe's birthday.) She didn't end up LOVING what she'd painted but I did so she gifted the painting to me:


She's critical of it but I think it turned out great. (It is wildly better than the atrocity I painted when I went!)

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