CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS - Little Sock Advent Calendar

I saw this page and thought how sweet and easy is this for an advent calendar and what a fab way to use up all those little odd socks you have in the drawer.  Fill them with little gifts.

Tools and Materials
24 socks
Ribbon
Number stickers
Round stickers
Pushpins
Mini clothespins

Calendar How-To1. Gather 24 socks -- singles or 12 pairs -- in colors that go well together (vary the sizes, if you like). Lay them out in the order you want to hang them, leaving spaces in between.

2. Cut the ribbon to the desired length; to find how long it should be, measure across the row of socks and add 12 inches (ours was 72 inches).
3. Use number stickers to label each sock. If one has a busy pattern, place the number on top of a solid round sticker so that it's easier to read.
4. Tack the ends of the ribbon to a railing or mantle; if you like, you can fasten the ribbon in several places to make a few swags.
5. Use mini clothespins to clip the socks to the ribbon; overlap them if you need to save space.
6. Tuck a gift inside each. If the item is heavy, use a larger clothespin to secure the sock.
Note: Gifts must be small enough to fit in tiny socks but safe for your child's age. Choose bath toys, pacifiers, or blocks for a baby; pencils, notebooks, and toys for an older kid.



Thank you Martha S!

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS - How to make a Ribbon Rose.

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

With weeks to go until I can adorn our home with Christmas decorations, my hubby Mr C has requested for the first time ever, a Traditional Christmas.  He fancies holly and ivy and the colours of red's gold and green.  I am not sure why this has come about, as for years we had had silvers, purples and clear lights but who am I to argue with him!  So I am now on a mission to make as many decorations as I can.  I shall be spending many a winter evening (work permitting) looking through the internet for ideas that are cheap and cheerful (and free).  Mr C has also agreed that he will help me make some and started to this evening by making a ribbon rose of tartan that will go on the tree.  I had purchased three reels of the wired ribbon earlier in the year, put it in a bottom draw and had forgotten all about it but an hour after finding it, he said he was just testing some other ideas I have my first tartan rose.  (These are so easy it takes seconds to make one).  Pictures will follow but these instructions may help in the mean time.

I will post more and more Christmas decorations as and when I find or make them.

Can't tell you how excited I feel!




HOW TO MAKE A RIBBON ROSE