A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Home for the Holidays Limited Christmas Inspiration-- HELP!

Hi everyone ~ normally by this time of year I am busy as can be with all manner of Christmas projects. The yarn baskets are stuffed, the glitter pots and glue bottles at the ready, candle fixings all lined up.

Not this year!

I have no inspiration!

I do not have one single supply out on the table.

Help! I need inspiration and can't seem to find any!

Merme

It will come Merme! Maybe just a little later than normal! I have years like that too but once it gets closer I really get in the mood!

join me here
they even have a weekly crafters challenge in the craft section of the message boards

Crank up the Christmas music Merme.

Ya know I have Christmas music on my MP3 player....well they kicked on the other day because they were just next in order and I totally jammed out to them for a good while before I felt stupid.

Every year I make a gift for my friends to go with their bought gifts. A topiary, a cross stitch, a stuffed felt ornament, etc.

I think this year I'm going to make some kind of food kit in a jar....like a soup mix or bread mix....never even thought of doing those before.

Last year I didn't make them anything and one of my friends was SO sad....she kept saying, where's my homemade thing. To be totally honest I'd totally forgot about making anything last year.

Might paint some signs for them too!

Dig down and find that inspiration Merme! It's there, it's just hiding!

watch christmas movies! lol ive been watching the grinch! over n over! lol

Thanks, everyone! Y'all gave me some helpful ideas! Now I'm getting inspired.

Wrennie, from that site I am making the Child's Journal Jar.


For those of you who don't know what it is, you print out a bunch of pages which have six thought-provoking questions on them. You cut the pages apart so each question is alone. Then you put all the questions randomly in the jar. The child can choose one a day or one a week, glue the question at the top of a notebook page and write whatever he wants to about it. I think Maxi will particularly like it, especially if I give him a cool notebook and pen to go with it!

Merme

Cool!
Heres some more inspiration; http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jsp?categoryid=/templatedata/bhg/category/data/t_25.xml

Nice site

Thanks for posting it!

4 months away, tra lala lala lala la la.

If I get the bug I will crochet some red and white stuff like doilies or center pieces.........
I was hunting for autumn doilies tonite,,,,,,I only had 2 small ones. Orange/white mix ........They always set me in the mood ....Holidays........
However the computer has a way of sneaking in on them.

lol :ding: :ding:

I started a Christmas Craft for mom tonight.......HOWEVER now she's a member I can't say what it is or post a pic when I'm done.

4 months goes FAST!!!! It'll be here before you can say Christmas.

:ding: :ding:

Loz maybe you will have to PM everyone with a photo of the card .. ha ha ha

I finished all the cutting out for the child's journal jar. Now I just have to go get a really handsome jar and some nice decoupage motifs Maxi would enjoy....

My crochet hook will probably be at work soon as well because crocheting really relaxes me; paying attention to the tiny detail helps soothe me. And, with all I have coming up this fall, I will need some relaxing diversion.


Merme

What is decoupage and how do you use it ?

i have so much canning an yard work I dont think I can sit still that long to crochet any thing, yet......
How I wish I had the large doiley for the table now..........I do sew table tops, but love crochet more.

Show us what you do ..
b

You've seen decoupage but you may not have heard the term. It is a way to glue pictures onto surfaces and apply many coats of the glue so it dries clear and hard. You can't usually use photos cut out of magazines because the paper is so thin the print comes through from the back when it gets wet with the glue. So, you can buy special books with decoupage heavy paper with nice designs and pictures already on it. Then cut them out, place them where you want them, and start painting with the glue.

You CAN buy a special decoupage solution but many of us just use plain ole white glue that has been watered down. I usually "paint" it on with my fingers. The glue dries clear so no mistakes show as long as you wipe up the heavy drips.

Merme

Can I use regular elmers watered down glue?
DO you put the glue behind the photo as well? I have some decoupage photos and never did know how to use it ......

Tee hee :ding:

Yes, Barb, you can use watered down Elmer's or any brand ordinary white glue. And yes, you put the glue behind the photo as well. You actually get the picture fairly well soaked all the way through by the time you have it placed and your first coat of glue on.

Merme

Merme......

Goody goody.........I will dig them out an put them on something .
I have both, get them in the mail free from somewhere..
Never knew how to add them.

Thanks for your lil tricks.

b

I've had very little inspiration at all.

Why are you so sad?//// Surely you must enjoy something? Let us help you think.

Maybe you need a good rest......Just getting rain today inspires me to greater things.
What did you do today/

Do you mean me, Dodge?

yes..........

Today, I am dealing with family issues. But the holidays have not been nearly as much fun as my children have grown. So they have lost a lot of their glamor.

:ding:

I am sorry your feeling blue........
My only child is also married and on his own.....New granddaughter 9 months old.

As beautiful as it sounds, They only allow us to see her once a month>.....No wars or anything going on......Just that she is a mommy's girl and My son is hen picked . He has to follow her rules 7 her mom's.

I wont go on, but we try to be happy at he same time are heart broken cause we cant do a thing about it.

I come from a family of 10......5 of each........I am retired and we dont live close to any family..........But I am well into gardening and doing things my man an i love......

We try to keep busy an not think of bad things..........God is my helper for sure.

when the holidays started losing too much of their glow, I looked for people outside of our family to surprise with Christmas treats. It has helped me quie a bit.

:ding: :ding:

Merme

Your on the right track......I invite a friend in who been out of years and have lunch .We did a christmas thing alone with an old friend and family..

I try to do different things all the time to bring out the thrills.
Yesterday I went to A craft festival next door with 180 stalls......It was so much fun seeing all the olds and news there..........I bought a few christmas presents.

I did enjoy it an went alone.....Hd has football to watch.. ha ha

barb, I think one of the most fun Christmases I had years ago was being part of a team of people that gave an entire Christmas to a family which had been struck by tragdy. Her husband had died, leaving her with 9 kids and one of them a 15 year old pregnant daughter and THEN their house burned down! They had nothing and I mean nothing to do Christmas with at all!

The team sewed stockings for all the kids, filled them, got a tree and all the decorations, a wealthy woman went grocery shopping and bought a feast for them from soup to nuts and tons of fresh fruit, we got gifts and you name its and it was all mostly done without the children's knowledge. My husband and I visited before the kids went to bed that night. Their tree was up but they were telling me they probably weren't going to have Christmas because Santa wouldn't be able to find them. After they went to bed, we hung all those stockings and brought in the gifts. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall that Christmas morning!

It made the troubles in my life seem unimportant.


Merme

God Blessed you Merme..........You 2 should be hugged .....and Blessed.

That was a beautiful christmas story......I try to help different folks, but never did one that great......

Wonderful having a gardenhelper who goes beyond......

Merme: Is there a special ratio of water to glue--if one uses say Elmers Glue instead of buying the decoupage brand Glue?? I hav e not doen this since the girls were small--I am glad I saw this thread.

i wanna know too.. 50 /50 or what?

I typically use 75% glue to 25% water... or 3/4 c glue with 1/4 c water. If it gets too thin it just takes longer to dry and requires more coats.

When Maxi was a baby I did a huge decoupage lampshade made of pictures from garden magazines. It had fruits and vegtables, pictures of children and adults working in the gardens. It was really COOL. I meant to do a matching shade with a Christmas motif. Maybe some day I still will.

Merme

Now I know what I should of kept the old lamp shades for .

I burned them.
You can use any types of flexible photos ?

b