The Shepherds and the Lamb & Merry Christmas

In the darkness of a typical night, sitting on a hillside outside the town of Bethlehem, some unsuspecting shepherds received word of God's redemptive entrance into the world.

Shepherds were ordinary folk.  They never donned royal robes or mingled with the leaders of the land.  They smelled of earth and sheepskin, not oil and perfume.  Simple people with simple jobs.  Take care of the sheep.  Protect the flocks.  Watch the lambs.

Suddenly the glory of God lighted the darkness of that night.  For God had chosen to make these ordinary shepherds the first recipients of the greatest joy-filled news ever told.

A baby had been born.  He was swaddled up, and could be found in a manger somewhere in Bethlehem.

The angel described this baby as Savior, Christ the Lord.  Upon the utterance of this news, the whole sky was filled with a multitude of heavenly hosts saying: "Glory to God..."

The glory of God coming to some smelly shepherds on a hillside?  Why here?  Why were these ordinary people the first ones to hear?  The fulfillment of God's promise was present.  God's Son had been ushered into the world as a tiny baby.  Shouldn't this miracle be told to someone more influential, someone who could really make a difference and spread the news to all the people for whom the angel spoke?

And yet the shepherds seem to be a most fitting audience.  For not only did they understand the task of shepherding, they also understood sheep.

They may not have completely understood Who they were looking for, but as they searched the town of Bethlehem for the baby that night, these shepherds were searching for one who was a Shepherd and a Lamb.

They found the Good Shepherd lying in a manger that night.  The precious Lamb of God was the object of their search.

It only makes sense that God would choose to allow some simple shepherds to be the first ones to come and sit at the feet of Jesus.  Shepherds, who excelled at watching lambs, now with amazement and wonder, watched the Lamb of God.

As you celebrate Christmas this day, may you sit in wonder and rejoice in Jesus, the Good Shepherd and the Lamb, who came to take away the sin of the world.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Classy Christmas Tree

Two years ago, almost to the day, we began our move across the country from Monterey, CA, to good ol' Georgia!  Our first stop was in Nevada, where my husband's sister and her family live.  We enjoyed a few days with them and celebrated Christmas early.  We had a wonderful time!  One of the things I distinctly remember from that trip was my sister-in-law's gorgeous tree.

So, I asked her if she would be willing to send me some pictures of her tree, all decked out this year, to share with you.  You're going to love it!

The attention to detail is gorgeous: burlap garland, black and white framed photos of the children, silhouettes of the children, glittered 'K's signifying their last name, white lights, and touches of lime green with ornaments and ribbon.

Thanks for sharing your tree with us, Melissa!

You can see from the photo below a bit of Melissa's taste in home decor, which is beautiful.

 Someday I hope to share with you more pictures of their lovely home.  I always love it when my phone goes off with a picture text from my sister-in-law.  It's usually her latest DIY project and I'm always inspired!

More Christmas inspiration to come in the next few days.

Linking to:

Gold & Silver Christmas Mantel

We are almost finished with the Christmas decorating around our house.  The girls LOVE having the tree up with lights and decorations.  My almost 3 year old came downstairs on Sunday morning to snuggle with me on the couch and said, "Oh, I LOVE you so much, Christmas tree!"  She can be quite expressive.

I finished putting together my mantel this morning and I'm happy with it.

Last week I saw a post on Kate's blog about a table she had refinished.  The table truly is lovely, but what caught my eye was the vignette on top.  She had beautifully mixed gold and silver decor and it was stunning.

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Lauren on Pinterest

I copied her a wee bit and like what we have now.

My 'tree' is a small tree that we cut down from our garden area.  Bradley cut it off for me; I spray painted it, and then he nailed it to a small piece of wood so that it would stand up straight in the container.

I adorned it with some gold and silver balls {the gold ones were purchased at JoAnn's last week, 60% off; silver ones were from last year}.  I bought those glittery trees at the end of the year clearance last year, I think for 90% off, and had forgotten about them until a few weeks ago.

The JOY blocks were a quick project this morning from some wooden blocks I found marked down at Lowe's.  A little bit of paint, some hot glue to make the letters, and some glitter to cover the glue made for an easy little bit of art.

I picked up a few floral picks at JoAnn's last week, also 60% off, and the glass globe is filled with ornaments we've had.  The gold ones were from Pier One, six years ago, and the silver ones are Dollar store finds from last year.

I'm not into changing out the picture over my mantel for the seasons, so it stays there year round.  The colors actually blend quite well this time around.

My stockings are not yet hung with care; they are still halfway finished, as they have been since last year.  It's on the list to do, though, so you'll be seeing an updated mantel picture whenever they get finished.

Linking this up to Kevin and Layla's mantel party today.  Head on over there and check out all the gorgeous mantels!

Oh, and my little helper who wanted to get in on her own photo-op insisted that I put a picture of her in this post.

More Christmas projects to come!

Only From Scratch Christmas

Unlike most bloggers out there, my Christmas tree is not decorated.  The pumpkins are still on my front porch, and the only thing I've done so far to get ready for Christmas is to take the boxes out of the attic.

It's not even December yet!  So, I don't really feel behind.  Yesterday I helped some ladies decorate the church and that got me excited to start decorating our home for the holidays.  The girls are eager to have a Christmas tree and lights, which I hope is going to happen tonight.

Next week, I'll start posting some Christmas things that are happening around our home.  I've got some craft ideas, cookie recipes, gifts, and some decorating tidbits that will hopefully make an appearance on this little blog.

Be sure to come back next week and join with us in:

I'd really love to see what things you've done to decorate for Christmas.  If you'd like to have your ideas shared here over the next few weeks, just send me a quick email at onlyfromscratch@gmail.com, and I'll see what I can do.  

Sew Your Own Ruffled Christmas Tree Skirt

If you've spent much time on Pinterest looking for Christmas inspiration, you've most likely stumbled upon a tutorial for a no-sew ruffle Christmas tree skirt, by Miss Mustard Seed.  Many people have recreated it and I love each version.  So, I decided to make one of my own, but I changed it up a bit to save some money and supplies.  I love the elegance, and yet simplicity, that it adds to my tree and am thankful to finally have an actual skirt rather than a random piece of fabric curled around the base of the tree.

The original tutorial {which you can find on HGTV.com} uses a drop cloth and strips of linen fabric.  Instead of sewing the linen onto the fabric, Marian hot glued it all around so that no sewing is required.  I didn't want to use that much hot glue, plus I thought it would take me forever, so I made mine a non-no-sew {yes, I just used a double negative}.

I went to my local fabric outlet to find some fabric remnants {this should always be your first step with a sewing project, if you have an outlet near you.  I wrote some tips in this post}, and picked up a piece of cream colored canvas {identical to a drop cloth} and some satiny cream colored fabric.  The cost for both was around $15, much less than if I had purchased actual linen fabric, which runs from $6-$12/yard.

I followed the first instructions in the tutorial, cutting out a circle from the canvas, and cutting my satiny fabric into 2-inch strips.  Then, I changed it at this point by doing the following:

1. I took the strips of satiny fabric and pinned them one-by-one onto the canvas fabric,beginning on the outer edge of the circle, folding them to create a pleat.

2. I repeated this all the way around, adding strips of fabric as needed to finish that row.

3. I then sewed at the top edge of the pinned fabric, making sure to keep the pleats I had made.  Once a row was sewed on, I began another row, pinning the fabric about 1 1/2 inches above the last row.  This kept the stitch line covered by the next row of fabric.

Halfway done

You can see how the rows cover up the stitching

I folded the fabric under at the edge of the circle to make it seem more finished

Love the ruffles!

I will admit this was quite time consuming, but I felt like it was totally worth it, because I love the finished product!  I've been wanting a tree skirt for years, and now I have one that I can use forever!

I had meant to have this tutorial for you a few weeks ago, but as you can see from my post yesterday, I've been napping instead.  So, if you feel inspired to make one of these, count on the holiday sales at your local fabric store that are coming up soon and save up the materials to make one next year!

Only presents so far are from my sister

My silly girls in front of the tree

Now, this afternoon, I must tackle the stockings that are almost complete.  Hopefully, I can show you those tomorrow.

What last minute projects are you still trying to complete, or am I the only one waiting until the last minute?


Linking to:

DIY Dropcloth Advent Calendar

It's been a few days since I've been on here, and I'm sorry for the absence, {I tried to get this posted yesterday but our internet crashed and I couldn't} but let me just say that I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family.  I didn't pull out my camera at all over the weekend, but my sister did.  You can read her post about our holiday here.  She has some great pictures, including one of our whole family.  Go on, check it out!  Interestingly enough, Sherri also posted about advent calendars yesterday, and here I am talking about mine today!  Can you tell we are sisters or what?  I love her :)

This year I've decided to make some Christmas crafts for our home, hopefully ones that we can use year after year.  My first project was an Advent calendar.  Advent really started this past Sunday, but most calendars begin with December 1st, so I followed suit.  Here's my finished product:

I guess it's not completely finished because those numbers are all pockets.  For my calendar, I'll be filling each pocket with a card on which will be an activity for that day, plus a Bible verse about the Christmas story.  I'll be including verses from our family Advent book {Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration}that prepare us each day as we look forward to Christmas Day, celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Ready for the tutorial?  It's very simple, but it was a bit time consuming.  You still have one day left before December 1st, so if you make really good use of your time you could get it done before then.  Or, who's really going to care if you start a few days late?

Supplies:
-canvas drop cloth {I used remnants from my dining room chair slipcovers}
-fabric paint
-number stencils
-sponge brush
-red thread {or other Christmas color}
-dowel rod
-holiday ribbon

1. Cut out two pieces of canvas 22" x 36" {you could make this bigger, if wanted, I used these dimensions because of the wall where I planned to hang it}.

2. Cut out 25 pieces, 4"x4"  for the pockets

3. On 3 sides of each pocket piece, fold over 1/2 " and iron in place.

4. Place a small amount of black fabric paint on a paper plate to use for your numbers.

Place the number stencil in the center of the pocket piece and gently dab the paint in the stencil.

 Repeat for all 25 pockets, remembering to center the double digit numbers appropriately. {The instructions on my fabric paint said to wait 4 hours to dry, which I did.  Just be sure that it's not still wet before continuing}.

5. Top stitch the upper pocket edge {side that you did not fold and iron} using a zigzag stitch.  I used red thread to add some contrast color to my calendar.  Repeat for all 25 pockets.

6. Place the numbers on the right side of one 22"x36" piece of canvas, starting with the top row.  Measure down about 3.5" from the top of the piece and 2" in from the side to place your first number.

 Measure 1" between each number across,

and 2" between each number going down.

You can eyeball this if you want, but these are the measurements I used and it worked for me.

7. Pin each number in place when you have them all laid out.

8. Using a zigzag stitch, top stitch the three folded sides of each pocket to the canvas piece.

9. Cut loose threads.

10. Place both 22"x36" pieces of canvas right sides together, lining up edges.  Sew on 3 sides using a 1/2-inch seam.

11. Turn right side out and press.

12. Fold over top edge of both pieces and press.  Stitch, creating the rod pocket.  Insert dowel rod.

13. Measure dowel rod and cut off the excess. {Using an exacto knife worked for me, but I wouldn't recommend it; I just couldn't find the hacksaw and didn't think a kitchen knife was a good idea}.

14. Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to hang the calendar and tie each end to the dowel rod.

15. Make small cards to put in each pocket for a daily activity to enjoy for the first 25 days of December.  Alternately, you could also place small gifts in each day; just be sure if you do this that you use hardware strong enough to hold any extra weight when you hang your calendar.

Linking to:

Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z

Show me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife

Best DIY Projects of November, at Beneath My Heart