Caniches et Paille ~ poodles and straw : D.I.Y. Christmas Decorations<a <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/avatar_dfe50c03dadb_16.png" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/rss" /> <style type="text/css"> body { background: #6DA856; background-image: url(http://www.onlinesupplements.net.nz/assets/galleries/19/straw2.jpg); margin: 30px 0px 0px 340px; font: Normal 13px Comic Sans MS, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #666; } #container { width: 520px; height: 100%; margin: 15px 0px 15px 0px; padding: 10px; background-color: #FFF; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; } #header h1 { font: 50px Cambria, Arial; margin: 0px 0px -5px -230px; letter-spacing: -1px; } #header h1 a { color: #fff; text-decoration: none; } #header h1 a:hover { color: #F7C852; } #right { position: absolute; left: 895px; font: 14px comic sans ms,Georgia, serif; line-height: 15px; width: 212px; background-color: #fff; padding: 10px; color: #F80095; margin: 15px 0px 0px 0px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; 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Christmas Decorations" /> <meta property="og:url" content="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/281442286/d-i-y-christmas-decorations" /> <meta property="og:description" content="thislittlepiggie: “ This is my first ever year not going home for Christmas. Sad face. To cheer myself up I bought a wee fake Christmas tree (I prefer real but our flat is too tiny for a real one) and..." /> <meta property="og:type" content="tumblr-feed:entry" />   <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="twitter:url" value="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/281442286/d-i-y-christmas-decorations" /> <meta name="twitter:site" value="tumblr" /> <meta http-equiv="x-dns-prefetch-control" content="off"/></head> <body> <div id="header"> <center> <h1><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjA*ODc2NjEyMzAmcHQ9MTI2MDQ4NzY2OTI4MSZwPTE4NTUxMSZkPSZnPTEmbz*yZGZhYzliMDNmZTE*YzAyOTE*MmYyZGVlOWI3Mjc2ZQ==.gif" /><a href="http://www.mygirlyspace.com"><img src="http://images.mygirlyspace.com/myspacegraphics/images/graphics/prod_444_12964.gif" border="0" alt="Myspace Layouts" title="Myspace Layouts"></a><a href="http://www.commenthaven.com/glitter-text-generator"><img src="http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/632/z4b218109c1ca9.gif" alt="Glitter Text Generator" width="405" height="67" border="0" /></a><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjA*ODc3NjE3MTkmcHQ9MTI2MDQ4Nzc3MjU1OSZwPTE4NTUxMSZkPSZnPTEmbz*yZGZhYzliMDNmZTE*YzAyOTE*MmYyZGVlOWI3Mjc2ZQ==.gif" /><a href="http://www.mygirlyspace.com"><img src="http://images.mygirlyspace.com/myspacegraphics/images/graphics/prod_444_12965.gif" border="0" alt="Myspace Layouts" title="Myspace Layouts"></a> <center> </div>  <div id="left"> <center> <strong> <a href="/rss">RSS</a> | <a href="/archive">Archive</a> | <a href="/random">Random</a> | <a href="mailto:natashasteven@gmail.com">E-mail</a> </strong> </center>  <p class="sideheader"><strong>About</strong></p> <p><img src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/profile6/1047/2/n715910090_3820.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></p> I'm a young stay at home mum and wife, who wants to appreciate the sweetest things in life. Our house is filled with the chaos created by mysellf and hubby, our two children, the poodle , the cat, and the birds.<br> <br>I'm easily marketed to and very much over the politicing that invades simplicity and happiness. It is a daily conscious effort to change the way we live. As a family we are beginning to grow my own veges and to compost, our lil tot is in cloth nappies. We don't buy bread, yogurt, muesli bars, biscuits or cupcakes anymore, but we certainly still eat them! We are learning, bit by bit, to make our food from scratch. <br><br> I have a book idea in mind, and I've played around with it a bit, but that consumes to much of me at times. There is a fine line between reality and fiction, so I have turned to craft to occupy my mind, and for a sense of achievement that I miss from not studying or being in paid work. <br><br> We have recently moved into a new home, but as we grow our family we will need to find another. I hope to build again, with straw, in a sustainable fashion, a home with heart that will see us through from childrearing to retirement. <br><br> Next year, we embark on another chapter of our lives as I attempt to go from SAHM to working full time, although taking my two children with me. The hubby is heading back to uni to finish his engineering degree, so all of this simple living stuff will be tested to the limit as we attempt to maintain our family atmosphere and live on a lower budget. <br><br> The photos are not my own unless stated, clicking on them will take you to the original site. Here is my treasure box of inspiration, my attempts at achieving some of these goals, my random musings, and my completed projects :)  </div>  <div id="right">  <p class="sideheader"><strong>Find</strong></p> <center> <form action="/search" method="get"> <input type="text" name="q" value=""/> <input type="submit" value="Search"/> </form> <br> </center> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/script/blogsifollow.js.php?i=12804"></script> <div class="blglvn-ftr"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloglovin.com" title="bloglovin.com">bloglovin.com</a> <span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blogmix/12804/blogs-i-follow" title="See all the blogs that I follow">See all » </a></span></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?vv=673&tft=3&dd=0&wid=2e04f1c8bbc35fea&pid=0&proid=0&bc=610673&tc=E2FF05&brd1=FA0889&lnk=F6FCCD&hc=91FF00&hfc=6A007A&btn=000000&ww=178&wne=5&wh=Live+Traffic+Feed&hl=0&hlnks=0&hfce=0&srefs=1&hbars=0"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Blog Stats</a></noscript></div> <a border="0" href="http://www.anotherlunch.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/anotherlunch/blog%20elements/squarebutton.gif" /></a><br><br><br> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://www.slingbabies.co.nz/Cache/Pictures/862244/buttonScripts.js"></script> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">  <br><br><a title="Caniches et Paille ~ poodles and straw on Bloglovin" href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/2043269/caniches-et-paille--poodles-and-straw/follow"><img alt="bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif" /></a> </script> </script> <div id="credits"> Powered by <a href="http://tumblr.com">Tumblr</a> </div> </div>  <div id="container"> <div class="blogtitletwo"> </div> <div class="date"> <a href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/281442286/d-i-y-christmas-decorations">13 December 09</a> <div id="comment"> <a href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/281442286/d-i-y-christmas-decorations#disqus_thread">Comments</a> </div> </div>  <div class="post">  <div class="regular"> <h2><a href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/post/281442286/d-i-y-christmas-decorations">D.I.Y. Christmas Decorations</a></h2> <p><a href="http://thislittlepiggie.tumblr.com/post/281237413/d-i-y-christmas-decorations" target="_blank">thislittlepiggie</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>This is my first ever year not going home for Christmas. Sad face.</p> <p>To cheer myself up I bought a wee fake Christmas tree (I prefer real but our flat is too tiny for a real one) and decided to make some of my own decorations.</p> <p>Here is what I did:</p> <p>I used some different coloured felt squares, ribbon, beads, needle & thread.</p> <p><img src="http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/6353/star1d.jpg"/></p> <p>I cut some of my black felt into two star shapes.</p> <p>Then I sewed some beads in a pattern on one of the felt star shapes.</p> <p><img src="http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9717/star2b.jpg"/></p> <p>Next I stitched the two star shapes together part way round. I stuffed some felt scraps in the middle to make the star chubby and cute!</p> <p>Then I cut a bit of ribbon to use for hanging the star from a branch. I looped the ribbon then continued to sew around the rest of the star, stitching the ribbon in place between the two layers of felt.</p> <p><img src="http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6584/star3.jpg"/></p> <p>And ta da - a chubby star ornament!</p> <p><img src="http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8940/treee.jpg"/></p> <p>So far I’ve only made four because the beading takes ages. Next on my list is a Santa hat and a candy cane. What else could I make?</p> </blockquote> <p>This little Piggy is so incredibly talented! I’m going to give this a go next year. But maybe in lime green and hot pink :)</p> </div>       </div>  <div class="post-footer"> <p class="reblogged"> Reblogged: <a href="http://thislittlepiggie.tumblr.com/post/281237413/d-i-y-christmas-decorations" style="background-image: url(http://25.media.tumblr.com/avatar_65bb278d83a8_16.png);">thislittlepiggie</a></p>  <div id="tags"> Tags: <a href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/tagged/Craft%2C">Craft,</a> <a href="http://takingiteasy.tumblr.com/tagged/Christmas-Decorations">Christmas Decorations</a> </div> </div> <div id="disqus"> <div id="disqus_thread"></div><script type="text/javascript" src="http://disqus.com/forums/strivingforsimplicity/embed.js"></script><noscript><a href="http://strivingforsimplicity.disqus.com/?url=ref">View the discussion thread.</a></noscript> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ (function() { var links = document.getElementsByTagName('a'); var query = '?'; for(var i = 0; i < links.length; i++) { if(links[i].href.indexOf('#disqus_thread') >= 0) { query += 'url' + i + '=' + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + '&'; } } document.write('<script charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="http://disqus.com/forums/strivingforsimplicity/get_num_replies.js' + query + '"></' + 'script>'); })(); //]]> </script>  <div id="navigation"> <p align="center"> • </p> </div>  <div id="credits"> Themed by <a href="http://hunsonisgroovy.tumblr.com">Hunson</a>. 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