Catherine’s Comment–A Winter Wonderland Table Setting from Catherine Castle

Tags

Catherine Castle, Catherine's Comments, clean romance, essay, Holiday table settings, inspirational romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, Winter wonderland

.

Christmas is over, but don’t put your Christmas village away just yet or those special winter themed dishes you may have lying around, like these adorable Norman Rockwell tumblers pictured below.

Instead, use these selected pieces to create a winter wonderland table setting and this charming centerpiece.

For this table setting you’ll need

• Your winter village accessories. I used my skating rink, the snow covered trees and bushes, and as many village figurines I could find that showed people playing in the snow. If you don’t have a skating rink, don’t worry. Just add some more of your snow covered village buildings to make up for the lack.  The point is to create a winter scene. And who doesn’t think a Christmas village isn’t wintery?
• Some cotton batting for the snow
•  A white tablecloth.
• 4 blue plates. I had 4 turquoise blue plates that looked great on the table. If you don’t have 4 colored plates, mix with white, or use all white plates against a blue tablecloth. The point is to make a striking contrast between the dishes and the tablecloth.
• Cute wintery napkins. I pulled some darling snowmen out of my stash.
• Clear bowls. I had some with snowflakes on them.
• 2 white candle in glass holders

• 

• 

Snowman napkin and snowflake bowl

Since I was using a smaller 48” diameter table, I set my skating rink at an angle to give more room for the village pieces.  If you have longer table you could spread the figurines out along the length of the table.

Honestly, the pictures I took did not do the table setting justice. It was so darned cute I wanted to leave it up all winter. But since that’s the table we eat at all the time, hubby would not have been happy.

snowman salt and pepper shakers

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Winter Wonderland table setting. If you don’t have a village, look at your Christmas decorations and see what you do have that represents winter. Some other options could include crocheted or plastic snowflakes, set on angles, in a snow bank of white cotton. Or maybe you have some snow-flocked small evergreen trees you could place in a cotton snowbank. Do you have a snowman collection? Use them. Let this setting inspire you.

Have a Happy New Year!

How about starting off your new year with a new read? Check out Catherine’s multi-award winning book The Nun and the Narc.

The Nun and the Narc

by Catherine Castle

Where novice Sister Margaret Mary goes, trouble follows. When she barges into a drug deal the local Mexican drug lord captures her. To escape she must depend on undercover DEA agent Jed Bond. Jed’s attitude toward her is exasperating, but when she finds herself inexplicable attracted to him he becomes more dangerous than the men who have captured them, because he is making her doubt her decision to take her final vows. Escape back to the nunnery is imperative, but life at the convent, if she can still take her final vows, will never be the same.

Nuns shouldn’t look, talk, act, or kiss like Sister Margaret Mary O’Connor—at least that’s what Jed Bond thinks. She hampers his escape plans with her compulsiveness and compassion and in the process makes Jed question his own beliefs. After years of walling up his emotions in an attempt to become the best agent possible, Sister Margaret is crumbling Jed’s defenses and opening his heart. To lure her away from the church would be unforgivable—to lose her unbearable.

About the Author:

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. She also lays claim to over 300 internet articles written on a variety of subjects and several hundred poems. In addition to writing she loves reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, FB or her blog.

Catherine’s Comments—A Festive Candy Cane Table Setting from Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, Catherine Castle author, Catherine's Comments, Christmas table settings, clean romance, Holiday table settings, romantic comedy, Sweet romance

Christmas is fast approaching!

Only 21 days!

This holiday has always been a big deal at my house. When I was younger I’d change out all the knickknacks, take pictures off the wall and exchange them for more Christmassy themes, and deck the house out to the hilt.

I don’t quite go to those extremes anymore, as arthritic knees and a bad back have slowed me down. But, every year I put up a different themed Christmas tree. either special ornaments from our childhood and family and friends, Southwest themed, crocheted stars and tiny metal candle holders with little red candles, the simplicity of poinsettias in the branches, gold travel ornaments from places we’ve visited, all white, all red, and whatever else I can think up. Or, I might put up my fiber optic tree, or the vintage aluminum tree my husband inherited from his grandmother, complete with color wheel. On occasion I’ve had them all up at the same time.

My sideboard can groan under the weight of my Christmas village, my Nativity collection, My Southwest Christmas figurines, or I could just have a rustic collection of candles and Christmas décor.  I fill every available pot and vase I can with silk Poinsettias and holly.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I have lots and lots of tree and Christmas decorations. My Christmas décor obsession is as bad as or worse than my dish fetish.

My table is no different. Most of the time I use my Corelle holly plates, but recently I’ve been venturing out into different table settings. I think it has something to do with the ease of setting a holiday table. Unlike the Christmas village which takes a couple of days to set just right, my dinner table goes up in a much shorter time—once I decide what I’ll do, that is.

Some of my blog readers have requested more table settings. So, I’m going to show off my new combinations in the coming weeks. In the upcoming posts I’ll be featuring tablecloths, placemats, napkin rings and Christmas decorations I’ve pulled from my decoration stash—and of course the mix and match dishes that started this whole blog series.

First up is a Festive Candy Cane Table. This would be a cute table setting for the kids’ table, or as a more casual adult setting. You could also surprise the family on a December night with this cheerful table setting. After all, the Christmas season lasts for a month. Why wait until Christmas Day or Eve to celebrate the season?

Here’s how I made this table setting: I started with an inexpensive plastic striped tablecloth I picked up a few years ago from our local Big Lots discount store. Then I added red and white plates and white salad bowls—some of the same dishes I’ve used in previous table settings.

I kept the centerpiece festive and kid friendly with a metal spiral tree decoration. The candle at the base of the tree is a faux battery lit candle, a safer choice for the children’s table, and it won’t destroy the charming ornaments suspended from the spiral branches. To make the centerpiece pop and pick up the green in the table cloth, I centered the tree on a round woven placemat. If you don’t have a plethora of placemats, like I do—another obsession of mine—you could use a green napkin, or two napkins set at 45 degree angles to each other to form an eight-point star. For a little more festive flair I created contrasting red and white bows from pipe cleaners and scattered them on the place mat.

To continue the candy cane theme I made candy canes from red and white pipe cleaners.

To make the pipe cleaner candy canes, twist a red and white pipe cleaner together from top to bottom the form the cane. To form the loop that holds the napkin, gently bend the pipe cleaner in half. Align about 1/4^th of the bent section with the bottom of the cane, then fold the straight remaining section at a 90 degree angle to the cane. Wrap it around your finger to form a circle. Loop the end of the circle around the cane to secure the circle and form the napkin holder section. Curve the top of the cane into a loop so it looks like a candy cane. Roll up your napkin to fit in the circle and arrange the cane so the top is level with the napkin edge.

If you don’t have any pipe cleaners, you could tie a ribbon around a real candy cane and then loosely wrap and tie the napkin in the ribbon. I didn’t have any candy canes, but I did have pipe cleaners so I improvised. Have I mentioned that I’m a crafter, too? I have lots of interesting things in my basement. 🙂

Lay your candy cane napkin in the center of your plate to finish off the table setting, and invite the family and friends to dinner!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Festive Candy Cane Table Setting, and I hope I’ve inspired you to set a fun and festive table at one of your Christmas holiday meals. Come back next week for another Christmas Table Setting.

Happy Holidays,

Catherine

If you enjoyed Catherine’s creative holiday table settings, why not check out one of her creative books. Her award-winning sweet, romantic comedy, with a touch of drama A Groom for Mama is a fun read and would make a great gift for the romance novel lover in your family. Here’s a peek at the blurb.

A Groom for Mama

By Catherine Castle

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

A Groom for Mama is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

About the Author:

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

.

Catherine’s Comments—Two Thanksgiving Table Settings from Catherine Castle

Tags

A Groom for Mama, Catherine Castle, Catherine's Comments, Holiday essay, Holiday table settings, Table decor, Thanksgiving decor, Turkey Table Decoration

A couple of weeks ago I posted four holiday table place settings using twenty mismatched dishes. Readers loved them and I received requests for more. So, just in time for Thanksgiving, I’m posting three place settings using the same dishes, but with some seasonal dishes, napkin rings, and different centerpieces. These items are another way to add pizazz to the table if you don’t have a whole set of seasonal dinnerware.

This time I chose white dishes because I wanted the centerpieces to shine. I added a tiny turkey dish to the mix, just big enough to hold some butter or a small roll.  When I found these in the grocery store a few years back, I couldn’t resist them. (Remember I said I had a dish fetish.) Even though they are a one-season item, they take up very little storage space. In my opinion they were well worth the cost for the seasonal zing they add to the table. If you have any Thanksgiving themed dishes you can add them to a single color palate and allow the seasonal dishes to shine in the place setting.

I also added my leaf napkin rings to the mix. And a fall colored tablecloth, since I didn’t have four fall placemats.

When looking for fabric tablecloths check both sides of the cloth. Sometimes, they are reversible, like the one I used. One side is a deeper, more vibrant colors the other side muted. By just flipping the tablecloth you can change the whole look of the table.

I’m calling the first two place settings below “It’s all about the Turkey” because the place setting and the centerpieces focus on the turkey.

The next place setting uses the same dishes, but I changed the turkey centerpiece. I filled a smaller turkey basket with buckeyes and placed a battery-operated candle on top of the buckeye nuts. . I like to use battery operated candles because they are safer and less messy than a wax candle. You could use acorns or marbles or any other material to raise your candle to the proper height, or just use a taller pillar candle. The important part here though is the turkey basket.  If you don’t have a turkey basket, but have other turkey décor, go ahead and use that in the centerpiece. Remember the theme is “It’s all about the Turkey.”  

The last setting, using the same dishes, has a pilgrim theme. In this setting I placed the buckeyes into a clear cylinder vase and placed a short battery operated votive candle on top of the nuts. I had this quirky set of pilgrim figurines I bought at a dollar store, so I set them on either side of the vase, back to back to both sides of the table could see them.  

If you don’t have pilgrim figurines, buckeyes or a clear cylinder vase, you, and the kiddos, could construct a pilgrim hat from black poster board. Make a hatband and buckle from colored construction paper and glue it to the hat. Leave the top of the hat open and fill with silk, fall leaves or short branches from brightly colored bushes from the yard. A piece of floral inside the hat will help hold the stems in place. Place battery-operated votive candles around the brim of the hat.

And there you have it. Three different table themes using the same dishes and different centerpieces.  If you liked these ideas, please sign up to follow the blog. I’ll be posting some Christmas table settings in December and other holiday settings throughout 2021.

Here’s wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

If you need a break from your holiday preparations, take a look at Catherine’s award-winning romantic comedy with a touch of drama, A Groom for Mama.

A Groom for Mama

By Catherine Castle

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

Available from Amazon.

About the Author:

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. She also lays claim to over 300 internet articles written on a variety of subjects and several hundred poems. In addition to writing she loves reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, FB or her blog.

Button, Button. Who’s got the Button?

Tags

Button Bracelets, Button earrings, Button jewelry, Button Necklaces, Button Pins, Catherine Castle's blog, Catherine's Crafts, National Craft Month

March is National Craft Month, and I like to craft.

I’m a closet Martha-Stewart-wannabe without the extra time needed to do it all up right. Anyway,  I talked about this special holiday earlier this month on Stitches Thru Time, a group blog where I post monthly with a group of lovely ladies. So, I thought I’d share that crafting post with my own readers this week.

Everyone knows about knitting, crochet, sewing, and quilting. These are fairly common crafts using standard materials. But have you considered the lowly button when it comes to crafting?

When I was a teenager, my mother and I used to go to this warehouse fabric shop and get material to make our clothes really cheaply. The also had a huge bin filled with buttons. Mom would always buy a mason jar of buttons every time we shopped there. Sometimes there would be enough matching buttons to use on a dress or blouse, but most of the time they were mismatched.

While Mom didn’t do much with her buttons, I discovered later in life that buttons were kinda cool. Buttons are not just for closing your shirts. They can embellish pillows, add creative touches to clothing, create mosaic styled pictures, add pizzaz to your handcrafted cards, become the base for crocheted flowers, or decorate your hair. You can even create jewelry using buttons. And jewelry is right up my alley—costume, beads, real gems, or any other medium. Just ask my hubby.

Here are some button items from the jewelry chests of my family members.

Antique matching button bracelet and earrings that belonged to my mother-in-law.

Crocheted and fabric covered button pin (red and black) made for me by my sister-in-law and black and white fabric covered earrings that match a scarf I got from my mother-in-law.

 

 

 

 

Button necklace: Note the small beads sewn on one side, which gives it a reversible look.

My niece Jacque’s button bracelet. Notice that it’s twice the width of my bracelet. Both Jacque’s and my bracelets are crocheted with elastic thread. The buttons are attached by crocheting the buttons to the band by catching the loop shanks of the buttons on the outer side of the elastic band.

These are only a few examples of the types of button jewelry you can make. For more ideas, just search the internet for button jewelry and get inspired to create using the humble, mostly utilitarian, but often beautiful button. My own research for this post set me off on a trip to the craft store. The possibilities for unique jewelry are endless.

Happy Crafting!

 

 

 

 

 

Origami Heart Corner Bookmark-A Quick Valentine Gift

Tags

Author Catherine Castle's blog, Catherine's Crafts, Orgami heart bookmark, The Nun and the Narc, Valentine gift

 

I’ve been fascinated with origami for a long time, but haven’t tried my hand at it much. My daughter has given me a number of origami folded dollars as birthday and Mother’s Day gifts—flowers, rings, hearts—and I can’t bear to disassemble them and spend the money. LOL.

While researching for a Valentine’s Day blog last year on a group site I post on, I discovered this adorable heart corner clip bookmark at a URL that doesn’t exist anymore. So I hunted for one similar to the picture above and I found one at http://origami.about.com/od/Origami-Decorations/tp/How-To-Fold-An-Origami-Heart-Bookmark.htm.

I made the original in the picture using some scrapbook card stock and thought I’d share it with you. The card stock is a little heavy, and I would suggest scrapbook papers or origami papers, if you have some on hand. My corner bookmark is a bit on the large side because I wanted to make folding it easier. (I know, I shouldn’t have used card stock if I wanted easy folding, but it was the first thing I came across in my disorganized scrapbook stash that had a pattern in it.) I used a 4 1/2 inch square. As you can see from the photo below,

my bookmark is a bit large for the interior pages of the trade-sized book I used it on. I would suggest using a smaller square to make a more comparable page to bookmark fit. And practice with something besides card stock. ☺

I think this would be a cute, and quick, gift for your reading-addicted Valentine, as Valentines for your reading club ladies, or even as giveaway swag attached to your business card or on the corner of the books you sell at a book signing. They’re unique, easy to make, and you can get a bunch from an 8 x 11 ½ sheet of scrapbook paper.

And while you’re creating this adorable bookmark, why not pick up a copy of my multi-award-winning inspirational suspense book, The Nun and the Narc, available at Amazon. Doesn’t the heart look adorable on the cover?

Happy Folding!

Catherine

 

 

Christmas Card Angels-Crafts with Catherine Castle

Tags

angel ornaments, angel place cards, Catherine Castle's crafts, greeting card angels, Greeting card crafts, Holiday crafts

Christmas card angels

original design (c) by Catherine Castle

The holidays are upon us, and I’ve got a quick craft that makes a great ornament-angels made from your leftover Christmas cards.  I’m sure you saved last year’s cards, right? If not, shame on you, because these holiday greetings make wonderful crafts of all sorts.

Here’s what you’ll need to get this project started.

• Greeting cards. You can choose a selection of a similar color, like this cute little angel above, or mix and match with contrasting colors. There’s no right or wrong here. Just have fun with it. Don’t worry about the picture on the card, either, because once they’re cut up, it won’t matter.
• One 20mm (0.9 inch) Styrofoam ball for each angel’s head
• A longish, sturdy needle with a large eye
• An awl and a piece of scrap wood
• 12 inches of 3.2mm x 9.14 mm satin ribbon, per angel you plan to make
• Rubber cement or hot glue
• Scissors

Directions:

1. From the back of a greeting card, cut a 4 ¼” W x 2 ¾” H rectangle. Fold rectangle in half on the 4 ½ side and cut on the diagonal to create a triangle.
2. Using the cardboard triangle as a template, cut three triangles from the cards of your choice. If you wish to make a contrasting dress on your angel, then cut the triangles from different greeting cards of contrasting color. Most half sheet greeting cards should give you three triangles without any problem.
3. Lay the 3 triangles in a stack to be sure they are the same size. If not, trim until they match.
4. Fold each triangle in half to form a right triangle, matching the bottom and top points.
5. Unfold the triangles, and stack them again. Use the awl to bore a hole through the apex of the triangle directly on the fold line. Don’t bore the hole too close to the top, because this is the hole that will be used to attach the angel’s head to her dress. You don’t want it to break through the edge of the cards when you thread the hanger ribbon. Enlarge the holes a bit until you can get the needle, threaded with the ribbon, through the holes.
6. Using the template, cut another triangle from the back side of the greeting card, or the inside, for the wings. Fold the triangle in half as with the dress triangles. On one of the angels below, I cut the verse section out and used it for the wings. On the other angel pictured below I used a contrasting color for the wings.
7. Place the wings triangle in the opposite direction of the dress triangles.
8. Then lower the wings a bit, and cut of the bottom of the triangle to match the bottom of the dress. The tip of the dress should be above the top edge of the wings.
9. Using the rubber cement, hot glue (or stick glue if you’re working with your children, glue the back sides of the 3 triangles together, forming the angel’s dress.
10. Glue the wings on the back side of the dress triangles, matching the bottom edges.
11. Let the glue dry.
12. Using one half of the ribbon only, stitch through the front of the dress where you made the holes earlier, going through all three triangles. Pull the ribbon up so the ends are even.
13. With the awl, poke a hole all the way through the Styrofoam ball, making sure it’s large enough for the needle and two strands of ribbon to fit through.
14. Thread one half of the ribbon through the opening in the head, then the other half.
15. Put a drop of rubber cement or hot glue at the apex of the dress, then press the bottom opening of the head onto the tip of the dress triangles. Let dry.
16. Tie a knot in the top of the ribbon.
17. Hang your angel on the tree and enjoy

This angel also makes a darling bow for a special Christmas gift. The recipient gets a prettily wrapped gift and a keepsake ornament.

If you want to get extra fancy, you can make an angel with a fuller skirt and a seed bead necklace like the two shown above in the instructions. Instead of cutting 3 triangles for the dress, cut 5 triangles. Bore the hole in the apex of the triangle, as well as through the triangles at the top edge of the dress by the wings. Be sure to keep the holes away from the edges of the dress or they will tear when you thread the beads on. Fold the triangles, as with the other angel, but instead of gluing, stack all 5 dress triangles and the wings triangle (as shown above) , and staple the triangles and the wings in the center of the fold. Working with one half of the ribbon, thread seed beads between the triangles, using an 18-inch section of ribbon. Pull the ribbon even, then thread the remainder of the ribbon through the head, as directed above. Glue the head to the apex of the triangles and tie off to create the ornament hanger.

Original design (c) by Catherine Castle

I made my angels simple, but you can go crazy if you like, adding a wire halo, hair, eyes, or scallop their wings using paper scrapbooking corner cutters. Use any decorations you deem necessary.

Original Design (c) by Catherine Castle

No Styrofoam balls? No problem. You can draw angel heads with a short neck, and glue the neck between the wings and dress. I’ve even added a song book with a guest’s name on the cover to use the angels as place cards for Christmas dinner. The sky’s the limit with these cuties!

Have fun making these, and if you like, send me a picture of your creations and I’ll post them. This craft is an original design by me, so if you repost this somewhere, please ask permission and give me the design credit.

 

Catherine Castle has been writing all her life. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. Besides writing, Catherine loves traveling with her husband, singing, and attending theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.

Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home for the Holidays with Author Catherine Castle

Tags

Catherine Castle's Home for the Holiday series, Christmas ornaments, Crocheted Crafts, Home for the Holidays, make it in under an hour crafts

 

A Cute as can be Christmas Tree

Welcome to the first post in the 2015 Home for the Holidays series.

I don’t know about you, but I love the fall and the holiday season that follows, especially Christmas. When I was younger, and had more energy, the whole house got a holiday transformation, including the pictures on the walls. I have several extensive, themed ornament collections, a Christmas village, an on-growing nativity collection and a couple sets of Christmas dishes. Ridiculous, I know, but I love the holidays!

In the next two months, you’ll get a peek into the holiday traditions of some sweet and inspirational authors as well as several of my Christmas traditions. You’ll discover new recipes, holiday traditions you can try with your family, Christmas crafts to make, and all kinds of holiday related things. There may even be some writing related Christmas stuff, too. After all, I am a writer.

I’m anxiously awaiting each post from my guests so I can find new ideas I can add to my holiday passion.  So get ready to join some great authors  as we share our holiday traditions in Home for the Holidays!

To kick off the series, your blog hostess, Catherine Castle (that’s me) is going to be sharing a quick, cute as can be craft for crocheters.

One of the things that happens at my house a couple of months before Christmas is the yarns and crochet needles come out, and I think about what little treasures I can quickly make for stocking stuffers. I posted this Christmas Tree Ornament on Stitches Thru Time last year, but I think it’s so cute that I wanted to share it with my readers too on this year’s Home for the Holiday blog series.

I discovered a larger version of the tree (some forgotten UFO) in a box of yarn while cleaning the basement, which if you know me isn’t unusual—the discovery of craft UFOs (unfinished objects) not the basement cleaning, although that is unusual, too. It only gets a good cleaning when family or company comes. But, I digress. Anyway, I decided to shrink the tree down to ornament size.

This tree takes less than an hour to make, which still gives you plenty of time to make some for stocking stuffers. When decorated it’s cute as can be. (See decorating instructions at the bottom of the directions.)

Have fun with this tiny treasure! And be sure to come back next week and discover what’s new on Home For The Holidays!

 

Crocheted Christmas Tree Ornament

 

Row 1.Chain 10 stitches

Row 2. 1 sc, turn piece

Row 3. 10 sc in remaining stitches to end,

Row 4. Turn, chain 1, and 10 sc in remaining stitches to end

Row 5. *turn piece Chain 3 stitches, sc in back of loop next to end of chain 3. Repeat from * across to end of piece.

Row 6. Turn, chain 1, yarn over and double crochet in remaining stitches, decreasing one stitch at beginning and end of row by skipping a stitch. You should have 8 double crochet and 1 chain 3 in the row when you are finished.

Row 7-10 Repeat from * 3 times. You should have 1 chain of 3 and 2 double crochets when you reach this point.

Row 11. Chain 3 stitches, sc in back of loop next to end of chain. Repeat until you have 3 loops in this row.

Row 12. Chain 3, sc in back of loop next to end of chain. Double crochet 2, spacing in row evenly to create top of tree.

Cut off enough yarn to create a hanging loop and secure tightly.

Decorate your tree using embroidery floss and French knots stitched into the tree’s boughs (looped rows) or stitch small decorative buttons or beads on the boughs.

To make a larger tree start with a long chain base and decrease accordingly as noted above. To make a stand up tree, crochet 2 larger base trees, stitch them together at the edges, decorate, and stuff with batting.

Do you have holiday crafts you do every year?

About the Author:

Catherine Castle loves every part of the holiday season. She loves the hustle and bustle of decorating, shopping, baking Christmas cookies with her daughter while they sing Bing Crosby, and the family gatherings. She especially loves the quiet, still moments on Christmas Eve when they light the candles at the Christmas Eve service and remember the reason for the season.  You can learn more about Catherine on this blog or at her Amazon Author Page.