Christmas time is here,That special time of year is just around the corner. Our first snow of the season arrived just the other day. I've been bustling around the house, putting up decorations, and making plans for this year's Christmas celebration.
Happiness and cheer,
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year.
-A Charlie Brown Christmas
I had big plans for my shop for Christmas. Ideas by the hundreds for ornaments and decorations flooded my brain, and I was all gung-ho to get them done. Alas, it is nearly mid-December and I only have two Christmas items for sale. It's like my mom-in-law says: funny how Christmas always seems to sneak up on you, even though it comes the same time every year.
Anyway, the two items I do have up for sale are, in my opinion, nice. The first is a key for Santa. I have seen these before and thought they were cute, so I decided to make my own version. When I was growing up we had a fireplace. I loved roasting marshmallows on it (hey, why go outside in the cold?), and to me, there is no more appropriate place to put a stocking. Unfortunately, since I have lived on my own, I have not had the luxury of owning a home with a fireplace. So, it was important to me that Santa had an alternate means of entry, as even though I am now 26, I still eagerly await his arrival on Christmas Eve. Thus, I made a special key just for Santa, and I am now offering one in my Etsy shop for all those who share my fireplaceless plight.
When I finally get my dream house, I intend to have a fireplace. I will use it almost every day, even if I just put lit candles in it. I want Santa to be able to come down the chimney for my children, and I want my children to have a mantel to hang stockings from. Until then, thank goodness for skeleton keys :).
The second item I have for sale is a painted sign advertising Kringle's Tree Farm.
This was inspired in part by two things. The first is a stencil for Kringle's Country Store that was featured in the Craft Fair section of the November 2009 edition of Country Sampler. Advertising candy canes, reindeer feed, and woolen mittens, this stencil calls to mind some of the simple joys of winter, all while invoking the name of Santa. Personally, I find this pretty clever, and wanted to make one of my own. However, I didn't want to just rip off Scrappin' Along's design. This is where I found my second inspiration, which I will preface with a long back-story. As a child, I never had a live Christmas tree, and I never thought there was anything wrong with this. When I celebrated my first Christmas with my husband, we lived in a one bedroom apartment on the third floor of our building. Although it was not a small unit, there really was not a convenient spot to put a large Christmas tree, and so I put up a two-foot, fiber optic, artificial Christmas tree that I had purchased at Dollar General for $10. My husband thought this was an atrocity, because he had never before had an artificial tree in his house at Christmas. (Ironically, his mother now uses a pre-lit artificial tree.) When we moved up to New York in 2007, at Christmas time there were signs similar to my creation advertising the local tree farms. My husband found a tree farm not too far from our house, and we went there, trudged up and down their fields, and cut our own tree. I could not believe how much fun I had! In addition to the tree farm, there was also a small shop where you could purchase ornaments and various gifts. So it seemed appropriate that Santa's own tree farm would offer sleigh rides and hot cocoa to warm you up afterwards. My husband thinks the sign is too simple, but I think it's just right. Take a look and decide for yourself! Happy holidays!
Key for Santa http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36179636
Kringle's Tree Farm Sign http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36038707
