Christmas Krinkles: Greeting Cards

Patience Brewster ,the artist who creates the Krinkles (which I absolutely adore), began as a childrens book illustrator and then moved into making a line of greeting cards.  The Krinkles line was born after Department 56 discovered her through her cards.  She continues to create cards in the whimisicle style that she is so well known for. 

I love having the cards that match the figures that I own.  I place the cards into a simple frame and use them to display along with my pieces.  I think it's kind of fun to show the original sketch that inspired the actual piece that I've got on display.  If you look closely you can see how I've got a few of the cards incorporated into the display of my Krinkle room from 2011.

I've included a few of her Christmas cards below for you to enjoy.  I purchase most of my cards from an online store called Fiddlesticks.  Check out the great line of Brewster greeting cards they offer by selecting the Patience Brewster link on the left side of their store front.

Plastics...Cheaper & Easier Storage

I am no stranger to the fact that Christmas ornaments can be really expensive.  There are however ways to decorate that are cost effective.  My trees are loaded with ornaments but a large amount of those ornaments are what I call "filler" ornaments.  These are plastic ornaments that are sold in big packs for a decent price.  It's even better if you can get these packs on clearance after the holidays.

These ornaments packs come in multiple shapes, sizes, colors, etc.  There may be a few pieces in a pack that you aren't in love with (say the Santa boot shaped ornament in the box pictured below).  If the price it right, you can pitch the four you hate in the box and still have a good quanity left to use as filler. 

These ornaments are really easy to store because they aren't as fragile as glass and don't need to be wrapped before being packed away for the year.  I store my plastic filler ornaments in the pop-together bankers boxes.  They stack well and are really easy to get into by simply removing the lid.  I sort these in the boxes by color (which I write on the box) so that I can easily pull the color I need for the tree I'm working on. 

I start decorating my trees with the more expensive, more decorative ornaments (which I never buy unless on sale or with coupons) and then I grab my box of filler ornaments and start to fill the rest of the tree.  These ornaments are also perfect for filling in any bare spots on garlands and wreaths or any empty places throughout the room.  If your tv console needs a little Christmas love, grab a glass container or bowl and fill it with your filler ornaments.  Remember...no space is safe from decor at Christmas.  LOL

Moss For Christmas?

I have found an incredible medium that I absolutely love...moss! I was browsing the isles at my local Dollar Tree store and I found myself looking at the floral/vase section. They had a bag of what looked like moss covered stones. I had been brainstorming to think of how I was going to decorate my cool re-claimed greenhouse for all of the seasons of the year. These green moss stones got the creative juices flowing. I bought a few bags of the faux stones (for a whopping $1 a piece) and then my obsession began.

While I have originally made these ornaments to be used for my spring decor, they can still easily be used by some in their Christmas decor as well.  These would be perfect used on a tree decorated with dried florals or even a garden themed tree.  You read correctly...I've never had a garden themed tree but I've seen many who have.

My search for moss ended at Hobby Lobby where I found moss in pre-packaged sheets. These sheets have a webbed backing that makes it super easy to attach to things. A package of this great stuff cost $6.99 but was a deal when I used my 40% off coupon (coupons for hobby lobby can be found online weekly at www.hobbylobby.com).

I am in love with this product. I have intentions "mossing" anything and everything that I can get my hands on. What until you see some of the things I have done with this moss. I don't have pics of these ornaments in action. I'll post those after I get all of my spring decor put up in the living room. Stay tuned!

Supplies
Ornaments (old or new)
Moss (I buy the sheets rather than a bag of just loose moss)
Scissors
Glue gun & glue

Instructions

• Start buy cutting some random pieces from your moss sheets.

• Carefully apply glue your moss pieces.

• Apply the pieces to your ornament. You may need to do some creative folding but you'll find that these moss sheets are very forgiving. You'll need to start cutting specific sized pieces to fill in holes as you work your way around your ornament. The moss is very easy to use.

These moss ornaments would be perfect additions to the following trees.