Whew, we survived all the excitement and family time over Thanksgiving weekend. We had a wonderful time spending the weekend with family and friends. I have some tired kiddos today. It wasn't easy getting them off to school this morning.
Yesterday we finished putting up our Christmas decorations. This year we added new stockings and a new stocking holder. In years past we've just laid the stockings on the couch on Christmas eve (tacky, I know). In our first house, two homes ago, we had a mantle and I've kind of been sad about not having one in our new house (yet, we will someday). This year I decided to come up with a way to display our stockings with our other Christmas decorations. Luckily my husband was able to help me out with this project (a lot)...I don't think he trusts me with a saw. Anyway, Justin and I transformed an old end table into a new stocking holder. Yes, you read that right and old end table into a stocking holder. This end table has been sitting in our basement untouched for a few years. I've had a hard time parting with it because it is part of the very first living room set we purchased after we got married. (Our first "real furniture".)
I know it's ugly...I don't know why I kept it. I am glad I kept it though because I LOVE how this project turned out!
I had Justin take a few pictures along the way while he was putting this together for me. The first thing he did was disassemble the table. Then he started making the base. He made the base slightly larger than the top of the table leg.
He had this super smart trick for making the circles perfectly round. He put a nail in the center of the board he was going to cut, tied a string to the nail, and then tied a pencil to the other end of the string. He then drew a perfect circle with the pencil. See, I told you it was a super smart trick. He did this 3 times, adding an inch to the string each time. (The mark left by the nail makes a perfectly centered spot to drill a hole in the smallest circle to center the leg later on.)
Once he had cut all three circles he ran the router around them. Then, they were ready to be attached to the table leg.
He screwed the smallest circle to the table leg and each circle after that is screwed to the board on top of it. If you use recycled table legs like these, they will likely have a mark on the end where they were held on the lathe when they were made, making a great matching hole for the one in the base.
Here's what they looked like before he painted them. I wanted them painted with *
champagne spray paint
(I like Krylon the best). It's so easy to use and it covers so well. (I used it to paint the picture frame in
this post too.) The final touch was an eye hook at the top of the post to hold a small curtain rod. By the way, if you don't have an extra end table lying around (aka, you're not a pack rat, like me) you can use a *
wood spindle.
So, what do you think? I'm kinda loving it...okay, not kinda. I really love how it turned out.
I know you're wondering where I got those adorable (personalized) stockings. Well,
Tiny Prints sent them my way. They have the most adorable
new stockings in their store. If you order now you'll get them right in time for your holiday decorations. This is the first time we've had matching stockings and I'm so excited about it. These stockings are made of a canvas type material and are such high quality. I know they'll last for years to come, even with my rambunctious bunch of kiddos.
I love that this project is so versatile too. The curtain rod makes it easy to adjust the length (so you can fit a few more or a few less stockings). I chose to put the stocking holder on the top of my piano but it would also be cute on top of a shelf, entertainment center, or even on the floor.
How do you display stockings in your home? Do you have a mantle or do you have to be creative with how you hang them? I'd love to see what stockings look like in your home.
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(I buy this stuff in bulk), Pebbles Home for Christmas Gift Tags
, and the
* Bella Blvd Christmas Cheer collection, to make this box. I'm adding my favorite tea ( * Bigelow Peppermint Tea)
to my tea dispenser boxes. My favorite thing about this Christmas gift is that I'm putting my never ending stash of scrapbooking supplies to good use.
* Oh I wish Santa would be leaving this under the tree for me! I saw this machine in action at the SNAP conference last Spring. 
* This just arrived on my doorstep a couple of days ago. I'm so excited to make envelopes with the huge stash of patterned paper that I have.
* That deer head silhouette and those script words are amazing!
* I use this all the time. It makes a fun addition to titles and jouranling. 
* I need the grey, please. Okay, I really need the teal and coral too.
* I don't remember the last time I used a MAMBI project but these cards are adorable! They're on my wishlist.
* A POW glitter album?!?! Sign me up, FAST!
* I've used this collection over and over. I adore it. (it would make the most adorable December Daily album.)
* This too landed on my doorstep a few days ago. I'm planning on making LOTS of cute little gift bags for Christmas gifts.
* My circle cutter is ancient. I'm hoping Santa will bring this new fancy one to me this year!
*
* I think this would make the most adorable background for a layout or for a ton of DIY projects. I'm even thinking of making delicate gift bags or envelopes with it. 
