Christmas Time...

Hi friends!

  I wanted to share the winner of the $50 gift certificate to spend with Mikarose clothing...the Random Generator picked lucky number 8!!! That's you Allison that said "I follow your lovely blog!" Yay!!! So happy for you!  I hope you will love getting to shop with Mikarose!!  I know I am happy to have found this wonderful company and definitely look forward to shopping with them too!! 


There has been so much going on here between filling orders, designs, baking, shopping and wrapping that I really haven't had much time to decorate for Christmas.  I decided to keep it very simple this year, so with that I don't have a lot to show you in pictures.  I do however have this post from last year that shows some of the decorating I did here...I hope you will enjoy getting to see this again if you saw this last year or if it's the first time, I hope you will enjoy a little peek into our home for the holidays with a re-post...


So happy to get to share a little of Christmas decorating with you all this year.  Last year we were just moving in and putting our floors in, I didn't get to decorate for the Christmas season at all.  


We have been taking in the moments and savoring the beauty, warmth and comfort of our home at this Christmas time.  Little by little it really is starting to look and feel like the home I had envisioned. I decided not to stress about projects that still need to be done in the house this month and instead focus my attention solely on the spirit of Christmas...it has been a nice change!


I have a tradition every year that I make something homemade and special for my family.  Giving something from my heart and hands shows my family how much they mean to me.  I too have fond memories as a kid being given handmade gifts that I have treasured...much more than things that were bought for me.  


This year I decided to make some new stockings. As I pondered on what I wanted to do, I remembered some beautiful crocheted snowflakes my mother-in-law had made for me years ago.  I thought, what better way to create something special than to incorporate something  from her heart and hands, along with mine.  


I let the family pick what snowflakes they liked and then sewed them on.  Using burlap, linen and canvas...I had a neutral background for all of the beautiful and intricate snowflakes.  I made the cuff of my stockings with a scallop edge from an old maltesse coverlet that used to be on my bed. They have added so much whimsy and beauty to our Christmas decor and fireplace...we all love them!   


I feel lucky to have such a talented mother-in-law, who is always making wonderful creations for us from her heart.  We love and treasure her! 


Ready to share with you all what Christmas time looks like in our home...a little whimsy, touches of elegance, with a cottage feel...Welcome friends and enjoy! 

Burlap and crocheted snowflakes...

Personalized letters...

Homemade stockings, made with love... 

Hung with care...

 In hope's that St. Nicholas will soon be here.

Hopefully no coal in mine!

Birdies and snow...

Vintage bottle brush trees...

Joy to the World!

Shiny ornaments...

A miniature nest under a cloche...

The splendor of the tree...

No two snowflakes alike...

Brilliant red berries...

A dove for Peace and it's pretty nest...

A hand carved wooden dove...

A sweet nest...

Pretty wrapped packages, ready for the tree...

No peeking...

  

Tree bathing in the light...

Still more room for presents!

Lot's and lots of pine cones...

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas from my home to yours!!

Thank you for stopping by and visiting!

Hugs and love to you all!

Vintage matelasse' floral stockings...

I'm excited to show you the stockings I have been working on...

I hope you will love them as much as I do. 

 I was happy to create these with some of my favorite fabrics by the amazingly talented Tanya Whelan.  I paired the stockings with a beautiful vintage matelasse' fabric for the scalloped cuff. Then I added a ruffled gingham fabric (from the Darla collection by Tanya) made into a pretty rose, coordinated perfectly with the beautiful floral patterns on these pretty stockings.  They are lined with a cream muslin that makes them nicely finished and durable for all the goodies that Santa will fill them with. Each stocking gets a big sparkly gold or silver glittered letter to add that extra special detail to make each one personalized.  These are now available in my Etsy...

Personalized glittered gold or silver letter...

Vintage matelasse' floral stockings...

A pretty ruffled gingham rose...

Some of these stockings are limited in some of the fabrics, if you see something you love you might want to buy it now or it will be gone!  These are all so pretty and will add a vintage, romantic and sweet look to any Christmas decor!  A perfect gift to give filled or left for Santa to fill.   You can visit my Etsy here.

I have another stocking design I will be back to share. 

Have a great day friends!!

The Winners Are...

I just wanted to pop in for a minute and announce the winners for the Creating Vintage Charm magazine!  I received my copies over the weekend and I loved every page!! It was exciting to see my tutorials in print and I hope that you too will try some of the handmade gifts I shared. I just want to thank Sonia Crouse the editor of this amazing magazine for featuring my gift tutorials! I know she works hard to put this eye candy and articles together for all of us to enjoy!! Thank you Sonia!!

  There is so many other beautiful things to see...make sure to buy your copy here!!  I loved getting to read and look at the magical event, Once Upon A Dream hosted by the oh.so.talented Jennifer Hayslip!  You will also see Natasha Burns (one of my favorite artists too!) share a whimsical tutorial on a Midsummer Mobile...it's beautiful!! So many other talented ladies and features...you will love it!

So...the 3 winners are...#11, #20, #29....that's Deborah@Fairfield House,  Traci@It's My Life and Lori@Morning Glories and Moonflowers!!!! So happy for you ladies!  I will be getting in touch with you for your mailing info. I hope you enjoy this beautiful magazine!!

I am hoping to share another post later today or tomorrow on some very pretty stockings I made that will be in my Etsy!! Be back soon!

I leave you with a little Christmas inspiration from my Pinterest board Christmas Time...

Have a wonderful Monday!!

Hugs,

Creating Vintage Charm...a Giveaway!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day and holiday!! I love this time of year...not just because there is so much great food, traditions and fun, but mainly because family and friends is always at the heart of what makes it such a special time of year.  I am so grateful for my beautiful family and the joy they bring to my life.  I am also grateful for each and everyone of you! Thank you for coming by for a little visit, you brighten my day with the sweet thoughts you leave me.  :)

I told you last week I have lots to share over the next few weeks with you.  Well today is one of the things I have been excited about!  I recently had worked on some tutorial projects for handmade Christmas gifts that have now been published in the beautiful and inspirational magazine, Creating Vintage Charm!  This really is a dream come true for me!  I had fun putting the projects together, photographing it and writing the tutorial.  I myself have not seen the issue, but I can't wait to see when it arrives in the mail!!  To be included in such a beautiful magazine is a honor!  There are so many talented artist and designers featured as well as lots of eye candy in every issue!

Here are some peeks at my Christmas gift tutorials...

Winter Meadow Cloche...

Stained Glass Silhouette Ornament...

Reversible Cutout Placemats...

There is so much more to see on these beautiful gifts, I hope you too will want to order a copy for yourself so you can make the sweet handmade gifts I shared!  The great thing...today is Cyber Monday and Creating Vintage Charm is having 25% off their normal price, today only!!  That is a great deal!! You can orders yours here.

Being that I am in this issue with 3 homemade gift tutorials, I thought I should share with all of you!  This magazine is wonderful and I want you to have the chance to see for yourself why I love it!! So...I am giving 3 lucky readers a chance to win a copy for themselves!! Yes, 3 Winners!! 


All you have to do is leave a comment for me if you are creating any homemade gifts this year! Easy!!

Want more entries to win?!  

Follow along with me here, if you already do...just let me know!  I would love to have you "like" my new page on FB Victoria Hayden Designs, Tweet, FB or Blog about this giveaway...each thing is an entry too!  Visit Creating Vintage Charm's FB page and "like" them too!  Make sure to comment on each thing you do in separate comments for each one to count!

Giveaway closes on Friday December 2nd, 2011 by midnight Pacific time! I will announce the winners on Saturday December 3rd, 2011!! Good luck!

Have a wonderful start to your week friends!! 

SALE!! Vintage French Cutwork Embroidery Pillows...

Hello to you all!!

Things always get so busy this time of year as I am sure you all can relate!  I have had many projects going on and am looking forward to getting to share some of them in the coming weeks with you all.

I wanted to let you all know of the SALE I have going on in my Etsy!  I just marked all my items in my boutique down 30%!!

 Just in time for Christmas shopping!  

 Every item you buy with me comes beautifully wrapped with a special "pocket of love" added as well!  You won't even have to worry about the wrapping...each gift personalized and the work already done for your loved one's!!  Here is just an example of an order I just mailed...

 A pocket of love...

Personalized glittered initial...

A sweet little nosegay...

Pretty details....

Brown paper all packaged up...

Each one is done differently in colors and unique for each gift.  I'm happy to take requests on colors too!

The beautiful vintage cutwork(60 years old) embroidery paneled( from France)pillows, are some of my favorite in my shop.  These are one of a kind pillows with unique details on each one.  I love the contrast that the osnaburg and linen fabric give with the sheer detailed panels.  These too are marked down from $45 to now $35!! The perfect pillow for that someone special who loves vintage, french and wants to add a touch of elegance to any room.

Here are some of my favorites...

Vintage French cutwork embroidery pillow w/white fleur garden design

Vintage French cutwork embroidery pillow w/cream medallion and scalloped design

Vintage French cutwork embroidery pillow w/cream and big floral design

Vintage French cutwork embroidery w/cream and fleur medallion design

Vintage French cutwork embroidery pillow w/cream and whimsy floral design

Would love to have your visit and would be grateful for you to keep me in mind for some of your Holiday shopping!! 

Before I go I just wanted to share just some of the things I have been up to...

•  Working on a memory quilt for my Grandma who turned 80 this week!!  Such a big celebration in life! I couldn't be where she lives to celebrate with her, so I wanted to make something for her that would let her know how much I love her. I will be sharing step by step my work for this, so maybe you too might want to make one for your loved ones as well. 
•   I hosted a very fun Hot Tamale night for the sisters in my ward at our church. I shared my love of growing up in the Four Corners of New Mexico and the food I have loved for so many years. One of our family’s traditions is eating posole and tamales on Christmas Eve. We had a big tamalada or tamal (as it's called) party so they too can now share in this tradition with their own families. I too will be sharing the yummy recipes and step by step instruction on how to make tamales...don't miss that post if you would like to know as well!! :)
•   A GIVEAWAY for next week you all are going to love... :)
•  I worked on something I am VERY EXCITED about sharing...have to wait for the reveal and then can share with all of you!! I had a lot of fun creating and one of my dreams coming true...
•  Orders for my boutique and new shop goodies...very soon I will share!

So as you can see...staying busy here!!  I hope all is well with you and your family's!! 

Be back soon!!

Hugs and love,