The Legend of the Ruffled Christmas Tree Skirt

Hey everybody. I should probably tell you, there is no "legend."  But there is a story!


Who all was with me last year when I could TAKE no more and went on a (blogging) hiatus?  Anyone? Buehler...Buehler?

Well there's something I didn't show you that I really, really wanted to post about.  But I didn't, because I felt like, I shouldn't be doing things just "for the blog."  I wanted to start doing things for my family - just for my family - again.  And I have been.  And it's been really fun!

Anyway, now that I've been sufficiently de-toxed from the feeling of servitude to my blog (more accurately, let's be honest, now that ALL MY READERS HAVE ABANDONED ME FOR GOOD, except Uncle Bob - thanks Uncle Bob!  Love ya!  And Wendy and Molly too, so that makes 3 - and after this past weekend, a few more family members...), I may as well just spill it.

Last Christmas, I decided I wanted to really do something special for my family.  On our budget, though.  Which is usually, like, super-slim.  Unlike me, ever since I canceled my gym membership.  But as I was saying, I spent a whopping $0.00 on this.  I went through my fabric stash and scraps, and used what I could find.  I even dismantled a tote bag, cut it into strips and ruffled it.  No joke! Not too shabby, right?  (Although, if "time is money," then I probably could have paid off the house with how much time I spent doing this thing!)

I spent a week - every free moment I had, for a solid week - making our family a Christmas tree skirt.  You could say I was kicking it old school, because I didn't have my ruffling foot back then...(it reminds me of the days before we had ELECTRICITY.  Seriously, how did I ever tolerate ruffling everything by hand???)  

Anyway, the tree skirt!  I followed no tutorial, no pattern...I just did it.  I rarely "just do it."  I should do that more often because I love our tree skirt and I cannot wait to get it out again this year!

Immediately after finishing the skirt, in Scarlett O'Hara style, I vowed to never do a ruffle again.  It was a very dramatic moment.

Months later, I bought a ruffling foot for my sewing machine, and my whole quality of life improved. ;)

Fast-forward to today!

I want this one.

 I'm selling my "Tree Skirt 2.0" on Etsy - a few months ago, I worked on the design & construction to make it prettier, higher quality, and less time consuming to create.  Each one still takes a good bit of time, but nothing like the original one. 

I want this one, too.

There are SO MANY different color combos!  Every time I finish a new one, I think, "awww...I want this one!" 

And this one!

Lots of custom orders rolling in this weekend, the most blessed of all shopping weekends. Can you guess what I'll be doing tomorrow and Monday? 

Love that fruit!  I want this one too!

*****
Linking up this week!
www.sumossweetstuff.com
http://www.canoeridgecreations.com/