Dec 06 2025
Handmade Christmas ornaments do not have to be complicated to look special. This little felt candy cane uses just a few inexpensive materials, but the combination of snowy white felt, bright red stitching, and narrow red ribbon gives it all the charm of an old-fashioned Christmas decoration. The design is especially appealing because it does …
Dec 02 2025
A simple cardboard tube can become a surprisingly adorable Christmas decoration with a little brown thread, a bright red pom-pom, two googly eyes, and a pair of tiny twig antlers. This toilet paper roll reindeer craft is based on a wonderfully rustic design that uses brown embroidery thread wrapped around the cardboard tube instead of …
Dec 01 2025
Christmas is one of the easiest times of year to have a little more fun with your manicure. Red and green suddenly feel completely at home together, glitter becomes almost mandatory, and tiny snowflakes, candy canes, Christmas trees, and reindeer can transform an otherwise simple set of nails into something unmistakably festive. The best Christmas …
Nov 30 2025
There is something especially beautiful about Christmas decorations made from ordinary natural materials. A few oranges, pinecones, and a length of twine can become a warm, rustic garland that looks lovely against evergreen branches, across a mantel, around a window, or woven through a Christmas tree. Dried orange slices are particularly striking because light passes …
Nov 28 2025
Handmade Christmas ornaments have a warmth that perfectly polished store-bought decorations rarely reproduce. A slightly uneven stitch, a bead that sits a little differently from its neighbor, or a shape cut by hand gives each ornament a character of its own. These simple felt Christmas ornaments embrace that handmade look beautifully. Soft gray felt creates …
Nov 28 2025
Blanket stitch is one of those sewing techniques that looks far more complicated than it really is. Once you understand how the thread loops around the edge of the fabric, the same basic motion repeats again and again. That makes it especially useful for felt crafts. A row of blanket stitches can join two pieces …
Nov 19 2025
There is something wonderfully different about traveling at Christmas. Cities that are beautiful throughout the year suddenly glow with thousands of lights. Historic squares fill with wooden market stalls, the smell of cinnamon and roasted nuts drifts through cold streets, churches host seasonal concerts, shop windows become miniature works of art, and even an ordinary …
Nov 14 2025
There is something especially fun about bringing a handful of autumn treasures indoors and turning them into art. Colorful leaves, tiny twigs, berries, seed heads, and other finds from a fall walk can become the centerpiece of this simple autumn umbrella craft. The finished project looks like an umbrella overflowing with everything beautiful about the …
Nov 08 2025
For millions of families, Thanksgiving morning comes with its own familiar soundtrack: marching bands, Broadway performances, cheering crowds, and television commentators announcing the arrival of another enormous balloon floating between the buildings of Manhattan. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has grown from a relatively modest New York procession into one of the best-known traditions of …
Nov 01 2025
There is something special about hiking in autumn. Summer heat gives way to crisp mornings, forests shift from green to gold and crimson, and familiar mountain landscapes can look completely transformed within a few weeks. Fall hiking also offers enormous variety across the United States. In Maine, maple-covered mountains rise above quiet ponds. Virginia’s Blue …
