A Weekend Full of Projects

I love three day weekends - I get so much done around the house and I get to play!  This weekend has been full of projects. Thanks once again to Pinterest for two more great ideas.

From this pin, I created this:

Its just a tomato cage with a little bit of wire wrapped with a set of 100 bulb Christmas lights.

From this pin, this idea sprouted in my head:

I used a 1x6x8 and a 1x1x6, ring shank finish nails and walnut stain.  My plan is to layer Christmas greens and red berries in them, add a mason jar of Epsom salts with a votive and put cookies and goodies with it as gifts for family and friends. 

 I only made two, but I'm thinking I may make more.  I think they cost me a total of $5 each to make, since I already had the stain and the nails.  

I also made terrariums a few weeks ago as gifts for family and friends. This weekend, I made one for myself!  I had bought the little glass house about 14 years ago, when I lived in Canada. It'll be like a little bit of summer in the forest, but in my living room and in the dead of winter.

And I started forcing my hyacinth and tulip bulbs:

I couldn't find my bulb vases - they're somewhere hidden in the basement in a box - so I improvised with old mason jars.  I just took out the lids and tightened the bands down over tulle.  I sliced an X cut in the center of the tulle for the roots to grow through.  They're under the corner hutch in the kitchen now, where it's cool and dark.  They should be ready  just in time for Christmas!

I think I may get more hyacinth bulbs, since I only have four, the rest are tulips. I'd like to add these to the Christmas gift trays.  My plan is to cover the mason jars with Christmas fabric tied with ribbon, to pretty them up.

Besides the projects, I got the coop cleaned, the dishes and laundry done, the house vacuumed, and the bathroom washed.  Tomorrow, all I need to do is put away laundry and iron three days worth of clothes, as its going to be a very short week (I took Friday off for my birthday - yay!!).  Next weekend will likely be for making the soft Christmas gifts.  I promised my mother and aunt each one of these:

Punch Needle Sewing Case

Only one problem...I made it without a pattern (other than the one in my head) back in August, so now I have to sit down and figure out how I made it!