Christmas Gifts

SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU ARE LACEY, ASHLEE, OR EITHER  MY MOM or MIL STOP READING NOW!

on the off chance that they check this blog and since I'm not going to wait to publish this until after Christmas you've had your fair warning. : )

First up I have the "neighbor" gifts I did this year. I had lots of good ideas but as my list was pretty long I needed to keep cost in mind. I have done this before but not for Christmas and not here in Vegas. I have a great recipe for a dill dip mix so I made some up, packaged it and attached it to a wooden spoon with the directions needed to make it. 

Second, we were finally able to participate in our family gift exchange this year. We had talked about having the kids draw each others names (all the cousins) and then having them make their gift for them. BUT we decided to do this a little late in the month so we drew a family instead. We had the option to make gifts for the kids in that family or do a "family" gift. I opted for the family gift. I saw this idea here on My Grafico Crafts blog for a movie night in a bottle. For some reason I had it in my head that the movie fit in the bottle too, but it doesn't. I filled mine with popcorn, M&M's, other smaller candies and in one went three little pandas to go with the Kung Fu Panda 2 movie that was going along with it. In the other I put three little penguin craft projects to go along with the Mr. Poppers penguins movie. 

They have the instructions on the site for assembly. I hope they like them!

And third is something that I really loved putting together. This year I got both my mom and MIL gift cert. to Hobby Lobby because when they come to visit it is a must do to go to Hobby Lobby. But I couldn't just mail the gift card so I found this great idea on Inking Idaho (she is amazing by the way)

It is a small box with a transparency slide. It hold 3x3 cards and 3 Hershey Nuggets. 

 Can you see my gift card sticking out?

 I made four different cards to go in the box. I probably could have fit at least one more but it was late and I could hardly see straight. Plus the flower card took up too much room for another card

 Love the wrapped nuggets!

 I'm so excited with how they turned out. I hope they'll love them and that they'll look inside to find the gift card. 

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

I'm linked up at:

Pinterest inspired projects

I Love, Love, Love Pinterest. SO many great ideas out there to be inspired by. These are a few projects I've done that I've found on Pinterest. 

First is my Christmas bulb garland inspired from this picture

 I used DollarTree bulbs and ribbon. I love the original ideas with the beads and hooking them on so that they don't move but because I used these plastic ones they didn't have the removable top. So I improvised.

Next are these wrapped gifts by the front door originally seen here.

I loved them when I saw them but wasn't sure I'd use this idea this year. Then I did my coffee filter wreath and well things just worked out that they were just what I needed.

I've seen lots of coffee filter wreaths out there and have done one before but here is my Christmas one for my front door. 

 Once I finished it and added the red bulbs I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I am a HUGE fan of polka dots and figured why not go with that.

So I made a ruffle garland from my red and white polka dot fabric, saw the poms at Michael's and envisioned more polka dots so I strung those as well. 

 I had the perfect wrapping paper to go with my polka dot theme and found the boxed at Walmart for something like $.54 each.

 I love how it all turned out and that it's a little non-traditional. 

I've seen MANY bulb wreaths out there and again used the Dollar Tree bulbs and made up my own. Here's the one that inspired me. I didn't use a coat hanger to do mine but I got the general idea for it from there.

 

Something new for me this year was having a stair railing to decorate. I saw this image from Martha Stewart and well did the best I could.  I'd love to have berry wreaths, maybe next year. I'll have to find them after Christmas when they're on sale.

 and well this year I had some left over bulbs from all my projects and found a great spot for them to go.

I'm linked up at Whipperberry

and TaterTots & Jello

and Sassy Sites

ladybug party

 This year I did a ladybug theme party for my daughter. I made party hats for all the girls using scrapbook paper and cut up boa's. I also made the medallions from a tutorial I found at the TomKat Studio.

 Each girl had a ladybug coloring page, her party hat, and a box of crayons.

 I kept the treat table simple but also decorated with a few tissue pom, ladybugs, and balloons.

 I dipped Oreo's in red and brown candy melts and added my non perils for a ladybug look.

I made the labels for the water bottles as well.

 I had a cute ladybug on one of my cricket cartriges that I used throughout the party

 chocolate and powdered doughnuts to go with the polka dots in the party.

more ladybugs for cupcake toppers. I also used all my fun red and white scrapbook paper I'd been accumulating over the past year to make the cupcake wrappers.

 I love my new stand I found at HomeGoods. Some one had stripped the screws on it so it was really wobbly. I got it for a discount and went home and glued them in place and it's as good as new.


The girls got to take these ladybug takeout boxes home full of treats from the table.

 I also made these ladybug hair clips for each girl and the card they were clipped to.

 The girls had a lot of fun, maybe as much fun as I had putting this all together.


I'm linked up at:
Today's Creative Blog
Tip Junkie 
Whipperberry

Ruffles and Burlap

 For our Relief Society meeting this month we did a let's talk turkey night. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner and some "how to" classes, it was a great evening. As part of that night they had a table with different place settings that people had signed up to bring to show different ways to set your table. I signed up to bring one of those settings.


Of course fall colors were swirling around in my head but then I realized I don't have a "fall" plate setting. What do I have? I have my Crate & Barrel dishes that I have yet to use. They're a white ruffle'y' looking plate and that's where my inspiration came from.

I decided to go with ruffles and burlap. I've wanted to do a project with burlap for a long time and knew this would be perfect. I went to Joann's to buy my burlap and some white fabric, burlap is really inexpensive which I'm thrilled about. (now I can do more projects in burlap)

First I used an old placemat to get the size I wanted. I made it a little wider than normal because I knew I was adding a ruffle to the edge. I frayed the edges a little and made a ruffle out of the white fabric. I then glued that to one edge.


I also made a napkin ring from a tp roll by gluing some burlap around it and adding a small ruffle.

  I wanted to add something fun to the wine glass and so I made this ruffle flower.

 The place card was just a tag which I stamped and tied to a pine cone.

 I had made apple crisp for my YW activity so I thought it would be fun to add a single dessert serving to the place setting. I wrapped the jar in twine and added the label.

 I love how it all turned out and will now be making enough settings for a dinner party that I need to have in the near future.

I'm linked up at:

Today's Creative Blog
Tip Junkie
Whipperberry

A little Halloween

I have been SO excited to decorate for Halloween this year. I've been collecting things and ideas since the end of August. I've finally got the house in enough order and most of it unpacked that I couldn't wait any longer. I'm only about half done, I still need to do out side and get some pumpkins but for now this will hold me over.

I pinned a lot of ideas on Pinterest and these are some that I actually did.

 I made my own spell book from a old dictionary I found at DI. I made my spell pages in Printshop and distressed them to make them look old and well used. I turned the corners of the book and sprayed random pages with a water. I also used my brown ink to make it look older. I love how it turned out!!

 I also used some inspiration I saw at Pottery Barn. I've been collecting apothecary jars from HomeGoods for a few months knowing what I wanted to use them for ~ best place to buy them!

 The skulls I found at Michaels and grabbed them right away and the crow I found at Dollar Tree.

 I also found a tulle wreath on Pinterest and knew I wanted to make my own. I added some ribbon I found at Michaels and a glittery spider.

 I used my favorite frame from Hobby Lobby to put a print from Less Cake More Frosting that she designed. I'm still searching for a square bowl to put on top of that candle holder and paint it all black so I can stick in a white pumpkin. I made the small stand from a candle plate and candle stick I found at the Dollar Tree.

 Love this Spooky sign from Michaels.

Like I said I'm still working on my outside entry but I do have my lantern out for now.

 I saw this table runner at the Polka Dot Market and LOVED it!! But the price was a little high so I figured I could make my own and I love how it turned out. I'm planning on putting 3 white pumpkins with vinyl "Trick or Treat" on them to go on top but I'm still waiting on the vinyl to arrive that I ordered so I'll show ya that once it's done.

I still have more to do. I'm making my specimen jars and of course waiting on my pumpkins and a few other spooky things but this will get me started. Hope you enjoyed it!


I"m linked up at Whipper Berry 
and at TaterTots & Jello 
and Today's Creative Blog
and Tip Junkie