Finds and Fashions-Target Dollar Spot

November 16, 2016November 12, 20165 Comments

Good morning! Happy Wednesday! Today my Finds and Fashions come from the Target Dollar Spot! Some of this stuff is so hard to resist! I shouldn’t be buying anything right now, because I will just have to pack it, but I just couldn’t pass these by. I know it won’t be there later, so I snatched them up.

I love this wooden platter with just the little touch of Christmas on the top. It could be used for a little tabletop vignette or to serve up some Christmas goodies. Maybe Santa’s cookies and milk! And the little garland is the perfect little touch to add Christmas charm. I think I will put it around my little cows neck in the kitchen.

You know I couldn’t resist this sign! I am planning on decorating my laundry room with dog stuff, so this is the perfect addition.

What can I say? I have been a California girl my whole life! I just had to have this bag. I wonder, does Target have a different bag in each state? Probably. I also picked up the little trees you see in the corner. I don’t know if they will get used this year, but they are perfect for the little jar snow globes you see around.

That’s all the finds I have for you today! Have you found any great stuff at Target lately? Maybe a tote bag for your state? I hope you all have a great rest of your week!

Ho Ho Ho Marquee Box

November 14, 2016November 15, 20166 Comments

Well, I am starting some of my Christmas posts! Can you believe it is almost here? I actually worked on some different Christmas projects during the year so they would be ready to post. Good thing I started early!

I received this gift box last year for Christmas and knew I could do some cool project with it. Haley just rolled her eyes at me when I told her that. 🙂

I started with my box, and a string of lights. The lights were a 20 count, but I ended up using 100 count.

I punched holes with a pencil from the front to the back. This way I could place them in the right spots and I wouldn’t have the extra cardboard sticking out on the front. I placed the holes in each of the letters of the ho, ho, ho. Then I started pushing the lights into the holes from the back. (sorry for the blur!)

Here it is, from the back, with the 100 lights. There were some lights that didn’t go into holes, but 50 wouldn’t have been enough either.

And the front. Then it was just a matter of plugging it in and seeing if it would work

Yay! It works! And you can even tell what it is supposed to say!

Now I have my own little marquee light!

Such a simple idea with a lot of impact! I’m sure you can find boxes similar this at the store too. I will be back next week with another idea!

2016 Ornament Exchange and Blog Hop

November 11, 2016November 12, 201626 Comments

Welcome to the 2016 Ornament Exchange & Blog Hop! I’m so excited to be joining this group of ladies again! Thank you to Erlene at My Pinterventures for putting this all together. This year, there are 11 pairs of partners or 22 talented ladies participating in the exchange. The rules of the challenge were simple – create a handmade ornament for under $15 to exchange with a partner and create a tutorial to share on the blog hop!

Erlene ⋅ My Pinterventures Kim · Made In A Day Amanda · The Kolb Corner

Shirley · Intelligent Domesticatons Michelle · Our Crafty Mom

Robin ·Redo It Yourself Inspirations Sherry · Olives-n-Okra

Nicki · Sweet Parrish Place Sherry · Savvy Apron Megan · C’mon Get Crafty

Jelica · A Pretty Fix Emily · Two Purple Couches Christene · Keys to Inspiration

Kati · Houseful of Handmade Beverly · Across the Blvd.

Jeanie · Create and Babble Erin · Suburban Simplicity

Terri · Christmas Tree Lane Maureen · Red Cottage Chronicles

Debra · Shoppe No. 5 Donna · Two Chicks and A Mom

Pamela · Home On The Corner

I love creating new ornaments for the holidays, and making one for someone else is even better! This year I was partnered with Kim, at Made in a Day. I have been following Kim for awhile now, so I was honored to make the ornament for her. I took a look at her tree from last year and saw that she liked anything rustic, gold and deer. I came up with something that incorporates all three elements.

I started out by looking for a deer silhouette on a Google search. Of course, there are hundreds to choose from, but I didn’t want my design to be too complicated since I was going to have to cut it out of felt. I found one I liked and printed it out. I also picked up supplies from Michaels- 2 sheets of felt, 3 small wooden plaques, small Christmas wreaths, and some ribbon. I also needed some cardstock to help the deer keep their form when they were mounted. I already had that on hand.

After printing out the deer silhouette, I cut it out. As you can see, I added a little extra to the neck so I would be able to mount it on the wood plaques.

I then traced with a pencil around the deer onto the felt.

To make sure all my pieces came out the same, I layered them before cutting. I placed the cardstock between 2 pieces of felt. I paper-clipped them together so they wouldn’t move while cutting, and cut all three pieces at the same time. The trickiest part was the antlers, but they came out okay in the end.

I added some tacky glue to the cardstock and attached the felt pieces on both sides. I trimmed up any pieces that needed it.

In order to attach the deer to the wood plaque, I took a little bit of one of the felt sides and separated it from the cardstock. Now I could glue those pieces onto the center of each of the wood plaques.

Embellishing each one was the fun part and is what helped them become more personal. I added a Christmas wreath to one, a red polka-dot ribbon to another and bakery twine with a bell to the last one.

I love how they turned out and hope Kim enjoys them on her tree!

I’m so glad you all came by for a visit today! Be sure to visit the other ladies too and check out all the great ornaments. There is also a link-up if you would like to link up your own creations. Have a Merry Christmas!

FIND MORE HANDMADE ORNAMENT TUTORIALS BELOW AND SHARE YOURS TOO!

An InLinkz Link-up

Are you ready for Christmas?

September 26, 2016January 19, 20187 Comments

Hey everyone! Did you know that Christmas is coming?! Big shock, right? Actually, we still have some time, but there are less that 100 days to get ready. Lauren and I were inspired by Paperless Post (check out some of their fun Christmas cards) to share some of our favorite Christmas memories. Paperless Post is a design-focused site that provides online and printed invitations, cards, and stationery. Christmas cards are a big part of the holiday season. I know I always look forward to getting cards from friends and relatives all over the country. It’s the one time of year we get to catch up on all that has happened in the past year. Paperless Post asked if we could share some of our favorite Christmas memories.

Many, many years ago, when I was just 5 years old, Santa came directly to my house and visited my sister and I. We were in awe! We sat on his lap and told him everything we wanted . I even got to hold and ring his Christmas bells! I remember going to bed right after he left and listening so hard for the bells and reindeer hooves on my rooftop.

Even my parents had to peek at Santa! These were published in our local newspaper back in 1973.

Here is the perfect card to remember this event! Remember, you can order paper copies or send these online. Click on the picture to go see this card.

Another great tradition is the annual family picture. Of course, our picture always has to include our doggies, and sometimes even the cats, if they cooperate.

A photo card would be a great way to showcase your family picture.

Hey everyone! Lauren here! When I think of Christmas, there are a few things I think of. One of my favorite memories was when I was 5 years old (I know, long ago!). I was a huge fan of horses and I wanted my own horse. Well, I got a horse!

Not a real one, but a bouncy horse to ride in the house. Haley and I had no idea we were getting a horse, but we screamed and couldn’t contain our joy when we saw this bouncy horse in the living room.

Even though this card doesn’t have horses, it has reindeer, and that’s close enough right?

Another tradition my mom’s side of the family has is one person is picked as Santa to pass out of the gifts. It is normally one of us grandkids, and we always have fun with it. And, the gifts are passed out from youngest to oldest. I have no idea where that tradition came from, but it’s a great tradition!

Well, we hope that you enjoyed this post! Please check out Paperless Post because they have some beautiful cards! Remember, these cards can be sent online or by snail mail!

Christmas in July-Candy Jars

July 25, 2016July 24, 201615 Comments

We are in the last week of July, and I am finally getting around to posting a Christmas in July post! I have a huge collection of glass jars, so this was a perfect way to use them. In fact, I didn’t have to buy anything for this particular project, I had it all on hand. That’s the way I like it!

*For my co-workers who follow me here on the blog, you might want to stop reading. These are going to be your Christmas presents. You can decide if you want to know now or not!*

I went through my jars and found 10 that were approximately the same size. I made sure they all had a lid that would fit. As you can see, these jars are from all different sorts of food items. I also picked out 3 different colors of spray paint and found some small wooden beads.

I spray painted the lids using the 3 colors and then had to figure out a way to paint the beads while getting good coverage, and not just on my fingers! I finally (it probably took me 10 minutes to figure this out!) found a long screw that would fit into the end of the bead. This way I could hold the end of the screw and spray the paint all around the bead.

Once everything was dry, I took it all inside to assemble. I had these tacks left over from my chair makeover so used them to cover the hole in the top of the bead. I used Gorilla Glue to attach everything. I squeezed out some glue onto a paper to form a little puddle and then I was able to dip the tack into the glue and place it into the hole. I did the same for the other end of the bead. I dipped it into the glue and then placed it on the top of the lid.

Here is everything all attached.

I sorted through my stash of scrapbooking paper and found pieces that would go well with my lids. There are so many different varieties of paper in the store. I’m sure you can find something you like! Even though these are Christmas gifts, I decided not to use Christmassy paper. I wanted my co-workers to be able to use these in there homes or classroom whenever they wanted, not just at Christmas.

I cut each of my pieces 2 1/2 inches wide and long enough to fit around each jar. I made sure there was enough to overlap a bit, so I would have somewhere to glue.

I also made coordinating tags. I used a 2 inch white square and then another 2 inch piece of printed paper which I attached at an angle. I also added a gold sparkly sticker with the recipients initial. These were all attached with a bit of colored string.

I plan on filling them with some candy when I give them as gifts, but since there is no Christmas candy out quite yet, they are still empty!

I love all the pretty colors and prints!

Of course, turquoise is my favorite!

Now I am all set and won’t have to think about something at the last minute! This would make a great gift for a teacher, a co-worker or a friend. Start saving those jars and you will be on your way!