A TIME OF BEAUTY

santa hat + music + lovely photography x wrapping presents= happiness!

1. have a merry and a happy!, 2. Shiny-Brites, 3. Vintage Candle Ho HO HOLDER, 4. Pretty For Christmas, 5. ...candy cane love... explored, 6. Shiny Brite Spill, 7. Untitled, 8. This year's Shiny Brite collection Part 1, 9. Untitled

KARMIC GOODIES: MORE FREEBIES/UPCYCLING

PRINTABLE POCKET CALENDAR

by To Have and To Hold

(I love that you can embellish the template to suit your style and/or available supplies!)

TREE CONES

by Kind Over Matter

(You can paint the tubes or even if you don't have toilet paper tubes around, you can 

just glue the cones on top of each other for a paper tree!)

COFFEE SLEEVE WREATH

by Magpie & Cake

found via Craftzine

(I am not going to lie, I both save and steal these for projects but you could use 

any recycled cardboard!)

TEARDROP ORNAMENT

by A Little Hut

(You could even paint some newspaper or use magazine paper!)

"The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men."
– George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)

MORE HOLIDAY INSPIRATION

While I am planning some more meaningful posts and feeling very akin to the nasty weather, here is some visual stimulation:

1. Untitled, 2. menagerie, 3. Antlers, 4. Untitled, 5. Joy, 6. 2009 HOLIDAY DECOR: Mantle Close-Up, 7. Ruby's Corner, 8. jackpot, 9. Trio of Cloth Knee Huggers

HOLIDAY DECOR WITH WHAT YOU {might} HAVE!

HOLIDAY DECOR WITH WHAT YOU {might} HAVE!

Upcycling for the holidays--from Martha Stewart!

 

these cute fabric trees are from The Small Object-- I want to try this with paper!

Recycled Magazine Trees from Just Like Martha

Such a great idea!! I hate throwing magazines away....but sometimes it gets to be too much!

 

Yarn Trees by Pretty Ditty 

It would be cool to use up scrap yarn and upcycle some cardboard into a tree shape for this!

These cuties are from Design Sponge 

I love the idea of re-conceptualizing items in our homes!

Added Bonus for wow-factor:

these paper Finnish Stars are from Fry Dog Design 

"A person who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."
– Albert Einstein

HOLIDAY INSPIRATION

While I am working on a few big posts, here are some of my recent holiday faves:

1. Santa Pop, 2. candy canes, 3. Vintage Ceramic Tree and Deer, 4. DSC_0518, 5. Let The Magic Begin, 6. Our Christmas tree, 7. "...And The Stocking Was Hung By The Chimney With Care, In Hopes That St. Nicholas Soon Would Be There...", 8. pink*red*white, 9. Vintage Pink Glass Christmas Ornaments

What is inspiring you this holiday season?

Side note: We had our first snow yesterday--large fluffy flakes that turned to sludge but left a nice dusting over the landscape--just the right ingredients to make me want to stay in all day and soak up some seasonal energy! xoxo

HALLS ARE BEING DECKED...

Here are some peeks inside my home...

On the mantle, my modest collection of knee huggers!

  

And this sweet little elf!

Vintage light reflectors!

 

The full view:

 

And my literal hall is being decked as well!

Just little bits of joy amidst a rather rough holiday weekend!
Hope you are making the most of what's around!

"You can't always get what you want...but if you try some time you just might find, you get what you need!" -Rolling Stones

FAUX-LAROID SANTA GARLAND

FAUX-LAROID SANTA GARLAND  

  

    I have been in MEGA house cleaning and decorating mode, and since I am trying to limit holiday spending this year I put together a SUPER EASY and cute garland inspired by the lovely Elsie and a photo spread from this month's Martha Stewart Living magazine. This project took about an hour and could easily be embellished more or altered depending on what you have around the house-- but tonight was about squeezing in some late-night craft for instant gratification!

Supplies I Used:

-Martha Stewart magazine spread ( 9 santas! )

-trusty glue stick

-white cardstock (for weight)

-red crochet yarn (I used some Sugar 'n Cream)

-crochet hook ( I used a size 8 to make quick loose loops)

-paper cutter

-mini-clothespins (I happened to have some Jolee's Boutique, but these are cute!)

-red pom pom trim

What I Did:

1. Cut out santas!

2. Cut cardstock so that each piece is 3 inches wide and 4.5 inches long

3. Glue santas to cardstock leaving more space on the bottom to mimic the polaroid look

4. Crochet a long chain (mine was made making 150 chains)

5. Tie pom pom trim to chain

6. Hang garland

7. Clip on santas!

I SINCERELY HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS PROJECT!

Let me know what you make-- love the inspiration and motivation to create!

(I only had 8 mini-clothespins, so I saved my favorite to decorate my hallway!)

WHAT I WANT TO MAKE THIS X-MAS [PART III]

CREATIVE YARN

CROCHET SPOT

(This will be perfect for my friend Jesse, who luckily never goes on the internet!)

CROCHET SPOT

(so many awesome tutorials!)

TIPNUT

TIPNUT

NOODLEHEAD

WHAT I WANT TO MAKE THIS X-MAS [PART II]

Getting excited!

PRETTY DITTY

RAVELRY
(made one so far though I think I made it too small!)

REFINERY 29

THE PURL BEE
(I started one of these, but the thread wasn't right so it was hard.)

CONFESSIONS OF A COMPULSIVE CRAFTER

WHAT I WANT TO MAKE THIS X-MAS [PART I]

If anything I feel like I am late in contemplating the holidays...

LARK & LOLA

ATTIC 24

SUZANNE STEIGE

LAUGHING PURPLE GOLDFISH DESIGNS

(Made one already!)

NATURALLY CARON

Looks like crochet is the theme!! I have two projects (not listed here) started--will share more soon!!

INSIDE MY CHRISTMAS....PART I

Being a voyeur has in ways made me decide to share glimpses of my life as well...and this is my happy place, so here are happy things to share from my holiday!!

I made my  own easy bows that were  so much fun I want to make them all of the time!! I got the original tutorial here  but tweaked it using strips of scrapbook paper (which I have an abundance of), staples, and glue dots (aka boogies). I had to jam a lot into two nights because of my nerve issues, but I pushed myself and still ended up with a nice holiday and some cutely wrapped gifts (my dream career!) My inadvertent theme was retro-inspired and included my favorite colors!!

karma-elf late night workshop!

This was one of the last rounds of bows!

One present display!

Our tree in our nook!! ( I can't believe Ange was cool with pink!!)

And naturally the animals have to get involved!! Jasper jumped inside a shopping bag! My brother was laying on the couch and I gave him Jasper in a bag, but he returned him for evident malfunctioning as a cat.

And then Fana, the cat who generally doesn't like toys, LOVED the catnip infused gifts from my parents!! Look at that blurry, stretchy love!

And one of my favorite gifts!

... so ends the peeky for today! Today we have decided to sit around and play the lazy game in which very little gets accomplished and the mess of paper, dishes, gifts, and mail sits and waits for the rest of our Boxing day! Still a lot to do, to photograph, to digest, to wrap (yes my friends there is more!) Next post will be more list mode so I can bask in memories. By the way, my tree is staying up for as long as I can have it my way, I find that I stress so much before the holiday that I never get to enjoy the simple things! Today is for me! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!!! XOXO