Tis the season...

Happy happy almost Christmas everyone! I can't believe how fast this year flew by! Don't blink, or you might miss it! This will be my last post of the season. As many others have said, especially since the CT tragedy, I really want to be present with my family and make every moment count. I will also be knee deep in festive wrapping paper until minutes before Christmas morning.

I wanted to share a few things before I sign off :)
My friend Kelly with Bubba-loo photography took the pics for our Christmas card and she did not disappoint....

Thanks Kelly, you rock!

My card board is filling up and makes me smile every time I see it. Checking the mail is so fun this time of year :)

Both of my kiddos had holiday programs at school. They were so cute to watch. It really warmed my heart to hear their sweet voices and see their smiling faces. It also broke my heart to think of the families of Sandyhook elementary school. Sweet angels who are now safe from harm, may they be resting in peace.

(Noah top row - center left ish)

(Hayden center - gray dress)

Noah has an awesome room mom for his class. She made the teacher this awesome classroom subway art.

His teacher definitely lucked out in the room mom department, she is super sweet and talented.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and hold those that you love close. Life is a precious gift and shouldn't be taken for granted. I hope your holiday season is filled with love, laughter, and lots of yummy food!

Holiday Home Tour

Hello everyone, I hope your holiday season is going smoothly so far. I have been a maniac lately, but let's face it, that's par the for the course. Anyway, my house was finally clean enough to take pics (I had guests over yesterday), so I thought I would share my 2012 holiday home with you. Ready?!

Let's start with the outside, shall we!?
This is what greets you at my front door. If you weren't feeling the joy before you got to my house, you are now :)

Don't forget these guys...

The one on the left with the pom pom nose is Rudolph, and the one on the right is Hello Kitty (can you tell which kid named which deer).

Big pic

Now let's take a look inside.
Living room...

Here's a close-up of my favorite addition this year:

Can you tell what my new favorite thing is??
closer.....

Vintage vintage vintage! I am IN LOVE with all of these pretty vintage ornaments. I want them on display year round. lol.

Where for art thou baby Jesus (Josh hides him from me until midnight on Xmas eve and then he magically appears in the manger).

Those are the vintage bulbs I got at a garage sale in the Spring for $.50. Major score :)

Here are some more living room pics...

My ultimate favorite Xmas decoration of all time...

I will putting this wreath up every year until the end of time. Period.

I got this sweet angel tree topper at the flea market. My husband is not a fan. It reminds me of one my Grandma had long long ago. Definitely an acquired taste, but I love her :)

Sooooo many sentimental and adorable ornaments on our tree. The more the better, that's my motto.

In the den to the right of the living room, I have a fun new addition ($20 after Xmas sale last year)

Here's a closer look...

I wanted to find a galvanized pail to put the ugly stand in, but no such luck. Maybe next year.

 

Pom poms, book pages, cherished family pictures. I can't really think of much more that makes me this happy :)

Moving on.
I can't, in good conscience, show you my whole crafting space. Messy. But here are a couple holiday cuties that help keep me in the mood while I'm glittering and glue gunning everything in sight.

Elfie Elf is risking getting glittered. apparently he likes vintage florals ;)

The hall between the kid's rooms has their handmade Xmas tree banner from Smartbottom Kids. They got so excited to see it when I pulled it out of the box this year!!

Each kid (spoiled) got their own tree this year ($15 after Xmas sale at wal mart last year)
Hayden's:

 

Hayden threw a tantrum because she wanted a greeeeeeen one. See. Spoiled.

Look at this cute little ornament I got at the flea market for her...

Noah's: (Noah has my hubby's childhood lionel train in his room too)

He added this to his tree topper...

And he picked these out at the Dollar Tree...

 

Last but not least, the kitchen...

Chalkboard....

Table....

 

Bulletin board filling up with happy cards. The Frosty bunting was an awesome gift from one of my besties last year....

Coffee station...

 



We've been using the cute little Santa plate I got at the flea as a spoon rest. I think on Christmas, it will be holding a very special cookie for a very special someone :)

 

Well, that's about it. My bedroom/bathroom get holiday neglected. The guest bathroom has a few holiday touches, but I forgot to take a photo. It's a bathroom. Nothing magical. Lol.

 

Thanks for coming on the picture-mania tour. I hope you all have a great rest of the week!!

 

Jingle Bell Junk Swap

Happy happy Monday everyone. You may have noticed that I have been a tad MIA on the ol' blog lately. Business is sort of booming in my Etsy shop, I'm prepping for a craft show this Friday, and I have been working on some custom orders for a few of my friends. Tis the season to be running around like a chicken with her head cut off, huh!? Busy busy! Well today I am here to share with you some good old fashion fun!

I was LUCKY enough to join together with some of my fellow bloggers and swap some jingle bell junk. Confused!? Haha! Well let me explain. First, we drew names. Then, we each had to send a $5 thrifted item to the person we chose. Now we get to the fun part. We each had to transform our random thrifted item into a holiday decoration. Fun?? FUN!!!!!

Here is the item I received in the mail from The Thriftress herself...

I took some time to think over what I wanted to do with this shiny bundt pan. My first thought was to keep it all tarnished and vintage looking and just fill it up with vintage ornaments. Not much of a transformation though. Then I thought about making it into a wreath. I would just need to add a bow and hang it on a nail. Hmmm. Still, it wouldn't have the "it" factor I was looking for.

After much careful thought, inspiration struck! Bam! Boom! Jingle! Jangle!
And now my friends, I present to you, My Third True Love's "Winter bundterland."

Ooooooh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Here's a brief "tutorial" if you will...
First, I spray painted the bundt pan white.
Then, I painted on some white glue around the outer and inner rims and sprinkled some glitter on them.
Next, I glittered some deer and some bottle brush tree bases with my go-to aqua glitter.
LUCKILY, I was able to find a glass candle holder from the Dollar Tree that fit the hole perfectly.
My last step was to glue on the deer and trees and light her up. I used a hot glue gun to glue everything in place, but I think a better choice would have been E600 or something more suitable for metal. I may have to reinforce some things before I pack her away after Xmas.

(disregard the bald spots on my sweet deer. Little fingers can't NOT touch)

OH! AND THEN, I felt extra fancy and decided to raise it up a bit using my vintage milk glass cake stand that my sweet mother in law just handed down to me...

Ta daaa!! A Winter Bundterland fit for a kitchen (Thanks Cassie for thinking up the awesome name)!
What do you think!? Cool? Crazy? Jingle Bell Junky enough for you!? Haha! I feel like it's definitely tacky chic, but if they had them for sale at Anthro, I would probably be waiting in line to get one (lol). This was a really fun project and I'm so happy I got to be a part of the swap.

 I sent an item to Abbie over at Five Days Five Ways and I am dying to find out what she made. Funny enough, before I received my bundt pan, I sent her a very similar one. Great minds must think alike Thriftress!

Please stop by the other blogs and see what they did with their jingle bell junk (links below).

Bliss Ranch, Five Days..Five Ways, Jane of All Crafts, Junky Vagabond, Nellie Bellie, Primitive and Proper, My Third True Love, The Bold Abode. The Thriftress, Vintage Drama, and We heart DIY

You won't be sorry!!!

Jingle all the way!
Have a GREAT week everyone :)